SEO – Search Engine Optimization – comprises all the little things you do to your site and content to garner a higher ranking in Google so more folks find your site.
But does it work?
And is it enough to get more eyeballs on your content?
Yes and no.
Let me explain how and why I’m changing my tactics to get found by more viewers.
The Backbone of Ranking Well
There are two main elements that will get your posts ranked well for a search result.
- Writing super content on that topic
- Backlinks to your post about it
What’s the Problem?
I write great content on WordPress, plugins, SEO, site security, and performance.
That’s not a problem.
And, that content gets found on Google because it ranks well for certain search criteria because Google has deemed it an authoritative source.
So, that’s not the problem either.
All Read, No Share
Site owners love consuming the content on BlogAid.
They just don’t share it.
And that’s the problem.
The biggest segment of my audience for BlogAid is a diverse mix of site owners.
For instance, I have a large following of craft and lifestyle bloggers.
They are devoted fans of Tips Tuesday, both the podcast and the post. And they never miss an episode because it helps them stay on top of what they need to know for site success.
I’m very grateful for that audience.
But, and here’s the rub, they don’t have audiences that are interested in the latest site and tech news. Their audiences want recipies and DIY craft posts.
Hence, lots of reading, but little sharing, and no backlinks.
If they do share one of my posts, it’s usually in a private group.
And I’m thrilled they do that because word-of-mouth endorsements and referrals in small groups is the mainstay of my service business.
But, they rarely have opportunity to link to one of my posts from their site. It just wouldn’t be appropriate.
Too Broad
Because I cover way more than just WordPress, my topic list is too broad to have my articles regularly followed by other top WordPress authorities and featured by them.
So, no backlink opportunities there either.
In other words, I’m just not niche enough.
I’m okay with that.
Site owners have to wear a lot of hats and I try to cover as much of the tech associated with that as I can.
Is SEO Still Worthwhile?
Oh hell yes!!!
A solid 78% of my new site visitor traffic is from organic SEO clicks.
When I ask new clients how they discovered me, about half say they were searching for something online and came across one of my posts.
Grow Fast, Grow Now
I also hear from those clients that they followed me for up to a year before making a purchase. That’s a long nurturing process.
If I want to increase passive income via video tutorials, compared to dollars for hours service work, then it will take a lot more traffic and quicker buying turnaround to keep prices affordable on both.
Things Have Changed
Years ago when I started BlogAid, there weren’t that many good sources for WordPress tutorials and site owner info.
Today, however, I’m being outspent by 100s of 1000s of dollars in advertising and there are LOTS of other video tutorial warehouses like Lynda, Treehouse, and Udemy.
Plus, WordPress tutorials are no longer profitable for a solopreneur that does not want to split revenue with entities like Udemy. (Trust me, I tried it and lost $3k compared to offering the same courses on my own member site.)
Not to mention there are literally millions of sites dispensing billions of articles a day on the same topics i cover.
Several of those sites have a whole coral of staff writers who help the site pump out 5-6 articles a day.
I can’t compete with all that using standard content marketing, or even social media post marketing.
Buying Traffic
So, I’m turning to social selling.
I’m going to start buying my traffic with ads.
You need a solid sales funnel to make those work, and I’ve been developing those for the past six months.
The Bottom Line
Online success has always been a numbers game.
I enjoy the service side of my business, but there are only so many hours in a day and only so much I can charge.
Passive income sources have to become a bigger mix, in a different way for me to succeed and continue to grow my business.
The Limit of SEO
So yes, I’m still going to create authoritative, helpful content.
And I’m still going to use and teach SEO best practices.
Plus, I’m still going to help folks understand that it takes a diversity of approaches to gain new audience.
For instance, you can’t just rely on Pinterest for traffic and miss all other SEO opportunities to garner free traffic from what you’re already doing..
That’s leaving money on the table.
How Goes it for You?
What brings your site traffic?
How are you diversifying your mix of sources?
How have you changed what you do in the last few years?
