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Adam Oakley

My 8-Step WordPress Blog Post Optimization Checklist for SEO (Video)

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My 8-Step WordPress Blog Post Optimization Checklist for SEO (Video)

Are you search optimizing, or SEO’ing, your blog posts correctly in WordPress before you hit that Publish or Schedule button? Pre-publish optimization in WordPress is SO important, I can’t even stress how much. It’s almost a crime to spend all your time producing a wonderful piece of content around a focus keyword, just to let it get published without optimization in WordPress first. In today’s video, sit down with me at my computer and watch as I show you EVERY step I take before I publish a blog in WordPress, in my WordPress blog post optimization checklist for SEO. From how to switch to “text editor,” format your subheaders properly, to knowing if you should use H4s or not, to “should I worry about the Yoast smiley face color?”… I answer it all! ✅ Watch this detailed, practical video to learn how to optimize your blogs before you hit Publish or Schedule on WordPress. Time and time again, I see a clear pattern — #1 SEO rankings for blog posts that have a focus keyword comes from how much effort you put into your pre-publish optimization. The devil is in those details, and that couldn’t be truer for WordPress blog optimization. My 8-Step WordPress Blog Post Optimization Checklist for SEO (Video) If you follow each of the steps I share in this video, you’re much more likely to see results from your SEO content, especially if you publish regular blogs on WordPress, which is my personal favorite platform. I’ll even share with you an example of one of our content pieces, optimized following these exact steps, ranking at the top of Google for a major keyword in just 30 days. Let’s get going! [bctt tweet=”Before you hit that Publish button, are you sure that your blog post is in its perfect shape to climb up to the top spot? @JuliaEMcCoy teaches you how to optimize content with her 8-step WordPress blog post optimization checklist. ✔” username=”ExpWriters”] Make Sure Your Site Foundations Are Right (Pre-Optimization Step) Before we get into the checklist, a quick word of advice: It helps to have a fast, clean site. Just like you can’t build a strong house if your foundations are shaky, you simply cannot expect to publish an optimized post on an icky website and see great results. So, disclaimer: as you head into these tips, if you don’t have a strong, fast, secure, beautiful website, with page load speeds under 3 seconds per page, a beautiful, seamless experience for your end-user, you won’t see results. I recommend working with a top-rated freelance website developer to help get all your tech issues fixed, if you think you might have foundational site issues to fix first. Check out my recent Write Blog guide on how to rank in the top of Google. Let’s head over to my computer and I’ll show you, step-by-step, the 8 steps to use every single time you schedule a WordPress blog. First, here’s the checklist itself. How to SEO Optimize Blog Posts in WordPress: 8 Steps Load the Blog: Edit, Proofread, Upload All Corresponding Images Add & Proof-check Subheader Optimization for Readability and SEO Check All Links to Open in New Windows Include CTAs Add Easy One-Click Social Shares Add Meta Title and Description with Yoast Upload SEO Alt-Text Feature Images in the Right Spots Optimize Your Blog for Social Sharing with Yoast Additional Bonus Tips on SEO Optimization: The permalink (URL) for your blog should be your focus keyword. Keep it to five or less words!  Categorize your blog in one clear category. Avoid too many tags. 1-5 tags describing the topic, as long as they don’t duplicate the category, are fine. 1. Load the Blog: Edit, Proofread, Upload All Corresponding Images Load your blog in WordPress. Edit and proofread the content as you upload and insert any corresponding screenshots, images, etc. Images for blogs should be at most 1 megabyte, unless you’re uploading an infographic or a key high-res image that absolutely has to be at the resolution it was created at. When you upload the content, proofread it. You want a clean, error-free blog post for obvious reasons. (Google says the quality of your content directly impacts your rankings. (More on their EAT, or Expertise Authoritativeness, and Trust factors.) 2. Add & Proof-check Subheader Optimization for Readability and SEO Now that the post is in, you need to properly add subheaders — H2s, H3s. Adding subheaders and making sure the content is readable are the top two considerations so people (and search engines) can read and understand your post easily. Go in the Text editor of WordPress to make sure all H2s, H3s, etc. are coded correctly (use WordPress’s formatting!). Proof check them all on the Visual editor to make sure they transferred correctly. 3. Check All Links to Open in New Windows This is proven to significantly lower bounce rate, so, it’s worth the trouble! Make sure all your links are set to open in a new browser window. 4. Include CTAs Above all, avoid being annoying with your CTAs. Don’t put too many in, and don’t put them too high up. I’ve tested a variety of placements, and find that text CTAs are great for inner CTAs, and image CTAs best kept to 1, 2, or at most, 3 in one long-form blog. Always make sure your blog at least ends with a strong CTA that directs the reader to take action. 5. Add Easy One-Click Social Shares Know your platform, first of all. For us at the Write Blog, Twitter is a huge platform for engagement. We’ve kept up a Twitter chat, #ContentWritingChat, for years now on Twitter that has helped us grow a solid Twitter presence. So, knowing that Twitter is a hot platform, we’ve chosen to use a plugin that enables us to add “Click to Tweets” to every post — which we do. These are punchy phrases or takeaways from the blog that readers can share to Twitter with one click. We … Read more

Explaining Our Content Strategy Services at Express Writers (4 Ways We Can Strategize & Save You Time)

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Explaining Our Content Strategy Services at Express Writers (4 Ways We Can Strategize & Save You Time)

