Tuesday, 26 July 2022

How to Prepare for a Content Writer Job Interview?

Consider these stats

1 – High quality content writers need to polish their content. A research from Acrolinx said that the biggest turnoff for more than half of buyers was grammatical errors and bad writing on a website.

2 – Companies with blogs on their site generate 67% more leads on average than sites that don’t have blogs.

3 – The average blog post is 1236 words

These statistics make the perfect case for a strong content writer to propel the online visibility of brands online. This means that content writers can expect to proper in such a ‘high demand’ landscape.

Content Writer Job Interview

 

Why the need for an expert content writer?

These days, many digital businesses hire content writers. These include the educational, pharmaceutical, medical, technical, and entertainment industries. To enter each field in terms of writing, a candidate needs to have fundamental knowledge regarding the basics of writing.

They have expert research skills that lets them speak like an industry authority for their clients. This is especially worth noting, given that in reality, they aren’t a subject matter expert in the client’s business.

They then frame the content in a way that is easily readable and scores high on readability tests. They also use tools like Grammarly to ensure content is free from typos and grammar misses.

Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that a professional is best suited for the wide varying tasks, time consuming nature, and elaborate activities involved in content writing.

Now that we have made a case for the impressive future for a content writer, let’s move one step ahead.

We take a look at how a content writer aspirant needs to prepare for an interview to ace it.

 

Why do content writers need to prepare well for an interview?

Organizations need to know the depth of a candidate’s field of knowledge is, they have to go through an interview process.

The level of the interview varies from company to company, and the rounds and questions are determined by the company you are interviewing for.

Companies evaluate candidates on a variety of skills, including interest in writing and work experience. They also judge a candidate on company knowledge and knowledge of grammar. Domain expertise, proofreading, and most importantly, communication skills are some of the traits that interviewers look for in a candidate.

Today, content writing is a fairly common career choice and a fascinating job. You must give perfect answers to the questions asked by HR if you intend to work as a content writer.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the most common patterns of content writer interview questions. This will help you prepare for them. Here is the list of questions and answers that you should read before attending an interview.

 

What questions should a content writer prepare for before an interview?

1) What do you mean when you refer to content writing?

Answer- A content writer  is fluent in the process of planning, creating, and editing web content. They do this type of writing for Internet marketing or digital marketing purposes. Writing content covers a wide range of genres, including blog posts, and technical manuals. They may also span product reviews, social commentary, scripts for videos, or podcasts

 

2) What distinguishes a web content writer from a copywriter?

Answer- Although a copywriter need not have the ability to write web content, a web content writer may also be one. Web content writers are experts at writing for the very specific web medium format, such as blogs and websites. A copywriter, on the other hand, typically creates copy for marketing purposes in broadcast or print media.

 

3) How can content writers enhance their grammar and writing abilities?

Answer- Content writers can use a variety of tips to enhance their grammar and writing abilities. Here are a few of them:

  • A content writer must first understand the fundamentals of grammar and punctuation. It is necessary for writing anything.
  • A content writer should write every day and have a senior content writer proofread their work.
  • Make a habit of reading English newspapers daily. Grammar and writing abilities must be improved.
  • Must watch webinars on grammar, writing, and other topics.
  • A man becomes perfect with practice. So always practice speaking and writing in the same language.

 

4) How can effective SEO copywriting benefit a website?

Answer- A website will always benefit from effective SEO copywriting. Due to its compliance to Google’s algorithms, which make it appealing to crawlers, it improves the website’s ranking in search engine results.

 

Content Writer Job Interview

 

5) What should a content writer keep in mind when creating a specific piece of content?

Answer – While writing a specific piece of content, a content writer should keep a lot of things in mind. The following are some of the key points:

5a – Researching about the brand you are writing as a content writer:

The most crucial thing a content writer should take into consideration is research on the brand about which they are writing. He must have a thorough understanding of the product or business he is writing about before beginning. The features of the brand you are writing for must be the foundation of the content strategy. Thus, the writing style used for the content should be consistent with the brand’s fundamental tenets.

 

5b – The audience of the brand

The content writer should select a specific strategy and style of writing. This should be based on their understanding of the readers and the intended audience. To write content that will captivate your audience, it is crucial to understand who they are.

 

5c – Publishing platforms

Content writers are required to write articles for a variety of publishing platforms. The platform where their content will be published must therefore be known to them. For instance, writing for social media posts differs from writing for websites’ SEO blogs.

