SEO is something you will hear ALL THE TIME as a Blogger, and specially as a beginner. EVERYONE will tell you, you need to get SEO right, and I mean they’re not wrong, but it’s not something you should feel like you should have all figured out, all at once!
I consider myself still quite a beginner, in the Blogging world, I’m 3 months into this Blog, which is my absolute love, and I still probably don’t do a fraction of what probably needs to be done for SEO, and that’s okay!
I’m taking it a step at a time, in learning what needs to be done and implementing it as I go!
Here, I’ll share 3 things I do to SEO optimise my Blog, as a newbie, and how you can too, without feeling too overwhelmed! (You’ll find that some of these ways might actually make your life easier, as it did mine).
definition
First of all, let’s quickly get a simple definition of SEO into this chat, so we can have a foundational knowledge of what we are working with here, if you don’t know already:
- SEO means Search Engine Optimisation.
- In the simplest terms, I can find, this basically means you are doing things to ensure Google knows how to rank your site.
- For example, having specific keywords, in your blog posts, title, general text on Blog, Google will get to know what your website is about, and be able to show your website more when certain keywords are searched into Google each day!
- If your Blog is about making money online, then adding “how to make money online” as keywords, titles of blog posts, in excerpts, and image SEO, and so on, will mean that when someone goes on Google and types this phrase, your Blog will be more likely to show up.
Now, Google is an ASTOUNDINGLY HUGE platform, and SEO optimising simply means you are placing your Blog in a position that can get ranked. The actual ranking comes with a lot of competition from much bigger, more experienced blogging sites, with bigger followings and audiences, and that’s where it becomes more about growth and marketing.
However, that is something to get to in the future!
Today, we focus strictly on SEO, and how we can make it easier and broken down into 3 simple steps to start our SEO journey.
step 1
SEARCH.
This method of SEO optimising is focusing on Google search.
That’s right, we’re heading straight for the source! What better place, am I right?
As a beginner, I don’t want to overwhelm myself, but I also want to do the things I know will get my Blog further ahead. The less intimidating option is to go to Google, as you would any other day, and start typing a phrase that relates to your Blog.
For example, this Blog’s main drive is to help women earn money online through Blogging and other online businesses, and quit their 9 to 5. So:
- Place yourself in your audience’s shoes: what are they searching for? What do they need help with? (Most likely will be something you have searched for in the past).
- Start typing this phrase into Google, like “how to make money online as an introvert”
- You will already see some related searches, which you could also rank for by including these in your blog post, title, etc.
- See what titles and blog posts are ranking for this search: do you see any similarities, such as using numbers or stats? Take notes for your own headings.
- If you want to go further, you can open some of these blog posts, and see what the content is like; what you could add or replace.
- Then scroll down to suggested searches, and see what are related searches the same people are also interested in.
From step 1: Search, ALONE, you can already gather an idea on the following phrases you can use so your Blog post can show to people who are looking for it.
This can also be quite helpful even for your own creative writing process; sometimes you might not know what to write about, and this gives you direction as to what your audience wants you to create content on.
I personally never really run out of blog post ideas (I have a never-ending list on my Notes app on my phone – seriously I love Blogging!) but I find it a bit harder when I’m writing affiliate-focused posts, and so doing this SEO strategy, as a beginner, helps me and the Blog, simultaneously.
step 2
Okay, so I’m about to put you onto something so magical, as a beginner!
Google can be quite overwhelming, and even slightly time-consuming if you want to do step-1 for EACH one of your blog posts, however, this right here gives you it all without the time and manual search involved.
Answerthepublic.com (not sponsored) allows you to solve people’s problems, and help them, by giving you the searches by phrase, and competition, so you can see what is in-demand, as well as what there is high competition in.
This is HUGE to your SEO game, specially as a beginner, because it gives you such insight without all the work attached. Now, I have heard about the other SEO tools such as Ahrefs, Yoast, Moz…. but whenever I tried to use these I found them too confusing, and always had to resort to Youtube videos, which took a lot of my time (which we don’t really have, as 9 to 5 girlies, who are also trying to create content, and enjoy life) but also took away from the enjoyment in the process.