This blog was updated in October 2019. This will hardly come as a surprise, but we love content. ❤ Our entire business is built on content, but it goes beyond that – it’s in our blood. We know that great content is one of the most powerful ways to grow your business, find new leads, and stand out among your competitors. You don’t have to take our word for it, either, the numbers speak for themselves: 71% of all B2B buyers read (multiple) blogs when making decisions. B2B companies with a smart content strategy generate 67% more leads than their competitors. Websites that blog regularly have (on average) 434% more indexed pages in Google. Great content gives your business the attention it deserves, but just publishing without a plan is hardly what we’d call a solid strategy. What you need is a sustainable, data-driven process, that can help you grow your business and keep giving you positive results over the long term. You need a content strategy, and that’s where we come in with our expert content strategy services. 4 Highly Recommended Content Strategy Services to Help You Create Winning Content 1. A custom editorial calendar 2. In-depth keyword research 3. Topic planning for your blog and website 4. Expert content strategy consultations We didn’t select any of these services at random. These are many of the same processes that we used to grow Express Writers to the point where it is today (I’ll talk more about this in a second!). Now that we know what works and why, we’re ready to share these services with you to grow your own business. [bctt tweet=”To have a working and winning content strategy, you need 4 components: a custom editorial calendar, keywords researched, topics planned, and expert guidance. Get these essentials with the help of @ExpWriters. ? ” username=”JuliaEMcCoy”] Developing the Right Content Strategy Helped Us Grow — and It Should Help You Too Here’s how I know just how effective a well-planned content strategy can be: it’s how we grew Express Writers to the point where it is today. It took years to figure out and, more importantly, perfect the entire process, and I didn’t want to settle for anything less than perfection. Within 2 years of implementing our content strategy, Express Writers boomed to 6 figures and then 7 in annual recurring revenue (ARR). We weren’t doing all that bad before, but the growth was insane, and I can boil that down to two things: 1. Our content strategy. We’re not really into creating content for content’s sake. Instead, I developed a content strategy process that focuses on high-quality, authority-level content, guided by in-depth SEO research. Once I got clear on the six areas of content strategy we needed to clarify and implement, our real content success began to happen. (My first foray into content strategy was when I built a simple team-only inner training on content strategy, as far back as 2015. Today, I’ve taken these cores and developed them into a $1,000 course with over 100 enrolled students, and a book that tops the charts on Amazon.) 2. The amazing team we have in place. FACTS: If you want to execute a winning strategy, you need expert, talented help in your corner. ? At Express Writers, we’re content experts first, a team secondly — not the other way around. We love what we do, and that has always come first. We didn’t scramble for our expert hats and then market ourselves. We earned a real status by building real skills, and THEN sold services to our clients in our agency. Read about our standards here. I’ve talked extensively about the content strategy we implemented to grow Express Writers. However, if I had to sum it up in a few words, it would be these. Stop wasting time with low-effort content. Instead, put real effort into high-quality pieces and SEO. It sounds pretty simple when you put it like that. However, the amount of research, planning, and work that goes into executing a solid content strategy is mindboggling, particularly as your website starts to grow. Remember how I mentioned it took us years to perfect the process? And that’s coming from people that do this for a living! [bctt tweet=”We have succeeded mostly because of the content strategy we’ve implemented throughout the years. The lesson: Stop wasting time with low-effort content. Instead, put real effort into high-quality and your #strategy. ? ” username=”ExpWriters”] 4 Ways We Save You Some Serious Time and Trouble with Our Expert Content Strategy Services You already understand the sheer power of content when it comes to growing an online business, so let’s talk about how we can help you. 1. We Put Together a Custom Editorial Calendar that Fits Your Goals (?It’s a Must-Have!) You want your website to rank for as many keywords as possible, which means you need content. A lot of websites focus on putting out as much content as possible at a breakneck pace, but that’s not a winning strategy. What you need is a plan and, as simple as it may sound, a calendar. That means a week-by-week plan that outlines the content you’re going to publish. That way, you have a bird’s-eye view of what topics you’re going to target and when. Here’s how it works: You tell us what your niche is, what your business is about, and what sets you apart. Our crack content strategists do their research, and here’s what you get: A two-month editorial calendar, including perfect-fit keywords and topics your audience will love. Tentative schedule dates designed to maximize the returns on your content. An easy-to-understand report using an Excel template. Those are the basics, but all our services also include plenty of extras. Our editorial calendars also include lists of influencers we recommend you engage within your niche, BuzzSumo content analysis reports, and an evergreen guide on the metrics we use. Every single editorial calendar we send is put together by our … Read more

How Effective Is Evergreen Site Content for SEO & Websites?

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How Effective Is Evergreen Site Content for SEO & Websites?

This post was updated October 2019. Most websites live and die by search engines. Searches drive 34.8% of all online traffic, so it shouldn’t surprise you that, on average, 27% of marketing budgets go into content. After all, if readers can’t find yours, your website might as well not exist. Here’s the problem, though – most content has a limited shelf life. We’re not kidding when we say limited, either. Some studies say, by the time a blog post turns one-month-old, it’s already past its peak. That’s about the same as the lifespan of a common housefly. Nowadays, the flow of information never stops. Every day, WordPress users alone publish a staggering 2.75 million new articles, and those guys make up about only about 60% of the internet. To put it simply, if you want your website to stay relevant, you need content that can stand the test of time. You need evergreen, onsite content. Are you ready to increase your post’s longevity? Of course you are, so let’s get to it! Why Evergreen Site Content Is Essential for Your Website’s SEO Evergreen content on your site is the little black dress of the marketing world – it always works for you, and it never goes out of style. We already talked about the short shelf life of most online content. That happens because as time passes, the things people search for change. Let’s say, for example, you’re in the market for a new computer, and you’re looking for a buying guide. The search results you see in 2019 aren’t going to be the same ones as the ones from 2018. New products come out so fast, the results you see during Q1 and Q4 within the same year will probably look very different. [bctt tweet=”Clueless on what to publish? Go for something that lasts — start writing evergreen site content! @JuliaEMcCoy tells why they win over content with limited shelf life and some tips on creating one. ?” username=”ExpWriters”] Now, what happens if instead of looking for a buying guide, you search for “what do I need to know when buying a computer?”. Here are some of the results you’d see: While the products themselves might change, the basics of what you need to know before you buy a computer likely won’t for a long time. Here’s why that’s good news for you: Evergreen content will keep bringing in traffic long after other posts on your blog start collecting dust. Evergreen content is more likely to attract backlinks, particularly the more in-depth you go. If you choose your topics well, evergreen content will always be of interest to your audience. In movie terms, think of evergreen content as a baseball field. “If you build it, they will come,” and they will keep coming for years. 2 Simple Tips to Create Evergreen Site Content for Your Blog We know evergreen content is the bee’s knees, but how exactly do you go about creating it? That’s the kind of topic we could write a book about. For now, though, let’s talk a minute about the two key pieces to getting evergreen content right every time: 1. Pick Evergreen Topics The bad news is, not all topic ideas lend themselves well to evergreen content. When we create content, one of the things we ask ourselves is who are we writing for? You always need to have an audience in mind, and your content needs to answer a specific question. If you think people aren’t going to be asking that question in a month or a year, then that’s not an evergreen topic. Some examples of imaginary articles that are not evergreen content would be: Best Running Shoes to Buy in 2019 Your Guide to The Emmys (And Who Won What) What if we were to flip those ideas around and look for an evergreen content angle? Here’s what that might look like: What You Need to Know Before You Buy Running Shoes (X Important Tips) The Emmys Throughout History: X Key Defining Moments Evergreen content doesn’t need to come in list form, but hey, who doesn’t love a good list? Search engines most certainly do! The takeaway here is, in most cases, there’s an evergreen angle you might not be considering. With a little brainstorming, it should come to you. 2. In-Depth Research Makes Truly Evergreen Content Content that stands the test of time does so because it’s thorough. To put it another way, there are articles and there are articles. The latter category includes the type of content that’s evergreen because it covers a topic from every angle you can imagine. It’s the same logic behind Skyscraper pieces. Someone might have already tackled an idea before you do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it better. But to get there, you need to do tons of research. If you don’t know a topic in and out, you can’t write about it with authority. Without authority, your content will wilt, and other websites will knock you out of the top spots in the search engine result pages (SERPs). We know what happens once you lose those coveted spots, you want to hold onto them as tightly as possible. Writing evergreen content requires a massive investment of time, which is why, in some cases, the smart move is to bring in expert help. [bctt tweet=”Two key pieces to remember when creating evergreen site content: 1) pick the right evergreen topics — have your audience in mind and your content should answer their questions. 2) research — and tons of it!” username=”ExpWriters”] Get the Most Out of Your Content Marketing Budget with Evergreen Site Content If you want truly evergreen content, your best bet is to hire expert writers that know the subject in and out. They can help you pick the right topics, do the research for you, and then you can sit back and let your website reap the rewards. Evergreen content is a surefire way to enhance your content … Read more

