Reviewing Websites… and Getting Paid for It

On the Internet, everybody has an opinion. And people aren’t afraid to share it in reviews of products, blogs, movies, and even websites.

It’s not always a positive opinion; in fact, thanks to the relative anonymity of the Internet, it’s often negative. All you have to do is check out the comments section on any news story or YouTube video, and you’re going to come across some pretty hateful stuff.

And hey, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The Internet is about the free exchange of information, ideas, and yes, opinions.

But there is another type of reviewing, of websites, that can actually be quite lucrative. And it’s doing a great service to the online community.

It’s called SEO reviewing.

What’s SEO Reviewing?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. There are entire books dedicated to the subject (SEO Bible by Jerri L. Ledford and SEO Fitness Workbook by Jason McDonald are both great books on the subject). But in short, SEO is a set of practices that increase a website’s visibility on search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo!, etc. The better a website uses SEO, the higher it will appear on a search engine’s list of results.

But as a contract SEO reviewer, your job will not necessarily be to help individual websites get higher on that list of search results – your job will be to help users of a search engine get the closest match for the keywords they plug in as possible. This means you’ll be visiting websites and determining whether the search results match that user’s intent.

I know, it gets a little confusing. But here’s an example: say a user is looking for information on building a wooden canoe. They go to Bing, plug in “wood canoes” in the search box, hit enter, and a list of results pops up.

Your job, as a contract SEO reviewer, will be to evaluate how closely each of the results match the keywords plugged in. That means you’ll evaluate a user’s intent based on the keywords they used and your own knowledge of popular culture. Then, you’ll use some given guidelines to judge how the particular search results match up with the keywords plugged in.

Trust me, it’s easier than it sounds. And if you work through a company like Leapforce.com (a company that specializes in SEO reviewing), they’ll be sure to provide you with all the particulars you’ll need. If you love surfing the Internet and would like to be compensated for the time you spend on the computer, this is a great place to start.

You’ll help refine search results, help people find information with ease, and get a look “behind the curtain” of how the Internet works.

How to Find a Job as an SEO Contract Reviewer

As I mentioned above, you can work with a company like Leapforce.com. This is a company dedicated to provide SEO reviewing services. The great thing about working through an intermediary like this is they (or the contractor using their service) will provide direction for you so you know exactly what you have to do.

They’ll tell you which websites they want to review, what keywords should bring up their website in the search engine… anything at all that you, as a contract SEO reviewer, will need to complete the task effectively.

But to become a contract SEO reviewer for a company such as Leapforce, you must first demonstrate a sound knowledge of SEO practices. Leapforce, for example, requires you to pass a two-part exam that tests your theoretical and practical knowledge of SEO. It’s not a simple matter of picking a username and a password, I can tell you!

While that may seem like a complex process, it guarantees that a contractor using Leapforce is assured that whoever they hire is well-versed in all things SEO. And that’s why Leapforce pays its contractors well.

Before trying out for Leapforce, I wholeheartedly suggest making a trip down to your local library or bookseller and studying a few of the books on the shelves dedicated to state-of-the-art SEO practices. And do plenty of online research in latest trends and best practices as well.

But that’s not to say you have to work through an intermediary company to land jobs as a contract SEO reviewer. Working through Leapforce or a related company at first is well worth your time in terms of experience and connections. But there are also freelance opportunities.

Working as a Freelance SEO Reviewer

Okay, so maybe you’re a lone wolf. You like to strike out on your own and find your own clients and do the job yourself. Maybe you’re already very familiar with SEO practices. Well, lucky for you, there are plenty of freelance SEO reviewing jobs available.

Have a look at just about any job board, plug in the keywords “SEO review” and list after list of job openings will unfurl before your eyes. And because SEO reviewing is often done in the comfort of your own home, you may find yourself juggling projects from companies based in Boston, London, Bombay, and beyond!

In these cases your employer will give specific directions on what kinds of word and websites they want you to evaluate. But if they’re too general, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. It comes with the territory. You may find your employer isn’t sure what they want themselves, and you’ll have to educate them (which entails a nice bonus for you, of course).

Your Day-to-Day as an SEO Reviewer

Now to the nitty-gritty: once you’re hired as a contract SEO reviewer, you’ll be provided with a list of keywords, or search words, that your employer wants you to plug into Google, Bing, etc. It is your job to comb through the results that pop and judge their relevancy to the keywords provided.

It’s a creative job because you’ll have to use your knowledge of pop culture and geography to make an effective assessment. And if you’re not sure about anything, research is only a few clicks away. And because this is truly an international business, a learning curve when it comes to different cultures is a given. That’s also what can make SEO reviewing such an enriching and lucrative job.

A Word of Warning about SEO Reviewing

Of course, like any job, there is a downside to being a contract SEO reviewer. What’s that expression? “There are no free lunches”? Well, that applies here as well. Here are a couple of factors you should take into consideration before you jump into the profitable world of SEO reviewing:

• You’ll need a high-speed Internet connection.
• Viruses abound on some sites you may have to visit, so good antivirus software is a must.

As a reviewer, you’ll be checking out all kinds of websites. And as someone who makes his living using the Internet, let me be the first to acknowledge that there are some crazy, offensive things on the Internet. That’s where good antivirus software and a strong constitution play a key role in your success as a contract SEO reviewer.

So if you think you have what it takes, this might be the ideal work-from-home job for you. The pay is good, the hours are flexible, and the entire Internet is your workplace.

I wish you the best of luck!

Mark Edwards

P.S. I’ve just given you a taste of what it means to be a contract SEO reviewer. But here are a few resources to help you learn more and succeed in this growing, exciting field!

Resources

Educational Resources/Getting Started

http://www.leapforceathome.com/

http://zentricor.com/services/Internet-marketing/seo/seo-review

http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/domain

Getting Hired

http://www.indeed.com/q-SEO-Review-jobs.html

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-seo+review