<< Back to Blog page

A good copywriter specialising in search-engine optimised (SEO) copy comes at a price. A quick search online might tell you a copywriter will charge per word. Or that you should expect to pay 15 USD for a blog, for example. It’s true that you will find people selling copywriting services on a per-word basis and offering to write your copy and content for next to nothing.
Be warned! The cost of hiring a good SEO copywriter in the UK will depend on various factors – and should be looked at in context. Good SEO copywriters are not charging per word or 15 USD for a blog.
What are you paying an SEO copywriter for?
An SEO copywriter does everything a ‘normal’ copywriter does – but incorporates their knowledge of how search engines work and what people expect from an online experience into your online text. All copywriters should be good writers, able to tell a story, and know how to write to persuade. Those are all basic copywriting requirements.
A good technical SEO person can tell you what keywords you should be targeting, and numerous ‘technical’ ways to improve your website so it has the best chance of being ranked in online searches. They look at things like your page loading speed and mobile optimsation amongst a myriad of other things – not just keywords. And just inserting keywords into copy doesn’t necessarily give you something worth reading. It won’t help with user engagement, building trust, or increasing conversions.
Good SEO copywriters write for the target audience they want to attract, but their knowledge of SEO and their research into things like keywords and competitor websites also influences their writing. They will understand on-page SEO and content optimisation and write to ensure your online copy will be doing the right things – and not at the expense of what you’re reading.
You’ll come across webpages full of unnatural phrases, constant references to location (town-county-country) for no apparent reason, weird questions thrown in you really weren’t asking at the time. These have been “search-engine optimised”. Poorly.
Good website copy will achieve many things. With a good SEO copywriter, you shouldn’t even notice the SEO.
What influences how much a copywriter costs?
1. Experience and expertise
As with most things, the amount of experience and expertise a copywriter has can influence their pricing. The more they have, the more you should expect to pay. However there is still a wide range, even among copywriters with similar backgrounds. A 2024 Procopywriters survey found that senior copywriters were charging day rates (or the equivalent) of £800 to over £2000 and the average across the board was £440. Remember that women still generally tend to value themselves lower.
2. The scope of the work required
A 20-page website will not cost the same amount as a 500-word blog post. The amount of time, skill, research, level of technicality, and depth of knowledge required will vary. What a copywriting project aims to achieve can also make a difference to the price.
3. The need for specialised knowledge
There may be a premium if specialised knowledge is required. This could be knowledge of a certain sector or industry, for example tech or healthcare, or a type of copywriting, for example conversion copywriting or SEO copywriting.
4. Geographical Location
Copywriting costs can be influenced by geographical location. It is possible you will pay more for a copywriter based in London than for one living outside a large city in the UK, for example.
5. Project turnaround time
Urgent deadlines and quicker turnaround times can increase costs. If you want us to work all night or bump you up the queue, there’s likely to be a premium!
How copywriters charge and the difference it makes
- Hourly rate: an hourly rate might sound like a good idea for a project, but it’s not generally advisable. No two copywriters will spend the same amount of time writing a 500-word blog. And each 500-word blog a copywriter writes could take a different amount of time. It will depend on how much research they need to do, how well they know the subject, how experienced they are, and so on. A more experienced copywriter might work more quickly – so if you were paying an hourly rate you could be paying more for a lower quality product. And you don’t know what something could end up costing. If, however, you know you want a professional copywriter to spend a certain amount of time on something for you, this can be a great way for them to charge.
- Day rate: this is similar to an hourly rate, obviously, but can be useful in certain circumstances. For example, if you would like an ‘in-house’ copywriter but you only have enough work for them to spend one day a week on your business.
- Per project rate: this involves the least risk to a client. Everyone knows up front what something is going to cost and this should only change if the scope of work changes.
- Retainer agreements: this is a great way to regularly update your website and ensure a regular supply of high-quality content: this is particularly important for search engine optimisation. A copywriter agrees to produce a certain type and amount of work within a period of time, guaranteeing they will have the capacity to do your work regularly.
- Per word rate: this should really only be used within the context of certain types of content, for example blog posts. Advertising slogans for large companies can involve huge teams and many, many hours of work, yet they might end up being only three or four words. And it can be much harder to write short, concise copy than to write long, rambling pieces! Blogs, however, are often priced according to length, so an SEO copywriter might charge twice as much for a 1,000-word blog as a 500-word blog, or they might charge one price for 500-750 words, another price for a blog of 750-1,000 words: it varies.
Beware of false economies
If you want to hire an SEO copywriter, don’t be fooled into thinking that you will be saving money by finding one who doesn’t cost very much. A good SEO copywriter will help drive more of the right organic traffic to your website and convert more clients once they are there. Make sure you do your research.
If you would like to talk to me about how I price projects for my clients, please get in touch. If you need copywriting services, hire a good SEO copywriter, not a cheap one – a copywriter should make you money, not cost you money.