Will Barnes & Noble Survive? How The Publishing Industry is Changing in an Internet-Based Era

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Will Barnes & Noble Survive? How The Publishing Industry is Changing in an Internet-Based Era

The publishing industry, as we know it, is radically different from what it was 10 or even 5 years ago. More tumultuousness arrived back in June of 2019 when Barnes & Noble, the U.S.’s largest bookstore chain, was sold to a hedge fund (Elliott Management). The sale comes after a slew of top-level management troubles, fierce competition from online booksellers like Amazon, and the closure of more than 150 stores in the last 10 years. In the New York Times article describing the transfer of B&N from one pair of hands to another, it’s very clear, before the sale, many people feared the bookstore chain was in danger of dying. Why should we care? Because, as content creators, we need to keep our fingers on the pulse of the publishing industry. We’re ALL technically publishers, ourselves. Books are a type of content, whether they appear in print or digitally. The print industry and digital content are linked. They’re two sides of the same coin. Finally, Barnes & Noble is one of the biggest players in the publishing industry. What happens to them will have a ripple effect. So, what is the future of Barnes & Noble? What does that mean for print publishing? As content creators, should we bother with traditional publishing at all? ? Let’s discuss. First Things First: What Does the Future of Barnes & Noble Look Like? Joanna Penn addressed this topic recently on The Creative Penn Podcast during an interview with Mike Shatzkin. He’s an author and thought leader on what the digital future means for book publishing. He’s also the CEO of The Idea Logical Company. Here’s what Shatzkin had to say on B&N’s future: “I think Barnes & Noble, very much like Waterstones, is really not configured for the future. The very large store with a very big selection was mooted by Amazon. It’s 25 years later but even now I believe that they are past their sell-by date. Then the question becomes, if all your leases are large retail establishments and it doesn’t make sense to build them with a hundred and twenty-five thousand titles, what else are you going to fill them with?” ? In other words, Barnes & Noble is running on an outdated retail model. Nobody buys books the way they sell them anymore. Hundreds of thousands of books in one store are far too many options for the average book shopper, who can find whatever they want online. Right now, although it’s not going under, the future of Barnes & Noble is shaky. To persist and thrive in this tough atmosphere for print publishing, they need to make some changes. Honestly? For B&N to survive, they’ll need to change the way they operate drastically. [bctt tweet=”What’s going on in the publishing industry these days? Author @JuliaEMcCoy has some thoughts. Read all about it ? ? ” username=”ExpWriters”] In the interview, Shatzkin suggests B&N shift to smaller stores or even mini stores-within-stores, such as taking over the book department within another retailer’s real estate. Interesting Tidbit: Audiobooks Are on the Rise Meanwhile, Joanna Penn emphasized the growing popularity of audiobooks, which can’t be ignored. “…what we’re actually seeing right now in some markets is audio first. We’re seeing Storytel, for example, growing markets as well as obviously Audible… I think I’ve seen my own behavior change to an audio-first listening preference, especially with nonfiction which traditionally I would buy in print.” This preference for audiobooks is actually a growing trend. According to the Audio Publishers Association, audiobook revenue grew by 24.5% from 2017-2018. In 2018, total revenue was $940 million. Usage looks promising, too. In 2019, 50% of Americans, 12 and older, listened to at least one audiobook (up 6% from 2018). [bctt tweet=”After 150 stores closed and being sold to a hedge fund, the future seems unclear for Barnes & Noble — and print publishing. @JuliaEMcCoy answers why content creators should care and how self-publishing wins over traditional. ? ” username=”ExpWriters”] The Rise of Self-Publishing Alongside the preference for digital formats and shopping for books online, self-publishing has grown in both popularity and legitimacy, too. In fact, the digital publishing industry has made self-publishing viable and profitable in the first place. Here’s how Mike Shatzkin puts it in the aforementioned podcast interview with Joanna Penn: “…book publishing is the business of content and markets. And if you’re a publisher, what you need to understand is the content that you are publishing and the markets to which you can appeal. Now a lot of small players have the capability to develop content and some idea of the markets. But if it were the year 2000, you might have all that knowledge but you would have to go through the intermediary distribution system to get your books to the public. There would have been no other way.” 20 years ago, there was no way to self-publish without bearing a huge burden in terms of cost and marketing. Today, that has radically changed. Thanks to the internet and services like Ingram and Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, people can self-publish a book and immediately have a method for distribution online. Thanks to social media and blogs, you can market your book and reach an audience. For example, when placed side-by-side, today both self-published authors and traditionally published authors are on the same playing field in terms of earnings: What’s really surprising: About 77% of self-published authors make at least $1,000 from their writing. Only 9% of traditionally published authors make as much. [bctt tweet=”More content creators are choosing self-publishing over the traditional, thanks to the internet. In fact, 77% of self-published authors make at least $1,000 from their writing. @JuliaEMcCoy shares the pros and cons of self-publishing. ? ” username=”ExpWriters”] Should You Self-Publish, or Publish Traditionally? That brings us to the question of the day: If you’re a content creator, writer, or author, should you self-publish? Or should you go the traditional route? Both of my books are self-published. These are the pros … Read more

