On more than one occasion I have found my websites wiped off the face of the Google Search Engine. My fault entirely and I was completely guilty of trying to short circuit SEO. I would do things like building backlinks using link farms or buying links from bad places. Then, within a short period of time, I would get a well-deserved slap.
Lesson learned. š
How to Beat the Panda!
As you can see from the above pic – that is what should happen to your blog if you do it right and prepare for the updates.
When it comes to organic SEO – slow and steady wins the race. I know it is not sexy but it’s effective.
Organic Traffic Secrets
Organic traffic refers to the visits you get from the search engines. It can be direct or take the scenic route. An example of direct SE traffic would be from being listed on such places as Google, or Bing, or DuckDuckGo. This means that when someone enters a keyword or phrase search term, your website page pops up. Great SEO would put you on the first page. Awesome SEO puts you in the top three.
Generally speaking blogging using SEO takes time and decent content. Its a bugger to come up with ideas and frustrating waiting for the approval and recognition from the SE’s.
Best Advice for SEO Traffic
The best advice for getting passive SEO traffic directly from the search engines is to write, write, and write some more.
Why Keywords?
When designing your website, you want to be “found”. This means that your site should match what people are looking for. It is important to make sure your keywords match your product or theme. Take the time to really understand the SEO search terms that will best benefit you.
Earlier I mentioned how “link farms” can be harmful. It’s true they can be, unless it is done strategically. Building links to your site with reputable means will pay off for a very long time. An example of this could be a press release (many are free) or a Tweet, or a Facebook post.
Here is another place you can go to leave a relevant link. Forums. You’ve likely heard it mentioned before but try this – use the SE’s to find the right forum for you. For example, take what you have written about and use the words “how” or “how to” with the topic. If I was using this topic for example I would use the keywords “How to be ready for Panda Updates +forum”
If you want to take the forum thing even further, offer to moderate one. People will get to know you and likely begin to value your opinion. Forum moderators can quickly become “experts”.
Why Lots of Traffic Isn’t ALWAYS the Answer
I have spent years working with local and small businesses. I have been involved in most aspects of their businesses including; developing their websites, SEO, AdWords accounts and offline advertising. Most new clients have the same idea about their customer and getting traffic to their site and business. Without researching their ideal customer a business owner will say just “get them in the door”. This is not a profitable position to take. If you are selling toilet bowls and the person who calls is looking for a backyard pool – one, or both, of you is going to be frustrated.
Start your day with the niche target in mind. The temptation to get thousands of visitors just for the sake of getting traffic won’t be beneficial. If they want a pool they really don’t care about your toilets. PLUS, as soon as the search engines figure out that your SEO or even PAID advertising is out of sync, they will make the adjustments for you by not showing your ad and maybe even removing your site from their listings.
Be Different
YouTube and other video upload sites are a great source of organic traffic. Sometimes if you cant get your blog or post in the SE’s you might have more success with a video. Make a video that is titled and keyworded for your niche ~ it can work wonders.
Some very simple strategies for video SEO included keywording the title as well as the description. With the video closed caption available now, all the spoken words are available to be transcribed to print. This makes any content a valuable point of SEO. For example if you are selling a Personal Trainer service and you want to come up in the search engines try this:
- 1. Pick a narrow niche in the field like; lose weight off your thighs.
2. Write a post on the
3. Do a video that targets the “Lose Fat of Thighs Today” and show or talk about the top one or two ways. Leave your link on the video and in the description. Upload to YouTube, Vimeo, or your platform of choice.
4. Post your video on Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media you have.
5. Transcribe your video and put the transcription on a file sharing site like Scribd.
6. Send the new post/video to your list.
