Tag Archives: Blogging Secrets

10 SEO Tips for Bloggers

August 11, 2016 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 142 Comments

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I have had a few people ask me what my SEO tips were so I decided to write a post outlining my SEO tips.

Blogging is not just about writing articles that your readers will enjoy. You also have to think about how to make your content visible to the online world. There are millions of people searching for information on search engines – Google, Bing and Yahoo. Search engines are a great
source of traffic to your blog. So understanding how SEO works and what you can do to rank your blog high on the search results will
help give your blog the needed boost.

When I first started blogging, I didn’t have a clue about search engine optimization, I didn’t even know what that was. All I wanted to do was to write, and write I did. I wrote without thinking of search engines, or stressing over how the online audience would find my blog. However, as Fashion and Style Police grew, I started to think of SEO. I studied what successful bloggers did, how they wrote their blog posts, and I also did my own research here and there. I always have these SEO tips in mind when writing a blog post:

1. Stay ahead of the search

Anticipate what the internet world will be searching for. Whenever you want to write an article, think about the possible words your ideal reader would be searching for. Write a list of these words and fit them into your blog posts. Those are the keywords you should add to your headlines, first paragraph, and other parts of your blog post.

2. Use long-tail keywords in your blog posts

Short keywords are heavily used and this makes it difficult for your article to compete with other similar articles on the internet. To get optimum benefit from keywords, you need to use long-tail keywords. These are a longer set of words that your readers may be searching for.

For example, “acne remedies” is a saturated set of keywords. Long-tail keywords like “acne remedies that clear acne fast” will have lower competition from other blog posts, but are highly searched for by your ideal readers, if that makes sense.

Keywords are important for SEO but you should also ensure you do not overboard using them.

3. Write attractive headlines

To capture your reader’s attention, write catchy headlines that inform them about what your blog post is about and make them curious enough to click your blog post. Attractive headlines give a tip of what the blog post is about, and they also help readers find your blog post.

4. Create quality content

Millions of people search for information on search engines daily. If you give quality information, this will encourage people to share and make reference to your blog post in their own blogs. References to your blog from other sources help to increase your search ranking. So create quality content so you get link backs an social media shares.

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5. Link to your own posts where relevant

Try as much as possible to make reference and link to some of your own blog posts on your site. This will help you rank higher on the search results. It makes it easier for the search engine to find your other posts. Plus, visitors to your blog will stay longer on your blog and go through your previous posts.

6. Optimize your URL structure

Just like your headline, the URL (that is, the link) of your blog post gives a little information about the post. Search engines favour URLs that make it easier for readers to understand the content of your blog. For example, you can guess what the content of my blog post is if I write my URL like this:

“http://www.fashionandstylepolice.com/2016/08/08/how-to- attract-new- clients-keep- existing-

clientele”. But you’ll have no idea what the blog post is all about if my URL were written like this:

“http://www.fashionandstylepolice.com/45860382624”.

Also, aim to have your url as short as possible. The shorter the url, the better.

7. Optimise your images

If you want your blog images to appear of Google, you need to rename your images with relevant search-friendly names and include a ‘image’, or ‘Picture’ at the end. For example, if you are saving a picture of a boy kicking a ball, you should name it ‘boy kicking a ball image’. Images saved properly will appear on search engines. You also include an alternative text image name.

8. Use relevant anchor text

When linking back to an old post or to another site, ensure the anchor text is SEO-friendly, and relevant to the page you are linking to.

9. Post regularly

Updating your blog on a regular basis will boost your blog’s SEO by adding relevancy to it in the eyes of the search engines.

10. Responsive blog

Having a mobile friendly blog helps your SEO. An easy to use blog will keep people visiting and clicking, which will eventually boost your search engine ranking.

These tips have helped me boost my SEO, so they are definitely worth paying attention to. You can read more SEO tips in my book – How to Cash In as a Blogger.

Do you have any search engine optimisation tips to add?

How to Attract New Clients & Keep Existing Clientele

August 8, 2016 By in Freelancing/Self-employed Tags: , , , , , , , , 36 Comments

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As it is with all businesses, being able to acquire new clients and retain existing ones is a BIG challenge. Even freelancers face this same problem. However, attracting new clients poses to be more difficult and, often times, more expensive than retaining old ones.

For a freelancer, it is important to do both at the same time in order to guarantee a regular flow of income. Sometimes the time spent in attracting and retaining clients is more than the time spent doing the actual work. For some freelancers, putting up adverts to attract new clients is way above their budget. However, there are some inexpensive ways of doing this.