 

6) How should a content writer develop a content strategy for a client or brand?

A content writer must develop a content strategy before writing for any particular client or brand. Different businesses approach their content strategy in various ways. A content writer must follow these steps in order to produce quality content:

 

  • Establish the organization’s or brand’s marketing goals first.
  • Determine who the target audience is and research their characteristics, such as personality and behavior.
  • Create a strategy that will serve the needs of the audience and the organization.
  • Use the most relevant keywords when coming up with the topic.
  • The content must satisfy the user’s search criteria and be complete in and of itself.

 

What other personal and common content writer interview questions can be asked?

 

1. Please introduce yourself and tell me something about your career.

This is one of the most frequently asked interview questions. You need to respond to this thoughtfully and truthfully. Usually, this is asked to learn more about you rather than your personal information.

There is nothing to fear in this situation. You can always start your answers by stating your name, hometown, education, particularly your graduation and academic career. You can also talk about your interests before moving on to your professional experience and work history.

Keep these things in mind for an introductory brief. If a potential employer asks you about your family, you can respond; otherwise, it’s not required.

 

2. Which of your strengths and weaknesses stand out?

In order to make a good impression right away, this question needs to be answered carefully because it is quite important and relevant.

Strong points like organization, punctuality, creativity, organic SEO writing, consistency, teamwork, and coordination come to mind.

The weak points must respond so that they appear to be your strong points.. Alternatively, you can inform them that there are a few areas in which you need to improve.

You can begin by quoting yourself and telling, “I have some areas of writing that I need to improve upon. These include areas like exploring new writing styles and tapping into new areas of work in the content field.” So, this response needs to be handled with care.

 

3. What inspired you to become a content writer and why did you choose the field of content writing?

This question is intriguing for all candidates and fairly simple. You can respond by saying, “Since I was a young child, I have had a strong interest in writing. I constantly want to learn more about writing techniques and format in order to be original.

 

4. Where do you see yourself in the coming 5 years?

The response that will have the biggest impact on the audience is, “I see myself as a successful and well-known content writer with extensive experience who can write excellent content and support it to rank on the first page of search engines.”

 

Conclusion

The central pillar of digital marketing is content creation. for the purposes of the interview questions for content writers. You get a headstart in preparations using the questions and topics listed above. Many candidates face these typical interview questions when looking for work as a content writer. Check these tips and ace your next content writer job interview.

What questions have you faced in your content writer job interviews? Do write to us in the comments below and let us know.

The post How to Prepare for a Content Writer Job Interview? appeared first on Textuar.



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Thursday, 7 July 2022

How to Align Content with Search Intent – A Guide for Content Writers

“What’s all the buzz around search intent?”, is a question asked by many exasperated content writers. As they struggle to adapt to evolving Google algorithm guidelines, search intent seems one of the many concrete ranking signals they need to contend with.

This blog will attempt to answer all queries around search intent and what content writers need to do to align with search intent.

 

What is search intent in SEO?

When you talk about search intent, remember Google’s core mantra to return results to search queries.

They want to serve the most relevant and valuable content to help them find answers to their search queries.”

This is why even when you type one or two wrong spelling in your query, Google is likely to decipher your query and still return the right result.

This happens because Google is able to discern your search intent.

It tries to understand the purpose behind your search query and thus returns appropriate results. Moz defines search intent as the “primary goal a user has when searching a query on a search engine”.

content writers for search intent

Why is search intent important in SEO?

As a customer-centric company, Google cares about its products like its search engine. It knows that the search engine is relevant only till the time it provides the right answers to searchers’ queries. And this can happen only when it is able to accurately determine the search intent.

This is why marketers and content writing companies need to factor in this aspect.

The more your content aligns with the search intent, the better will be its ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs)

 

What are the three types of search intent?

The underlying principles of search intent are directly tied to the buyer journey. So let us first look at a buyer journey.

A buyer journey is the transition of a casual searcher to a conversion.

Depending on what stage of the journey the buyer is in, she will be exposed to different forms of content. The aim is simple. Such content aligned to the search intent and buyer journey will help in smoother progress from site visit to purchase from the site.