Keyword Cannibalization: What It Is & How to Avoid It Completely (Video)

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Keyword Cannibalization: What It Is & How to Avoid It Completely (Video)

Does creating SEO content to build your brand online and grow your inbound traffic sometimes feel like a vortex of same old, same old? If you find yourself wondering, “Did I just create too much content on the same topic…?,” you’ll want to stick around for today’s video. In today’s new YouTube video, I explain keyword cannibalization: what it is (the good, bad AND ugly), how to avoid it, and three measures you can take to prevent it completely. Finally, which tool to use to see if you actually do have keyword cannibalization happening. Let’s get into it! Keyword Cannibalization: What It Is & How to Avoid It Completely (Video) My Fall Update This fall, I’m head-down working on the developmental edit stages for my third book, a narrative nonfiction memoir. Every single day, I’m going in my content hermit hole and writing! I’m super excited about this book, and cannot wait to share more updates with you. It’s the story of how I left my dad’s cult in the middle of the night at 21 years old and built a life I love — including several businesses! Bonus: We’re full blast at Express Writers, keeping our writers and team busy with tons of great content creation projects for our clients. We have several work-from-home positions open — a part-time editor and a part-time support specialist. Get in touch with us by emailing hr@expresswriters.com if you want to hear more about our opportunities. Thirdly, even though I said I’d take on less, I couldn’t resist the opportunity of an amazing invitation I received to co-write Ryan Stewart’s new book on SEO, this fall. Ryan Stewart is a friggin’ amazing expert I’ve been a fan of for years. He’s built and sold multiple businesses from scratched and consulted for leading businesses. He and I share the same growth-focused marketing mindset. Look for our updates on that new book coming soon! This made wonder if you’re wondering how I get all my writing done. ? Maybe that should be another video! Okay, let’s get into today’s topic. What is Keyword Cannibalization? Keyword cannibalization is when a site has more than one page with the exact same focus keyword — typically unintentionally. When this happens, you’re diluting your page authority and potentially eating your own ranking potential (oops). Thus the name for this issue: “keyword cannibalization.” Instead of you telling Google, “Hey, this is my single awesome killer page for this focus keyword,” you’re throwing a bunch of pages at Google hoping one of them sticks. And that doesn’t work. [bctt tweet=”Keyword cannibalization is when a site has more than one page on the exact same keyword. Watch @JuliaEMcCoy explain keyword cannibalization and measures you can take to prevent this from happening to you. ? #SEO” username=”ExpWriters”] Why Keyword Cannibalization Is Not Good for SEO Eric Enge, one of the lead writers of “The Art of SEO”, says that keyword cannibalization is like writing a really good book, but each chapter is on the exact same thing. That wouldn’t be a page-turner, would it? He has this illustration to show how keyword cannibalization kills site SEO, and what should be done instead: The only thing I would clarify on this concept is that when you create a bunch of pages on the same keyword — subconsciously or by accident — you’re not confusing Google. Google is pretty smart with how they rank content, so Google will make their best choice from your content based on the searcher’s intent. But what happens… When you create too many content pieces on the same topic you can cause an ICKY page to rank above an AWESOME page (i.e., the one you really want to rank). Take a look at this example from Ahrefs, in this blog by Joshua Hardwick on the topic of keyword cannibalization. If you Google the phrase “competitor backlink analysis, you’ll see two different blogs of theirs ranking in positions #6 and #7: The result in position #6 was published 4+ years ago, contains a ton of screenshots showing a very old Ahrefs UI, and is a short post compared to the mega-guides they publish nowadays. The post they wanted to rank highly, #7, is a better blog. It’s more up-to-date and offers better advice. But, because they’ve already written on this topic, they’re cannibalizing their position. When Keyword Cannibalization Isn’t An Issue There are a few instances when you don’t have to worry about keyword cannibalization. For example: if you rank in positions #1 and #2 for a very valuable keyword pulling in ideal traffic, and the content in those rankings are valuable, long-term positions for you, then you don’t need to worry about keyword cannibalization. Example: Bodybuilding.com currently holds the #1 and #2 spot for “back and bicep workout.” Look at the two content pieces. Each features a different workout, by a different expert. So if you’re an ideal audience for this site, and let’s say you’re seeking a back and biceps workout and you’re interested in one of these experts (you already know them by name and are excited they’ve put together a workout online), you’re going to click on the one you like the most. So, bodybuilding.com is not cannibalizing their own rankings because both of these rankings serve a purpose. Different workouts by different experts. The other example of keyword cannibalization not being an issue is when you have many pages around a central two-word phrase, but your rankings and focus keywords are long-tail versions of that two-word phrase. As long as you create a unique content piece to compete for a different long-tail phrase each time, the long-tail phrase itself can have the same word or couple of words repeated. Example: blogging statistics, best blogging service, blogging packages for law firms Three different keywords, three different content pieces, three different search originations… all containing the same core term, blogging. Not keyword cannibalization. How to Fix Keyword Cannibalization So, let’s say keyword cannibalization is happening to you. What do you do? Here are three measures you can take. … Read more

How to Rank in the Top of Google, Win Traffic, Prospects & Buyers (Bonus: Free Checklist)

