Grecia, Costa Rica
I rank only a few page 1 posts on Google.
Let’s get that out of the way.
But:
- I give a rat’s rectum less about optimizing posts for Google
- my page 1 posts all honor the 2 clear steps below
- the fact that my posts rank on page 1 sans-optimizing proves that this mindset and strategy works successfully
I added the “clever” word to the title because as a 16 year blogging veteran I have seen few if any bloggers actively teach each step. If you guys are out there I sincerely apologize. Props to you.
Follow 2 steps to cleverly optimize posts for SEO and to rank on page 1.
1: Before Writing a Post Think Like a Human Querying a Keyword Not a Blogger Trying to Rank for the Keyword
Experienced bloggers typically list steps to follow to rank on page 1.
Few guide you to think deeply, carefully and deliberately like a human being querying a specific keyword.
Most bloggers think mainly about:
- themselves
- their blogs
- their traffic
- their income
- their keywords
- their niche
Can you think about yourself and a person querying a Google keyword simultaneously?
Nope.
Either you think of helping yourself or helping someone else.
Observing the general struggle to generate Google traffic quickly reveals; most bloggers think mainly – or only – about themselves and their success before writing a blog post.
However, thinking about a person querying the keyword instantly places you in their mind.
Migrating from your needs to their problems turns on a blogging light bulb.
Ideas flow to you like magic. Robust, detailed expansiveness takes over your mind.
Versus trying to shovel out a crap 600 word post you immediately lay out a thorough outline to solve that individual’s problems, to fuel their hopes and to inspire them to live their dreams.
For example, this Blogging From Paradise post ranks at page 1, position 1 since 2014 for “successful bloggers to follow”:
Successful Bloggers to FollowÂ
I considered new, struggling or even successful veteran bloggers querying the term “successful bloggers to follow”.
What did these bloggers want? Which bloggers offered them glowing examples to follow, learn from and emulate? Did these bloggers wish to see the same 10, 20 or 30 bloggers who typically ranked on page 1 (No offense to those highly successful bloggers; even I made that list once.)?
Putting myself in their shoes, thinking like these bloggers searching for that term, quite mindfully, I listed 14 successful bloggers from my network and offered reasons why they thrive and should be followed without even thinking about ranking the post.
That’s the secret.
That’s what almost no blogger understands.
That’s why this post is at page 1, position 1 for 10 years straight.
Google rewards bloggers who blog from the perspective of readers searching for terms even if the bloggers barely optimize blog posts.
On the flip side, you have millions of bloggers tripping over themselves to rank themselves on page 1 for specific keywords and never seem to get any Google traffic for themselves.
Do you see a pattern developing here?
I certainly do.
Think about and help the person using Google with your content. Think little about yourself as a blogger and helping yourself as a blogger.
2: Know that a Keyword Only Constitutes 3 or 5 or 10 words in a 1500 Word Post
Think.
Typical long form posts range around 1500 words or longer.
If only 3, 5 or 10 of those 1500 words is the actual keyword itself:
- it makes little sense to care about mentioning the keyword much
- it makes a helluva lotta sense to care very much about filling those 1500 words of content with practical, usable, beneficial tips guaranteed to blow the socks off of your readers
I cover this concept because 100’s of bloggers have asked me since 2008:
- “How many times should I drop the keyword in the post?”
After asking to see the blog post I usually observe:
- a thin, light 600 word post that will never rank on page 1 of Google
- a bloated, long form post void of practical tips that will never rank on page 1 of Google
- a long or short form post riddled with grammatical errors, typo’s and mistakes guaranteed to never sniff at page 1 of Google
Obviously, these bloggers feel deeply concerned about the keyword and its 3, 5 or 10 word presence and care little if at all about 99% of the post.
Remember the old Wendy’s ads?
“Where’s the beef?”
Where’s the beef in your blog posts?
How clear, concise and flat out on point does your content appear to be?
How many practical tips do you add to blog posts? 5? 10? How do you drill down each of those practical tips into bite-sized steps to satiate each tip thoroughly?
Do you add personal anecdotes to blog posts? Do you earn credibility by proving that you achieved the title-promise yourself?
Do you flesh out techniques in step-by-step fashion? How much do you give away for free through your content?
Do you really want to drive page 1 traffic through Google?
Give little thought to keyword placement in the post.
Give vast amounts of:
- thought
- mindfulness
- effort
to writing detailed, in-depth, step-by-step guides walking people through a journey.
Yep; a blog post is a journey for your reader.
Does it sound wise to throw a map at a reader and say: “Figure it out yourself!”….?
Does it sound smart to tell readers: “Simply step one foot ahead of the other.”….?
Or do you want to walk them, step-by-step, through the blog post journey so that the individual (and Google) knows that your post belongs at page 1, position 1, for the search engine giant?
Give over 99% of your attention and energy to writing a detailed, in-depth, practical guide of a blog post.
Give less than 1% to mentioning a keyword once, or perhaps twice, if it feels intuitive to you.
Content Cream Rises to the Top
I write detailed, helpful content for people and almost never optimize posts for Google.
Someone told me that Blogging From Paradise gets 3,000 organic search visitors each month.
3,000 people visit my blog each month from an unexpected traffic source I never really think about because the content cream rises to the top.
Detailed, targeted content both onsite and offsite combined with genuine blogger outreach gives said content exposure through multiple online channels.
In-depth content heavy on practical tips keeps on giving long after you publish the blog post.
But you must care deeply about writing a thorough resource which answers questions in-depth and give a tiny amount of thought to keyword frequency within a post (generally speaking, the lesser the better) to migrate into this page 1 frame of mind consistently.
Conclusion
Even though I am no Google guy at all I figured that giving my care-free perspective is just what the doctor ordered for most bloggers who crave traffic from the Big G.
Write posts with a person Googling a search term in mind. Do it for them. Offer them complete resources.
Kick thoughts of keyword placement or frequency largely out of your mind.
If you pepper a keyword into the first sentence or 5 times within a post do you genuinely believe that the algorithm and Google user will “think”:
“This blogger knows exactly what they’re blogging about! What a trusted authority!”
No; neither will.
Damn good, rich, detailed, thorough content makes page 1 blog posts.
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