 

1 – Informational

  • This is an early-stage search process
  • Customers are still trying to learn about a product
  • Their goal is to find information on a product and learn more about it
  • Content writers will create a lot of blogs, articles, and FAQ pages
  • Examples of informational intent in search queries
    • How to clean sneakers?
    • SEO definition
    • Tips to buy duffel bags

 

2 – Navigational

  • This is a middle-stage search process
  • Customers compare the product with others to fine-tune their pre-purchase research
  • Their goal is to find the best product
  • Content writers will create product guides, product comparisons, or top-10 guides that cover brand names
  • Examples of informational intent in search queries
    • Nike running shoe reviews
    • Moz vs SEMrush
    • Nike Duffel bags
    • Facebook login

 

3 – Transactional

  • This is a bottom-of-the-funnel search process
  • Customers know which product to buy and are now ready to buy
  • Their goal is to find the best/fastest way to buy the product
  • Content writers will convince ready-to-buy customers with specific landing pages and clear call-to-action.
  • Examples of transactional intent in search queries
    • Buy lenovo yoga 128gb 6gb ram
    • Best way to purchase sovereign gold bonds
    • Download Canva for desktop

 

content writers for search intent

What does the SERP look like for the three types of search intent?

Google shows results in different ways depending on the search intent. For example, if you search “buy iPhone 12”, it won’t show any blogs or articles n the results page (indicating an informational intent).

It will, instead, show links to sites like Amazon, where you can buy iPhone 12. This is because Google determines that you have a transactional intent behind the search query.

SERP analysis is a great way to understand what Google wants to show for a particular intent in a search query.

1 – How does SERP look for informational intent in search

Suppose a user Googles “Tips to buy sneakers”

The SERP will show:

  • Knowledge grabs in the form of articles and blog posts
  • Related questions (“People also ask”)
  • How-to guides
  • Videos

 

2 – How does SERP look for navigational intent in search

Suppose a user Googles “Moz”

The SERP will show the below for Moz:

  • PPC ads that have brand names in keywords
  • Google Maps card for the brand
  • Site links
  • Knowledge cards
  • Top stories

 

3 – How does SERP look for transactional intent in search

Suppose a user Google “buy lenovo yoga 128gb 6gb ram”

The SERP will show:

  • Shopping carousel links to assist a ready-to-buy online shopper
  • Reviews about products
  • Paid ads that direct users to the page with a ‘Buy’ button
  • Local stores on Google Maps that sell the product (for offline purchases)

 

content writers for search intent

How do content writers optimize content for search intent?

1 – Content for Informational Intent

The content writer needs to create the below types of educative content

  1. Blogs and articles
  2. FAQ pages
  3. Checklists
  4. In-depth Guides
  5. Step-by-step process

Keywords with information intent

  1. How to, Why, What, When, Who
  2. Benefits of, Questions to ask
  3. Best ways to…
  4. Step-by-step guide

 

2 – Content for Navigational Intent

The content writer will talk a lot about the actual brand name on different pages that have a high DA. Links to the company name on social media channels like LinkedIn and Instagram will radiate a sense of industry authority about the brand.

This approach in the middle stage will ensure acceleration at the bottom of the funnel, where the customer is ready to make a purchase.

They can place the keyword strategically on

  • H1 tags
  • Within 1st hundred words of the introduction
  • Meta description
  • Anchor text
  • PPC ads and landing pages

Keywords with navigational intent

  1. <Name of actual brands>
  2. Directions to
  3. Price of
  4. Comparison
  5. Reviews
  6. Testimonials

 

3 – Content for Transactional Intent

Content writers can create helpful and insightful product pages. They have a strategically placed ‘add to cart’ or ‘buy now’ at the end.

This is the final stage for an already-convinced buyer to buy. So, there should not be any other clutter that can distract the ready-to-buy buyer from other products.

Keywords with transactional intent

  1. Buy, Order, Purchase
  2. Download, Subscribe
  3. Deal, Discount, Call for Demo
  4. Schedule/ Book an appointment
  5. Where to buy
  6. Shop now

 

To sign off

Google continues to improve its algorithm so that only the most relevant and accurate results are displayed to searchers. And this is where it factors search intent to determine if a particular page is relevant to a search query.

As content writers, we need to be aware of what is search intent and the three key types. We also need to know what type of content will come up top for a particular type of search intent.

This will help the SEO content writers to use the right keywords and the right type of content at the right place for a ranking boost.

Contact Textuar for targeted content writing services that add to your business bottom-lines.

The post How to Align Content with Search Intent – A Guide for Content Writers appeared first on Textuar.



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