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How to Rank in the Top of Google, Win Traffic, Prospects & Buyers (Bonus: Free Checklist)

Ranking in the top of Google is the dream of every brand with a blog and every SEO expert. Why do we care so much? Because reaching the top of Google is like winning a gold medal in the Content Olympics. ? With a few perks thrown in. More traffic? Yours. More clicks in the SERP? Yours. More qualified leads coming in? Yep, that too. How do we know this will happen? Well, 70.6% of all traffic on the web originates from a Google search (Backlinko and Sparktoro). What’s more, 71% of B2B buyers are reading blogs during their buying journeys — at least 3-5. Positions #1, 2, or 3 on a given search engine results page (SERP), on average, get over 54% of the clicks from that page’s overall traffic. Considering the average click-through rate for paid search is 1.91% across all industries… well… (Tell me again why you’re bothering with paid search?) Knowing how to get to the top of Google (for free, without paying a cent for ads) doesn’t qualify as information that’s simply “nice to have.” Instead, in this dog-eat-dog world of content shock and bro marketing and dying ads… In an internet era where more than 70% of all human traffic online now originates from a search engine… It’s essential. Ready to learn how to improve your Google search results, AND repeat that success over and over? This is what it takes. ⬇️ Bonus: Download your free ebook checklist we created on today’s topic. How to Increase Your Google Rankings: Table of Contents How to Rank in the Top of Google: Content is Key 1. Quality Over Quantity in Content Really Matters 2. Content Consistency Wins the Day 3. Content Doesn’t Rank in the Top of Google Without Relevancy and Usefulness How to Rank in the Top of Google: 3 More Important Factors 1. Quick Site Speed and Page Load Times (Under 3 Seconds) 2. Good Internal Linking Practices 3. Excellent Usability Wrapping Up: How to Rank in the Top of Google Every Time [bctt tweet=”We dream of ranking top 1 in Google — but how is that possible? @JuliaEMcCoy shares how you can get your content to the top of Google with real case studies + a bonus FREEBIE checklist ?” username=”ExpWriters”] How to Rank in the Top of Google: Content is Key Content is one of the key factors that drive search rankings. In a nutshell, it’s about quality, consistency, and relevancy. 1. Quality Over Quantity Really Matters Want to know how to rank higher on Google? Prioritize content of the highest caliber. From the direction Google itself has given about what quality content looks like, we know: Quality content is relevant to what the target reader is searching. It’s the answer they’re looking for when they type in a question or keyword phrase. Quality content is easy to read and easy to understand for the target audience. (That doesn’t mean the content is simple. It means it’s well-written, well-formatted, and well-researched. It means the content is written to the level of whatever audience it’s meant for.) Quality content serves a purpose. It teaches, informs, entertains, or guides the reader. So, if you have a ton of blogs that don’t quite hit the mark for this level of quality, you’re not going to rank as well as a competitor with fewer blogs who absolutely NAILS this definition of quality with every single post. Need great content? We can help. See our pricing. To further demonstrate how & why quality matters, let’s dive into a case study. Case Study: Content Hacker Content Hacker is my new site, launched on June 28, 2019 – less than two months from writing this ebook/blog post. The site is basically a newborn baby, but… we already have a top 10 spot in the rankings. Three months later, right before I published this piece of content, I checked again. As of early September, we’re ranking for a total of 2,500 keywords, bringing in 345+ organic visitors. This amount goes up weekly. Just four weeks ago, we were at 85 keywords present! How did we do it? By focusing on content quality > quantity. We only have 11 blogs and 14 pages total published on the site. However, the average word count for all of our blogs is 4,500. Our longest blog clocks in at 5,000 words. [bctt tweet=”.@JuliaEMcCoy grew @content_hackers from nothing to more than 2,500+ keyword rankings in Google in less than three months. ? How? She focused on content quality, not quantity, with just 11 5,000w mega-blog guides.” username=”ExpWriters”] Before creation, I spent days on ideation. I picked out focus keywords like ergonomic home office, remote freelance writing jobs, and wrote mega-blog outline complete with synonymous keywords. Guess what we’re starting to rank for in Google, with this brand new site? Each one of our mega-blogs are starting to rank for their focus keywords in Google. Content works, guys. But you have to do it right. Each of our mega, 5,000-word blog guides are deeply researched, thoroughly outlined, takes days (or even weeks!) to write, and includes plenty of supporting images, facts, graphs, GIFs – you name it. It’s no coincidence that the keywords we’re winning are within those ultra-long-form guides. Our steady growth on Content Hacker is mainly thanks to quality content. Just look at that solid, upward-trending line from our SEMrush trackings for proof: 2. Consistency Wins the Day Here’s the thing: You can’t just depend on one factor to buoy your content to the top of Google because the search engine doesn’t look at one factor – it looks at many. That’s why consistency, along with quality, is so important when it comes to content. You can’t publish an exceptional blog once and let the rest slide. Let me say it louder, for the people in the back: Every. Single. Content. Piece. Must. Be. Exceptional. Think of it this way: Each content piece is like a building block. They stack on top of each other, one by one, to create … Read more

3 Content Writing Tools to Help You Create Awesome Content

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3 Content Writing Tools to Help You Create Awesome Content (Video)

