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How To Increase Google Rankings – Blogging Update (1 Year, 4 Months Into It)

September 26, 2017 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

My blog here is currently 1 year and 4 months old and is just now starting to show noticeable signs of improvement in terms of search engine rankings.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term “search engine rankings” or “Google rankings”, this essentially means where you are positioned in the major search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. for the keyword phrases you are tracking.

I cannot stress enough that anyone who wants to start a blog, needs to be in this for the long-term!

The majority of people would have quit by the 3-6 month range (and even sooner), if they hadn’t seen any results by then.

But from experience, I know firsthand how common it is to not see results until 6, 12, and even 24 months into your blog or website.

Which is why I keep plugging along.

My first 6 months or so, I saw very little movement in organic traffic and search rankings.

Now that I have a healthy amount of content up, optimized pages and a solid amount of quality backlinks pointing to my website, things are really starting to ramp up.

What’s exciting about this process is that I’m documenting my wins here so you can see exactly what I am doing to get these results.

How To Increase Google Rankings

This latest surge I saw in search rankings has really come down to 4 main areas in my opinion:

1.) Switching my website from http to https– This is crucially important for anyone that owns a website or blog. Please read my article in the link above to see why. Purchasing an SSL certificate not only offers security, but could give your website a slight boost in Google rankings as well.

2.) Consistent Content Creation– I post at least one article per week to my blog (lately it has been a bit more). Content creation and generating valuable posts for your audience is key to success. Content is king and you can really start to experience momentum with the more that you produce (and especially over the long haul).

3.) Optimizing blogs/pages with proper SEO tags and copy– Each and every blog post should contain optimized SEO tags as well as copy. This will help Google better understand what keywords you are trying to rank for.

4.) Link Building- This really helps bring everything all together as Google loves websites that have quality links pointing to them. The link building I’m talking about here is guest posting, which is a very straightforward process and one of my favorite ways to build quality links (there are many other methods to build backlinks as well- feel free to test away).

The good news is, these four points above can be used for any website/blog as they are universal SEO strategies.

To help make even more sense of this, below is a screenshot of a particular keyword phrase that I’m tracking closely as it’s highly relevant to my blog and has a fairly high search volume.

You can see the significant improvement over the past month or so…when comparing say Aug. 31 to Sept. 25th.

In fact, I’ve noticed a similar pattern across most of my keyword phrases that I am tracking.

Again, it’s important to note that you must stick with the process of blogging and the steps I laid out above for months and years to come.

These positive “spikes” in search rankings came after 1 year and 4 months of consistent blogging, optimizing and link building.

That’s not to say I wasn’t seeing results prior to this, because I was (and making sales too)…but the people who realize that this blog will only strengthen over time, see the true power behind this.

So in order to increase your Google rankings you must be consistent in your strategy and patient with your mindset.

This is much more a marathon than a sprint.

Please take the time to implement these SEO techniques for yourself and see how they help your website.

So let me ask you now…

What other SEO strategies have helped your Google Rankings?

Have you seen success with any of the methods laid out above?

If you haven’t started your blog, what are you waiting for?

Switching from Http to Https- Why I Bought An SSL for My Website

August 18, 2017 Evan Hoeflich 2 comments

If you run a blog or website, switching from http to https is highly recommended for various reasons.

Now you may be wondering what a simple switch from http to https can do for your website and if it’s worth going through the effort to implement this.

Let’s just give a quick summary of what exactly this entails so you better understand the benefits of moving to https.

Switching from http to https means you would be buying what is called an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate through your web host or an external source.

Essentially an SSL makes sure that any and all information that is passed between the web server and browsers is both secure and private, which is not the case when your website is of http protocol.

Even though having an SSL installed is not required or mandatory by any means, it is highly recommended as it provides peace of mind to your visitors and can additionally help with the overall SEO of your website.

So the two key benefits here are:

1.) Security: It ensures all sensitive information is private and secure.

2.) SEO Benefit: It may give your website a slight boost in search rankings which in return will help with the overall SEO.

The third benefit is one that I wanted to put separately to give you a specific example using screenshots.

Google Chrome will soon be flagging any http website as “Not secure” in the very near future. See screenshot below:

Alternatively, if you have an SSL installed and your site is now https, this is what it will look like in Google Chrome.

