Author: Evan Hoeflich

Blogging Report (October 2019) – Organic Traffic Is Up 71.07%!

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Blogging Report (October 2019)

Welcome to another blogging report, this time for October 2019!

If you’re new to these posts, each month I dive into my Google Analytics to monitor and track my overall organic growth.

October 2019 was a strong month for my website and actually the second highest all-time in terms of organic search traffic (more details on this below).

I also saw noticeable increases both when comparing year-over-year and month-over-month.

You will see in my long-term organic traffic chart below that October was a nice uptick compared to recent months.

Let’s take a look at the data as a whole in a bit more detail.

Organic Traffic (October 2019)- 272 Visits

Organic traffic for October 2019 came in at 272 visits.

Again, this is my second highest month all-time in terms of organic sessions.

Year-Over-Year Organic Traffic Increases (October 2019 vs. October 2018)

Year-over-year my organic traffic increased by 71.07% (272 visits vs. 159 visits).

I don’t always see increases this large so I am very happy with this!

The chart below plots both October 2019 and October 2018 to show this year-over-year growth from another angle.

Looking at your traffic in Google Analytics over the long-term is really helpful to see how your overall data is trending.

In my case here, it’s clear the progress I have made when looking all the way back to 2017 (where I had very little momentum) compared to 2019 where I’ve been consistently generating over 200 organic visits per month.

And this is highly targeted traffic from the search engines!

It’s crucial to identify positive trends like this to remain motivated and hungry to keep pressing forward.

Blogging is a long-term game and can oftentimes feel overwhelming. This is why it’s important to appreciate any progress you are making and celebrate any small wins.

October 2019 Organic Traffic

 

When looking at the screenshot below, we can see that in October 2019 (blue line) I generated more organic traffic almost every single day compared to October 2018 (orange line).

Organic Traffic Plotted Daily

71.07% Increase in Organic Traffic

 

If you’re implementing proper SEO and generating really high-quality content, there’s no reason why you can’t experience significant year-over-year growth yourself.

In order to continue this momentum seen above, I have laid out a few action steps below.

Plan of Action for Continued Organic Growth

1.) More Strategic Keyword Research

Lately I’ve been focusing on targeting keywords that are longer-tail (2 or more words in a phrase) and have low competition. Since I’ve been seeing good results with this approach overall, I plan to continue this strategy and even ramp it up moving forward. You can utilize tools such as Ubersuggest (free) or Ahrefs (paid) to get helpful data like search volume and competition on your keyword phrases. Not every single post I write is totally driven by keyword research or SEO, but the articles I am attempting to rank highly in Google, I like to target longer-tail terms with lower competition. They are much easier to obtain solid rankings for.

2.) Get Ahead of Content (Blog Posts & Videos)

For me personally as a blogger, consultant and Internet marketer, it can be difficult to get ahead of content at times with so many projects going on. Even though I currently have my content scheduled out 1-2 weeks in advance, I do find myself getting behind on this more often than I would like. In fact, my goal is to have content pre-scheduled for at least 3 months moving into 2020. If I can accomplish this, it would really free up my time to work on other projects/ideas of mine (and one being a membership site I plan on launching). This is a good strategy for many bloggers who still juggle a regular day job and can help them feel liberated instead of a slave to their website.

How was your October 2019?

That wraps up this month’s report!

If you are new to these blogging reports, please be sure to follow the journey by visiting/saving my page here, or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel where I post monthly updates as well.

How was your October 2019?

The Role of Videos in Social Media Marketing 

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The Role of Videos in Social Media Marketing

This is a guest post written by Ashley Baker.

We have stepped away from printed newspapers, magazines, and handouts as a society – at least for the most part. Today, people are interested in visually stimulating and dynamic content. We desire this content at a rapid rate, and businesses must cater to their target audiences by fulfilling the appeal with engaging social elements like videos.

At least 87% of businesses use video as a means of marketing products and services. If that many marketers include video in their social media content strategy, there’s probably a reason why!

In this article, you’ll learn how video marketing impacts the performance of businesses around the nation while gaining insight into social media video marketing tactics for your own company.

Social Media Marketing and Videos

Text alone isn’t usually eye-catching on social media, which is why expert digital marketers recommend adding a visual element to social posts. That leaves you with a few options: photos, videos, GIFs and, arguably, polls.

Interestingly, viewers are more likely to retain the information they learned from a video as opposed to reading it as text. Not only that, watching something as a video can take less time than reading content. That’s why you always chose to do a book report over a novel that also had a movie in grade school, right?

For the same reason, video helps users understand what’s being relayed in a visual way. Eye-catching thumbnails and even the video content itself attract users to watch.

Now, how do you get those viewers to remain watching the video, gain interest in your company, and even convert to a sale?

Components of a Business Marketing Video

Videos can be appealing to different audiences, so your target audience will determine the type of video to create and how the content in that video is relayed.

For example, children might be more interested in a video that is short, has animations, and uses an array of colors. Conversely, adults might be more interested in longer videos with minimal animations and varying colors.

With that in mind, there are few components that are important to include in your videos.

  • Introduction: let viewers know who you are. Sharing your title, position, or status with them encourages them to trust that what you’re saying is valid and useful as opposed to untrustworthy.
  • Content: give people a reason to stay engaged with the content, whether it be humor or emotional appeal.
  • Connection: relate to the viewers by explaining a way in which the business pertains to them.
  • Reference: use knowledgeable references in the video as opposed to stating vague ideas without concrete details.
  • Call to Action: let them know what step(s) you want them to take next. Videos should encourage viewers to take an action such as visiting your website, subscribing to your channel, or following your business’ social profiles.

Video Marketing Content Ideas

Coming up with ideas for your agency isn’t hard! Start by looking around your workspace for inspiration. Whether the people around you, place you’re located in, or things that surround you are of interest. You can use those to your advantage! Here are some video marketing ideas for businesses:

  • Events: give those who couldn’t attend the event insight into the occasion while providing attendees with content to share along with the caption, “I was there!”
  • Product Releases: generate excitement from followers by sharing your newest product or service via video.
  • Interviews: interview one of your company’s leaders, a well-known person in the community or a celebrity about a topic concerning your business.
  • Company Profile: let your followers learn more about the company by detailing the vision, mission and values of the organization.
  • Demonstrations: show people how to use your product or service. A video is a great way to help prospective consumers understand how something works.

