5 Ways How You Can Make Money With SEO Writing
Write once, but make money many times.
Your content — your rules.
This is how I would describe the power of SEO (search engine optimization) writing.
You don’t have to comply with other platforms’ rules to be in front of your audience. Instead, you can feed your readers with your content right where they are most of their time — in organic search.
68% of all online experiences start with the help of a search engine, according to BrightEdge research. It means that over half of all online users use Google, Bing, or Yahoo to solve their needs instead of social media or anything else.
None of the writing platforms will help you reach that many people like Google, accounting for over 70% of global search traffic.
As a marketer, I am passionate about SEO writing because it has logic, and you can often estimate how your content will perform.
SEO is not dead, as many fake experts say. Perhaps most of them have no patience to wait because SEO has never been a fast way to reach results.
However, those who have patience, persistence, and a desire to try, can benefit from these proven ways of making money through SEO writing. You don’t have to sell anything. Instead, the monetization opportunities will find you on their own.
Link building
In 2017, my colleague paid 600 euros to a reputable platform for a backlink and a promotion via email. It’s a lot of money made out of nothing!
Who could ever think people would be willing to pay crazy money for backlinks? Surprisingly, they would!
Now, I get around ten link building requests as a content marketer daily. Established brands and solopreneurs reach out to me to negotiate free and paid backlink opportunities.
Sponsored backlinks are a massive business for bloggers.
The quality and number of referring domains are among the most substantial ranking factors for search engines, according to Backlinko research.
Everyone wants to rank high in Google, but no one will link to your website voluntarily if it is new.
I face rejections many times because my website has been in operation for several months only. I learned people don’t care how good your content is as long as your website’s domain authority is low.
Ahrefs conducted a fascinating study in 2016 and repeated the same experiment in 2018. They reached out to over 250 websites in 5 different niches to find out if those websites sell links and if yes, what’s the price?
The findings are mindblowing! Regardless of the year of research, over 70% of respondents confirmed they sell links.
The cheapest quote was $50 for a backlink from a website with a DR (domain rate) of 32/100.
The most expensive link was worth $3,312 for a travel blog with 56 DR.
The average cost of a backlink was $361.44.
Someone might say, “It is not ethical to sell backlinks. Besides, it might hurt your website ranking.”
Let me ask you. If over 70% of web admins do it yearly, what’s holding you back?
Growing a website is challenging and a time-consuming business! You deserve to get paid for your effort if someone wants to partner with you.
The only thing to keep in mind is quality! It’s better to say “no” to suspicious and spam requests regardless of how much money you are offered.
Paid listicle
If you think you can’t build an entire business around one article, let me prove you wrong.
“Best summer destinations,” “top cafes near me,” and “best Christmas present ideas” are typical search queries examples. I can continue this list on and on.
What’s common among all these queries? — People’s desires for everything “best.”
Consumers want the best offers, products, services, and they are ready to pay for them.
If there is a demand for curated listicles, there will be a supply too.
I bet most of the product and services reviews you see in the top search results are sponsored. Why? Because it’s a profitable partnership between a website owner and a brand.
I once created an SEO-optimized listicle with over 5,000 characters for a client that generates roughly 20% of all client’s leads. The page ranks in the top 5 search results and attracts the attention of many companies that need B2B services.
Once my webpage gained visibility, multiple collaboration offers from companies started landing in my mailbox. They all wanted a mention in the top B2B service providers list, assuming their potential audience would pick someone from the list.
Clutch, for instance, charges at least $200 per sponsored listing.
Nik Sundin, a UX designer and a writer, uses an open writing platform to publish many curated blog posts, like this one. His posts rank high on Google and attract the target audience. I once reached out to Nik to discuss sponsored agency listing, and I am sure I was not the only one who did it.
A paid listicle is a popular and proven way to earn commissions by sharing your honest and detailed review with your audience.
If companies are ready to pay to market their products, why not let them pay you?
Partner programs
If you nail SEO writing skills, you’ll not need to market yourself proactively. Instead, businesses and individuals will be reaching out to you with their offers.
I once received an email from a pretty famous infographic maker tool with a collaboration request. The marketing team stumbled upon my website and offered me a 10% affiliate commission for every new user who signs up via my referral link.
If you think affiliate marketing is a scam, let me prove you wrong. I once made a $3000 from one affiliate deal because someone decided to purchase a yearly subscription via my referral link.
Inspired by a single success story, I share my favorite online writing tools for content creators and monetize my website through affiliate programs.
People trust people, not ads. This is why your opinion matters. Always!
People would rather hear your product and services recommendations and what you achieved by using them than listen to someone else’s promises.
If your content ranks high in Google, you have a great chance to shape consumers’ opinions.
Be honest in what you are saying. Praising a product or service that is useless will bring you short-term gains only! However, no one will be listening to you and buying from you in the long term.
Google’s program for publishers
Perhaps, it’s my favorite!
You have to set it once and enjoy earning commissions every month.
I refer to Google’s program that allows website owners to earn money from their content — Google AdSense.
If you haven’t heard about Google AdSense, its logic is quite simple.
You add a piece of code to your website to create available ad spaces. Next, Google AdSense matches ads with your website theme to show relevant advertisements to your audience. As a result, you get paid for clicks and impressions that help advertisers promote their products and services.
The program is free for anyone to join, and there is no traffic threshold.
Blogs, forums, and free online digital tools are the top three sites that can generate decent revenue from AdSense, according to Google.
Andrej Ilisin, a CEO and co-founder of Alpha Investors, estimates that your website should generate at least 2,000 daily views to earn $100 if your CPC (cost-per-click) is $1 and CTR(click-through-rate) is roughly 5%.
Note, the cost per click can vary from a few cents to three-figure numbers for some niches.
I love Google AdSense because it is one more way to monetize your SEO writing skills. You don’t have to deal with clients or sell your services. Instead, you can focus on doing what you like — creating helpful content.
You choose!
SEO writing is an in-demand skill nowadays.
Every solid business wants to rank high in the search engine results and is ready to pay anything to make it happen.
If you can create content optimized for SEO that drives results, you’ll find a goldmine!
Regardless of how you want to make a living, opportunities will find you. All you have to do is choose yours!
Below, you can find a few more ideas on how you can monetize your SEO writing skills. You should not necessarily run a website to earn decent money online. Opportunities are endless!
- Ghostwriting
- Get a job at a marketing agency
- Offer consulting services
- Create your online course
- Publish an ebook
- Hold paid seminars
- Run a paid newsletter with added value for your audience
Final thoughts
It does not matter what you are good at. There will always be someone ready to pay for your skills.
For me, SEO writing is a money-making skill. I never chose it, to be honest. Instead, it chose me when I was desperately looking for skills people pay for. What a coincidence, I started loving it!
Writing is a powerful skill. You can make decent money writing here and there. However, if you want to stop depending on clients and build multiple alternative income sources, you should dive deeper into SEO writing.
As Ryan Biddulph once well-said:
“Good SEO is paying attention to all the details that most bloggers ignore.”
Be remembered for quality, not quantity, and be different to get noticed.
Grab my 50-page guide to learn how I create blog posts that hit Google front page. You can easily replicate my 3-step process even if you are just starting.
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