So, for me, those options didn’t work, and if you’re like me, then you should opt for answerthepublic.com. They have different pricing plans, and no, I am not about to tell you to buy a plan because I don’t myself! I use it for free, only in the future, might I consider upgrading if it makes sense to, but here’s how I use it!
- If we take the same example, as step 1, and type in “how to make money online as an introvert” into answerthepublic.com, under the “Google” tab, as seen below:
You will be shown different searches people are asking Google, with their search volume, and competition.
- The key here is: you want to look for the searches that provide high search and lowest competition, which doesn’t leave many options but try to get something as close to this balance as possible, since it puts your content ahead when people are searching in their day-to-day.
From this step, you have a search strategy that enables you to see what can strategically give your content more chances of being seen by the public, as a beginner, and is one I love, without getting too techy!
step 3
MY OWN EXPERIENCE.
This step is the least technical of all, and simply involves you looking within to see what YOU remember searching, or wanting to know how to solve, when you were, or are, in the position of your audience.
This may not apply to all niches, but for making money online, we have all been on our search rampages of trying to find answers to everything we currently do now. Utilising that experience, and answering your audience, in the way you wish you had, can be major to ranking higher in SEO, but also stays relatable.
Personally, I would always search on Google how to do, literally, EVERYTHING, that got me to where I am today, but I enjoyed content that shared how the person’s personal experience went; whether it was to comfort me or to keep me focused on my goal, it helped! And so, that’s what I remember wanting, and so, that’s what I place my energy into channelling my content towards.
- If this step applies to your Blogging niche, then look at your search history and see what you were asking. Use that inspiration to write blog posts with the knowledge you have acquired today!
- But also, see what experiences you are currently going through, and write those down in a Notes app, on your phone, or in a physical notebook, since it may help someone at the same stage as you, in your Blogging, or online business journey!
For example, as a beginner Blogger, I came across a glitch on my website about 2 or 3 weeks ago, where I had to get slightly uncomfortable and wear my tech hat to resolve it myself. In the moment, I knew straight away, this is something other girlies will go through, and is something I can help with through sharing how I fixed the Blog site issue, as a beginner who is not very fond of tech/IT.
- If this step doesn’t really apply to your Blogging niche, I would focus on placing yourself in your audience’s shoes, and really envisioning what they are looking for from you, and how you can help them with valuable content.
- This may be hard, so to facilitate this process, you can simply ask.
- Find online forums and groups, such as Reddit forums, Facebook groups, that you want to tailor your content towards, and simply ask them what they wish they knew more about, in your particular niche. This is a great way of gathering resources and ideas, and transforming them into GREAT blog posts that answer people’s questions!
Step number 3 became a mini 2-in-1, depending on how much this would relate to your Blogging niche, but is a super useful one, since most of us are Blogging about our own experiences, and these experiences are those we once wanted to know more about and searched! So, it’s all about seeking that wisdom and sharing it in a way that people are looking for.
final thoughts
SEO doesn’t have to be too hard or too daunting, you have to just see what works for you. At the end of the day, SEO is all about making sure your content answers people’s questions, and we don’t need fancy tools or equipment, to make our lives harder, and get the same result.
I appreciate that there are many useful tools, that I may even come to use myself, but as a beginner, it’s good to stay focused on the simple steps that will create huge building blocks to narrate the quality of our content upon!
Specially, if you’re not the most techy girl, you can still SEO optimise your Blog.
I’m only 3 months in, and these are the current strategies I use!
Along the journey, I will share everything I do to grow and evolve, within my business, and outside of it, so you can have the most value to set you miles ahead, starting your own Blogging career.
One day, it shall set us free from our 9 to 5s, and for me, I’m challenging myself to have it set me free from mine THIS YEAR!
Stay tuned, to see what ends up happening, we still have almost half of the year still to go!