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Purch (Freelance)

RoleFreelance Content Writer
TypeFreelance
PeriodAug 2011 – Aug 2016

Background​

When I left the full-time role at Purch, they asked me to keep writing. So I did. For five more years.

The arrangement was straightforward. I had a freelance liaison at TechMediaNetwork (later renamed Purch) who sent assignments, and I wrote them. Software reviews, hardware roundups, general technology articles, top-10 shopping lists, news pieces, snippets for product pages. The format varied but the workflow didn't: research the product category, identify the competitive landscape, test or evaluate the top contenders, and write SEO-optimized content that ranked.

The volume was consistent. Around 10 articles per week, 500-700 words each, totaling roughly 5,000 words weekly. Every piece required keyword research--density, relevance, weight, search volume--and was written to the site's content style guide, which had specific requirements for HTML structure, meta tags, heading hierarchy, and internal linking. This wasn't "write what you feel" content. It was engineered to perform in search results.

I wrote across multiple Purch web properties. TopTenREVIEWS was the primary outlet, but content also appeared on Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, and other sites in the network. Categories ranged across the technology spectrum: antivirus and cybersecurity software, VPN services, backup solutions, productivity tools, consumer electronics, smartphones, tablets, networking hardware. If it plugged in or had an app store, I probably reviewed it at some point.

The software review work was where the SEO knowledge became most concentrated. Writing reviews for competitive categories like antivirus software or VPN services meant targeting keywords that every other review site was also chasing. Ranking required more than just keyword stuffing (which didn't work even in 2012). It required understanding search intent, competitor content gaps, long-tail keyword opportunities, and how to structure a review so that both readers and search engines could extract what they needed.

Five years of freelance content production at that pace built instincts that don't fade. I can still estimate keyword difficulty by looking at a SERP, and I still structure content with search visibility in mind even when nobody asks me to.

What I Did​

Key Skills​

Technology Content Writing · Software Reviews · Product Reviews · SEO · Keyword Analysis · Search Engine Optimization · SERP Analysis · Content Optimization · Organic Traffic · Meta Tags · HTML · Windows · Knowledge Articles · Evergreen Content · Editing · Web Content · Competitor Research · Topic-Based Writing · Copywriting · Copyediting · Content Roadmap · Journalism · Task Management · Microsoft Office · Content Management · Research · Managing Deadlines · Proofreading · User Content · Microsoft Word · CSS · Peer Review · Content Management Systems · Content Publishing · Document Templates · Screenshots · iOS · KPI Metrics · Cybersecurity · Cybersecurity Software · VPN Reviews · Antivirus Software · Smartphones · Hardware · Terminology · Tablets · Metadata · WYSIWYG Editor · iPadOS · Consumer Electronics