Here are some ways you can attract new clients to your freelance business.

1.    Get referrals

Word of mouth is so powerful! Every time you are hired for a job, do as much as you can to provide excellent service. Go the extra mile. When your clients like your work, ask for a referral. Your clients will be glad to refer you to people they know who would need your service.

2.    Guest post

Creating content for other blogs is a good way of showcasing your talent and expertise to thousands of people. When you show your level of expertise in the quality of your content, more people will be interested in hiring you.

3.    Build and market your portfolio

As you build your portfolio, showcase your work, and let the quality of your work speak for itself. You can showcase your work on your website or blog, if you have one, by simply creating a separate page for it. You can show off your portfolio on social media.

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Attracting clients is not all there is in the freelance business. You need to know how to retain them as well. Here are some ways you can do that.

 

1.    Always give quality service

What better way to retain your existing clients than by giving quality service? Quality service builds the know, like and trust factor in your freelance business. When you do a good job, your clients keep coming back for more.

2.    Take interest in your client’s goals and help your clients achieve them

Your client hired you for a specific purpose. Take time to find out what exactly they want to achieve and give helpful suggestions on how they can meet those goals. Your genuine interest in your clients will endear you to them and they will keep coming back.

3.    Keep in touch with your existing clients

After completing a project, some freelancers forget about their clients completely. This is not a good practice. Staying in touch can help you get hired again. Sending your clients eCards during holidays or simply an email to ask how they are doing and if there is any way you can help them is a good way of staying in touch. Give them incentives like promos or discounts to reward their loyal patronage. This gives you an edge over other freelancers who just forget about their clients because you wi’ll constantly be on their minds.

How do you attract your clients? How do you keep in touch with existing clients?

How to Make Your Blog Stand Out

July 11, 2016 By in Blogging Tips Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , 53 Comments

I read hundreds of blogs a week.. So trust me when I say I have seen them all. The good, the not so good, the bad, the ugly, and the very ugly. My blog isn’t perfect. In fact it is nowhere near perfect. I still have a lot of work to do on it, but it is where I need it to be for now. I go on so many blogs on a daily basis, many of them I won’t visit again unless I have to. So I thought I should share some tips on how to make your blog stand out from the rest.

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Here are some features my favourite blogs have:

 

Have a Sleek Design

My definition of a sleek design is simple, chic, easy to navigate, and not overloaded with ads or unnecessary widgets in the sidebar. I like to be able to comment on a blog post easily and quickly too.

 

Mobile Friendly & Quick to Load

I like mobile friendly blogs and I like blogs that are quick to load, because I usually browse through my favourite blogs on my iPhone. Some blogs are painfully slow, it takes ages for a post to load, and I find it so frustrating. You having a mobile friendly quick to load blog is an easy way to stand out as a blogger.

 

Regular Posting

I like blogs that are updated regularly, and by regularly I mean daily. I hate it when I read a post or 2 that I really like, only for the blogger to not post a new blog post for a week. That puts me right off. I hate waiting.

 

Pretty Pictures

I am a very visual person, and if you read my blog regularly, you would know that. I enjoy taking photos. I have been playing around with my Canon camera, and I am also currently taking a Lightroom course to improve my editing skills, so I am still a work-in-progress. But I am not where I used to be 3 years ago or even 6 months ago. The quality of my photos have improved massively and that is because I pay special attention to them.

Paying attention to your photography is one of the easiest ways to stand out as a blogger. Take it from me. Many blogs have not so good photos, and that is me putting it mildly. You will stand out easily by having amazing outfit or product shots, with the right props, pose and lightening. Go the extra mile, it is never crowded.

 

Have a Search Box

Make sure the theme of your blog layout comes with a search box. It is a very useful tool to have. It makes it easy for brands, PRs, and You to find old blog posts. As a blogger outreach consultant, I may sometimes have to dig into your blog to find relevant blog posts before contacting a blogger.  A blog not having a search box means I have to go through the entire archives or rely on Google to find the relevant blog posts. Most times I just move on to the next blog.

 

Categorise your Blog Posts

I see so many blog posts listed as ‘uncategorized’. That is a big no-no in my eyes. I am an organised freak so all my blog posts have to fall into a category. You not categorising your blog posts is off-putting. For example, I may just want to read your fashion posts, but you may also blog about pets sometimes, if you have your posts categorised, it will be so easy for me to find the fashion posts that interest me.

 

How do you make your blog pop? How do you make your blog stand out?

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