Content has always been king online. It's what everyone is searching for, and what the search engines focus on indexing. So putting good content on your site can be thought of as a form of search engine optimization. With that in mind, if you're trying to beef up the content on your web site, should you hire someone to write articles for you?



Not surprisingly, this is a question that comes up from time to time in our forums. As with many SEO-related questions, the answer seems to be "It depends." Visio, one of our more respected forum members, finds that "writing your own articles from experience, from a passion you have for that subject matter works better" than hiring a writer. If you do choose to hire a writer, he advises that you choose a writer that specializes in a topic relevant to your website; it will be more expensive but since they write on specific topics they're more likely to provide something truly useful. This is one reason that most of the writers for the Developer Shed family of sites are professionals in the fields about which they write.

There are cases in which this might not be your best option, however. You've probably run across these sites, where you realize within a sentence or two that English is not the first language of the article writer - and the site is aimed at English speakers. Or perhaps English IS the first language of the article writer, but he or she makes a lot of common mistakes (confusing they're, there and their, for example). That looks very unprofessional; even if it doesn't drive away your visitors, they will take you much less seriously. If your grammar isn't good enough, what do you do?

One option is to find someone whose English skills are better than yours, and have them go over any articles you write for your site with a fine tooth comb before you post them. The other option is to bite the bullet and hire a professional writer. That's also an excellent option if you don't have the time to write your own web content. ICHORS, another SEO Chat forum member, offers these suggestions if you choose to hire someone rather than write your own articles:

1. Do some research to get the best professional for your job.

2. Ask for samples of their work.

3. Ask for references and check sources.

4. Check the professional sites for freelancers.

5. Your writer should be experienced.

6. Your writer should have enough time for you.

7. Your writer should respond fast.

8. Your writer's rate should suit you.

Keeping these tips in mind and applying them should help you immensely in your climb to the top of the SERPs.