Keyword Research: Finding the Terms People Actually Search For

Morning, SEO explorers! Hope you’ve got your coffee ready (I’m already on my second cup), because today we’re diving into what I consider the make-or-break foundation of SEO success: keyword research.

Look, I’ll be honest — when I first started with SEO, I thought keyword research was boring. Just find words people search for and stuff them in your content, right? WRONG. So, so wrong. It took me embarrassingly long to realize that effective keyword research is actually about understanding people — their problems, questions, desires, and language.

Why Most People Get Keyword Research Completely Wrong

Before we get into the how-to, let me share a quick story. A few years ago, I was working with a client who sold handmade leather wallets. When I asked him what keywords he wanted to rank for, he immediately said “best wallets” and “leather wallets.” Makes sense, right?

But when we actually did the research, we discovered that “slim wallet,” “minimalist wallet,” and “front pocket wallet” had WAY more search volume and lower competition. Plus, the people searching these terms were actually looking to buy, while many of the “best wallets” searchers were just browsing around.

The lesson? Our assumptions about what people are searching for are often completely off-base. You need data, not guesses.

Step 1: Brainstorming Your Seed Keywords

We’ll start with brainstorming some initial “seed” keywords — basic terms directly related to your business, products, or services. These will be our starting point for deeper research.

Get a piece of paper (yes, actual paper works great for this!) and write down answers to these questions:

• What products or services do you offer?
• What problems do you solve for customers?
• What terms would your ideal customer use to describe what you offer?
• What questions might they have before buying?
• What topics are you knowledgeable about in your industry?

Don’t overthink this — just get 10-15 basic terms down. For a coffee shop, these might be: “coffee shop,” “espresso,” “cappuccino,” “best coffee,” “specialty coffee,” etc.

Step 2: Expanding Your Keyword List with Research Tools

Now that we have our seed keywords, it’s time to expand them using some tools. There are tons of keyword research tools out there, ranging from free to pretty darn expensive. Here are the ones I recommend for beginners:

Free Options:

• Google Keyword Planner – It’s primarily for advertisers, but still useful for SEO
• Google Search Console – If you already have a website, this shows terms you’re getting impressions for
• Google Autocomplete – Type your seed keywords into Google and see what it suggests
• “People Also Ask” and “Related Searches” – Great for finding related questions and topics

Paid Options (most have free trials or limited free versions):

• Ahrefs Keywords Explorer – My personal favorite, very comprehensive data
• SEMrush – Great for competitive research too
• Moz Keyword Explorer – Good difficulty metrics
• Ubersuggest – More affordable option with decent data

For this course, we’ll focus on methods that work with the free tools, but the process is similar regardless of which tool you use.

// Example of expanding “coffee shop” with Google Autocomplete:
coffee shop near me
coffee shop open now
coffee shop atmosphere
coffee shop aesthetic
coffee shop names</p>
<p>// “People Also Ask” questions for “specialty coffee”:
What makes coffee a specialty coffee?
What is the difference between specialty coffee and regular coffee?
Is specialty coffee worth it?
What does specialty coffee taste like?
</p>

Step 3: Understanding Search Intent (This is HUGE)

Here’s where a lot of people go wrong: they find keywords with decent search volume and immediately try to rank for them without understanding the INTENT behind those searches.

Search intent is basically what the searcher is trying to accomplish. There are four main types:

1. Informational Intent – The searcher wants to learn something (“how to make espresso”)
2. Navigational Intent – The searcher wants to find a specific website (“starbucks near me”)
3. Commercial Intent – The searcher is researching before buying (“best espresso machine”)
4. Transactional Intent – The searcher wants to buy something now (“buy La Marzocco espresso machine”)

Why does this matter? Because the type of content that ranks for each intent is COMPLETELY different. If you create a product page targeting an informational keyword, you probably won’t rank well — and even if you did, those visitors aren’t ready to buy yet.

The easiest way to determine search intent is to simply Google the keyword and analyze what’s currently ranking. Look at:

• The content format (blog posts, product pages, videos, listicles, etc.)
• The content type (how-to guides, reviews, comparisons, etc.)
• The content angle (beginner-friendly, advanced, cost-focused, etc.)

Step 4: Analyzing Keyword Metrics

Once you’ve expanded your list and grouped keywords by intent, it’s time to prioritize them based on several metrics:

Search Volume

This is the average number of times people search for that exact keyword each month. Higher is generally better, but not always! Sometimes lower-volume keywords convert much better.

Keyword Difficulty

This estimates how hard it will be to rank on the first page for a keyword, usually on a scale of 0-100. As a beginner, I recommend focusing on keywords with lower difficulty scores (under 30 if possible).

Click-Through Rate Potential

Not all searches result in clicks! Some queries are answered right in the search results (like weather or simple facts). Tools like Ahrefs show the estimated percentage of searches that result in clicks.

Business Value

This one is subjective — how valuable would a visitor searching this term be to your business? I usually use a simple 0-3 scale:

• 0 = Not relevant to my business
• 1 = Somewhat relevant but unlikely to convert
• 2 = Relevant and might convert eventually
• 3 = Highly relevant with strong conversion potential

Step 5: Finding Content Gaps (Secret Competitive Advantage)

One of my favorite keyword research strategies is finding “content gaps” — keywords your competitors rank for that you don’t. This is like getting a peek at their playbook!

