WordCamp Notes: Start Your SEO Strong With 4 Key Pieces Of Content - Taylor Waldon

why your website NEEDS a blog
defining your place online
3 key pieces of content
optimizing

any type of business can benefit form hosting a blog
why?
     the days of static content are DEAD
     people want VALUE and QUALITY and they want it to CHANGE
     they don’t want to see the same thing they saw last week, they'll never come back to your site

defining your place on line
     find your audience, who you're talking to, figure out the right kind of content to write for your site
     provide your online audience something that gives them value
         also sound like a "thought leader" in your industry

figure out some "hooks" aka "sales hooks"
     what your business provides people. why they would use YOU instead of a competitor
     
think of a 'profile perspective", avatar is a real person
talk to real people
     your messaging will be different when talking to a 20 year old mom vs a 30 year old single male
     mom -- wants trustworthy, good around her family
              10 things to ask your lawn service company before hiring
     26 year old male might care about QUALITY more. what type of plants to use in a drought, how to maintain the yard better, etc.

then dive into keyword research
     spreadsheet
         keep track of everything you do in keyword research
         top free tools -
              The Hoth, keyword everywhere (chrome extension), google related searches, google search console, google trends
              start with keyword everywhere, and type that info into The Hoth and dive in

check search volume and CPC
you want the "trend" line to be going up or flat, not going down (in The Hoth)

create key content / cornerstone content

4 key pieces to start with
company announcement
how to
curated list
downloadable resources

content types --
how to?
what is?
non-curated lists
curated lists
solve a problem
cheat sheet
checklist, etc

for EVERY piece you write, start w/ a generic outline
have a specific purpose for it
don't write "hey this is something cool, look at it"
who is this for?
what value does it provide the reader?
what is the call to action?
what keyword are you targeting?
     but don’t make it sound FORCED
         just keep it in the back of yr mind when you're writing
         don’t FORCE the content into the article. makes for badly worded content that is hard to read

1st content on your site defines your company voice

COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT
     gives people insight into company and culture
     launching a company
     launching a new product
         new service, brand, etc.
hiring a key employee (CEO)
major updates and changes to current products
behind the scenes
development process updates

"WP Business Reviews" plugin
write about insight into making this plugin, how dev process worked, etc.

HOW TO
"how to" and “what to" are google'd really frequently
will help you rank well
provides value to users, gives them info that they need

"what are my customers looking to do?"
what do they need to know?
How to do?

if you're a plugin company, teach people how to backup the website
if lawyer, how to keep track of documents
etc

"how to backup your website for faster troubleshooting"
helps your customers when they need support
solves a problem customers have
helps people find us, people using our services

CURATED LIST
favorite
really SEO rich
linking back to reputable sites
"10 ted talks for coaches"
"16 plugins you should have for an e-commerce site"
etc
don't post random things that aren't related to your site

review wall
embedded wall of your reviews that link back to Yelp or wherever the reviews live
can divide reviews by topic
gives google more structure to what they're looking at

DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
captures your audience
what your customers might find useful for your services?
make something for them to USE
financial advisor - checklist of things to bring to an appointment
developer - checklist of how to work w/ a dev before you ask me to make something for you?
make it look professional
if you have NO design skills, ask for help, or use Canva or a similar tool
make sure you have an email addy required to download it
purpose to capture new customer leads
ALWAYS TEST IT!

make sure the key pieces are seen so you get traffic

optimize for SEO and social media

SEO plugins
YoastSEO
All in One SEO Pack
SEO Framework

SMO plugins
better click to tweet
     embeds tweets into the posts
     gives snippets rather than people sharing the whole post
revive old post
     keeps your old content on the forefront
easy social share buttons
     put social share buttons on the posts so peoel can share them easily

SEO Writing tips
     include your chosen keyword in:
     SEO title
     an H2 header
     the 1st paragraph of the body
the alt tag on your feature photo
the excerpt

use short sentences and paragraphs
break up the content with media
bold keyword points but don’t bold the keyword itself
bold something that provides VALUE to what you're saying and helps emphasize your point

without relevant content, their is nothing for google to find
please write SOMEthing

behind the scenes in depth post about your job would be something for most places

people only have a 6 - 7 second opportunity to see the home page

slides: taylorelizabethrose.com/WCSac2018/
Twitter: @telizarose

The HOTH Keyword Planner
thehoth.com/google-keyword-planner

Keywords Everywhere
keywordseverywhere.com
Google Trends
trends.google.com/trends/

GiveWPBlog
givewp.com/blog

WP Business Reviews Blog
wpbusinessreviews.com/blog/