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#ContentWritingChat Recap: Practical SEO Advice for the Online Creator with Caleb McElveen

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Practical SEO Advice for the Online Creator with Caleb McElveen

by | Nov 4, 2016 | ContentWritingChat

Are you ready to catch up on this week’s #ContentWritingChat? We’ve prepared an awesome recap with some of the tweets from Tuesday’s chat, so get ready to dive in!

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Practical SEO Advice for the Online Creator with Caleb McElveen


Our guest host this week was Caleb McElveen. Caleb is and SEO and content marketing specialist. He’s also a co-host on the digital marketing podcast, Search Talk Live.

Q1: What are the basics of SEO every content creator should know?

SEO doesn’t have to be hard to figure out! In fact, if you’re just getting started with optimizing your content, these basic tips are great to know:

Caleb said it’s important to know how to correctly optimize title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and more. All of these things impact the performance of your content, so it’s helpful to know the best ways to optimize them in order to maximize your results.

He also recommends understanding user intent when creating content because it can also impact your SEO strategy.

Sarah knows keywords are essential to SEO! She recommends figuring out how your audience is using and searching for keywords, which will help you choose the right ones for your content. You’ll also want to sprinkle those keywords throughout your content in heading tags, meta description, and more.

Jason also agrees understanding keywords is very important! He recommends finding the popular and relevant keywords that will help your audience find your content.

Kristen is right on with her answer! She said that SEO and readability should work together. You should never sacrifice readability for the sake of trying to rank higher. Providing great content for your audience should always be priority number one.

One big SEO don’t? Keyword stuffing! It’s not cool to overdo it on the keywords because Google doesn’t like it and neither do your readers. We’ll have some more SEO mistakes coming up in the next question!

Q2: What are the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to SEO?

There are some common SEO mistakes people make when creating their online content. It’s important to know what they are so you can avoid them! Here are a few mistakes you don’t want to make:

Caleb knows many people make mistakes when it comes to keywords. In some cases, people fail to use the keyword correctly or don’t even have one. Make sure you’re using your focus keyword in titles and throughout your content without going overboard. Keyword stuffing is a big no-no!

He also said not to forget about optimizing the images you share. They’re searchable as well and you want to make sure you take that extra step to optimize them.

As Jason said, using keywords that aren’t used as often won’t help you see results. You need to do your research to find the right keywords for your content.

Ignoring SEO is a huge mistake! If you want your content to be seen, you need to learn about the best SEO practices and start putting them to use with your own online content.

Remember that SEO is important, but there’s so much more to you content than just the optimization process. You have to start with a piece of quality content that shows personality and tells a story in order to really attract people.

Never stop learning. SEO changes and it’s important to stay updated on all the latest information. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you know everything about SEO. Make sure you’re actively learning about the best practices and implementing them.

Q3: What steps can you take to get your content on the first page of search results?

As an online content creator, one of your dreams is probably to rank on the first page of Google’s search results. It sounds like a dream, right? The good news is, it’s totally possible to make this happen! Here’s what you need to know:

Caleb’s advice is to research what’s already ranking on the first page. Study what they did right and what they did wrong so you can create your own plan to do it better. There’s nothing wrong with getting a little inspiration from your competitors!

He then suggests creating content that provides value to your audience. Answer their questions and provide them with the amazing content they’re looking for. It’s a sure-fire way to keep them coming back for more, too.

Kristi knows everything needs to work together if you want to see major results. She said to make sure relevant keywords are included in your content, tags, headlines, and images.

Research the best keywords. Optimize the body of your content. Get valuable links. All three of these tips will help you rank higher in search results.

Don’t forget to provide a great experience overall for the visitors to your website. It should be user-friendly and you need to make sure you’re writing good content.

Our CEO, Julia, recommends optimizing your website for speed, user experience, and Google. The next step is to add relevant, long-form content that’s useful to your audience. Utilize long-tail keywords in your content to increase discoverability!