If you’re using a free approach, you can do this manually:

1. Identify 2-3 successful competitors in your niche
2. Browse their blogs/content and note what topics they cover
3. Look for patterns or topics that appear on multiple competitor sites
4. Identify topics they’re missing that you could cover (your unique angle)

With paid tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush, this process is automated through their content gap or keyword gap features.

Summary

Today we covered the essential process of keyword research, including:

• Brainstorming seed keywords related to your business
• Expanding your keyword list using free and paid tools
• Understanding and identifying search intent
• Analyzing keyword metrics to prioritize opportunities
• Finding content gaps your competitors have missed

Phew, that was a lot! But trust me, spending time on thorough keyword research is one of the highest-ROI activities in SEO. It’s the difference between creating content that gets ignored and content that drives consistent traffic month after month.

Tomorrow, we’re going to take what we’ve learned about keywords and apply it to on-page SEO — all the ways to optimize individual pages to send the right signals to search engines. We’ll cover everything from title tags to content structure to internal linking. It’s gonna be super actionable!

Keep your keyword research handy for tomorrow’s lesson. See you then!

On-Page SEO: Optimizing Your Content to Rank Higher

Hey there! Welcome to Day 3. How’s your keyword research coming along? Finding some good opportunities? Today we’re taking those keywords and putting them to work with on-page SEO.

So what exactly is on-page SEO? It’s basically everything you can control directly on your website to help search engines understand your content and rank it appropriately. Think of it as speaking Google’s language — you’re giving clear signals about what your page is about and why it deserves to rank.

The Elements of On-Page SEO

I remember when I first learned about on-page SEO, it seemed like there were a million things to remember. But over the years, I’ve found that focusing on these core elements gives you the biggest bang for your buck:

1. Title Tags

The title tag is the clickable headline that appears in search results. It’s arguably the most important on-page element because it’s both a major ranking factor AND it affects whether people click on your result.

Here’s what makes a great title tag:

• Include your primary keyword near the beginning
• Keep it under 60 characters to avoid truncation in search results
• Make it compelling enough to click (include benefits, numbers, etc.)
• Each page should have a unique title tag

<!-- Example of a good title tag -->
<title>Beginner’s Guide to Keyword Research: Find Topics That Drive Traffic</title></p>
<p><!-- NOT this -->
<title>Keyword Research | SEO | Best Practices | Tips | Company Name</title>

2. Meta Descriptions

While meta descriptions aren’t a direct ranking factor anymore (yep, Google confirmed this), they’re still super important because they can dramatically affect your click-through rate. Think of them as your ad copy in search results.

Effective meta descriptions:

• Are between 120-155 characters
• Include your primary keyword (it gets bolded when it matches the search query)
• Contain a clear value proposition or call to action
• Accurately summarize the page content

<!-- Example of a good meta description -->
<meta name="description" content="Learn proven keyword research techniques that drive traffic. This step-by-step guide shows you how to find low-competition keywords your competitors are missing.">

3. URL Structure

I’ve seen a ton of websites with ugly, confusing URLs full of random numbers and parameters. Don’t do that! Clean, descriptive URLs help both users and search engines understand what the page is about before even visiting it.

Best practices for URLs:

• Keep them short and descriptive
• Use hyphens to separate words (not underscores)
• Include your primary keyword
• Avoid unnecessary parameters or numbers
• Use lowercase letters only

<!-- Good URL structure -->
https://example.com/seo-keyword-research-guide</p>
<p><!-- Not so good -->
https://example.com/p=123?id=456&cat=seo

4. Header Tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)

Headers aren’t just for making text bigger or bolder — they create a hierarchical structure for your content that helps both readers and search engines understand how it’s organized.

Think of your content like an outline:

• H1: Your main title (only use ONE per page)
• H2: Major section headings
• H3: Subsections within your H2 sections
• H4-H6: Further subsections if needed (though rarely necessary)

Your headers should include relevant keywords where they fit naturally, but never force it. The structure should make logical sense to a human reader first and foremost.

5. Content Optimization

Now we get to the meat of on-page SEO: the actual content! Here’s where a lot of people get tripped up with outdated advice about “keyword density” or using your keyword X times. Forget all that. Modern content optimization is about comprehensiveness, relevance, and satisfying search intent.

Here’s my checklist for well-optimized content:

• Use your primary keyword in the first 100-150 words – But do it naturally
• Use related keywords and synonyms throughout – This helps with semantic relevance (Google understands topics, not just keywords)
• Cover the topic comprehensively – Look at what the top-ranking pages include and make sure you cover those points (and more)
• Break up text with images, videos, or infographics – This improves readability and engagement
• Use bulleted or numbered lists – They’re easier to scan and often get featured in snippets
• Write for humans first, search engines second – The best SEO copy doesn’t “feel” optimized at all

6. Image Optimization

Images aren’t just for making your page pretty — they’re important content that search engines try to understand. Plus, they can bring in traffic through image search!

Here’s how to optimize your images:

• Use descriptive filenames – “seo-keyword-research-process.jpg” is better than “IMG00123.jpg”
• Add relevant alt text – This helps search engines understand the image and improves accessibility for visually impaired users
• Compress images for web – Large image files slow down your page (and page speed is a ranking factor)
• Use responsive images – They should look good on all device sizes

<!-- Good image implementation -->
<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="keyword-research-process.jpg" alt="Step-by-step keyword research process flowchart showing how to find low-competition terms" width="800" height="600">

7. Internal Linking

Internal links are like secret weapons in SEO — they help search engines discover and understand the relationship between your pages, pass link equity around your site, and help users navigate to related content.