We’re going to cover three of my favorite, most-used content creation tools to help you in the ideation stage. Ideation is arguably one of the most important stages in your content creation process. Back in 2016, after five years of creating content and hundreds of blogs created, I realized a lot of my content was falling flat. I decided to stand back and get more strategic about it. That’s when I came up with what I call the three-bucket topic strategy. Read about my three-bucket topic strategy. Basically, once you have a source of never-ending ideas that come from REAL places, like your customer pain points or relevant keyword research, you map each topic to a clear goal. Ask yourself and your team creating this content, Can I rank in Google? Can I build sales and connections? Can I build my brand name in the industry? If you can’t map it to a goal, you put the topic in the trash can. So what I’ll talk about in the next few minutes are tools to give you sources for content ideas and inspiration to create better content day in, day out. Tool #1: Mangools’ KWFinder 70.6% of all traffic on the web today starts with a Google search (Backlinko & Sparktoro). 71% of B2B buyers are reading 3-5 blogs in their buying journey (The Economist Group), and the ROA on ad funnels as low as .6x (Ad Strategist). It’s worth your time to research and write around keywords that you can compete for and win a ranking for in Google. [bctt tweet=”70.6% of all traffic on the web today starts with a Google search. Stat from @backlinko and @sparktoro #SEO #contentmarketing ” username=”ExpWriters”] Mangools’ KWFinder is one of my favorite keyword research tools. Let’s say we’re looking up a keyword related to “how to blog.” Here’s what that looks like in KWFinder: The #1 factor you need is relevancy when looking up the right keyword. Once you know these are keywords your ideal prospect is actually searching, run them through Mangools’ KWFinder to hunt for a keyword you can actually rank for. Then, you want to find “easy to rank for” keywords. So, right away, how to blog is out. It’s hard, and I’d have to go up against sites like neilpatel.com, which has a super high DA. But right below it we have how to become a blogger, which scores as 43, or possible. Since these scores change all the time, you’d want to create content on this keyword and publish it within 15 or 20 days. I would recommend a 3,000w guide on the topic. Once you have a focus keyword to pull in synonymous keywords to help you structure a great article, use Google’s Searches Related to. Use these in your subheaders and throughout your content. Tool #2: BuzzSumo It’s important to look through a content analysis tool for insights on trending topics, and BuzzSumo is one of the best out there. You can use it in a few ones. For one, search your own domain to see your most-shared content. This will give you topic umbrella ideas to write more content under. For example, our top-shared post is a thought-leadership blog I wrote on how to find your “content differentiation factor,” a unique concept I came up with. Interesting! So, I could write a follow-up post with more current insights and new details on that topic. You can also use BuzzSumo if you’re writing guest blogs to scout out for your publication’s most-shared pieces. Chances are, they’ll be more likely to accept a topic with proof that a similar topic to yours was extremely popular on their site. Just don’t copy topics. Take inspiration from them, but use your own data/slant/opinion on the topic. Finally, use the Topic Explorer to identify topics in your industry that could be worth writing on. Tool #3: Advanced Marketing Institute’s Headline Analyzer AMI’s Headline Analyzer is a super simple, free tool that gives you on a 1-100 score the emotional impact of your headline. Just insert your headline idea, pick your category, hit Search, and repeat until you achieve a score of 40+. 50, 70 and beyond are unicorn scores. I had no idea I’d hit a 70 on the first try in the video!

Joe Pulizzi’s MKTG 2030: 7 Laws of Content Marketing (& Other Takeaways From Content Marketing World 2019)

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Joe Pulizzi's MKTG 2030: 7 Laws of Content Marketing (& Other Takeaways From Content Marketing World 2019)

Content Marketing World 2019 was another incredible event in Cleveland, with nearly 4,000 content marketers in attendance, terrific keynotes and sessions, and amazing conversations. Oh, and the best conference swag. (I admit to being the attendee that got in line four times to win a sloth for my five-year-old. The fourth time in line, I ran into a Write Blog reader from Belgium, who said that our blog was one of only two that she reads because of how comprehensive each post I publish is. What an absolute delight to hug and talk to her! Bonus: We both won a sloth for our littles, and I even picked up one of two last stuffed narwhals from another booth!) It was an amazing week. I took Jessica, our Client Specialist from Express Writers, with me; and this year, I had the honor of going for the first time as a speaker. My session, co-presented with Jason Schemmel, was A Masterclass on Creating and Publishing Authority-Building SEO Blogs. I’ve gone to CMWorld three times so far, and this was my first year as a speaker. My favorite talk at CMWorld this year, hands-down, was Joe Pulizzi’s keynote, MKTG2030. I also took away some insights from a few private parties I was invited to attend, one of which was hosted by LinkedIn, and from listening and watching on the Expo Hall. Here are my Content Marketing World 2019 insights. Joe Pulizzi’s MKTG 2030: 7 Laws of Content Marketing (& Other Takeaways from Content Marketing World I don’t know if you’ve already guessed or noticed this, but I am a major fan of the “godfather” of our industry, Joe Pulizzi. He tells it like it is, is incredibly insightful in content marketing, and to boot, he’s 100% genuine, kind, and authentic as a person. Seriously, you can’t find anyone more “down-to-earth” than Joe. He embodies good content marketing. It’s no wonder that it has become a yearly tradition of mine to get a picture with him. I also have a running joke with CMI staff. How do I make it to one of the top retweeted/favorited tweets for the #CMWorld hashtag on Twitter? I just tweet Joe. It’s true. That’s what I did last year, and my tweet had over a hundred likes. The same thing happened again this year. ? “The #1 reason content fails is not because of strategy, consistency, value, patience… it’s because someone internally has no clue what you’re doing.” @JoePulizzi #CMWorld ???????? ? ? pic.twitter.com/QPmiwCgsvr — Julia McCoy | ? #CMWorld Speaker ‘19 (@JuliaEMcCoy) September 4, 2019 MKTG 2030: 7 Laws of Content Marketing Joe Pulizzi’s keynote kicking off CMWorld on Tuesday, September 3 was titled MKTG 2030. Inside, he covered what he called the “7 Laws of Marketing:” Law #1: The Law of They Have No Clue What You’re Doing The #1 reason content fails is not because of strategy, consistency, value, patience… it’s because someone internally has no clue what you’re doing. This rings true for me in so many ways. I had to turn away a Content Hacker client (my elite new consulting agency/personal brand) recently because of this very fact. They had no clue regarding high-ROI, valuable content. They massacred the hook I’d carefully compiled and trampled over every recommendation I made. I’ve seen this happen repeatedly in our industry. It’s sad. The answer, Joe says, is to sell internally to the executives budgeting for content. These people should be the focus of your “selling.” We need to turn the tables, Joe said, and be the ones marketing the worth of content to executives. Need some help convincing your manager or clients on the worth of content? See our content marketing statistics mega-list. Law #2: The Law of Self-Sustainment Joe is in love with Buzzfeed. They’ve achieved $130M in revenue in household appliances, and in 2019, their goal is $260M in revenue from Tasty appliances at Target and in other stores. By 2020, half a billion in revenue will be produced in non-media revenue by Buzzfeed. They are a #contentmarketing champion to learn from, Joe says. Joe also talked about Cleveland Clinic, which publishes Health Essentials, generating revenue through research, advertising, syndication, and sponsorship. There are multiple ways to drive revenue once you build a loyal audience. The most innovative brands drive five, six revenue lines through content. [bctt tweet=”By 2020, half a billion in revenue will be produced in non-media revenue by @Buzzfeed. They are a #contentmarketing champion to learn from, @JoePulizzi says. Read @JuliaEMcCoy’s #CMWorld recap” username=”ExpWriters”] [bctt tweet=”There are multiple ways to drive revenue once you build a loyal audience, @JoePulizzi says. The most innovative brands drive five, six revenue lines through content. #CMWorld #CMWorld19 recap by @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] Law #3: The Failed Start-up Law Joe says that it’s much wiser and also less risky to buy an existing audience than to build from scratch yourself. (If you know our story, you know we’ve been working for eight years to build ours. Building a strong audience and presence from scratch hasn’t been easy!) For example, hardware maker Raspberry Pi recently bought two magazines from a company called Dennis Publishing. Smart move. Law #4: The Law of Ryan Seacrest I found this meme that emphasized every single point Joe was making: Joe says he comes home and tries to relax to a show, and every time he turns on a show, there is Ryan Seacrest. It’s getting old. What the heck is Ryan doing, hosting shows he has no business hosting? As in standing in for Regis on Live with Kelly and Regis, and appearing again in a few hours hosting American Idol. Joe says he can’t enjoy cable TV without seeing a constant stream of Ryan Seacrest. Well, as content marketers, Joe said we’re making the common error of trying to be Ryan Seacrest. We want to do all the things, but no one is doing them well enough. ? The way to succeed is by focusing on one or two … Read more