Critical Video Marketing Steps for Businesses

Once you’ve determined what kind of video you’ll create, take the following video marketing steps from research to analyzation.

  • Research: determine the audience you’re targeting for the video. The audience will decide which type of content is suitable, entertaining, and applicable to the group. You can also inspect the steps your competitors take on their social media platforms to see what works well for them.
  • Plan: brainstorm a variety of ideas that your audience would be interested in. Start by making a list of the subjects you took note of in the research stage and come up with content ideas that relate to those matters.
  • Create: this is the fun part – you get to shoot the video! Get imaginative and showcase your branded content in a personable way.
  • Edit: revising and refining your work is just as important as creating it. Take your time ensuring the quality of the content, as you want this to be a piece that people are drawn to watch and share with others. Furthermore, people watch videos on their mobile devices throughout the day, so make sure to optimize your content for mobile viewing. Many social platforms have tools for making your video fit the dimensions of the social network, but it’s important to keep in mind the frame while you’re filming and editing it with software.
  • Review: make sure your content is free of errors (i.e., stumbling over words, low microphone volume) and ensure the way you edited it is ready for publishing. You will also want to make sure you transcribe your videos properly.
  • Promotion: teasing your video – as well as other digital content – can evoke interest in your brand. People love being the first to know about something exciting, and it entices people to share their enthusiasm with others.
  • Publish: share your video across social media during times of high engagement, which you can determine from the analytics section of your business’ social media profile.
  • Respond: don’t leave your fans, followers, or friends hanging – respond to their comments on your social posts. Acknowledge their contribution, feedback, or opinion to show that their thoughts are valued. Responding could make a difference regarding whether they’ll choose to engage with your content again or not.
  • Analyze: review the analytics for the video by evaluating the total number of people who saw the video (reach plus impressions), engagement of the content, as well as the total number of views and minutes watched. This will help you understand what works and doesn’t work for your business’ video strategy.

Conclusion

Video marketing has become an advertising staple for marketers across the globe. Not only is the audial and visual content appealing to the senses, but videos also could bring out viewers’ emotions.

Digital marketers can use video marketing in the business content marketing strategy to captivate prospective consumers, which is an essential step in every organization’s marketing funnel.

Author Bio:

Ashley - Code Authority

 

Ashley Baker is the digital content manager at Code Authority – a technology consulting and software development company in Frisco, Texas. When she’s not writing engaging, SEO-optimized content for clients, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones and her rescue dog.

 

 

Are you currently using videos in your social media marketing?

How Long Should a Blog Post Be? What’s the Ideal Length?

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What Is The Ideal Length of a Blog Post?

How Long Should a Blog Post Be?

This is a question that comes up quite a bit so it’s definitely a topic worth exploring further.

The answer to this is that it depends.

Every blog is unique and there’s different variables to consider when deciding how long a blog post should be.

So with that being said, let’s dive into this in a bit more detail.

What Is Your Goal?

Before deciding how long your blog post should be, ask yourself what is the goal of this article?

  • Do you want more comments?
  • Do you want more social shares?
  • Do you want to get ranked highly in the search engines and generate more organic traffic?
  • Or is this a post that’s just meant to be helpful and informational for your readers (without any real goal or motive)?

Identifying your goal can give you a better idea of the length you should focus on when writing a blog post.

Do You Want More Comments?

Although shorter style posts may not be the best strategy from an SEO perspective, they can indeed be good for generating discussion and comments.

Once in a while it can be beneficial to weave in this type of short-form content into your overall strategy (as long as it’s quality content).

Anywhere from 100-400 words can be great for generating more comments.

Blogging Tip: Make sure you’re asking questions within these articles to spark conversation and interest.

Are You After More Social Shares?

There are many factors that influence the number of social shares a blog post gets including your topic, quality of content, visuals etc.

But it is also helpful to have an idea of how many words to shoot for to achieve more social engagement.

A medium length post anywhere from 500-1,000 words can work great for generating more social shares.

And since this is still a sufficient amount of content, you definitely give yourself a chance at ranking your articles in the search engines at this length.

Which brings me to my next point…

Do You Want to Generate More Organic Traffic from Google?

If your goal is to get your blog post ranked in Google, then the recommendation here would be to make your content long-form style and detailed.

For the best results, try to craft content that is 1,500 words or longer.

Google more than ever is looking for comprehensive and longer-form style content that covers a subject in it’s entirety.

These types of posts tend to rank really well in the search engines and especially because there’s more opportunity to add in relevant keywords, headings, questions & answers, bulleted/numbered lists, quality visuals and more.

SEO Tip: When you identify a keyword you’d like to target for your blog post, make sure to plug that phrase into Google and check out the competition on page #1. See how long the top ranking pages are and strive to craft a post that is not only a bit lengthier but also more detailed, helpful and in-depth. This will give you the best possible chance at outranking your competition.

Do You Want To Simply Share Something Informational/Helpful With Readers?

If this is the case, then the word count doesn’t necessarily matter all that much.

The goal of this type of blog post is to just share your knowledge and expertise with your readers.

You can freely write without being too heavily focused on word count.

Once in a while it’s very liberating as a blogger to not have to worry about how long a post should be.

I really enjoy mixing this type of content into my overall strategy. It helps prevent “blogger burnout” and keeps my content fresh.

It still would probably be the most beneficial to make these posts at least 500 words or longer, but don’t get too hung up on the word count here.

There’s Value in All Types of Blog Content

There truly is value in all types of content whether it’s short, medium or long-formed. In fact, I encourage you to mix it up within your own blow and monitor your results.

I would say that the majority of my content personally is medium to long-form and that’s because most of my articles I attempt to get ranked within Google.

Again, it comes down to what your goal is for a particular article.

The takeaway here is to not be afraid to experiment with all content types and that also goes for videos, infographics, podcasts and more.

Overtime, you will become more and more confident when determining how long a blog post should be.

So What Is The Ideal Length of a Blog Post?