Best practices for internal linking:

• Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text – Not “click here” or “read more”
• Link to relevant, related content – This creates a logical content structure
• Prioritize linking to important pages – Pages you link to more often signal their importance to search engines
• Keep your link structure relatively flat – Users should be able to reach any page in 3-4 clicks from the homepage

This might sound a bit abstract, so let me give you a real example. Say you have an e-commerce site selling coffee equipment. Your blog post about “how to make pour-over coffee” should link to your pour-over coffee makers category page with anchor text like “best pour-over coffee makers” — not “click here to see our products.”

On-Page SEO Tools to Make Your Life Easier

Alright, I know that’s a lot to keep track of! Luckily, there are some great tools that can help:

• Yoast SEO or Rank Math – WordPress plugins that give you a checklist of on-page factors
• Hemingway Editor – Helps make your content more readable
• Surfer SEO – Analyzes top-ranking pages and gives content optimization suggestions
• Clearscope or MarketMuse – AI-powered content optimization (pricier but powerful)
• Screaming Frog – Crawls your site to find technical SEO issues

Personally, I use a combination of Yoast (for the basics) and Surfer SEO (for deeper content optimization). But when I was starting out, just Yoast alone was super helpful.

Summary

Today we covered the essential elements of on-page SEO, including:

• Title tags and meta descriptions that drive clicks
• Clean, keyword-rich URL structures
• Header tags that create a logical content hierarchy
• Content optimization focused on comprehensiveness and relevance
• Image optimization for better visibility and page speed
• Internal linking to strengthen your site’s structure

Remember, on-page SEO isn’t a one-time task — it’s an ongoing process of refinement. As you learn more about what your audience wants and how they search, you’ll get better at creating perfectly optimized content that ranks well and converts visitors.

Tomorrow, we’re going to tackle technical SEO — all the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes your site crawlable, indexable, and fast. Don’t worry if you’re not technical; I’ll break it down into simple steps anyone can follow. See you then!

Technical SEO: Making Your Site Search Engine-Friendly

Welcome to Day 4! How are you feeling about your SEO journey so far? Today might feel a bit intimidating if you’re not technically inclined, but I promise to break it down into manageable chunks. Technical SEO is actually one of my favorite parts of the process — it’s like solving a puzzle!

So what exactly is technical SEO? It’s all the behind-the-scenes work that makes your website easy for search engines to access, crawl, understand, and render. Think of it as clearing the path so Google can easily find and make sense of your amazing content.

Why Technical SEO Matters (A Quick Story)

Let me share something that happened to a client of mine last year. They had a beautiful website with fantastic content, but their organic traffic suddenly dropped by 60% overnight. After some investigation, we discovered that their developer had accidentally added a single line to their robots.txt file: “Disallow: /”

That one line essentially told Google “don’t crawl ANY page on this site.” Ouch! Once we removed it, traffic started recovering, but it took months to get back to previous levels.

The lesson? Technical issues can completely undermine all your other SEO efforts. They’re like having a sports car with sugar in the gas tank — it doesn’t matter how good the car is if it can’t run properly.

The Core Elements of Technical SEO

Alright, let’s dive into the most important technical aspects you need to get right:

1. Crawlability: Helping Search Engines Access Your Content

Before Google can rank your pages, its crawlers need to discover and access them. Here’s how to ensure they can:

Robots.txt

This is a simple text file that tells search engines which parts of your site they’re allowed to crawl. It lives at yourdomain.com/robots.txt.

# Example robots.txt file
User-agent: *        # Applies to all search engines
Allow: /             # Allow crawling of the entire site
Disallow: /private/  # Don’t crawl anything in the /private/ directory</p>
<p># Block specific bots
User-agent: BadBot
Disallow: /
</p>

For most sites, a simple robots.txt file is fine. The main thing is to make sure you’re not accidentally blocking important content.

XML Sitemaps

A sitemap is like a roadmap of your website that helps search engines find and understand all your important pages. It’s a simple XML file that lists all the URLs on your site that you want search engines to index.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
   <url>
      <loc>https://example.com/</loc>
      <lastmod>2025-03-30</lastmod>
      <changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
      <priority>1.0</priority>
   </url>
   <url>
      <loc>https://example.com/about/</loc>
      <lastmod>2025-02-15</lastmod>
      <changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
      <priority>0.8</priority>
   </url>
</urlset>

Most CMS platforms like WordPress (with plugins like Yoast or Rank Math) will generate sitemaps automatically. Once you have one, submit it to Google Search Console to help Google find and index your pages faster.

2. Indexability: Making Sure Your Pages Get Into Google’s Index

Just because Google can crawl your pages doesn’t mean they’ll be added to the search index. Here’s how to ensure your pages are indexed properly:

Meta Robots Tags

These HTML tags tell search engines whether to index a page and follow its links:

<!-- Default behavior (index the page and follow links) -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow"></p>
<p><!-- Don't index this page but follow its links -->
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, follow"></p>
<p><!-- Index this page but don't follow links -->
<meta name="robots" content="index, nofollow">

Use “noindex” for pages you don’t want appearing in search results, like thank-you pages, internal search results, or duplicate content.

Canonical Tags

These tell search engines which version of a page is the “official” one when you have similar or duplicate content. This is super common on e-commerce sites where products might appear in multiple categories.

