Proof of my SEO writing skill . . .

Several months ago, I rewrote the copy and meta tags on my website to improve SEO for my site. Today, I was thrilled to see my hard work had paid off and Perfectly Write had climbed high in search engine rankings.

On Yahoo, I was either second or first for UK searches on the following terms: proofreader, copy editor, proofreader editor, proofreader London, proofreader Kent, copy editor London, copy editor Kent and copywriter Kent. On Lycos, I was first for three of these terms, second for three, and fourth for two. On Google, my page rank for these terms ranged from first to 20th. For almost every result on the three search engines, I was placed above any other commercial website that offers copywriting, copy-editing and proofreading services.

So clearly the SEO writing that I employ on my website and its code does the trick. I'm glad, because this helps reassure my clients that my formula for SEO copywriting is tried, tested and proven.

Now I'm off for some fish and chips to celebrate . . .

Should a copy editor only edit copy?

In a nutshell, no. A copy editor also needs to think about the content of what they read, and look for inconsistencies or inaccuracies. Often, I find problems with text that my client missed entirely, and even if they hire me simply to tidy language, I always feel it's part of my job to flag up other stuff that jumps out at me. So although 'All women hate chocolate' is grammatically fine, I'd still be writing a note for this sentence that says something along the lines of 'Really? Are you sure? Is this a fact?'

Freelancer in focus

It's no secret that I'm not a huge fan of pictures of myself, but this month I've put that aside, rummaged in some albums and found a suitably blurry snap to accompany my 'Freelancer in Focus' profile. If you're wondering what I look like or want to read more about my freelancing, my plans for the future, or my favourite place in the UK, check out the article by clicking here. And no, sadly that's not my back garden behind me but a lovely pond in Amsterdam....