To recap, here’s a snapshot of what we discussed to give you a better idea of how long your blogs posts should be:

  • 100-400 words – Ideal for generating more comments and discussion. Keep in mind though that this will definitely not be the best option for SEO.
  • 500-1,000 words – This is a good length for encouraging more social shares and also can still be long enough for ranking highly in Google. Additionally, this a good range to shoot for if you don’t necessarily have a specific goal or motive for your post (for example, if you simply just want to share something helpful with your readers).
  • 1,500 words or longer – Long-form content of 1,500 words or longer is recommended for SEO and getting your articles ranked highly. Crafting in-depth, comprehensive and helpful content on a given subject will give you the best possible chance at ranking in Google.

Conclusion

My overall advice would be to first identify what your goal is when writing your blog content. This will help steer you in the right direction in terms of how long your blog posts should be. I would also not be afraid to mix it up and to publish content of all lengths. This will really give your blog some diversity and help keep it fresh to new and returning visitors. I hope this post was helpful and brings more clarification to this common question. Now it’s time for you to get out there and start writing!

How long do you generally make your blog posts?

How have your results been?

How to Design a Logo for Your Business?

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How to Design A Logo For Your Business

This is a guest post written by Raul Harman.

Like any new business, your small business started as just an idea in your mind and all other aspects and procedures formed themselves around that initial spark. Your logo shouldn’t be the exception to this creative strategy since it is essentially a visual representation of your brand’s identity. The essence your logo needs to encapsulate should be reflected in its font, imagery, and colors.

Each detail of its design bears deep meaning which might not be comprehended upon first glance. However, although the procedure of designing a logo might sound complex, if you take it step by step, you can come to the optimal solution for your business.

Be consistent with your story

It is not a secret that customers have an easier time connecting with stories than with numbers or dry facts. This is why your story needs to be intertwined into every aspect of your brand, including the logo. Ask yourself about the message you wish to convey and start your brainstorming from that point. Do you want your brand to be perceived as gentle or strong, traditional or revolutionary? Your logo will be the visual symbol which needs to encompass your ideas, aspirations and your brand identity. Since it will be featured everywhere, starting with your website to your products, it’s better to put some thought into it to make sure it perfectly reflects your brand voice.

Cast an eye on your competition

Checking out your competition doesn’t mean you should steal their ideas but just get a general picture of their logos and what worked for them. A wise business owner would know that keeping an eye on the competition in your niche, especially the big names, also serves as motivation, so you can have something to aspire to. Everyone has a different road but your competition is both your rival and your motivational force. So, for instance, the big brands in your line of work go with monochrome logos, so why not mix things up a bit and add a splash of yellow? If theirs comes across as classic, you can go with modern, just make sure you bring something fresh to the market.

Check your ideas with others

When you come up with a few solutions and turn them into sketches, the best manner to decide is to ask for feedback. All types of comments would be welcome and a negative reaction can also be constructive and helpful. What you can do is to print out business cards with your potential logos perhaps even accept a recommendation or two from the printing house experts and show them to your friends and family. It would be best to opt for those who seem most like your buyer type and ask for their sincere feedback upon which you can then evaluate the situation. Print just a few for starters and then once you are certain that the particular logo is the final choice, you can print more.

Consider different color options

Colors are an essential element of any logo. As mentioned, choosing a color palette that is opposite of your competitions’ could be a neat idea but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will stand out. Each color sends a specific message, so, for instance, a predominantly red logo would mean that your brand is passionate, while yellow points to gregariousness; Blue gives out a sense of reliability and purple is associated with luxury. Naturally, your brand identity should be clear to you by now so opting for the right colors for your logo would reinforce the message you wish to convey.

Make sure it’s scalable

Posted on a business card or featured on a billboard – your logo needs to be clearly displayed in all formats. For example, if you opted for something intricate, chances are those fine details will not be clearly seen in smaller formats. They might confuse your prospective customers and even omit to convey your brand’s message. On the other hand, you don’t need a logo design which would seem stretched in a big format and which seems illegible. Therefore, when designing a logo, you need to also take into account all the formats it will be incorporated with so you might ask for advice from a more experienced business owner or a team of experts.

In conclusion

The originality of your business idea around which your brand is made is what needs to be transferred to your logo. What you hope to create is a memorable symbol, one which will tell a story clearly and which will be recognized after just a quick glance. Before reaching the final solution, you need to dig deep into the essence of your brand, to understand your place on the market as well as to check your ideas with a few chosen people.

Any feedback that you get can be a useful tool if you know how to accept both a compliment and a criticism. Perhaps your interviewee would think the red color is too aggressive for your logo as a dentist or that bright pink isn’t professional enough for your bookkeeping agency. Naturally, you should have the last word but a wise entrepreneur uses all available means to come to an optimal solution. Now that you went through these guidelines, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get creative!

Author Bio:

Raul- Technivorz

My name is Raul and I am editor in chief at Technivorz blog. I have a lot to say about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. Please take a minute to connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

Have you designed your logo yet?

If not, take these tips into account!

Is Blogging Still Worth It? What Is The Future of Blogging?

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Is Blogging Still Worth It? What Is The Future of Blogging?

Two questions that I tend to see come up quite a bit and that are in the same wheelhouse are:

  1. “Is blogging still worth it?”
  2. “What is the future of blogging?”

In the constantly evolving space of blogging, digital marketing, social media, technology etc, these are actually very valid questions to ask.

Things are always changing and changing fast!

In this post, I will share my thoughts on if blogging is still worth it and what I think the future of blogging entails.

This may help those who are on the fence of starting a blog to begin with and/or motivate active bloggers to keep pressing forward.

But first, let’s address if blogging is still worth it or not…

Is Blogging Still Worth It?

It’s important to note that everyone’s blogging approach and circumstances will be different.

  • In general, as long as you’re producing high-quality content, blogging IS most definitely worth it.
  • Now on the other hand, if you’re publishing mediocre, short and low-quality articles, then blogging will NOT be worth the time.

Long gone are the days where you can quickly slap together a low-quality 300-400 word blog post and expect it to perform or rank highly.

Google more than ever before is looking to rank blog articles that are informative, comprehensive and incredibly valuable to its users.

So blogging is indeed worth it, but only if you’re willing to put in the necessary work to create high-quality content for your readers.

And as we look to the future of blogging, it’s important to keep a few things in mind as well.

The Future of Blogging – What Should You Focus On?

Now of course there are still unknowns when it comes to the future of blogging and no one knows for 100% certainty what the blogging landscape will exactly look like…

However, with that being said, there are definitely a few areas that I think people should focus their attention on if their goal is to run a sustainable blogging business for years to come.

