Text is the basis of SEO and text can help you get found online with your blog and with your social media accounts. Doing research on how your clients and ideal readers browse online for services and products you offer is key. This text in SEO language is known as keywords. They can be one word, two word or even sentences. For example.
Wedding
Wedding flowers
Wedding floral designers
Best wedding florists in Orlando
I see many creatives making some big mistakes when it comes to building a keyword list.We need to think like the client and stop using big industry words. For example photographers tend to use the word session a lot but every day clients are searching for terms such as pictures, photos, photography and ideas.
Mistake #1 is assuming you already know exactly what you should want to be found for. If you have a list of 3-4 things you want to be found for in Google, then you are missing out on traffic and moving up in the Google chain. What I love about ranking in Google is that I can show up in different ways and for different things. Have you ever noticed when you ask a client how they found you, they just say “online”? But they can’t tell you for sure that it was by searching a particular term and that you were on page 1. See, users just keep searching and searching until they get the info and inspiration they want.
Now comes the beauty of Google results. The goal is not just to have getfoundwithfuse.com to show up, but to show up in different formats. So for example, if I want to rank for SEO for creatives, then I can show up in the following ways.
My main domain page www.getfoundwithfuse.com A blog post:
Google Image in images
A video result in Youtube Video
A pin or board from Pinterest
And there’s more—so you see, there’s no one cookiecutter solution, or aiming to be found just by what I do and where I do it. My dear creative, you need a list, and a big one, because variation is king in boosting our sites and blogs.
Mistake #2 is not doing the research. It’s essential that you take some time and you research competitors and keyword opportunities. Sometimes the muchdesired keyword you want has no search volume. You can use the Google Adwords Keyword Planner, Keyword Tool or you can check out SEM Rush, which will show you some search volume. Feel free to check out my blog post: 8 Ways to find new keywords for your business.
Mistake #3 is not knowing where to use keywords. Uninformed bloggers think the trick to keywords is just using them in the title or blog text. Maybe they know keywords are also used for Image SEO. But did you know that you should be utilizing keywords in social media as well? Pinterest is a great place to use keywords to have a chance to show up in Google results and Google Images. Make sure you’re adding rich text in your board descriptions and pins. For example, if you have a decor blog and you blog about a fall decor wreath, then don’t just have Fall Decor Wreath as your alt text. Describe the wreath, add colors, adjectives or even a full sentence stating what the post is about. Fun Fall Decor Wreath Tutorial, or Check out this fall wreath stepbystep tutorial. Other places for adding keywords in social media are in bios, hashtags and descriptions.
Mistake #4 is keyword stuffing. So, you’ve learned that text is the basis for SEO, and then you go text happy and repeat the same keyword over and over and over. NO BUENO. First, you are probably making mistake #1, using just one or two keywords, and then you’re spamming your own blog. I’ve seen this mistake when folks post a HUGE list of cities in a website footer or blog footer. I have seen this in calls to action at the end of a blog post, where the blogger states the same text over and over with a link for readers to visit a certain web page. I have also seen this as robotic text on a website or blog page. When blogging, please… please… write with the reader in mind first, then SEO second. Your blog post titles should be user friendly, make sense, and not repeat NY wedding photographer, etc.
Mistake #5 is not doing Image SEO correctly. I see two scenarios among bloggers and creatives. One is that they are not optimizing their images for search at all, and two, they are adding text in Image SEO areas but just repeating some loose keywords over and over. So, the tip is to use variety in the keywords you have, and to blog with SEO in mind, and therefore you will need to have a list to optimize your Image Files. There are three areas in Image SEO: Title, Alt Text and Description. Ideally, you want to fill these three areas out for every image you add to your blog and website, but that text needs to be unique! Of those three areas, the most important is the Alt Text. Describe your photo and or your post as much as possible with keywords. This is also the text that gets pulled up when folks pin from your blog, so think as if this were a pin in Pinterest. How should this photo be described? Use colors, textures, mood, and words like ideas, photos, and inspiration
Overall, keyword research is the foundation for building a strong presence in Google, and if we want Google to love us, we can not ignore it! If you need more tips and help on building your Keyword Strategy, I have a FREE mini course you can sign up here.