<!-- On all versions of the page, point to the canonical version -->
<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/official-page/" />

One example where I’ve used this: I had a client with a product that was in both the “summer clothes” and “women’s tops” categories. We set the canonical to the “women’s tops” version to avoid competing with ourselves in search results.

3. Mobile-Friendliness: Essential in Today’s Mobile-First World

Mmmmm, so this is a biggie. Google now uses the mobile version of your site for indexing and ranking. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, your rankings will suffer. Period.

Key aspects of mobile-friendliness:

• Responsive design – Your site should adapt to different screen sizes
• Readable text without zooming – No tiny fonts!
• Adequate space between clickable elements – For fat-finger friendly navigation
• No intrusive interstitials – Pop-ups that cover the main content can get you penalized
• Fast loading on mobile networks – More on this in the next section

Test your site’s mobile-friendliness with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

4. Page Speed: Because Slow Sites Lose Rankings (and Visitors)

Page speed is both a ranking factor and a user experience factor. A slow site frustrates users and sends negative signals to Google. Here’s how to speed things up:

Image Optimization

• Compress images before uploading
• Use next-gen formats like WebP
• Implement lazy loading for images below the fold

Code Optimization

• Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
• Reduce server response time
• Eliminate render-blocking resources
• Leverage browser caching

There are tons of tools that can help you identify speed issues, but my favorites are:

• Google PageSpeed Insights
• GTmetrix
• WebPageTest

5. Structured Data: Helping Google Understand Your Content

Structured data (often implemented as JSON-LD) is like giving Google extra context about your content. It helps search engines understand what your content IS, not just what it SAYS.

Benefits of structured data:

• Eligibility for rich snippets in search results
• Better understanding of your content
• Potential ranking advantage for certain queries

Common types of structured data include:

• Article
• Product
• Local Business
• FAQ
• Recipe
• Review
• Event

<!-- Example of JSON-LD structured data for an article -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Complete Guide to Technical SEO",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jamie Smith"
  },
  "datePublished": "2025-04-01",
  "image": "https://example.com/images/technical-seo-guide.jpg"
}
</script>

You can use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to validate your implementation: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

6. Security: HTTPS is Non-Negotiable

HTTPS is a ranking signal, and Chrome now marks non-HTTPS sites as “Not Secure.” If your site isn’t already using HTTPS, making the switch should be a top priority.

When implementing HTTPS:

• Use 301 redirects from HTTP to HTTPS versions
• Update internal links to use HTTPS
• Update canonical tags to use HTTPS URLs
• Update your sitemap with HTTPS URLs

How to Identify Technical SEO Issues

So how do you know if your site has technical problems? Here are the tools I use most often:

Google Search Console

This free tool from Google is absolutely essential. It will alert you to:

• Indexing problems
• Mobile usability issues
• Security issues
• Manual penalties
• Core Web Vitals performance

Site Audit Tools

These tools crawl your website like search engines do and identify technical issues:

• Screaming Frog SEO Spider (free for up to 500 URLs)
• Semrush Site Audit
• Ahrefs Site Audit
• Sitebulb

If you’re just starting out, Google Search Console plus the free version of Screaming Frog will take you a long way.

Summary

Today we covered the fundamental aspects of technical SEO, including:

• Ensuring your site is crawlable (robots.txt and sitemaps)
• Making sure your pages are properly indexed (meta robots and canonical tags)
• Optimizing for mobile-friendliness
• Improving page speed for better rankings and user experience
• Implementing structured data to help search engines understand your content
• Securing your site with HTTPS
• Tools to identify and fix technical SEO issues

Phew! I know technical SEO can seem overwhelming at first, but it’s really about getting the fundamentals right. You don’t need to be a developer to implement most of these recommendations, and the impact on your rankings can be substantial.

Tomorrow, we’re shifting gears to focus on content strategy — how to create the kind of content that both ranks well AND serves your business goals. We’ll talk about different content types, how to plan a content calendar based on your keyword research, and how to create content that actually drives conversions. It’s gonna be fun!

See you tomorrow!

Content Strategy: Creating SEO-Optimized Content That Actually Converts

Hey there, SEO explorer! We’ve made it to Day 5, and today is where everything really starts to come together. We’re going to talk about content strategy — how to create content that ranks well AND drives real business results.

Because let’s be honest: traffic for traffic’s sake is pointless. I’ve seen plenty of sites with tons of visitors that don’t make a dime because their content doesn’t connect to their business goals. That’s not what we want!

Why Most Content Strategies Fail (Including My First Attempts)

When I first started with content marketing, I made a classic mistake. I created a ton of content around high-volume keywords that were loosely related to my business, but didn’t actually help drive conversions. The result? Lots of traffic, very few leads or sales.

I remember writing a super comprehensive guide to social media marketing that ranked #1 for several terms and drove hundreds of daily visitors. But here’s the thing — I was selling SEO services at the time, not social media services! Those visitors were interested in social media, not SEO, so they rarely converted. Total face-palm moment when I realized what I’d done.

The other common mistake I see is creating content that’s so focused on conversions that it ignores search intent. This usually results in content that doesn’t rank well because it’s too promotional.

The key is finding the balance — content that attracts the right people AND moves them toward becoming customers.

The Pilllar-Cluster Content Model For SEO Success

One of the most effective content frameworks I’ve used is the pillar-cluster model. This approach involves creating:

• Pillar content: Comprehensive guides (2000+ words) that cover a broad topic related to your business
• Cluster content: More specific articles that explore subtopics of your pillar in greater depth

These pieces all link to each other, creating a content ecosystem that signals to Google that your site has depth and authority on the main topic.