As you can see in the screenshots above, this could make a HUGE difference in people staying on your site versus leaving.

Most people when they see the “Not Secure” signal will immediately leave your website without a second thought.

This could mean all the difference in the world when it comes to running a successful blog or website.

Seriously, do not take this lightly.

301 Redirects!

Now I want to bring up one more critical point if you plan on making the switch from http to https.

You must ensure that all instances of http are 301 redirected to https.

Many SSL installations will automatically do this for you, however it’s vital that you make sure of this first and work with any support service you can to get this squared away.

If you do not have 301 redirects in place forcing http to the https protocol, you will ultimately have two versions of the website which causes a whole mess of duplicate content issues that can negatively impact your SEO.

Consider yourself warned and make sure 301 redirects are implemented.

I Switched From Http to Https on August 5th, 2017

I will be tracking my progress to see if I notice any significant increases in search rankings and organic traffic, as this is one of the main reasons I made the switch to begin with.

I even created an annotation in my Google Analytics account to represent this transition so I can accurately keep track of any improvements.

Although this blog is still fairly new, I suspect I will be able to make some conclusions as to whether or not this has helped my SEO for my blog.

At the very least I have a more secure website, and that’s okay with me.

I am a true advocate of testing your marketing constantly to see what works and what doesn’t (like switching to https for example).

This is something I will test over the next 6 months or so and report in on any successes I see going forward.

Little tweaks like these can help out big-time in the long run.

If you’re lazy with this kind of stuff, your competition will eat you alive.

I hope this post helped clarify any questions you had about SSL Certificates or maybe even gave you to motivation to go out and get this set up.

So let me ask…Is your website http or https currently?

If you’ve made the switch, what were your results?

What Is Guest Posting? Powerful Link Building Tips

March 11, 2017 Evan Hoeflich 2 comments

By far one of the most powerful, yet underrated SEO strategies out there is guest posting.

In this blog article we will uncover exactly what guest posting is and what the overall process consists of.

However, I recommend implementing this strategy only after all of your initial on-site SEO is complete (Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, H1 Tags, Image ALT Tags, Copy Optimization/Internal Linking etc.).

Guest posting is a killer technique for generating high-quality backlinks, increasing your search engine rankings and driving more organic traffic to your website.

What Is Guest Posting?

Guest posting is essentially researching relevant websites/blogs in your niche and reaching out to them to see if they are accepting article submissions.

You would generally pitch these websites a few blog topic ideas in your first email.

If one of your topics gets the approval, you would then write up your guest post with your URL either within the article itself or in your author bio.

BOOM!

You just created yourself a powerful backlink.

Finding Guest Post Opportunities:

Now there are many different strategies to find websites/blogs that are accepting guest posts but for the purpose of this article I will highlight one in particular that I’ve seen a lot of success with.

1.) Use this search query in Google: “write for us” + “keyword”

You wouldn’t believe how many guest post articles I’ve gotten published using this simple technique.

So for example, if you’re in the weight loss niche you can simply try things like “write for us” + “fitness” or “write for us” + “weight loss” or “write for us” + “nutrition”.

Many websites that offer guest posting have a “write for us” page which is why this query works so well.

You can also try the following search queries:

“contribute” + “keyword”
“guest post” + “keyword”
“writers” + “keyword”

Domain Authority:

Now it’s important you target websites with a domain authority of at least 15 or higher (although this could vary depending on your website).

You can check a website’s domain authority with tools like MOZ or other free alternatives out there.

I recommend creating a list of about 20-40 potential link building opportunities at a time (preferably once a month if you are serious about this).

And then plugging it into an excel file to stay organized, like the one in the screenshot below:

You can add the URL, DA (domain authority), opportunity, contact name/email etc.

I then like to mark the websites I’ve already reached out to in yellow, so it’s easier to keep track going forward.

Guest Posting Email Outreach Template:

The outreach process is the easy part.

Really all you have to do is come up with a template that pitches a few topics.

Something like….

“Hey there,

I really enjoy the articles on your website. I’m reaching out to see if you’d be interested in a guest post on one of the topics below. I believe it would be of great interest to your readers.

