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Helping out a local Active Rainer - Sensei/Grasshopper - a bit of SEO

By
Home Builder with The Flooring Girl

joanna cohlanAs part of the Sensei/Grasshopper contest, I'm helping out my good friend and colleague, Joanna Cohlan.  Joanna is a decoratior and has been a mentor to me for many things, so the least I can do is share some SEO learning with her.

 

I'm no expert, but I keep learning as I go along.  Recently, Joanna got a website makeover, and she now has a wordpress site. The site is fairly new and Joanna has just started to blog on there.  I'm hoping that this will help give her a boost and accelerate her web presence.

 

1.  Key words & target audience:  First, we discussed the importance about this...that people are searching for things, not blog posts.  They usually either have a question or are looking for someone to help them do something (or a place to buy something).  So think about the types of customers you work best with and the types of things you excel at (i.e. your target audience and your niche).  Think about the questions they have.  And, write about them.  We started to jot down a list.  These are the types of things where Joanna is expert, provides unique value and enjoys doing.  So write about those topics and those questions.  And, everything starts from there.  This is what you want to get found for.

 

2.  Write blog posts targeted with these key words.  It all starts with the title.  Don't worry about being fun or clever or cutesy.  Make it straight forward.  It should be similar to what a person would type into google. Key words should be towards the beginning...I've heard that google only reads the first 70 or so characters, anyway.  Then, include those key works/phrase in the first line.  Personally, I think it's much better to mix up the words a bit (rather than repeating the title).  This makes it much more readable (and ulitmately google likes that, too) and it also accounts for the fact that different people type in different key words.  Then, add the key words to the last line.  Sometimes, I will just copy and paste the title or the first line there, since those are usually good summations of your topic.  Then, use the key words in the post once or twice in the text (but not too many times...it needs to read well).  Then, add 2-3 pictures (more is fine) and use the alt tags/title lines with the key words.  I advised Joanna to mix up the words here (e.g. don't just copy and paste, but maybe switch the order or use synonyms - e.g. decorate vs. design or for geography sometimes Chappaqua NY, other times Chappaqua New York...you get the idea.

 

3.  I then shared a cool wordpress plugin called Yoast.  I just started using this in December, and it's awesome (thank you Michael George for the suggestion).  First, it let's you know how effective your SEO is for that post (based on the key words you select), and second, it gives you tips on how to improve it.  Essentially, it helps you learn better SEO techniques.  Also, it enable you to see and select the words that will show up on google search (and this can lead to higher click through rates).  I highly recommend it, and wish I knew about it sooner. (if you have wordpress, go to your plugins and select "find new" and if you type in Yoast, it should come up).

 

4.  We looked at Joanna's site for a few areas to improve.  It did seem that her blog was detached from the rest of her site, but I believe her web designer has fixed that.  There was also a glitch so that Google Analytics was no longer working, after the conversion, so the web designer fixed this too (can't wait to see the data to what we can learn from it, after she's had it for a month).  I also showed her the "WP author" plugin and we set that up so she has  a footer on all of her posts that explains who she is and how to contact her.  She still needs to set up Gravatar to get her picture in there.  This helps with authorship.  I tried to set this up in Google Plus for her, but not sure if I did it right.  It's been so long since I last did this.  But, she can do a google search for this and make sure it is set up right.

 

5.  While we were at it, we did a brief lesson on Pinterest and Google Plus.  But, Joanna's priority should really be on her blog and getting some serious google juice on that.  From there, she can expand to new frontiers.

 

I can't wait to reconnect in a month or so to see the progress and the impact.  Oh, and thx Joanna for a great lunch.  I forget that stuff you made me, but it tasted good.

 

 

Comments (10)

David Shamansky
US Mortgages - David Shamansky - Highlands Ranch, CO
Creative, Aggressive & 560 FICO - OK, Colorado Mtg

nice way to repay the kindness and knowledge she has shared and helped you with, plus some nice bonus points too boot

Mar 09, 2013 02:12 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

David - Thx.  Yes, I'm always happy to help Joanna as she has helped me so much. I don't need the pts, but the extra pts will come in very handy for her as she works her way up to free membership.  she has made great progress here.

Mar 09, 2013 02:14 AM
Pamela Seley
West Coast Realty Division - Murrieta, CA
Residential Real Estate Agent serving SW RivCo CA

Debbie, it's good that you can help out someone else. For agents, it's difficult to beat out Trulia and Zillow when it comes to internet searches. Home buyers want to see homes. 

Mar 09, 2013 02:16 AM
Suesan Jenifer Therriault
JTHIS-Professional Home Inspection Team - Blakeslee, PA
"Inspecting every purchase as if it were my own".

Great work Debbie. It's great to be able to help someone, especially if that person has some how helped you in the past. Like you I'm looking forward to hearing about her progress.

Mar 09, 2013 02:21 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Pamela - Yes, I can see that being a challenge.  The key, though is longtail search.

Suesan - Yes, it feels good being able to return the favor.

Mar 09, 2013 03:46 AM
Roger D. Mucci
Shaken...with a Twist 216.633.2092 - Euclid, OH
Lets shake things up at your home today!

Bubbeleh and Bubbeleh...........what a team!

Mar 09, 2013 07:26 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Roger. - Yes, we certainly are!

Mar 09, 2013 07:42 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Debbie you are an excellent resource with a lot of valuable information, and Joanna was very wise in reaching out to you.

Mar 09, 2013 09:35 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

George - Thx so much.  Yes, we work very well from each other.

Mar 09, 2013 08:21 PM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

Great to read about your progress as I'm just getting started with this contest and post for a "newbie".  Also, your suggestions are interesting.  I'll have to try your suggestions!  So the Sensei helps other Senseis!

Mar 10, 2013 02:46 PM