For example, if you’re a financial advisor, your pillar content might be “Complete Guide to Retirement Planning,” with cluster content like “How to Choose the Right IRA,” “Retirement Planning in Your 40s,” and “Understanding Required Minimum Distributions.”

Mapping Content to the Buyer’s Journey

Not all content serves the same purpose. Different pieces should target people at different stages of awareness and buying intent. Here’s how I structure it:

1. Awareness Stage Content (Top of Funnel)

This content targets people who are experiencing a problem but may not be looking for specific solutions yet.

Content types:

• Educational blog posts about problems in your industry
• “What is” and “Why” articles
• Industry statistics and trends
• Thought leadership

Example keywords: “what causes website traffic to drop,” “why is my website not ranking,” “importance of SEO”

Main goal: Build awareness, establish expertise, capture email subscribers

2. Consideration Stage Content (Middle of Funnel)

This content targets people who understand their problem and are actively researching solutions.

Content types:

• Solution comparison articles
• “How to” guides
• Case studies
• Expert interviews

Example keywords: “how to improve SEO rankings,” “best SEO tools,” “SEO vs PPC,” “how to do keyword research”

Main goal: Nurture leads, position your solution favorably

3. Decision Stage Content (Bottom of Funnel)

This content targets people who are ready to make a purchase decision.

Content types:

• Product/service comparisons
• Detailed case studies
• Pricing guides
• Testimonials and reviews

Example keywords: “best SEO services for small business,” “[your brand] vs [competitor],” “SEO consultant pricing”

Main goal: Convert leads into customers

Creating a Strategic Content Calendar

Alright, now that we understand the types of content we need, let’s talk about how to plan it all out in a strategic way.

I like to use a simple spreadsheet for content planning with these columns:

• Target Keyword: The primary term you’re targeting
• Search Volume: Monthly search volume for that keyword
• Difficulty: How hard it will be to rank (scale of 1-100)
• Buyer Stage: Awareness, Consideration, or Decision
• Content Type: Blog post, guide, case study, etc.
• Working Title: Draft headline for the piece
• Publication Date: When you plan to publish it
• Status: Planning, In Progress, Published, Updated

I generally recommend publishing at a consistent, sustainable pace rather than in bursts. For most small to medium businesses, 1-4 high-quality pieces per month is better than 20 mediocre articles all at once.

Writing Content That Actually Ranks

Now, let’s talk about how to create content that has the best chance of ranking well. Based on my experience and analysis of thousands of top-ranking pages, here are the key elements:

1. Match Search Intent Better Than Anyone Else

I can’t stress this enough: your content MUST align with what searchers are actually looking for. Check the top 5 results for your target keyword and ask:

• What format are they using? (list posts, how-to guides, ultimate guides, etc.)
• What questions are they answering?
• What subtopics do they all cover?
• How comprehensive are they? (word count, number of examples, etc.)

Your job is to create something that matches that intent but does it BETTER.

2. Create Comprehensive, Well-Structured Content

Structure your content with a clear hierarchy using proper heading tags (H2s for main sections, H3s for subsections, etc.). Make sure you cover the topic thoroughly, leaving no important questions unanswered.

For longer content, include:

• A table of contents at the beginning
• Clear subheadings that make the content scannable
• Bullet points and numbered lists where appropriate
• Visual elements (images, charts, videos) to break up text

3. Optimize for Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are those highlighted boxes at the top of search results that directly answer a question. To optimize for them:

• Include a direct, concise answer to the main question in the first 50-100 words
• Use the exact question as an H2 or H3
• Structure answers in logical formats (paragraphs for definitions, numbered lists for processes, bullet points for lists)
• Include a Q&A section addressing related questions

4. Enhance Credibility and E-A-T

Google’s quality guidelines emphasize E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), especially for topics that could impact someone’s health, finances, or safety.

To boost your content’s E-A-T:

• Include author bios highlighting relevant credentials
• Link to authoritative external sources
• Back up claims with data and statistics
• Update content regularly to keep it current
• Include original insights, not just repetitions of what others have said

Optimizing Existing Content (The Low-Hanging Fruit)

Creating new content is important, but don’t neglect your existing content! Some of my biggest SEO wins have come from updating and optimizing old posts rather than creating new ones.

Here’s my process for content optimization:

1. Identify Underperforming Content: Use Google Search Console to find pages that rank on page 2-3 or get impressions but few clicks
2. Check Search Intent: Make sure the content aligns with what people are actually searching for
3. Update for Comprehensiveness: Add missing information, new sections, fresh examples, and updated statistics
4. Improve Readability: Break up long paragraphs, add subheadings, include more images
5. Enhance On-Page SEO: Update title tags, meta descriptions, and heading structure
6. Add Internal Links: Link to and from other relevant content on your site
7. Update the Publication Date: If you’ve made substantial changes

Summary

Today we covered the key elements of a successful SEO content strategy, including:

• The pillar-cluster model for building topic authority
• Mapping content to different stages of the buyer’s journey
• Creating a strategic content calendar
• Writing content that satisfies search intent and has the best chance of ranking
• Optimizing existing content for better performance

Remember, the goal isn’t just to create content that ranks—it’s to create content that ranks AND moves your business forward. Always keep one eye on search metrics and the other on conversion metrics.