How to Write Email Copy That Resonates With Your Readers

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How to Write Email Copy That Resonates With Your Readers

Your email is only as good as the words inside it. It doesn’t matter how many fancy graphics or photos you have, whether your words are carefully branded with colors that match your logo, or how many emojis you used in the subject line. Well-written email copy speaks for itself – it doesn’t need bells and whistles (although they ARE nice to have – they’re just not essential). Email marketing, in general, has the potential to be 40x more effective than social media, according to a McKinsey & Company study. But. That’s only if the words in your email do their job. I’m here with your back-to-basics guide on how to write email copy that is not only engaging and relevant to your readers, but actually gets results. Sometimes, solid words and great flow is all you need. ✍ Ready to roll up your sleeves? 9 Steps on How How to Write Engaging Email Copy That Resonates with Your Audience: Table of Contents 1. Learn How to Write a Compelling Email Subject Line 2. Keep the Voice, Tone, and Style in Your Emails Consistent with Your Content (Be Uniquely You) 3. Don’t Worry Too Much About Length… 4. …But Don’t Blather – Get to the Point 5. Be Direct and Encourage Action Whenever Possible 6. Imagine Writing to One Person 7. Step into Their Shoes – Learn How to Write Relatable Email Copy 8. Always Write with a Goal in Mind for Your Email Copy 9. Include at Least ONE Call-to-Action [bctt tweet=”How do you write #email copy that doesn’t need a crutch? (Read: Slick graphics, smooth design, flashy colors, or so many emojis it looks like hieroglyphics. ‍♀️ ) Find out in @JuliaEMcCoy’s guide. ” username=”ExpWriters”] How to Write Email Copy That Works Without Any Gimmicks: 9 Steps How do you write email copy that doesn’t need a crutch? (Read: Slick graphics, smooth design, flashy colors, or so many emojis it looks like hieroglyphics. ‍♀️ ) Answer: Like this! Read on. 1. Learn How to Write a Compelling Email Subject Line Your subject line is the key that unlocks your reader’s curiosity, interest, or excitement to read what you have to say. If you can evoke one of these emotions from your reader at this crucial point (and deliver within the actual email message itself), that’s a recipe for a winner. Granted, that’s not saying it’s easy to write this kind of email subject line. It’s really hard. But not impossible. Use Commands or Questions Since the aim of the subject line is both to inform your reader what the email is about and entice them to open it, why not just tell them what to do? Commands use the power of suggestion to make your reader want to click. For example, the subject line “Take the night off from cooking” in an email from a restaurant is more effective than “New seasonal menu!” The first is a command. If you say that to most people, they’ll respond with “Okay, how?” Meanwhile, the second subject line will earn a “So what?” more often than not. A question posed to your reader as your subject line works similarly, because it ignites curiosity, like in this subject line from Digital Marketer: “Is this the hottest career in marketing?” [bctt tweet=”A question posed to your reader as your subject line works well, because it ignites curiosity. #emailmarketingtips ” username=”ExpWriters”] Plumb Your Vocabulary A few strong, solid verbs and adjectives (and a couple of intriguing nouns) may mean the difference between your reader hitting “delete” or opening your message. The right words encourage an emotional response and make your subject line stand out among the dozens of others crowding the average inbox. For instance, in this to-the-point subject line, Sips by (a tea subscription box) uses two positively-associated words and the power of alliteration to make you want to click: “Hacks for Happy Camping” Simple, yet sweet. All it took were two strong words: “hacks” and “happy.” Use an Email Subject Line Scoring Tool If this all sounds like mumbo-jumbo to you, good news: Tools exist to help you create effective email subject lines. I particularly love CoSchedule’s Email Subject Line Tester. It not only scores your subject line, but also explains exactly why it works and the components that make it strong. The more you use this tool, the more you’ll improve your subject line writing skills! 2. Keep the Voice, Tone, and Style in Your Emails Consistent with Your Content (Be Uniquely You) Brand consistency across platforms is important for building trust and a good reputation with readers. That applies to your email copy, too. Ideally, your email copy should reflect the brand voice you have established elsewhere. Any differences will jar your readers, not to mention make you seem less authentic and real. Real-world example: Way back in 2016, when I ventured into building my first courses, I hired a “marketing expert” team (read: ad funnel experts — oops). One of their services was writing all my emails for the sequences to test for better conversion rates. I bit my lip reading phrases like, “I’m a leading influential expert, and I know what I’m doing.” A few of their copy segments ran in an A/B test, and my readers immediately saw a difference and pointed it out (one reader even said, “This is WAY too salesy, and not like you!”). Yeah, chalk that up as just one of my many marketing lessons learned. I strayed from my style, differentiation factor, and tone of voice in my content, which is usually zero B.S., zero fluff, direct, and practical. The new stuff wasn’t me, and the readers just knew. Lesson learned. If you outsource some of your content and copy, don’t hire too many writers. Your style will get watered down. Instead, stick to one or two writers who know your voice inside-out, or ask the agency you hire to dedicate one writer to your content/copy, no matter where or how it appears … Read more