1.) Quality of Content Should Be a Top Priority

As stated above, crafting high-quality and interesting articles for your readers should be a top priority. Especially with the overwhelmingly growing competition and tons of blogs being created on a daily basis, your work needs to stand out (both to human visitors and the search engines). You can get rewarded with higher search engine rankings by creating content that encourages users to spend a sufficient amount of time on and share with other people. Quality of content is only going to become more and more important in the future of blogging. Also, try to focus on creating longer-form style blog posts of over 2,000 or so words (this doesn’t have to be every blog post, but mix it in). This type of content that covers a subject in its entirety tends to do well and will continue to do well in the major search engines. Neil Patel states that his blog posts are 2,500 words at a minimum and he even has long-form articles that reach 30,000 words! Quality and comprehensive content is truly king here.

2.) Incorporate YouTube Videos Into Your Blog Content

Video content is hotter than ever right now and especially with the growing popularity of YouTube. In fact, YouTube is the second largest search engine (behind Google) with over 1.5 billion logged-in users per month. As a blogger, if you’re not taking advantage of YouTube and embedding videos into your blog content, you are seriously missing out. Supplementing your blog articles with helpful video content that you create is part of the future of blogging. YouTube can also be an excellent way to generate loads of referral traffic for your website, from people clicking on links within your YouTube video descriptions. Building up a reputable YouTube channel will only strengthen your brand and help drive more targeted traffic to your website.

Incorporate YouTube Videos Into Your Blog Content

3.) Ensure Your Blog is Mobile Friendly

More and more people are using mobile devices to browse the internet and search the web. If your website is not mobile friendly, 1.) it will lead to a poor user experience and most likely high bounce rates and 2.) it can potentially be de-prioritized by Google and ranked lower in the search results. You need to make sure your blog is mobile responsive and especially with Google rolling out mobile-first indexing. The amount of people using mobile devices is only going to increase in the years to come, so this needs to be a major focus if you’re a blogger.

4.) Generate Content for Featured Snippet Results & Voice Search

Acquiring featured snippet type search results can really help drive more targeted traffic to your website. Featured snippets are special search results (see screenshot below) that are positioned on top of Google’s organic results in a designated box/area.

What is the Future of Blogging

You should strive to produce/optimize your content to cater to featured snippet results/keyword phrases. Utilize bulleted lists, numbered lists, question/answer style content (especially in headings), add schema markup to articles, add proper imagery and more. Question/answer style content can also be great for voice search, which is the future of blogging as well.

5.) Utilize Social Media to Share Content

No surprise here but a good refresher. If you’re not doing so, you need to start sharing your content properly on top social media platforms. The amount of traffic “hanging out” on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for example is staggering. This is also where a lot of people’s attention is, so why not utilize these free platforms to get your content in front of more eyeballs?

6.) Website Speed Matters

I cannot believe the amount of bloggers that do not prioritize their website speed. There is nothing more aggravating in my opinion than trying to navigate a website that is super slow-loading. Think about it for a second, Google would much rather rank a website that loads lightening fast compared to a sluggish website (strictly from a user-experience perspective). This can mean all the difference in the world of ranking in Google’s top results, or not ranking high at all. Each month you should run speed tests and look for ways to improve your website speed if you want any shot at outranking your competition. Two free tools you can utilize for this are GTmetrix and Google’s PageSpeed Insights.

7.) Build Your Email List

Every blogger, no matter the niche should be focusing on building their email list. An email list is something that is always yours and that you can always take with you. Collecting email addresses allows you to sell to your subscribers overtime and build a long-lasting relationship. As a blogger, this is truly your biggest asset and you should have strategies in place to encourage people to opt-into your list. The best email marketing software that I personally use and reccomend is ConvertKit. You can read my ConvertKit review here.

8.) Blogging Will Remain a Long-Term Game

Blogging is and always will be a long-term game. Those who consistently produce high-quality content, build their email list and remain very patient will give themselves the best possible shot at becoming a successful blogger. Blogging is by no means an overnight process and should be approached with a long-term mindset. In order to see organic growth, you need to set realistic expectations. If you do this from the start, the probability that you will stick with blogging is much higher. It’s sad to see so many bloggers quit far too soon in their journey. The ones that are the most successful understand that it takes time to build a blogging business. You really need to be in this for life!

Conclusion

The key takeaway here is to understand that blogging will always be evolving. Trends and technology will always be changing. However, if you are able to adapt and approach this with the right strategy and methodology, blogging is definitely worth it. In fact, the businesses that are not utilizing a blog are putting themselves at a serious disadvantage. There will indeed be a form of blogging in the future, it just may be different than years prior. So my recommendation is to blog on and embrace what lies ahead!

Looking for additional guidance for your blog? Check out my blog coaching services here!

Do you think blogging is worth it?

What do you believe the future of blogging will be?

30 Best Free Digital Marketing Courses for Beginners to Try

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free digital marketing courses for beginners

This is a guest post written by Amos Onwukwe.

The best free digital marketing courses for beginners will help you grow as a digital nomad or marketer. With 4.39 billion internet users and counting, marketers are increasingly going digital to market their products and services. Hence, online marketing is the new gold rush.

Facebook alone has more than 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram over 1 billion monthly active users, making them prime destinations for millions of businesses seeking to grow their following and engage with customers who now spend much of their time online.

Social media marketing is just one arm of digital marketing. By fully engaging other digital marketing channels, businesses can achieve more in terms of brand awareness, publicity, lead acquisition and nurturing, traffic generation, conversion and sales, etc. This is possible with these best free digital marketing courses for beginners.

In this article, we’ll be looking at what is digital marketing, the importance of digital marketing and lastly, some of the best free digital marketing courses for beginners you can check out, but first…

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital Marketing refers to marketing activities carried out using digital channels like search engines, websites, social media, email, mobile, apps, etc. With billions of daily active internet users, the internet has become the biggest global marketplace where buyers and sellers can meet and do business virtually.

With the right digital marketing strategy in place, businesses can reach more customers, gain market share and scale at a scale never before imagined. Hence, cultivating the right digital marketing skills set has become a key pursuit for smart marketers and business owners.

