Hi everyone,
Here I am again with my latest challenge update.
Again, I have been utilising the forum and blog commenting methods. My latest traffic stats are higher than the previous day’s, which is encouraging, but I think I need to start ramping things up a bit. Tomorrow I’m hoping to try an additional free traffic method. If it goes to plan then all will be revealed tomorrow…
Today I’ve been working a little on the behind-the-scenes aspects of my site. Today I read a post in our licensee partners’ private Facebook group from one of our members who was concerned about her Google ranking and indexing. This is something I know very little about and as I was contemplating her concern I began to think about my own site and the fact that there are likely SEO aspects that I’m overlooking. So I’ve done two things:
1) In addition to having Google Analytics already set up I’ve now set up Google Webmaster tools. This gives me a bit more specific information about my site and its visitors, etc.
2) I’ve installed a free WordPress plugin called Yoast WordPress SEO. In a nutshell, this is a plugin to help improve my site’s SEO. One thing that it’s done is to create sitemaps, which is something that I haven’t addressed before. These serve as a kind of contents page that the search engine robots can lock onto and get information from. There’s probably a lot more to it than that, but that’s the basic function so far as I understand it!
I have been considering whether or not to carry on posting daily but I’ve decided to continue, at least for now, as it’s helping to keep me focused and accountable. If I have in mind that I have to post an update then this will ensure that I actually do the required work through the day and don’t allow myself to be tempted to slack off!
Well I think that’s about it for the moment. Tomorrow will be the last day of the first week of the challenge – let’s see where we stand at this first milestone!
I guess we all are in the same boat when it comes to seo. I haven’t paid too much attention to it as well. I had an outsourcer originally set it up and it came with plugins he installed. I think the google sitemap is in there along with the seo all in one. I looked into whether or not my site had been verified by yahoo and to my surprise it wasn’t. I took care of that late last night as well. Now I don’t put too much emphasis on rankings because of all the constant changes with the search engines.
I try and focus on building relationship and creating interaction. If the organic stuff comes, that’s even better. Thanks for the post and also looking forward to your upcoming strategy.
Jerry Handy recently posted…60 Day Challenge-Day 7
Hey Jerry,
As you know, I have the same outlook. Connecting with the people who so kindly take a few minutes out of their time to visit my page is of paramount importance to me. I think of it in a similar way to the phrase “The money is in the list”. Many Marketers take that to the next level and say, “The money is in the responsive list” or, “The money is in the relationship that you have with your list”, but I like to take it even further and combine it as, “The money is in the relationship that you build with a responsive list”. Of course I’m still learning and still trying to master the list-building strategy, but I am always open and honest with anyone who subscribes and this is an essential practice.
I take a similar attitude to traffic. Some say that traffic is the lifeblood of your business but I believe that, more specifically, it is good quality traffic that is the lifeblood. I’d rather have 1000 targeted, responsive, appreciative people visit my site or subscribe to my list than 100,000 who just breeze through and with whom I don’t build any sort of relationship. At the end of the day, it’s the ones who get to know, like and trust you who will be prepared to learn from you and to buy when you have things of value to offer them.
Of course, as you say, if organic stuff comes then all the better, but I think that it’s important to focus on quality first and foremost. That way you’re building a foundation of followers and you’re building your reputation, things that are separate from and unaffected by the search engines. But, obviously, a well-structured, SEO site isn’t going to hurt 😉
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Stepping Outside of Your Padded Comfort Box
Hi Glenn,
I did not know that Yoast plugin helps you make sitemap. I use All In One SEO because I found Yoast pretty technically challenging
I use Google XML Sitemaps v3 for qTranslate pluginfor sitemaps. Did you submit your sitemap on Google and Bing yet and did you verify your site?
Also I use Simple Sitemap plugin which is an HTML sitemap and it is important not only for humans but search engines like it too. You can check mine by clicking on Sitemap in my navigation bar. The other is just XML site map and it is only for search engines.
Both plugins are really simple.
By the way the indexing of my site is almost normal by now.
Dita
Dita at Blogging Tips recently posted…10 Examples Of Premium And Free Responsive WordPress Themes
Hi Dita,
Yes Yoast does it all for you automatically, which is really handy for me as I haven’t a clue as to how to do it manually! I looked at Google Sitemaps XML too but decided to settle on Yoast.
I have submitted and verified with Google but not yet with Bing, that’s going to be my first port of call this morning.
I’m glad your indexing issue has improved, I know how frustrating and worrying these things can be, especially if we can’t figure out the reason for it. That’s the main reason why I decided to not continue to pursue a career in computer engineering. I found that most problems were very simple to sort out, probably 98% being down to user error. But now and again a problem crops up that makes no sense and if you can’t isolate it quickly and easily then it becomes really stressful. I found that it was just too much for me, on top of my existing health issues.
Hopefully Internet marketing will prove to be less stressful overall! I wonder how I’ll feel at the end of the 60 day challenge? lol :-p
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…Blogging for the Future
Hi Glenn,
I have heard great things about the Yoast plugin too. When I had a few changes made to my detox blog recently because of loading problems the WP expert from the Warrior Forum that sorted it out for me tried to install it but it would not work with my theme for some reason. Hope it works well for you.
Lookinf forward to hearing your results of the first week. i’m just trying to find some time to write up mine.
Sandy Halliday recently posted…Speed Up Your Blog Load Time And See Improvements In Your Ranking
Hi Sandy,
Yes it seems to be really good so far. I like how it scans through a post before you publish it and it lets you know how SEO friendly it is.
I hope the weather’s been good for you in Spain – it’s been freezing here! 🙁
Glenn Shepherd recently posted…The Hunt for Blogs and Traffic!