Q4: How does social media factor into SEO?

Social media certainly plays a role in SEO. If you’re wondering how, here’s what some of the participants in Tuesday’s chat had to say:

Caleb said social media amplifies your content and increases your opportunity to earn links, which is great for SEO.

Kristen said social media extends the life and discoverability of your content.

Lex knows social media is great for pushing out content to get more visitors to your site. It’s also helpful for learning what your audience needs from you. Take the time to listen to them and create more of what they want.

Leah said social media adds the element of hashtag SEO. Hashtags are great for helping people find your content.

Q5: Share some of your best SEO practices.

What are the best SEO practices you should implement in your online content? Here’s the scoop:

Caleb recommends researching your competition. He tries to determine why their content performs well and how he can create content that outperforms it. Caleb also knows it’s important to understand user intent. You want to know how they’re searching because that impacts your content.

Get the whole team involved with SEO! Keep everyone informed on what you’re working on and allow them to voice their thoughts and opinions. Working together as a team will yield the best results.

Brandie suggests conducting research and talking to people. She also said it’s important to set up Google Analytics and regularly check to see which keywords are working and which ones aren’t.

A regular review of SEO, your strategy, and the goals of your clients is a must!

Do your research and think like a reader! Get into the mind of your reader to figure out what they’re searching, which keywords they’re using, and more. This will help you reach them.

Liliana said to set clear content goals, optimize your content, and make sure you keep everything fresh and relevant.

Q6: What would you say to someone who argues SEO isn’t important? How would you convince them otherwise?

Believe it or not, there are still plenty of naysayers out there when it comes to SEO. Many content creators still don’t understand the value it can provide and therefore don’t take it seriously. If someone says SEO isn’t important, remember this:

Caleb said SEO communicates to search engines and users what your page, business, or content is all about. Taking the time to optimize your posts will help search engines recognize you in their results.

You do want people to see your content, right? If so, you need to optimize your content to rank higher in search engine results.

Content is king. Distribution is queen. SEO is the lasting legacy. Great way to put it, Liliana!

If you want to prove the value of SEO to someone who doesn’t understand, come prepared with facts! Brandie recommends backing up your argument with facts and data that prove SEO is a must.

It’s all about those numbers! Stats will provide good, solid proof that SEO works.

Alberto suggests showing some reports that include traffic, conversion rate, and more.

Leah’s advice is to use an A/B split test to show the results.

That’s a lot of searches! You don’t want to miss out on that action, do you?

It’s safe to say that without SEO, it’s hard to put yourself on the digital map. Zala knows getting your content to rank is a must.

Q7: What tools do you use to help with SEO?

There are a ton of great tools out there that can help you become an SEO master. If you’re looking for some new ones to test out, check out these suggestions:

Caleb has three go-to tools he uses for optimizing content. Have you tried any of them?

He also said it’s important to familiarize yourself with Google Analytics and Search Console. It’s important to be able to interpret the data these give you.

Matt relies on Screaming Frog, Google Analytics, Moz, and BuzzSumo.

The Yoast plugin is definitely a must for anyone on WordPress. Getting that green light on a blog post is just so satisfying, isn’t it?

Great list, Sarah! These are essential.

Debi’s list of tool recommendations is pretty impressive! There are a lot to try out here if you haven’t already.

Zachary uses Google Trends to see which keywords are trending at any given moment. He’s also a fan of the Yoast plugin.

Debbie often turns to her network to learn more about SEO. Seeking advice from your peers is a great way to get SEO help. Which brings us to our final question…

Q8: Which influencers do you turn to for the latest in SEO news?

There are plenty of influencers who share great content regarding the latest in SEO. Check out these sources for the best information:

This is certainly an awesome line-up from Caleb! He also shared a great tip about reading something on SEO every day. It’s important to stay updated on the latest news. You can never been too educated on a topic.

These are all great sources!

Great round-up from Sabjan!

We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM Central Time for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!