Tips Tuesday – GA4 Course, Blog Money, AI SEO, News Topic Authority
Hello Happy Site Owners!
Tips This Week:
- 25 days to get GA4 done right
- On-page and Content Silo workshops coming
- Is your blog making you money?
- Change your mind about blogging on rented land
- Is blogging for ads dead?
- Impact of AI on blog traffic
- AI video search beyond YouTube
- News Topic Authority introduced by Google
- Find a way to be trendy
- Short content is in vogue
- Safari – just don’t use it
GA4 Tips
25 Days Left – Get Your Google Analytics 4 Done Right
Oh my, the questions are flooding blogging groups from site owners who used YouTube to set up their new GA4 property.
And most of the answers they are getting are just as bad.
Things like, “What is this little warning icon?” And folks replying that she needs to be on Google Tag Manager to get rid of it.
Wrong!
That warning is Thresholding.
And Google is applying it to your account because of a combo of your GDPR settings and how much traffic you get.
Other questions are things like:
- Why are Views higher than Users on a post?
- Where can I see Sessions in GA4?
- Why is Bounce Rate not available?
- Why do the 2 Acquisition reports show totally different user count?
The BlogAid GA4 courses answer all of these questions and many more.
You’ll understand how GA4 focuses on Users and Events instead of Sessions. And how to see things like Behavioral Flow, and yes, even Bounce Rate, though it means something entirely different in GA4.
So, you can try the free YouTube tutorial route.
Or you can get GA4 set up fast and right and not have to spend hours hunting down questions just to get horribly wrong answers.
DIY SEO Happenings
On-page and Content Silo Workshops Coming Up
We’re taking a week off from the live workshops in the DIY SEO course.
Next week we’ll begin our on-page SEO series of workshops.
That includes how to build a Content Silo.
These things are so powerful that some folks are using them instead of category pages for pointing folks to more of their related content.
And Google absolutely loves them too.
It’s always a good time to jump into the DIY SEO course.
All workshops have replays, so you haven’t missed anything.
Site Services Update
June is getting pretty full with site audits and audit checkups already.
If you are wanting to get your site fast and secure before summer hits, now is the time to get in your request.
Consults are available any time to help you make a plan to bring in more money or even change direction with your blog and online business.
Conversion Tips
Is Your Blog Making You Money?
Since I went all in on making videos at the first of the year, I’m delighted to see that they are converting viewers into buyers more so than my blog posts.
The only reason folks come to the site is to purchase.
There are a LOT of folks making 5-figures a month who don’t even run their own blog.
They vlog – meaning all of their content marketing is video.
And, there are a lot of folks who only blog on platforms like Medium.
I’ve been seeing a LOT more conversion from the same post on Medium than that same post on my WP site.
And I’m seeing posts from a brand new site, like AIDiscoverHub, get ranked in Google Search faster from the vlogs and Medium posts too.
Billboards are on Rented Land
Next time you’re out on the highway, take a look at where billboards are placed.
They are on the edge of a farm field, and within a few miles of an exit.
Those billboards are on rented land.
And they are strategically placed to get drivers to come off the highway at the next exit and buy something.
Yes, I still put the videos and posts on my own website.
But just having a sign in front of my store is only going to bring in folks who are passing by anyhow.
If I want new folks, I need to rent some billboard space out on the highway where there is a ton more traffic than just what passes by on the boulevard where my store is.
The nice thing about YouTube, Medium, and other platforms is that they have algorithms that put my content in front of an audience that has an interest in seeing it.
And when you start getting super serious about posting enough there for the algorithm to figure out what your main topics are, they can start showing it to those people.
And then when you look at your metrics and realize that the conversion happened on this rented land, and the only reason folks came to the site was to buy something, you’ll get over the whole “don’t build on rented land” myth.
If a highway looses traffic, you just put up a billboard on the new highway where that traffic went.
And you may realize that your blog is not what’s making you money.
Your marketing on other platforms is what’s bringing in the buyers.
Is Blogging for Ads Dead?
Not quite, but it is on the way out.
I’ve been telling my blogging clients this for 2.5 years now.
The ones who made their own products are catching fire and making way more money.
Ads are becoming a side income.
But THE most important thing they have learned in this transition is that they are no longer limited to getting gobs of traffic to their site to make anything at all.
They are now free to do direct sales on multiple platforms.
And that opens up a ton of opportunities.
It also cuts their dependence on SEO for Google and all of its crazy shenanigans that can dump your traffic in half on a whim.
AI SEO
Impact of AI on Blog Traffic
Declining site traffic is only going to get worse now that AI can give folks direct answers without the need to visit any site.
But, what if someone uses AI to get a new recipe idea.
Let’s say it’s for making biscuits.
And the text-only recipe says to kneed the dough.
Well, what if they have never done that before?
Or what if they come out all sticky-fingered and need to know how to solve that issue?
Or what if they don’t have a rolling pin? What else can they use?