In this post, we’ll highlight 30 best free digital marketing courses for beginners to help you gain the right digital marketing skills to succeed in your business, even as a starter.

But before that, let’s see…

The Importance of Digital Marketing in 2019

  1. Accessibility (24/7 access via multiple channels and devices)
  2. Global Reach (reach customers anywhere with internet access)
  3. Access to Global Markets (cross-border and multilingual markets)
  4. Foreign Exchange (earn foreign exchange from international clients)
  5. Instant Execution (digital orders are speedily executed)
  6. Cost Effectiveness (cheaper ads, no rent, outsourcing, etc)
  7. Automation (lead acquisition, nurturing and conversion are possible with sales funnels)
  8. Analytics/Insight (your actions are measurable, you know what works and what doesn’t)
  9. Tracking/Measurement (you can see your performance in numbers, percentages and other measurable metrics)
  10.  Scalability (limitless growth and expansion)

These are some of the benefits of digital marketing for your business.

Now here are 30 best free digital marketing courses for beginners.

30 Best Free Digital Marketing Courses for Beginners 

  1. Inbound Marketing Certification – HubSpot Academy
  2. Content Strategy Course – HubSpot Academy
  3. SEO Training Course – HubSpot Academy
  4. Content Marketing Certification – HubSpot Academy
  5. Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content – Coursera
  6. The Strategy of Content Marketing – Coursera
  7. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing – Google Digital Garage
  8. SMstudy® Digital Marketing Associate certification Course -Udemy
  9. Social Media Certification – HubSpot Academy
  10. Content Marketing for B2B Enterprises – Udemy
  11. Strategic Social Media Marketing – edX
  12. Diploma in Web Business Development and Marketing – Alison
  13. Social Marketing Training – Hootsuite
  14. Diploma in E-Business – Alison
  15. Social Media Analytics – Quintly
  16. Instagram Marketing: 3 Tips To Get Real Instagram Followers – Udemy
  17. SEO Training Course by Moz – Udemy
  18. Online Marketing For Your Local Business Made Simple – Udemy
  19. Email Marketing Certification – HubSpot Academy
  20. Digital Marketing Basics Course – Udemy
  21. PPC 101 – Wordstream
  22. Make a Website – CodeAcademy
  23. Learn to Code Awesome Websites – General Assembly
  24. Content Marketing: A 7 Day Mini Challenge To Get More Sales – Udemy
  25. Digital Marketing Training – LinkedIn Learning
  26. Introduction to HTML – CodeAcademy
  27. SEO Tutorial for Beginners – Udemy
  28. Facebook Blueprint – Facebook
  29. Internet Marketing for Smart People – Copyblogger.
  30. YouTube Marketing Course: Successful Strategies to Grow and Optimize Your YouTube Channel in 2019 – HubSpot Academy.

Summary of the 30 Best Free Digital Marketing Courses for Beginners

DIGITAL MARKETING COURSE FEATURES
Inbound Marketing Certification

HubSpot Academy

 ●      Free Certification Course.

●      Review Rating: N/A.

●      Duration: 1.54 hours.

●      Languages: English.
Content Strategy Course

HubSpot Academy

 ●      Free Course.

●      Review Rating: N/A.

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Content Marketing for B2B Enterprises

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Online Marketing For Your Local Business Made Simple

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Digital Marketing Basics Course

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YouTube Marketing Course: Successful Strategies to Grow and Optimize Your YouTube Channel in 2019

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Conclusion

You can fuel the success and growth of your business by joining and staying at the top of digital marketing trends and technologies with these best free digital marketing courses for beginners.

Author Bio

Amos Onwukwe is an AWAI trained Business and Ecommerce Copywriter featured in Huffington Post, Dumb Little Man, Self-Growth, Ecommerce Nation, eCommerce Insights, Understanding Ecommerce, Result First, Floship, WeCan, Grow Map, Small Biz Club among others.

 

 

Have you tried any of these free digital marketing courses?

Blogging Report (August 2019) – Organic Traffic Increases Over 60%!

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Blogging Report August 2019

Welcome to another blogging report, this time for August 2019.

In August, I was able to get back to my normal content generation routine and publish blog articles on a more consistent basis.

As stated in my last blogging report, July 2019 I didn’t publish as much content as I would have liked.

Now that summer is coming to an end, my schedule has opened up a bit more and I am able to get back into a better blogging rhythm.

This should help with more organic growth and traffic in the coming months.

With all that being said, I saw some good results in August 2019, so let’s jump right into the data!

Organic Traffic (August 2019)- 218 Visits

Organic traffic for August 2019 came in at 218 visits and I saw a nice increase when comparing year-over-year.

Let’s take a look at the specifics below:

Year-Over-Year Organic Traffic Increases (August 2019 vs. August 2018)

Year-over-year my organic traffic increased by 61.48% (218 visits vs. 135 visits).

You can see both in 2018 and 2019 of August that this is a month that I notice a very slight dip in organic traffic when compared to the previous month.

I’ve learned that this has been a trend in my organic blog traffic the past two years, so I wasn’t totally surprised.

It’s important to identify trends on your own website, this way you have expectations on how your data may come in during certain months/time periods.

Every niche will have differences in terms of “slow down periods”, so it’s important that you dig into your Google Analytics to gain more insight.

The screenshot below shows my long-term organic traffic chart (plotted monthly).

Long-Term Organic Blogging Chart

The next screenshot shows us the daily plot points comparing August 2019 (blue line) versus August 2018 (orange line).

You can see I started off the beginning of August 2019 really strong and then slowed down a tad towards the end of the month.

Nonetheless, my year-over-year increase in organic traffic was evident.

 

August 2019 vs. August 2018

61.48% Year Over Year Organic Increase

 

61.48% is a good amount to grow in a year and I’m looking forward to the fall months coming up to keep things moving in the right direction.

Below are a few areas that I will be focusing on!

Next Blogging, SEO & YouTube Steps Moving into the Fall

The fall months really are an excellent time to get ahead of blog, content, SEO and YouTube work as things tend to slow down and the weather gets cooler here in Connecticut. A few next steps will be:

1.) Publish 4 Blog Posts Monthly at Minimum

Throughout the life of this blog, I’ve had periods where I’ve published 4 or more articles per month to my website…and other times where I was only able to get 2 or less articles published. I’ve definitely noticed surges in my organic traffic when I am on a consistent content schedule of 4 plus articles per month. Make sure to not sacrifice quality just to publish more content. You should strive for everything that you put out to be of the highest quality.