Would you consider any of these topics for your blog?

Topic 1

(brief description)

Topic 2

(brief description)

Topic 3

(brief description)

Kind regards,

Your name”

It’s really that simple….once you start getting the hang of the link building/guest posting process, you really should start to see positive movement in search engine rankings and eventually organic traffic overtime.

If you liked this article, please let me know in the comments section.

Now get out there and start guest posting!

How To Rank Your Website Higher On Google?

March 2, 2017 Evan Hoeflich 4 comments

So this is a question that comes up quite often in the world of online marketing…

If you’re wondering How To Rank Your Website Higher On Google, then you came to the right place.

Now before we get started, if you’re looking for more of an example type post on SEO, please check out my article here on simple search engine optimization for websites.

I’ll be the first to say that ranking websites higher on Google is not as difficult as some people think, HOWEVER, it does take patience and persistence to move the needle.

Search Engine Optimization For Beginners

When ranking your website or someone else’s website in the search engines you need to follow a few mandatory steps. Note: make sure you have some basic keyword research done before moving onto these steps.

1.) SEO Tag Optimization

First and foremost, you need to make sure all of your SEO tags are in place and optimized to their fullest potential.

This means adding in your most important target keywords to your Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, H1 Tags and Image ALT Tags.

The tags that hold the most SEO weight are the Title Tags and H1 Tags, however it is an SEO best practice to make sure ALL seo tags are optimized.

2.) Content Generation and Optimization

Your website must have a sufficient amount of content on it if you want any chance of ranking your website higher on Google.

And more importantly, this content should be consistent, possibly by using a blog or building out specific target pages related to your website each and every month.

Utilizing a blog is an extremely effective and simple way to ensure a healthy content ratio for your website from an SEO perspective.

Now with the content that you create, you must make sure it is optimized with your most important keywords in place (without keyword stuffing).

You will also want to add in a few internal links here and there throughout your copy which point to other pages of your website.

Internal linking helps visitors navigate your site more efficiently and helps spread link juice throughout your website.

3.) Link Building

One of the most important steps in a successful SEO campaign…

Now you need to build quality backlinks to your website to help increase your search rankings, website presence and organic traffic.

This can be as simple as reaching out to other blogs/websites relevant to your niche and see if they are accepting guest posts (which would contain your website link in the article).

This is one of the most effective link building strategies that many are not even paying attention to (better for us!).

This is a true and tested way to increase your Google ranking over time.

Please be patient when it comes to increasing your search rankings and make sure you commit to content generation and link building consistently going forward.

This should be an on-going process each and every month.

Any questions? Just ask!

How To Do Simple Search Engine Optimization For Websites?

February 12, 2017 Evan Hoeflich 4 comments

One of the best skills you can learn as an online marketer is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Whether you want to:

Implement SEO for your own website or blog
Help small local businesses gain more search engine presence
Assist larger companies with your SEO knowledge & expertise

This is all extremely possible once you learn the basics of SEO.

The best part about mastering this skill is that the vast majority of people have NO idea what they’re doing when it comes to optimizing a website to its fullest potential.

You are looked at as some sort of guru when you tell clients, friends, local businesses etc. that you can help them rank their website in Google for various keywords and drive more targeted traffic.

With that being said, in this short post I am going to highlight a few simple search engine optimization techniques you should focus on that will put you ahead of 99% of the competition.

Simple Search Engine Optimization Techniques

Let’s use an example of a local pizza restaurant in Miami Florida for the purpose of this blog post (Joey’s Pizza).

1.) Keyword Research

First and foremost you will need to conduct some keyword research based around the local target, competition, etc. You can use Google Keyword Planner or other tools such as MOZ or keywordtool.io to generate your keyword research list. Try to flesh out a list where you have a sufficient amount of options to rank for in Google. And also try to target some longer-tail keywords as well (terms that are 3-5 words long), since they are easier to rank for in the search results. For example, some keywords that might be generated would be:

Restaurants in Miami Florida
Pizza Miami Florida
Best Pizza in Miami Florida
Miami Florida Pizza Places
Top Rated Pizza In Miami Florida

2.) SEO Tag Optimization

Once you complete your keyword research, you can begin to actually implement an SEO plan for your client or your own website. Here are the most important tags to focus on:

