If you’ve ever entertained the idea of starting a blog, you’ve probably heard of something called SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, plays a crucial role in the discoverability of your content. But learning and exploring the world of SEO can daunting. How do you make sense of all of it and what role does SEO have in skyrocketing your blog traffic?
How to Improve your SEO to Skyrocket Your Blog Traffic
Jordan Becerra is the founder of Influencer SEO, an SEO agency that provides search engine optimization services for bloggers and influencers to help them get more traffic organically. She joins us on this episode of Her Life, By Design — simplifying the research process while sharing the best practices to improve your SEO.
What is SEO and Why Should Influencers Care?
Chances are, you’ve probably turned to Google in search of an answer to a question you’ve had. What pops up in the search results did not happen by chance. As Jordan puts it, “SEO is the process of getting your website to pop up as an answer for any search term.” This means if you do great SEO, you increase your chances of popping up as an answer.
Jordan started working in the influencer space through her sister-in-law, Lauryn, from The Skinny Confidential. She noticed a void in the influencer and blogging industry where creators were lacking the proper knowledge in SEO. With a background in web development — specifically with building social networks and WordPress blogs — Jordan knows the potential bloggers have when they focus on SEO.
Starting Out on SEO-Friendly Platforms
If you’re completely new to blogging, you have to make the important decision of choosing the right platform for your blog. In my step-by-step guide to starting a blog, I shared why a self-hosted WordPress.org site is the way to go. But don’t just take it from me. Jordan vouches for WordPress, too! WordPress offers endless customizability options, choices in subheadings, and more control over URLs – all key components to optimizing your website.
In the episode, Jordan shares her thoughts on Squarespace. She explains why Squarespace may not be the best platform for getting the most out of your SEO strategy. And if the learning curve of starting out on WordPress intimidates you, don’t worry! She provides a few options to help new users get comfortable with WordPress, including resources to turn to for help.
Creating Content that Improves Your SEO
Learning the general idea of SEO will help you establish a framework and mindset around how you should think about blogging and creating content. Before you start writing your first blog post, Jordan suggests thinking about how someone would search for the content you’re creating. If you were searching for this topic, what questions would you want answered in a post? What exactly are you looking for?
Far too often, beginner bloggers think a cute or witty title makes from a great headline. Instead, ask yourself, “what would you type in if you were looking for this online?” Jordan reminds aspiring bloggers that “at the end of the day, search engines are just trying to provide their customers with the best answers.”
Jordan provides Her Life, By Design listeners with actionable tips on how you could train search engines to crawl your website regularly. She also shares a common mistake that many beginner bloggers make but should avoid.
A Guide to Keyword Research
To put it simply, keywords are the ideas that define the content you’re writing about. When it comes to SEO, keywords — or more appropriately, phrases — are what your potential reader would enter in the search bar on Google. Here are Jordan’s top tips for performing keyword research as a beginner blogger:
- Look for a free or paid keyword search tool
- Enter your general topic idea (i.e: best restaurants in Bangkok)
- Scan all the relevant keywords that pop up and note the volume and competition (per relevant keyword)
- Consider the sites you’re competing against
- Create your content to be competitive enough
When researching the top-ranking posts, be sure to take note of:
- What questions do you still have regarding the topic?
- Can you answer them in your post?
- What can you add to your post to make it more valuable than the ones up right now?
Although you can get really scientific about keyword search and SEO, focusing on writing a great post that answers all the questions your reader might have is the best way to go.
When it comes to keyword research and SEO, there are a lot of moving parts to consider. Tune in to the episode to hear Jordan’s expert tips on the research process. She breaks down questions like where keywords should show up in your blog posts, and why formatting, web design, and writing style are incredibly important.
Creating an SEO Optimized Strategy
Have you ever visited a blog looking for answers to a question, only to find yourself clicking through multiple posts for hours on end? If you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of a blog, it’s a sign that that blogger is doing things right.
When it comes to creating an SEO optimized strategy, Jordan’s advice is to focus on building a content web. Instead of thinking “what do I want to write about today?” try building your content to cover a niche thoroughly.
As an example, fashion bloggers should cover fashion topics in all aspects. Your blog content should not only be about what you wear and sales at your favorite stores, but it should also include how you style things, what’s currently trending, what celebrities are wearing and so much more.
To improve your SEO, it is crucial to link between different blog posts. The more you can connect all your existing content within your blog, the more you’ll establish yourself as an all-encompassing resource.
The Benefits of SEO and Blogging for Influencers
I shared my thoughts about why blogging is more important than ever in this post. Jordan agrees that blogging is definitely not dead. In fact, it’s far from it.
A common problem that Jordan noticed with influencers and beginner bloggers, is spending too much time stressing out over Instagram. Your traffic and visibility on Instagram rely heavily on an ever-changing algorithm. Although Google has an algorithm of its own, the mission is simple — to provide their searchers with the best possible answers.
To put things in perspective, full-time bloggers are getting way more traffic from Google than all of their social media accounts combined. Additionally, Google attracts brand new readers to your blog, making it the best outlet to grow your fanbase.
Jordan advises that “over the course of time, what’s really going to matter is what you own and you’ll own your blog. You’ll always be able to monetize your blog but Instagram, who knows?”
Skyrocket Your Blog Traffic with Confidence
Whether you’re in the process of starting a blog or you already have one running, Jordan shares her expert knowledge on all things SEO and why blogging is a must for every influencer. This episode is jam-packed with incredibly valuable advice for both new and established bloggers. Jordan and I discuss so much more including the importance of readability, and how the popular Yoast plugin really works. If you’re completely new to SEO and keywords, Jordan walks listeners through a detailed example of the keyword research process. This episode of Her Life, By Design will help you start your blog with confidence by demystifying the intimidating world of SEO.
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Relevant Links:
Get your free SEO evaluation: https://influencerseo.com/free-seo-evaluation/
Get 20% off your 1st month with InfluencerSEO: https://influencerseo.com
InfluencerSEO’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/influencerseo/
This post is so educational for me, since I’m still struggling with SEO. Definitely going to listen the podcast.
Jordan is wealth of knowledge and you will love the podcast episode!