Key Takeaway
According to an audit of roughly two billion pages, about 91 percent pull in zero organic traffic from Google. That gap is where lazy content writing hides. If a content writing service cannot show you how a keyword earns its spot, it is guessing with your budget.
Here is what I check before any contract gets signed: the signals that separate a real SEO writer from someone running a template.
Field Note 1: They Talk Demand Before Craft
A service that opens with style has the order backwards. Search demand comes first. Ask one plain question: which keyword is this page built for and how do you know people search it?
The answer should name a term and a rough monthly volume. Take “project management software.” That phrase can be informational or commercial. Different job, different page. A pro tells you which one and why it matters.
Vague replies end the call. “We target relevant keywords” means nothing.
Field Note 2: Read the Brief, Not the Sample
Every agency shows a polished sample. Ask to see the brief that produced it.
A working brief lists the target query, the intent, the headings the writer must hit and the internal pages to link. It also names the source of every stat in the draft. That last detail separates reporters from rewriters.
If the brief is one line like “write 1000 words about X,” with no query or source list, there is no SEO behind it.
Field Note 3: Hand Them a Boring Keyword
Anyone can rank for a query with no competition, so easy terms prove nothing. Give the service something dull and high-intent, then watch.
Try “how to reconcile a bank statement in Excel.” Low glamour, real buyers. A skilled writer finds the angle and builds the page around the actual question.
The page that answers fastest wins. According to Google’s published rater guidelines, content that satisfies the searcher is rewarded.
Field Note 4: Audit the On-Page Basics Yourself
You do not need paid tools to spot careless work. Open the draft in a browser and check these.
- The title tag carries the keyword and reads like a sentence rather than a stuffed phrase.
- The URL is short and readable.
- The first 100 words hold the main query in plain language.
- Every image has descriptive alt text.
Miss two of those and the writer never opened the page settings.
Now check the internal links. A page sitting alone on an island rarely ranks. It needs a path from a stronger page that already carries authority.
Field Note 5: Intent Beats Keyword Density
Density is an old habit. Matching what the searcher wants is what moves a page.
Look at the current top three results for the query. The top results show the format that wins: a list, a comparison, a how-to or a definition. Read the shape of those pages and match it.
Hand a 2000-word essay to a query that wants a quick table and the page dies at position 40.
Red Flags I Write Down
Some phrases tell you everything. Watch for these.
Keyword stuffing dressed up as optimization, with the same phrase jammed into every heading on the page.
Content with no named sources. A stat pulled from nowhere creates risk, so good writers cite the report.
Run This Test Before the First Invoice
You can screen a content writing service in one short call. Ask for the keyword list and a sample brief, then request the internal link plan.
Finish by opening one of their published pages and running the five-minute audit above. That is maybe 20 minutes of work and it saves months of paying for words that never rank.
What Good Looks Like on the Page
Open a page they own and read it as a stranger. Within seconds you should know what it covers and who it serves. The main heading answers the query and subheadings split the topic into the questions people actually ask.
Sources sit next to the claims they support. The call to action fits the intent, so a reader hunting a definition is not hit with a hard sell mid-paragraph.
This is the base layer of SEO content. The trouble is how few services bother to build it at all.
The One Move That Matters
Skip the sales deck. Ask a single question and listen hard: “Show me a page you wrote and the keyword it targets.” Then check that page against the query.
If the page answers the search and cites real sources, you found a partner. If it wanders or stuffs a phrase, keep looking.
Ranking content starts with demand and intent, then gets the structure right.
Read the full guide: What Nobody Tells You Before You Hire a Website Content Writing Service