Tomorrow, we’re going to explore link building strategies—arguably the most challenging aspect of SEO, but also one of the most powerful for improving rankings. I’ll share ethical, sustainable approaches that won’t put your site at risk. See you then!

Link Building: Ethical Strategies to Build Authority and Trust

Welcome to Day 6! We’re getting into what many consider the most challenging aspect of SEO: link building. And yes, I’ve definitely had my share of link building frustrations over the years, but I’ve also seen firsthand how powerful it can be when done right.

Here’s the thing about links: despite all the changes to Google’s algorithm over the years, backlinks remain one of the most important ranking factors. A study by Backlinko found that the #1 result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions #2-#10. That’s huge!

The Evolution of Link Building (And Why Old Tactics Don’t Work)

Back in the early days of SEO, link building was pretty straightforward: get as many links as possible, regardless of quality. People would buy links in bulk, participate in link exchanges (“I’ll link to you if you link to me”), and spam blog comments with links. And it worked… for a while.

Then Google got smart. With the Penguin algorithm update in 2012 and subsequent updates, Google started penalizing sites with unnatural link profiles. Suddenly, those sketchy link building tactics didn’t just stop working—they actually hurt your rankings.

I learned this lesson the hard way with a client site that had been using a sketchy link building service before they hired me. Within a month of a Penguin update, their organic traffic dropped by 80%. It took us nearly a year of disavowing bad links and building legitimate ones to recover.

Understanding Link Quality: Not All Links Are Created Equal

Before we dive into strategies, it’s crucial to understand what makes a good link. The value of a link depends on several factors:

1. Authority of the Linking Domain

Links from high-authority websites (like major news outlets, educational institutions, or industry leaders) carry more weight than links from unknown or low-quality sites. Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush estimate domain authority with metrics like Domain Rating (DR), Domain Authority (DA), or Authority Score.

2. Relevance to Your Site

A link from a website in your industry or closely related to your content topic is more valuable than a random link from an unrelated site. For example, if you run a fitness website, a link from a health blog is more valuable than a link from a site about car repairs.

3. Link Placement and Context

Links within the main content of a page carry more weight than links in footers or sidebars. Similarly, contextual links (where your link makes sense in the surrounding content) are more valuable than isolated links or lists of links.

4. Anchor Text

The clickable text of a link provides context to search engines about what the linked page is about. While keyword-rich anchor text can be valuable, a natural mix of branded, naked URL, and varied anchor texts is healthier for your link profile.

Ethical Link Building Strategies That Actually Work

Now for the good stuff—link building tactics that are both effective and aligned with Google’s guidelines. These are approaches I’ve personally used with success:

1. Create Link-Worthy Content (The Foundation)

The most sustainable link building strategy is creating content so valuable that people naturally want to link to it. Types of content that typically earn links include:

• Original Research and Data: Surveys, case studies, or data analysis that provides new insights
• Comprehensive Resources: Ultimate guides or complete references on a topic
• Visual Assets: Infographics, diagrams, or charts that explain complex concepts
• Tools and Calculators: Interactive resources that solve problems for users
• Expert Interviews: Exclusive insights from industry leaders

One of my most successful link building assets was a data study where we analyzed 1,000 local business websites to identify common SEO issues. That single piece earned over 120 backlinks from industry blogs and even a few mainstream publications.

2. Strategic Outreach (The Proactive Approach)

Once you have link-worthy content, you need to let people know about it. This involves reaching out to relevant website owners, bloggers, and journalists who might be interested in your content.

Effective outreach is personalized, relevant, and provides clear value to the recipient. Here’s a simple outreach template I’ve used with good results:

Subject: [Their Recent Article] + Resource You Might Find Useful</p>
<p>Hi [Name],</p>
<p>I recently read your article on [topic] and particularly enjoyed your point about [specific detail from their content].</p>
<p>I noticed you mentioned [related topic], and I thought you might be interested in a [type of content: guide/study/tool] we recently published that [explain how it provides additional value].</p>
<p>[Link to your content]</p>
<p>If you find it useful, feel free to share it with your audience or reference it in your article.</p>
<p>Either way, keep up the great work with your content!</p>
<p>[Your Name]
</p>

The key is customizing each email to show you’ve actually read their content and are offering something genuinely valuable—not just asking for a link.

3. Broken Link Building (The Win-Win Strategy)

This approach involves finding broken links on relevant websites and suggesting your content as a replacement. It’s effective because you’re helping the site owner fix a problem while getting a link.

The process looks like this:

1. Find relevant websites in your industry (resource pages work best)
2. Use a tool like Ahrefs’ Broken Link Checker or the Check My Links Chrome extension to identify broken links
3. Create or identify your own content that could replace the broken link
4. Reach out to the website owner, alerting them to the broken link and suggesting your resource as a replacement

4. HARO and Media Opportunities (The Authority Builder)

Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a free service that connects journalists with sources for their stories. By responding to relevant queries, you can get quoted in publications ranging from industry blogs to major news outlets—often with a link back to your site.

To succeed with HARO:

• Respond quickly (journalists often work on tight deadlines)
• Provide concise, valuable answers (no fluff)
• Include your credentials to establish why you’re qualified to answer
• Make your response easy to quote by using clear, straightforward language

Beyond HARO, look for other opportunities to be featured in media, such as podcast interviews, webinar appearances, or guest expert spots in online communities.