Their next online search is going to be video for a how-to demonstration.
THIS is how you compete with AI search.
You do something that AI can’t – which is show and tell.
AI Video Search Beyond YouTube
AI has been running the algorithms on YouTube and TikTok and other platforms for years.
The fact is, most bloggers are still not making videos.
You have a competitive edge if you do, as you have a less saturated market to compete for those eyeballs.
If you do your video and platform SEO well, you will get found. The AI algorithm will see to that for you.
I had a GA4 related video blow up on TikTok and Instagram for one simple reason – that’s where folks went to search for why they were suddenly seeing a countdown timer on their Universal Analytics.
They didn’t go to Google for the answer.
So, they didn’t see my post or my YouTube video.
They searched and saw it on other platforms that promote video.
Data is everywhere that shows more folks are dumping Google and looking on TikTok and other platforms for news and tips and more now.
SEO
News Topic Authority Introduced by Google
Google is well aware of more folks dumping it as a search engine and going to Twitter, TikTok and other platforms for the news.
And, the new AI search feature in Bard is impacting how many results are featured.
Now that AMP is long dead, and the one-two combo puch of the above, Google has to find a way to remain relevant as the go-to news search destination.
That’s why they recently introduced News Topic Authority.
In this first go round, it will focus on these 3 topics – health, politics, and finance.
Google has outlined how they intend to choose the top authorities on those topics that are the most likely to publish posts related to breaking news.
But I Don’t Write About News
Yes, you do.
Your blog is not isolated from what’s happening in the world.
I remember a new client who ran a massage and spa clinic.
We had a consult in April.
And I pointed out that folks were currently stressed about it being tax time.
How about writing a post on how a massage helps relieve that stress?
When nobody could find flour during CoVid lockdown, smart foodie bloggers came up with recipes that could be made with a flour substitute. They went viral.
Mommy bloggers and DIYers came up with blogs on ways to keep kids at home entertained.
Right now bloggers are coming up with posts on how to be frugal with money – and those posts are going bonkers. Folks who never had to worry about how to pay for groceries are now looking into ways to save, or stretch the meals or such.
All of those posts have to do with health, politics, and finances.
Find a Way to Be Trendy
Looking at what’s trending on Google is one of the things we cover in the DIY SEO Keywords workshop.
Finding a way to incorporate what’s happening in the world right now is a GREAT way to get new eyeballs.
Heck, I started a whole new site for AI as it is THE hottest news on the planet right now and for the foreseeable future.
But, for regular news of the day, it burns out fast. It’s trending now, but not in a month, or a year from now.
Who cares?
Find a way to get in on it.
We can all get flour now. And maybe those posts with flour substitutes aren’t getting as much traffic anymore.
Doesn’t matter.
Those bloggers got more folks on their email lists and more social follows with those posts.
Pay Attention
Just look around at what’s affecting your audience today.
Popular shows – write for the characters, like what would they eat or wear or do that’s related to your topic.
Seasons – I know my foodie and crafter peeps are all over this. But every blogger should be. We want lighter fare in the summer – so write short posts or quick fixes. In the winter we want hearty fare – so write longer posts, and things to fill time.
Short Content is in Vogue
There is an SEO “rule” that you have to write 1200 word posts for it to be considered authoritative.
That rule no longer holds now that most folks are seeking video news clips, especially short-form videos.
NONE of the posts on AIDiscoverHub are over 300 words. They are all just the script I use for the 1:30 minute video.
Go read a breaking news article. It’s likely less than 500 words.
And then go read the follow up article that comes out 2-3 days later. It’s 1200 words with a lot more info.
The 500 word article is the one that got featured by Google.
When site-related news breaks, you want to hear a quick snippet from me that I’m on top of it and it will be okay.
And then you will also read the longer post I make later to get the full story.
You can double your content output by doing a quick post and then a longer post.
You can also build a content silo this way – bunches of shorter info bites around a topic.
You can also storyboard quick videos this way too.
Simple Works
One of THE best short-form videos I’ve ever seen came from one of my clients.
She used her phone to record a POV shot of looking into a pot of bubbling stew.
That’s it. I’m done. Where do I click to get the recipe?
It could be just that simple for you.
Not everything has to be a 1200 word blog post anymore.
Not everything has to be replicated on your site either.
WordPress Tips
Safari – Just Don’t
Remember when Internet Explorer was the worst browser on the planet?
Safari has now taken its place at the bottom of the rung.
My take – just don’t use it.
Chrome and Firefox are far better for working on your site.
Wonderful Tips Tuesday MaAnna! I especially liked the part about the billboard. I’ll be studying on that for a good long while.
I’m seeing way too many people monetize successfully on other platforms, and send folks directly to offers to ignore that as a way do business. Of course, we’ve all seen the platform popularity come and go. But once you get folks on your own email lists, whether they sign up for the main one on your site or via a product, you can encourage them to follow you to the next popular platform when it emerges.