In just five SEO steps, you can build a site that will lead the search results for its keyword by the end of its first month. The key is good preparation—so although you’ll see results quickly, you’ll still have to work hard for them.
Lately I have been writing about different methods I use to create websites built on solid foundations. It is a huge step when you first open your blog to the world and preparation is the key. The blood, sweat and tears I mention in this article will pay off handsomely in the end.
SEO Step #1—Find A Keyword
By far the most important SEO step is to find a good keyword. I think even a bad keyword is better than no keyword because anything you learn about keyword optimization with the bad keyword can be applied to your next site.
To choose a good keyword, start with a pen and some paper and think of subjects you want to write about. For each of those subjects, guess what people search for when they have questions.
For example, if you decide you want to write about dogs, think of the last few things you searched for about dogs. My most common dog-related searches all involve possible health issues for my dog.
When you have an idea of what people might search for, visit Google Search and run a few searches. Are there any results for those keywords? If not, try a different search query. Are there more than 10,000 results? If not, beware—you might be entering unprofitable territory.
After you have a list of quality search terms, log into Google AdWords (it’s free if you don’t run ads) and open the keyword research tool. Enter your search term and see how many monthly searches there are in Google for that term. Also note down related terms.
Those terms will be your main site keywords. Your goal will be to capture 10% to 50% of that monthly traffic.
SEO Steps #2—Write The Initial Content
For most people, this will either the hardest or most expensive step. You need to write (or hire someone to write) the initial site content. I think a new site should launch with 100,000 words of content in these four categories:
- A free report about 10,000 words log to give away as a reward for taking specific actions (signing up for a newsletter, filling out a survey, buying an ebook).
- A Blog with twenty 1,000-word posts or forty 500-word posts pre-entered and backdated.
- About twenty 1,000-word pre-written Guest Blog Posts to quickly build your backlinks.
- 52 weekly 1,000-word Fundamental or **Evergreen Posts to pre-schedule for posting every week. This way your blog stays active even when you get too busy to write (and you will!).
A hundred thousand words sounds like a lot—and it is—but remember that all these blog posts will cover the same subject and the same set of keywords. Writing a block of related posts can double or triple your writing speed by cutting down on repeat research.
I know people will be moaning right now saying “how can I afford to do that” or ” I can't write that much content”. Well do you want to start a business or a hobby? This is serious and you will be amazed at what this preparation can do for a blog.
SEO Steps #3—Domain Name & Publication
Most people suggest buying a domain name when you choose your keyword, but I suggest that you avoid paying a single penny for anything until you have your content ready for publication. This is not just to avoid the cost of an idle domain (which is pretty cheap). You also get a chance to change your mind about your keyword as you write.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve discovered a new angle on something only after I put a few hours into writing about it. You might start out writing about dog health problems and realize there’s a unrealized market for advice specifically about older and less active dogs. If you already bought a domain, you’ve possibly wasted your money, so wait until you finish writing before you buy the domain.
After you buy the domain, find some Hostgator coupon codes to get a discount on your hosting and load your initial content. Publish everything, test on several different Web browsers to make sure everything is working correctly, and submit your site to Google’s index.
Google will discover on your site the 20,000 words of unique content you pre-wrote. Google loves unique content, so you might start ranking well for less popular keywords even without incoming links. (That’s if you wrote real unique content—not spun or PLR content.)
SEO Steps #4—Guest Blog
You’ve already written 20 feature-length (1,000-word) blog posts. Now go find sites in or related to your niche that will accept them as guest posts.
Guest blogging is easy. For each site you want to guest blog for, see if the site has guest blogging guidelines. If it does, follow them. If not, send the blog operator a short email including the full text of your post. Introduce yourself and your site briefly, include the HTML of your post, attach any small images, and make sure your post ends with a short author bio and a backlink to your site.
If the blog operator rejects your post, then try submitting it to another site. If it gets rejected too many times, consider rewriting it or adding it to your own blog’s queue.
But if the blog operator decides to publish it, you have a little extra work to do:
First, thank the blog operator for publishing it in a quick email.
Then promote your guest post on your websites, social media accounts, newsletters, and other promotion tools. You want to make the post successful to maximize the amount of traffic and links that get made back to your site.
When twenty top sites in your niche publish your guest posts with the backlinks to your site, it will firmly cement your authority to Google. Almost overnight you’ll go from a nobody to an authority within your niche. Here are some of my tips for choosing the right blog to guest post on.
SEO Steps #5—Blog Often
There’s only one step left—prove to Google that you’re not a one-hit wonder. The easiest way to do this is by hosting a blog. That’s true even if you’re a retail outfit or other site that doesn’t require a blog. I have even added a blog in the background of a simple product sales website. This bought me traffic I did not expect and Google loved it by giving me a PR 4 for having relevant content pumping through and not just a stagnant sales page.
Blogs ensure that there is always fresh content on your site. Google loves fresh unique content, especially high-quality stuff. And fresh content will get read by readers who will click your ads, buy from you, or sign up for your newsletter.
You’ve already written fifty-two 1,000-word blogs. Schedule these to be posted automatically every week to guarantee a supply of fresh blogs.
I suggest you don’t write any more blogs until you see how well your site performs. Although the techniques in this article can help you reach #1 in Google, they can’t ensure profitability, which is what really matters.