Have you ever written what you thought was a masterpiece and filled it with relevant keywords only to languish in obscurity? Why does it seem like no matter what you do, you can’t get an article ranked on Google, thus meaning you never get eyes on your work or make a sale? Competition is fierce, and without an edge, you will get lost in the sea of other people who are bigger, richer, and more educated. How do you get your article or website ranked on Google?
It doesn’t have to be a huge mystery. You can learn how to beat the system and outplay your competitors. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune or endless hours of classes, either. It only takes a willingness to learn a new skill and a little time. Whether you have an entertainment website or a purpose-driven lead generator, you need to get your information in front of the right people at the right time, or you will never succeed. At Profit Path 360, we take the guesswork out of using SEO to get your website ranked on Google. Think of this article as a crash course in SEO for beginners.
Knowing where to look and what to look for is the biggest battle. It is a matter of conditioning your brain to think outside the box. I know how hard that can be. When I started years ago, I thought I could shout into the wind and be heard. I had no idea what SEO(Search Engine Optimization or SERP(Search Engine Results Page) was. I knew that when I searched for something, I was fed a seemingly endless list of articles or websites that answered my query. I never gave any thought to how that list was sorted.
If no one ever sees it, it does you no good to create the most insightful and eloquent article. You might be the best coach on the planet, but if no one knows you exist, it doesn’t matter. It can make you feel like everyone, but you are in on the secret. I promise that isn’t the case. You might also think you need to pay an exorbitant amount of money each month to find all those keywords that will get you ranked. You don’t have to be an expert, and you don’t have to pay a fortune. There are two free tools out there that can seriously improve your chances of becoming an SEO player.
The first tool is Answer The Public. This site helps you find an angle on any subject you may not have considered. We all have passions, talents, or experiences that make us unique. We combine aptitude with analytics by tapping into what we know and are interested in and nuancing it for the masses. That’s when the magic happens, and our page views grow from almost none to thousands overnight. Your business grows exponentially when you give your potential customers what they want in your signature style.
Pick a broad topic and insert that keyword or key phrase into the search bar. Answer The Public will give you detailed questions and related terms with information about how many people are currently searching for that information. This is invaluable in determining what area you will focus on for your content. It also is a powerful brainstorming tool when the ideas just won’t come. There is both a free and a paid version of the service. I have never needed more than the free version. Here’s an example of what one of the searches looks like.
Picking what to write about is only one-third of the battle. You also need to find something that hasn’t already been covered in a ton of articles. This is where you can take the Answer The Public ideas and hone them even further. Google Trends is another free service that I use every day on my entertainment website, Signal Horizon. People are searching for answers every day, and by narrowing down that question, you can provide a specific explanation and create a loyal customer for life. Maybe you love teaching new fitness hacks or cooking tricks. Perhaps you are a relationship or life coach? Your niche doesn’t matter; people are looking for answers, and you can provide them.
Use the phrases or terms from Answer The Public and input them into the search bar. Google will tell you what additional words are being searched for. For this example, I used “empty nester”. You can search by hours, days, months, or years. This can give you a pattern of consumer activity that you can use to keep your website and services relevant and ahead of the curve. Look for keywords that consistently show up for evergreen content that will pay dividends even when you aren’t writing very much.
Think of these as your bread and butter. These are the articles you rely on to keep you earning even while on vacation. After you have chosen several long-tail keywords, which is a fancy way of saying long phrases, open a standard Google search and put in those phrases one at a time. Count how many articles are listed and from which sources. Ones that say “Sponsored” should be excluded, as those are paid ads that you shouldn’t consider for the purposes of this discussion.
The topics you should keep are the phrases with the smallest list of relevant articles. Anything less than ten is good. Eventually, you will get a clear picture of which websites are considered authorities and which aren’t, making your job even easier. At the beginning, open the first several articles in every list and judge how well it answers the question. Is the content accurate? Are there misspelled words or bad grammar? If the article isn’t engaging or is very short, you know you can easily overtake it in the Google rank.
Think of this technique as guerrilla SEO research. You are targeting what your consumer wants and choosing competition you can easily beat. This is where the final piece of the puzzle comes in. Pay attention to your writing. Every article should be at least 1000 words long and contain an even mix of the keyword or phrase you are trying to rank for. Don’t just place it one time in the opening paragraph and think that is enough. Use it throughout your article and combine it with other complimentary keywords to boost everything.
Your keyword should appear in the first paragraph, the title of your article, and the meta description, which is the small line visible just below the title in Google. Optimize your photos by utilizing alt-image tags. Apply the keyword in the image description, allowing Google to rank you based on the photo alone, which can sometimes be easier. You should always remember to link to another article of yours to encourage further reading and brand awareness. If there is an affiliate or resource you used, provide a link to that as well to improve your SEO.
All of these things can be learned and done with minimal effort. If you would rather focus on what you do best, Profit Path can do the legwork for you. We offer plans for everyone. You may want a generated list of keywords and phrases each week guaranteed to rank, or maybe you want us to optimize your existing website. We are here to help and have the experience to get things done. Contact us today for a FREE CONSULTATION to see what we can do for you!