SEO Marketing: Your Essential Guide to Putting Together Powerful, Google-Friendly Marketing

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SEO Marketing: Your Essential Guide to Putting Together Powerful, Google-Friendly Marketing

SEO marketing is incredible — and more powerful than ever (despite the groans of ​”SEO is dead!” ​that you hear, literally everywhere). Here’s why. Today, 60% of ALL traffic on the internet comes from Google. (Add in traffic from other search engines, and you’ll find about 70% of all traffic, ever, starts with a simple search.) Whoa. Combine that with a simple fact: with the right keywords, topics, quality content, and some elbow grease, you can draw in search traffic from all over the world. All the people that might never have found you otherwise. By creating content around keywords they’re searching, including phrases and topics that matter deeply to them, you essentially become a magnet for buyers (with Google’s help). You pull leads into your orbit without advertising, without selling – without much effort at all beyond the initial strategizing, planning, and creating. That, my friends, is a good, basic definition for today’s term. SEO marketing definition: noun. A series of actions, strategies, and best practices that help your website content rank higher in search results. And, before you ask: Yes, it matters big-time. When you rank higher in search, more people will find your content, read your content, and act on that content. With numbers like “70% of all traffic originates from a search,” needless to say, capturing search traffic is a HUGE deal. If you have an online presence, this type of marketing is essential to master for better visibility and more leads coming in. Need more reasons to invest in SEO marketing? We’ll explore some convincing ones coming up, plus a checklist with marketing tools and techniques to help you ensure success from start to finish. Your SEO Marketing Guide: What’s Ahead in Our Guide to Powerful, Google-Friendly Marketing 5-Step Checklist for Successful SEO Marketing 1. Create Quality Content (With a Case Study: How the Write Blog Nets Over 24K Keyword Rankings) 2. Get Your Website Design & Site Tech Fundamentals Right 3. Follow Google’s SEO Standards for Quality (E.A.T.) 4. Be Smart About Keyword Usage 5. Use SEO Plugins and Tools to Help You Get It Done (Yoast SEO Plugin for WordPress, Keyword Research Tools: SEMrush and KWFinder) 3 Things SEO Marketing Should NOT Look Like 1. Cheating for Rankings 2. Keyword Stuffing 3. Thin, Shallow, Low-Quality Content [bctt tweet=”Have you already invested in SEO marketing and creating site content optimized to rank in Google? In this Write Blog, @JuliaEMcCoy shares killer reasons why Google reigns supreme for traffic sourcing, PLUS a bonus checklist on the best SEO techniques @ExpWriters” username=”ExpWriters”] 3 More Reasons Why SEO Marketing Is Such a Big Deal SEO marketing tools and techniques are good for your bottom line. How good? Ridiculously good. For starters: 1. Rank #1 in Google Organically, Perform 30% Better Besides the fact that Google holds 76.03% of the total search engine market share as of June 2019, there are other reasons to aim for #1 in Google search results. Mainly, ranking #1 in Google is a surefire way to outperform results #2-10 and earn the best ROI. It’s how you ace SEO marketing. According to data from Advanced Web Ranking, the organic click-through rate for position #1 is 30.97% on desktops. Compare that to the CTR for position #2: it gets slashed in half to just 15.29%. The lower you go, the more steeply CTR drops. Position #5 gets a 4.11% CTR. Positions #9 and 10 get just over 1%. That said, even the lowest positions on search engine results pages (SERPs) get a higher average CTR than display AND search ads, including pay per click marketing. This chart with Wordstream data shows what I mean: The average Google Ads CTR is 3.17% on the search network and 0.46% on the display network. Compare those numbers to the average CTR for position #7 and higher in organic Google search results, which is over 2%. In fact, as long as you rank in the top 5 positions, you’ll score an average CTR of at least 4%. PPC marketing seems pretty lame by comparison, especially when you can double or triple your CTR by focusing on organic search results, instead. 2. Leads from SEO Marketing Are More Powerful Let’s add more fuel to our SEO marketing fire with this little statistic: Leads coming in from SEO are far more likely to convert. According to a Marketing Sherpa study on conversion rates for organic traffic, the average traffic-to-leads conversion rate across all industries is 16%. That number is really, really impressive, considering the average conversion rate for Google Ads across all industries is 3.75% for search ads and 0.77% for display ads, via the Wordstream data mentioned above.   3. Search Traffic >>> Traffic from Social Media Another good reason to dive into SEO marketing: Search drives more traffic to websites than social media (via a Shareaholic study). Meanwhile, according to ConversionXL, clicks from social aren’t very high, either. Facebook has an average CTR of 0.72%. LinkedIn draws a dismal 0.06%. Twitter gives you the best shot at clicks with a 2% average CTR. When it comes down to numbers, search is the better bet for pulling in traffic. [bctt tweet=”Why is #seomarketing a big deal? 3 awesome reasons: ranking #1 in Google makes your site perform 30% better, ‍ ‍ powerful leads, and more traffic from search than social media.” username=”ExpWriters”] Your Go-To Checklist for Successful SEO Marketing You get it: SEO marketing is powerful, effective, and SO worth it. It’s time to implement. Here’s a checklist to start with, including 5 basic steps to achieve successful SEO search marketing: 1. Create Quality Content Quality content is everything to SEO marketing results. In fact, I would say it’s THE #1 factor. How do I know? It’s what I’ve seen with our content at Express Writers. Case study time. Case Study: How Our Content Quality Nets Over 24K Keyword Rankings I never pay a cent for ads, I never do outreach, and I never pursue backlinks. Despite that, our content at EW has … Read more

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