How do SEO companies help with keyword research and content writing?

SEO companies can help businesses identify the search terms their target audiences use, select keywords based on search intent, search volume, and ranking difficulty, and then apply that research to articles, page titles, and descriptions. However, providing keyword recommendations does not mean taking on all content writing. Before working together, confirm whether the provider will conduct research, recommend changes, or actually produce copy, and what product and service knowledge the business owner will need to contribute.

Keyword research: Start with products and services, not just popular terms

Research starts with what the website offers and how its audience might search for it. In a 2012 article, awoo used an interior design website as an example: labels such as “Project Showcase” or names coined by the business may not match the terms consumers use to find design companies. This was the author’s keyword selection advice at the time, not a current search platform rule.

Tools can help expand and organize potential keywords. Semrush’s 2024 tool overview states that Keyword Magic Tool can generate related keywords from a seed term, group them by topic, and provide information such as search volume, search intent, and difficulty. SEO companies can use this information to narrow down the list:

• Check relevance: Do the terms match the products, services, and content the website actually offers?
• Identify search intent: Understand what problem users want to solve when searching for the term.
• Assess demand and competition: Evaluate search volume alongside ranking difficulty, rather than choosing only popular or less competitive terms.

Content writing: Turn keyword selections into text that answers questions

A keyword list can also help guide content topics. The Semrush overview mentioned above notes that the tool can provide keyword variations and questions worth answering in the content. For example, starting with “dry skin,” potential topics can be organized around the face, creams, or itching, rather than cramming every term into a single article.

The scope of writing is not limited to long-form articles. awoo’s 2012 article discussed page titles and descriptions: first confirm each page’s core keywords with the business owner, then use the title to highlight the main point and the description to provide further information about the page’s content. The article also emphasized that SEO companies may not know the products better than the business owner does, so copywriting should be collaborative rather than leaving product understanding entirely to the external provider. The guidance adopted here concerns the division of responsibilities, not the article’s recommendations on fixed text lengths or keyword counts.

Clarify the scope of service: Who makes recommendations, and who does the writing?

Semrush’s overview of services lists content creation and marketing among SEO services, but that does not mean every company or plan includes full content writing. Respondents on Webmasters Stack Exchange have shared different experiences: some companies produce articles as well, while others only audit websites and recommend changes. These are community experiences, not a uniform industry standard.

When discussing a potential engagement, list tasks such as keyword research, article writing, and revisions to titles and descriptions, and confirm who will carry out each one. Clarify the deliverables and the information the business owner needs to provide first so you can assess whether the plan truly fills gaps in the business’s staffing and capabilities.