After doing SEO for over 10 years, generating millions of dollars in revenue (between myself and clients), and driving millions of views from search I’ve realized SEO is a lot simpler than bloggers make it out to be.
While you can find plenty of 100+ item checklists for “how to do SEO for your blog” I wanted to break it down to the 5 most important things I have learned from personal experience.
These tips are tried and true and have brought me a TON of success with my business and client websites.
1. Be Critical of the Content You Publish
People always ask how to identify “What is helpful content?”
Let me make it real simple for you…
If one of your family members desperately needed information about a subject within your expertise would you send them your content or someone else’s?
You would be surprised how many people publish content that they wouldn’t even send to their own mother.
(because it was written to satisfy search engines and not help real people)
Always ask yourself
“Can this piece of content I just wrote actually help someone solve a problem?”
and…
“Would I refer someone I care about to this information or send them somewhere else?”
Stop writing to hit keyword targets and word counts.
Start writing to become THE trusted source of information so people will bookmark your site and come back when they need more information.
Another easy way to identify if your content is helpful is based on the returning visitors, social shares, and email subscribers.
If you’re barely getting any returning visitors, no one is sharing your content, and you can’t build an email list to save your life, your content needs improvement.
2. Focus On Topic Research Over Keyword Research
I cringe every time I see someone ask about keyword research, it is such an outdated strategy.
Keyword research isn’t entirely useless, but the game has changed.
Instead of fixating on search volumes and competition, think broader.
You want your website to be THE best resource for your target audience.
This means covering all relevant topics thoroughly, regardless of search volume or competitiveness.
I was doing this well before “topical authority” or “topical maps” became buzzwords.
My niche content site generates about $15k a month without me spending hours doing keyword research or subscribing to any SEO tools.
To find new topics, I use Quora, Google’s search features (PAA, autocomplete, and related searches), and the sitemaps of my competitors.
I write naturally and comprehensively, aiming to leave no doubt in my reader’s mind that I am the foremost expert on my subject matter.
3. Maximize Your Current Traffic Before Seeking New Traffic
When I used to do client work, the first thing I did was maximize the potential of their existing traffic before going after new traffic.
Even if a site only had 500 visitors a month, I aimed to convert at least 10% into sales, form fills, or leads.
It’s not about how much traffic you get; it’s about how well you convert that traffic into something valuable.
Becoming an expert at converting a small number of visitors will make you more money and impress your clients far more than just driving a ton of traffic that doesn’t improve their bottom line.
This strategy made my clients millions and made me look like a rockstar (and I have the testimonials to prove it ).
A great way to maximize your current traffic is to get your visitors into your email list. Here are 4 Reasons Bloggers Should Focus On Building Their Email List
4. Use High-Value and Personalized Lead Magnets To Build Your Email List
Every business has valuable information they can give away for free.
The best part about SEO is knowing the intent of the person landing on your site.
Create custom lead magnets that tie into the visitor’s original intent for each section of your site.
Personalization is key.
Generic “newsletters” and “guides” aren’t valuable enough to make people hand over their email, name, or phone number.
Your lead magnet needs to be unique, in-depth, and solve a major problem or help the person gain expertise on the subject.
Want lead magnet ideas? Just check out my recent post highlighting 63 Irresistible Lead Magnet Ideas To Grow Your Email List
5. Choose High-Quality, Relevant Backlinks
Backlinks still matter, but it’s all about quality over quantity.
Forget about DA and the sheer number of links.
Focus on relevancy and referral traffic.
All my backlinks come from highly relevant sources within my niche, often brands and other content sites.
I care about whether these sites can send me traffic, not just from searches but from their active email lists and social media too.
I get a ton of traffic from the email lists and social media accounts of the sites I get links from, and these visitors are some of the easiest to convert with a lead magnet.
Why would a brand pay you to create content about them for your blog? Top 10 Ways Brands Use Blogger-Created Content for Their Own Benefit
What’s Next?
I hope these tips brought some clarity for those who are stuck in the “learning SEO” matrix and it causes you to be less productive with your blog.
Remember, building an audience isn’t about “optimized articles” as much as it is about creating content that is authentic and helpful.
The fastest way to start monetizing your blog is with content partnerships. Need proof? 8 Reasons Content Partnerships Are the Best Business Model for Bloggers Compared to Ads and Affiliate Marketing
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