2.) Build Fresh Backlinks

I definitely want to focus on building fresh backlinks for my website by researching/generating a list of quality guest post opportunities to reach out to. If you are running a newer blog, I recently uploaded a video on building backlinks through guest posting that may be worth a watch. I have many content ideas that I’d like to get published on external websites within my niche through guest posting. Remember that building links in this manner is also an awesome strategy to increase your overall reach and generate more brand awareness.

3.) Transcribe 4-5 YouTube Videos Per Month

I’ve been focusing on better optimizing my YouTube channel lately and realized that I really needed to start transcribing all my videos properly into text (both new videos coming out and older content). I believe this will provide me with an SEO boost overtime on my channel and a better overall experience for my viewers. YouTube will automatically transcribe your videos, but many times these can be very inaccurate. I recommend exploring different methods to transcribe your YouTube videos into text so there are no glaring errors. I use a service called Rev.com which is both accurate and inexpensive. My goal is to transcribe 4-5 videos per month going forward, so that all of my YouTube content contains proper closed captioning.

How was your August 2019?

That wraps up this month’s report!

If you are new to these blogging reports, please be sure to follow the journey by visiting/saving my page here, or you can subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up to date.

I hope these reports are helpful, insightful and motivate you to keep pushing in the right direction.

How was your August 2019?

Transcribing YouTube Videos To Text (How To & Case Study – Part 1)

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I’ve had my YouTube channel since 2013 but only recently (the past year or so) have been uploading consistent video content.

It’s like I’ve been bitten by the “YouTube bug” and have been super motivated lately to work on my channel.

I’ve been obsessed with getting to know the YouTube algorithm better and have completed various courses to improve my skill level.

As a blogger, I realize the power of incorporating video content into my overall business model and especially with the trajectory that YouTube is on.

In this post, we will go over 4 ways you can transcribe YouTube videos to text and also monitor overtime if this has an impact on the overall growth of my channel (case study section below).

There are many benefits to transcribing YouTube videos into text and this should be a tactic that everyone creating video content implements.

But first, let’s go over a few simple ways on how to transcribe your YouTube videos.

How To Transcribe YouTube Videos Into Text

Now there are various ways to add transcriptions to your YouTube videos. I will lay out a few below, but make sure to pick a method that you feel the most comfortable with. Just because I like to outsource my video transcriptions to services like Rev.com (saves me lots of time), doesn’t mean that’ll be the best approach for you. The good news is that you have multiple options to get this done (both free and paid).

1.) If Your YouTube Video Already Has a Transcription Automatically Generated, Download & Edit It

Most of your most recent videos should have a transcript automatically generated already by YouTube by default. If this is the case, then you can download it and edit it to ensure it’s more accurate.

  • Go to “YouTube Studio”.

Automatically Transcribe YouTube Videos

  • Click on “Transcriptions” on the left.

Transcribing YouTube Videos

 

  • Click on the “Languages” drop down on one of your videos and then click “Published Automatic” under the “Subtitles” section.

Automatic YouTube Transcriptions

  • Here you are able to edit or even download the file.

Example of Bad YouTube Video Transcription

 

The screenshot above is a good example of YouTube’s automatic transcriptions being inaccurate. Most people leave transcriptions up to YouTube which is a big mistake in my opinion.

You can see instead of “Evan Hoeflich” my name is transcribed “Evan hullick”.

And instead of “Evanhoeflichmarketing.com” it’s transcribed “Evan hopefully marketing.com”.

By making your transcriptions more accurate, it will provide a better overall user experience for your audience.

2.) Utilizing Google Docs to Transcribe Videos

Another cool method to transcribe your YouTube videos is by using Google Docs and their “Voice typing” feature. Essentially, you would let the voice typing feature listen to your video while it plays and you’ll start seeing the text being typed out automatically in the Google Doc.

  • First open a new Google doc and then go to “Tools” and then “Voice typing”.

Transcribing Videos Using Google Docs

  • Next click on the microphone icon and when the popup appears, click “Allow” to let Google Docs use your computer’s microphone (I recommend doing this in Google Chrome).

Google Docs Transcription of Videos

  • Play your video first and then hit the microphone button immediately after to start the transcription process. It helps to do this in two separate windows like the screenshot below:

Using Google Docs to Transcribe YouTube Videos

 

If you use this method, I would definitely recommend spot checking the work and making edits where necessary.

  • To upload your finished transcription go to “YouTube Studio” then “Videos”. Click on the video you want to edit to get into the settings.
  • Then click on “Advanced” and then “Transcriptions”.

YouTube Video Transcription

  • Once there, click “Add Language” and then “English”.
  • Then select “ADD” under the subtitles section.
  • Next select “Transcribe and auto-sync” and paste in the transcription that you created from the Google Doc (again make sure to spot check/edit this first for accuracy).

Transcribe and Auto-sync in YouTubeHow To Transcribe YouTube Videos

  • Lastly, hit “Set Timings” and give YouTube 10-15 minutes to complete this process.
  • Make sure the timings line up and if so, hit “Publish”!
  • Another note is to make sure to “Unpublish” the automatic subtitles provided by YouTube.

3.) Manually Transcribing Videos Yourself

This method is pretty self explanatory and will probably take the most work on your part. You can manually transcribe your videos simply by typing out your subtitles as you’re listening to your video content. This isn’t too bad to implement with shorter videos, but can be time consuming with longer ones. If you have extra time on your hands, this may make sense for you, but if you’d rather spend this time focusing on other parts of your business then I highly recommend using an alternative option like the one we’ll discuss below.

4.) Outsource Video Transcriptions to a Service Like Rev.com (My Personal Recommendation)

In my opinion, outsourcing your YouTube video transcriptions is well worth it. This is my highest recommendation if you produce lots of video content and could be an excellent time saver. I personally use Rev.com to accomplish most of my video transcriptions and they generally cost $1 per 1 minute of video. For example, the last video I had Rev transcribe was around 12 minutes which only cost me $13. This is a no-brainer to me. If your videos are shorter, this will barely cost you anything.

  • First go to Rev.com and create an account.
  • Next select “Place New Order” and then “Transcription”.