5. Strategic Guest Posting (The Relationship Builder)

While mass guest posting solely for links has been devalued, strategic guest contributions on relevant, high-quality sites can still be valuable—both for links and for building your brand authority.

The key is being selective about where you contribute and focusing on providing genuine value, not just acquiring a link. Your guest posts should be:

• On sites relevant to your industry or topic
• As high-quality as content you’d publish on your own site
• Providing unique insights, not generic content
• Part of a broader strategy to establish expertise, not just for link building

6. Skyscraper Technique (The Improvement Strategy)

Coined by Brian Dean of Backlinko, the Skyscraper Technique involves:

1. Finding content in your niche that has lots of backlinks
2. Creating something significantly better (more comprehensive, more up-to-date, better designed, etc.)
3. Reaching out to sites that linked to the original content to let them know about your improved version

I’ve had mixed results with this technique, to be honest. It works best when your improved content is genuinely 10x better than the original, not just marginally improved. And your outreach needs to clearly explain WHY your version is better.

Link Building Metrics and Tracking Progress

Like any SEO activity, you need to track your link building efforts to see what’s working. Here are the key metrics I monitor:

• New Backlinks: The number of new links acquired (tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, or Google Search Console can track this)
• Referring Domains: The number of unique websites linking to you (more important than total links)
• Domain Authority/Rating: The quality of sites linking to you
• Anchor Text Distribution: Ensuring a natural mix of different anchor texts
• Traffic from Referrals: Whether your backlinks are actually sending visitors
• Ranking Changes: Improvements in search rankings after acquiring new links

Remember that link building results are rarely immediate. It can take weeks or even months to see the full impact of new links on your rankings.

Summary

Today we covered ethical, effective link building strategies, including:

• Creating genuinely link-worthy content as your foundation
• Conducting strategic outreach to promote your best content
• Using broken link building to provide value while earning links
• Leveraging HARO and media opportunities for high-authority links
• Approaching guest posting strategically to build relationships and authority
• Implementing the Skyscraper Technique to improve on existing content
• Tracking key metrics to measure your link building success

Remember, link building is a marathon, not a sprint. Focus on building a natural, diverse link profile over time rather than trying to get a huge number of links quickly. Patience and persistence are key!

Tomorrow is our final day, and we’ll be covering SEO analytics and measurement. You’ll learn how to track your progress, understand what’s working (and what’s not), and continue improving your SEO results over time. It’s the perfect way to wrap up everything we’ve learned this week. See you then!

SEO Analytics: Measuring Success and Continuous Improvement

Welcome to our final day together! I can’t believe how quickly this week has flown by. Today, we’re talking about one of my favorite aspects of SEO: analytics and measurement. Because let’s be honest — if you’re not measuring your results, how do you know if all your hard work is actually paying off?

When I first started in SEO, I’d make changes to websites and then just… hope they worked. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn’t, but I had no systematic way of knowing WHY. It wasn’t until I got serious about tracking and analyzing data that I started seeing consistent improvement in my results.

The Most Important SEO Metrics to Track

With so much data available, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Let’s break down the key metrics that actually matter, organized by category:

1. Visibility Metrics

These metrics tell you how visible your site is in search results:

• Keyword Rankings: Your position in search results for target keywords
• Search Visibility: The percentage of clicks your site could potentially receive based on current rankings
• Indexed Pages: How many of your pages Google has added to its index

Tools for tracking visibility include Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, and Google Search Console.

2. Traffic Metrics

These metrics show how many people are actually visiting your site from search:

• Organic Sessions: The number of visits from organic search
• New vs. Returning Users: The balance between first-time and repeat visitors
• Landing Pages: Which pages users enter your site through
• Geographic Data: Where your visitors are located

Google Analytics is the primary tool for tracking these metrics, supplemented by data from Google Search Console.

3. Engagement Metrics

These metrics reveal how users interact with your site after arriving:

• Bounce Rate: The percentage of single-page visits
• Time on Page: How long users spend consuming your content
• Pages per Session: How many pages users view during a visit
• Scroll Depth: How far down your pages users scroll

Google Analytics tracks most of these, while scroll depth might require additional setup or tools like Hotjar.

4. Conversion Metrics

These are the money metrics that show whether your SEO efforts are driving business results:

• Goal Completions: Specific actions users take (form submissions, signups, etc.)
• E-commerce Transactions: Online sales (if applicable)
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who complete desired actions
• Revenue from Organic Traffic: The actual money generated from search visitors

Google Analytics with proper goal or e-commerce setup is essential for tracking these business-critical metrics.

Setting Up Your Analytics Tracking (The Right Way)

Before you can analyze data, you need to make sure you’re tracking it correctly. Here’s how to set up the essential tools:

1. Google Analytics 4 Setup

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the current version of Google’s analytics platform, and it works quite differently from the previous Universal Analytics. Here’s how to get it right:

• Create a GA4 property in your Google Analytics account
• Add the GA4 tracking code to your website (preferably via Google Tag Manager)
• Set up proper event tracking for important user actions
• Create conversion events for your primary goals
• Set up audience definitions for different user segments

If you’re using WordPress, plugins like MonsterInsights can simplify this process.