Title Tags- The Title Tag holds the most weight from an SEO standpoint and should be written as close to 70 characters as possible (without going over). Focus on adding in your most relevant keywords here as this is the blue clickable text that is seen in the search results when someone performs a search query. Here is an example of a strong and optimized Title Tag: Best Pizza In Miami Florida | Miami Florida Restaurants | Joey’s Pizza
Meta Descriptions: The Meta Description is the snippet of text that is underneath the Title Tag when shown in the search engines. It should be compelling/unique and describe the page to the visitor to encourage user click through (155-160 characters long). You would want to optimize your Meta description like this for example: Joey’s pizza has been proudly serving the residents of Miami Florida for over 20 years strong. Come in and try one of our delicious homemade pies today!
H1 Tags: The H1 Tag is the headline that is above the main text/copy/body of each page. It holds significant authority as far as SEO goes and should be optimized with the most important target keywords, while still reading naturally to visitors. An example would be: Contact Joey’s Pizza In Miami Florida Today!
Image ALT Tag- Image ALT Tags are more important than people realize and offer great additional SEO benefits. For every image on a website, you can add an ALT Tag, which helps describe to Google what that picture is about. A simple example would be a picture of a pizza that has the tag: Miami Florida Pizza Places

3.) Copy Optimization/Internal Linking

Next you will want to optimize the existing content on the website by ensuring there are target keywords placed in the text on a given page.

Only optimize copy where you see fit and do not keyword stuff. You want the copy to flow smoothly and read naturally for the best user experience possible. Copy optimization helps add more keyword relevancy to the actual content of the pages and gives Google a better idea of what you’re trying to rank for.

You’ll also want to add a handful of internal links per page pointing to other relevant/related pages on your website. This offers two benefits…1.) It helps visitors navigate your site more effectively and 2.) It spreads some link juice (authority) from page to page.

4.) Link Building

Assuming the website has enough SEO optimized content (make sure of this before going on to this step), you can then begin the link building work.

Citations are basically just mentions of a business name and address on other web pages like Google My Business, Bing Places, Yelp, etc. They are a major component in the ranking algorithms of Google and Bing (and especially for local SEO and businesses). It would be worthwhile to research which citation websites offer “do-follow” links as this can be a great way to generate some quick wins.
Guest posting is the process of reaching out to other related & authoritative websites in your niche and seeing if they are accepting articles from external bloggers/webmasters. Generally you are allowed to add a link to your website within your body copy or author bio. This in return will provide you with a natural and quality backlink. In my opinion, this is one of the MOST powerful ways to build quality links, increase search engine rankings, and generate more organic traffic for your website (read more about guest posting here).
Competitor link building involves taking a closer look at your competitors’ websites and using tools such as Ahrefs or MOZ to analyze their backlink portfolio. Once you scrape out a list of backlinks that your competitors have acquired, you should try to obtain the same or similar links for yourself.
Crafting quality content on a consistent basis can increase the likelihood of other bloggers/webmasters noticing your work and linking to your website. If your blog articles are properly optimized and provide a ton of value for your readers, this puts you in a great position to potentially generate natural and passive backlinks.

5.) Content Creation

If you have a blog, you should be posting an article at least once every week. This in combination with link building can really generate impressive results in terms of search engine rankings and organic traffic. Google loves a website with consistent, fresh and unique content and will actually favor it in the search results. Blogging also allows you to target a variety of different keyword phrases that you may not be able to target on the main pages of your website. Well-written, informative and long-form style blog posts tend to get shared often on social media which can increase your referral traffic as well. The benefits of producing quality blog content on a consistent basis are priceless and can ultimately drive more overall business.

These are some dead simple search engine optimization techniques that you can implement that will separate you from much of the competition. These are ethical and natural SEO methods to gain some serious traction in the search engines.

Do things the right way and the results will follow.

I have more awesome search engine optimization tips, tricks and techniques on the way.

If you liked this post, please leave me a comment and/or share your thoughts.

Also, be sure to check out my SEO coaching services here if you are looking for additional help and one-on-one SEO training. Alternatively, I offer full done-for-you SEO services here as well.

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