Video Transcriptions Using Rev

  • Next simply select the “Past a URL” button and paste your YouTube link.
  • Next complete the checkout process and Rev.com generally finishes your order within 24 hours (many times sooner).
  • Once the order is complete, you should receive an email like the one below. Select “View and Edit Transcript”.

Rev Email

  • Now you’ll be able to access, edit (if necessary) and download your order.

Example of Rev.com YouTube Transcription

  • You will want to spot check this first to make sure all is accurate.
  • Next all you have to do is paste your transcript in the “Transcribe and auto-sync” section within your YouTube account for this video.
    • If you forgot how to get to this spot within your YouTube video, please follow the steps above under “Utilizing Google Docs to Transcribe Videos”.
  • And then hit “Set timings”.

Transcribing Your YouTube Videos

  • Give YouTube 10-15 minutes to complete this process.
  • Now you’re ready to check the timings for yourself and if all looks good, hit publish!

Publishing Video Transcriptions

 

  • Lastly make sure to locate the automatic subtitles provided by YouTube and hit “Unpublish”.

Unpublishing Automatic YouTube Transcriptions

Benefits of Transcribing YouTube Videos To Text:

There’s many different benefits of transcribing your YouTube videos. A few of these include:

1.) Accessibility for Hearing Impaired or Deaf Viewers of Your Channel

People who are either deaf or hard of hearing can now consume your video content through subtitles. This makes your YouTube channel far more valuable compared to one that doesn’t offer closed captioning or contains inaccurate transcriptions. This opens up your audience reach and allows anyone who is deaf/hearing impaired to enjoy your video content.

2.) Improved Comprehension & Understanding

I’ve personally experienced this myself, that I am better able to comprehend videos that have subtitles. Being able to both see and hear the exact words of a video helps people better understand and retain the information. Providing viewers with closed captioning may actually allow them to better comprehend the video. Closed captioning can also be helpful for people who like to take notes, jot down ideas, create study guides etc.

3.) Strengthens Your Overall YouTube SEO

Adding proper transcriptions to your YouTube videos can help boost your overall SEO. Since search engines cannot watch your videos, providing transcriptions allows them to fully crawl and index your video content. Uploading transcriptions can help your videos gain more traction and rank in the major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.

4.) Ability to View Videos in Sound-Sensitive Environments

Closed captioning really comes in handy when you are in a sound-sensitive area such as the library, on a train or subway, at the office etc. Not always will you be able to watch video content with your sound turned up, so closed captioning can be beneficial in these types of situations/scenarios.

Case Study

Now with all that being said, hopefully you understand some of the benefits of transcribing your YouTube videos into text and exactly how to implement this on your own channel.

I am very curious to see how this will help with organic growth for my own YouTube channel, so I wanted to turn this into a personal case study.

This post will be part 1 of a 2 or maybe even 3 part series.

A little bit of background.

  • My YouTube channel was created in 2013 (as stated earlier) and I’ve really only been generating consistent video content for the past year or so.
  • I have a total of 51 videos (at the time of writing this) and none of them were transcribed prior (only through YouTube’s automatic transcription).
  • I am in the process of properly and accurately transcribing all 51 of my YouTube videos that I have published on the web.
  • I currently have 238 subscribers on my channel and over the past week I’ve transcribed 3 videos using Rev.com.

This sparks interest in me to see if I notice increased views, subscribers, watch time etc overtime.

I plan to transcribe 1-2 videos each and every week until all 51 of my videos have accurate closed captions published.

I also will be adding proper transcriptions to any new videos I create moving forward.

For the purpose of this case study and blog series, we will monitor my YouTube channel as a whole but also the 3 videos I’ve recently transcribed (see below):

YouTube Transcription Case Study

We will see as time passes if the transcriptions uploaded will help give these videos more views, watch time, exposure in the search results and increased subscribers.

Of course there are other factors here at play as well, in terms of keywords targeted, competition etc….but this case study will be more of a general observation of how going from 0 videos properly transcribed to eventually all videos properly transcribed will help my YouTube channel.

Stay tuned!

Are you currently transcribing your YouTube videos?

Any noticeable growth or results?

 

11 Effective E-commerce Marketing Strategies That can Help Increase Your Traffic and Sales

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11 Effective Ecommerce Marketing Strategies That can Help Increase Your Traffic and Sales

This is a guest post written by Juliette Anderson.

Whether you are just starting or reached the point that you have already established a steady customer base, you must stay up to date with the top marketing strategies that can help increase your traffic and sales.

Starting and launching an e-commerce site is already a significant achievement for your brand.

Therefore, you must invest in a top marketing strategy. If you want to know the best tips in marketing your e-commerce business, pay attention to the eleven e-commerce marketing strategies below:

1. Search Engine Optimization

One of the most crucial ways in optimizing a successful e-commerce site is ensuring that it is well-optimized for search engines.

In today’s search engine optimization (SEO) standards, it is important to make your site constantly updated with content that is rich and relevant, error-free as much as possible, with excellent user experience.

Also, take note that there are two kinds of SEO to implement:

  • On-Page SEO: The process wherein you tweak existing elements on your website to boost your site rankings. Examples are site structure, title tags, meta description, and header tags.
  • Off-Page SEO: The process wherein you do offsite that can affect your website’s search engine rankings. This includes social media marketing and link building.

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing, if done the right way, attracts more positive attention, interactions, and sustainable conversations, no other marketing method can.

When you promote and create original, authentic content, you see to it that your audience is receiving new and valuable information continuously.

Brainstorm with your team the types of content that you want to create, whether it’s blog posts, videos, and newsletters. Ideally, go with the Pareto’s 80/20 rule, where 80 percent are focused on creating informational content, and the remaining 20 percent is for promotional content.

3. Social Media Marketing

Social media can be a powerful tool when communicating with your market, prospects, and industry peers in a more personal way.

Social media improves interaction and engagement, boosts your site traffic, and creates a larger customer base. Utilizing different social media platforms helps you cater to the needs of your customers that will help grow your business over time.

Consistency is important; therefore, you must maintain a solid tone and personality to maintain the trust of your audience.

4. Email Marketing

To be able to maximize your audience reach, utilize useful and informative content in your emails.

Make them personal as much as possible, offering prospects valuable promotions, and also use it as an opportunity to reach out and connect.