2. Google Search Console Connection

Google Search Console provides SEO-specific data that you can’t get anywhere else, including:

• Keywords that are driving impressions and clicks
• Click-through rates for different queries
• Indexing issues and coverage reports
• Mobile usability problems
• Core Web Vitals performance

To set it up:

1. Create a Search Console property for your website
2. Verify ownership using one of the available methods
3. Connect Search Console to Google Analytics for integrated reporting
4. Submit your sitemap

3. Rank Tracking Setup

While Search Console shows average positions, dedicated rank tracking tools provide more detailed data on your keyword rankings. Options include:

• SEMrush Position Tracking
• Ahrefs Rank Tracker
• Moz Rank Tracker
• SE Ranking

When setting up rank tracking:

• Track a manageable number of keywords (focus on the most important ones)
• Include branded and non-branded terms
• Set up tracking for relevant geographic locations
• Consider tracking competitor rankings for comparison

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Creating an SEO Dashboard (My Approach)

With all these different metrics and tools, it’s helpful to create a central dashboard that gives you a quick overview of your SEO performance. Here’s how I structure mine:

Weekly Monitoring Dashboard

This dashboard focuses on metrics that change frequently and need regular attention:

• Rankings for top 10-20 target keywords
• Organic traffic week-over-week
• New vs. returning users from organic search
• Top landing pages from organic traffic
• Conversion rate from organic traffic

Monthly Performance Dashboard

This more comprehensive dashboard helps identify trends and informs strategy:

• Month-over-month organic traffic growth
• Performance by content category or section
• Keyword ranking distribution (how many keywords in top 3, top 10, etc.)
• New backlinks and referring domains
• Page speed metrics over time
• Conversion data by landing page
• Revenue or leads from organic traffic

You can create these dashboards using Google Data Studio (now called Looker Studio), which allows you to pull data from multiple sources into one visual report.

Analyzing Your Data (What to Look For)

Having data is one thing; knowing how to interpret it is another. Here are the analyses I perform regularly to extract actionable insights:

1. Content Performance Analysis

This helps you understand which content is driving results and why:

• Identify your top-performing pages by traffic and conversions
• Look for patterns in topic, format, or structure
• Analyze underperforming content to determine whether to improve or prune it
• Compare engagement metrics (time on page, bounce rate) across different content types

2. Keyword Gap Analysis

This reveals opportunities to expand your keyword targeting:

• Identify keywords where competitors rank but you don’t
• Find keywords where you’re ranking on page 2 or 3 (positions 11-30)
• Look for related keywords that your already-ranking content could target with minor updates
• Analyze which keywords are driving conversions vs. just traffic

3. User Journey Analysis

This helps you understand how users move through your site:

• Identify common paths from landing pages to conversion points
• Look for pages with high exit rates that might be creating bottlenecks
• Analyze how different traffic sources (like specific keywords) lead to different behavior patterns
• Track the average number of sessions before conversion

Using Data to Drive Continuous Improvement

The whole point of analytics is to inform your SEO strategy going forward. Here’s my process for turning data into action:

1. Regular Content Audits

Every 3-6 months, conduct a comprehensive content audit:

• Identify content that’s performing well and could be expanded or repurposed
• Find underperforming content that needs improvement or consolidation
• Look for outdated content that should be updated with fresh information
• Identify content gaps based on keyword research and competitor analysis

2. SEO Experiment Planning

Use data to design controlled experiments:

• Test different title formats to improve click-through rates
• Experiment with content structure changes on similar pages
• Try different internal linking strategies and measure the impact
• Test various call-to-action approaches to improve conversion rates

For each experiment, establish a clear hypothesis, methodology, and success metrics before making changes.

3. Quarterly Strategy Reviews

Every three months, take a step back and assess your overall SEO strategy:

• Review progress toward key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Identify which tactics have been most effective
• Adjust resource allocation based on ROI from different activities
• Update your keyword targeting based on changing trends and business priorities
• Set specific goals and priorities for the next quarter

Summary and 30-Day Action Plan

Congratulations! You’ve made it through our 7-day SEO bootcamp. Let’s recap what we’ve covered this week:

• Day 1: SEO fundamentals and how search engines work
• Day 2: Keyword research and understanding search intent
• Day 3: On-page SEO optimization techniques
• Day 4: Technical SEO and site performance
• Day 5: Content strategy for SEO success
• Day 6: Ethical link building approaches
• Day 7: Analytics and continuous improvement

To help you apply everything you’ve learned, here’s a 30-day action plan to implement right away:

Week 1: Foundations

• Day 1-3: Complete keyword research for your top 5 products/services
• Day 4-5: Perform a basic technical SEO audit of your site
• Day 6-7: Set up proper analytics tracking

Week 2: On-Page Optimization

• Day 8-10: Optimize your homepage and main landing pages
• Day 11-12: Improve title tags and meta descriptions for top pages
• Day 13-14: Enhance internal linking structure

Week 3: Content Development

• Day 15-16: Create your content strategy document
• Day 17-19: Develop one pillar content piece
• Day 20-21: Optimize 2-3 existing content pieces

Week 4: Promotion and Measurement

• Day 22-24: Implement link building outreach for your new content
• Day 25-26: Set up a basic SEO dashboard
• Day 27-28: Fix any critical technical issues identified in your audit
• Day 29-30: Review initial results and plan your next month of SEO work

Remember, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. You won’t see dramatic results overnight, but with consistent application of these principles, you will see improvement over time. The key is to keep learning, testing, and refining your approach based on data.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this course as much as I’ve enjoyed creating it for you! I’d love to hear about your SEO successes and challenges as you implement what you’ve learned. Feel free to reach out with questions or share your wins in the comments below.

Here’s to your SEO success! 🚀