Let people know what you are doing, the events you’re attending, your brand’s new products and features, and so on. Also, be transparent as much as possible.

5. Mobile Optimization

According to Statistica, by the time 2021 rolls in, more than half of mobile shopping will now happen on mobile devices. That’s why optimizing your site on mobile means that you’re after more than just responsive design.

It means you are designing your site in a way that you have your mobile visitors in mind, from start to finish. There are tons of mobile marketing tips available online to help you with optimizing your website for mobile.

6. PPC Advertising

In a pay-per-click marketing campaign, there are three basic elements: The ad, offer, and the landing page.

To sustain the interest of your lead, all three should be synchronized. Your landing pages must be a continuation of your ad, giving what was promised when they click on it. That way, you can easily convert a site visitor to a paying customer.

7. Retargeting

Users that are more likely to show interest in your site are more likely to come back later on and buy something.

Retargeting allows you to track people who previously visited your site, and then show your ads to them while they are browsing online. This is done with the intent of letting them come back to your site.

8. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has taken the world by storm when it comes to internet marketing.

Why? Because it works! Influencers are more passionate about a certain topic, which, in turn, attracts people who share a common interest. When you work with influencers, you’re reaching their followers, which helps you amplify your reach.

9. Optimize the Layout of Your Site

Before launching your e-commerce site, it’s crucial to first test the site’s language, layout, and placement of your site’s conversion elements.

When people visit your site, make sure it’s simple and convenient for them to check out. They’ll be more likely to buy your products if it’s clear for them right from the start how to do so.

10. Update Your Website Design

If you have a site for a while now, then it’s high time to consider a site update.

Say, the last time you updated your site’s design was three years ago. Then chances are, it’s already outdated.

People tend to trust sites if they’re more familiar, in terms of site design. Meaning, customers will feel more safe and comfortable.

11. Build an E-commerce App

How many times do you have to browse a site using your phone, only to switch to a computer to purchase the product later on?

If you want to step up your game on mobile, then consider developing your e-commerce app suitable for both Android and iPhone.

Apps also tend to load much quicker than websites, making it easier for users to shop on your e-commerce store.

Final Thoughts

Staying with the current e-commerce strategies is crucial for any successful e-commerce site. Over time, this can improve your conversion rates and help you build a sustainable business in the long run.

About the Author

JulietteJuliette Anderson is an Outreach Community Specialist for an e-commerce fulfillment company that specializes in partnering with online sellers who have an average parcel weight of 5+ pounds or greater. She works hand-in-hand with e-commerce stores to achieve optimal sales for four years already. Her specialty lies in social media marketing and paid promotions.

Are you using any of these e-commerce marketing strategies?

Blogging Report (July 2019) – Busy Summer Yet Still Noticeable Organic Growth

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July 2019 Blogging Report

When you start gaining some traction in the search engines and have articles ranked on page #1 of Google, this can provide your website with targeted traffic for months and years to come.

I remember when I first got my blog started, it seemed like it took forever to get any consistent traffic coming into my website.

Now with over 190 articles published on my blog and many of them ranked in Google, I’m able to reap the benefits of work I did weeks, months and even years ago.

I really noticed this when I was on vacation this summer and was passively generating traffic, emails leads and coaching inquiries.

Boy do I love blogging!

And this was all without physically having to be on my computer.

July 2019 was a pretty busy month for me yet my blog was still able to produce noticeable growth when comparing year-over-year.

Let’s jump into the metrics for this month’s blogging report.

Organic Traffic (July 2019)- 238 Visits

Organic traffic for July 2019 came in at 238 visits which is both an increase when comparing month-over-month and year-over-year.

As I’ve stated in many blogging reports, you won’t always see month-over-month increases and that’s totally normal.

Really keep your focus on the longer-term and year-over-year data instead.

Year-Over-Year Organic Traffic Increases (July 2019 vs. July 2018)

When looking at my organic traffic year-over-year, my blog saw an increase of 41.67% (238 visits vs. 168 visits).

Is this an astronomical increase?

No…but nonetheless, I am still very happy with a 41.67% increase.

It’s important that you celebrate small wins when it comes to blogging if you want to continue experiencing organic growth.

This has been essential for my own motivation and persistence.

In the screenshot below, we can see exactly where I was 1 year prior.

Blogging Report (July 2019)

 

The next screenshot shows my year-over-year increases as well from a different angle.

The blue line represents organic traffic for July 2019 and the orange line represents organic traffic for July 2018 (plotted daily).

Organic Traffic July 2019 vs. July 2018

Organic Traffic YOY Increases July 2019

Now that I’ve consistently hit over 200 organic visits for the past 7 months or so, my next goal is to crack 300 monthly organic visits (consistently) as we start approaching 2020.

To get there, I will focus on the work laid out below.

Next Steps to Crack 300 Organic Monthly Visits

You’ll notice that many of my next steps and goals can be repetitive from month to month but with SEO, a lot of these strategies need to be an on-going proccess. Once in a while I will adopt new tactics, but for the most part you need to keep doing what’s working for your website.

Two main areas I will be focusing on will include:

1.) Updating Old Blog Posts

I’ve recently browsed through some of my older blog articles and noticed that some of them can use a total revamp. When doing this, I also identified opportunities where I can add internal links to give a few of my newer articles a nice boost in search engine rankings (be sure to read my article on internal linking for SEO here to understand the importance of this). Updating older articles with fresh/relevant content can oftentimes produce spikes in rankings and organic traffic. Google loves seeing webmasters update old and outdated content. This is a win-win strategy to keep your readers happy and to gain more exposure in the search results.

2.) Writing Comprehensive Content

I’ve noticed my articles that really cover a subject in its entirety tend to perform the best in the search results and are also appreciated by new/returning visitors of my website. Writing comprehensive content of 1,000 words or longer is a great habit to get into if you’re a blogger. Not every article has to meet this word count, but make sure to weave in this type of in-depth content into your overall content generation strategy. Google more than ever is looking for really detailed and valuable content to recommend to users.

How was your July 2019?

That about wraps up this month’s blogging report.

If you’re new to these articles, make sure to visit my page here to follow my blogging journey.

I’m hoping that sharing exactly what’s working for me will provide you with actionable steps that you can implement on your own website.

How was your July 2019?

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