Welcome to the Original Masterclass!
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Finding Keywords Video
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Finding Keywords
Once I have my topic and an idea of how I’m going to monetize the post; I begin searching for good keywords for search engines. I do this by using my keyword tool, Jaaxy. (yes its an affiliate link)
When choosing keywords, I look for words that have “Buy” potential. This will vary by keywords, topic and niche. Will will discuss this more in depth in the group. Words like “free” and “ideas” have negative buy potential.
My main keywords for the blog post is going to be one with a low QSR (competing pages). The relevancy needs to be SPOT ON to the topic I am writing about. Low competition and relevancy are the most important thing for my main keyword. Monthly traffic varies (there is no perfect number for me, I just want some), because it’s a blog post I know that all the low hanging fruit will eventually add up. The more blog posts, the more money you make. If you choose higher competition keywords with higher QSR (say above 60) you’re going to be fighting from quite a few pages back.
SEO score should stay above 90 but I say that loosely, don’t be bound by these secondary numbers. With traffic, I just want some. The more the better obviously but I really just want anything decent (40+ searches a month) because I know I am going to rank for much more than the main keyword.
The rest of my keywords (approx 5-10) will be green light keywords sprinkled throughout. No special number just green light words that are RELEVANT to the keyword. They need to be relevant keywords with green lights. I will show you what I mean by sprinkled throughout in my video on where to put your keywords.
Start search with a generic search like “Organic Makeup Remover” and let Jaaxy return to you more narrow and specific keywords. You can pick from this list or keep digging deeper by clicking on one of the keywords. Try variations of words, such as, “Natural Makeup Remover” (these are just examples). You may need to try a topic in Jaaxy’s search a few different ways before you find the best plan of attack.
Real Example:
I was looking for a word for the Mission Chase dog from Paw Patrol and the circled word is the one that I decided would be my main keyword and the others are relevant keywords that I will also use in the post.
Keyword Placement
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Once I have my keywords picked out, I pick 1 main keyword and use the 5-10 others to sprinkle throughout.
The main keyword usually goes:
- Blog title (H1) this is automatic
- Page title (H1, H2)
- URL – Do NOT change this if you are updating old posts.
- Tags
- Featured image name
- First sentence of the first paragraph
- In the text a “couple of times” naturally
Use the rest of my keywords in various places throughout the blog post:
- Subtitles (H2 or H3) – these break up the page nicely for readers
- Text in the body of blog – naturally, do not keyword stuff!
- “Alt” tags of the images
- Image names (when you upload images to your post)
- Tags
Sometimes I create an Amazon Associates tag that uses a relevant keyword for a group of blog posts. For example, if I know I’m going to be doing a lot of Paw Patrol toys, I will use an amazon tag like “pawpatroltoys-20” to group them. This also helps me stay relevant and track my sales down to the type of post that sold the product.
Use Your Keywords Naturally
The best thing to do is look at your keywords and decide how you can naturally use them in your text and titles!
A Title Generating Tool can help you with ideas if you need them.
Using Generic Keywords (for groups of blog posts)
If I have more than 3+ blog posts that are similar in topic, such as Minecraft toys or Lego sets – I will group them together in different areas like the tags, categories and Pinterest boards.
I will often use generic keywords like “Paw Patrol Vehicle Toys” to pull together a group of posts in the tags and categories area of my blog. I will do this because tags and categories have pages that group together the related posts.
Interlinking
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There is also a plug-in I use called “Related Thumbnails” that will pull in related blogs posts at the bottom of the page. This is great because it keeps you relevant and it gives you a chance to keep your reader on your blog longer.
If you have lots of potato side dish recipes for example, you may want to group them together with “best potato side dishes” or something along those lines. Hopefully I’m making sense?
Another thing I will do is create a Pinterest board for my groups of posts because that will also keep me relevant for those topics on my blog.
Blogging Content and Visual Appeal
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Let’s Talk About Blogging Content
Content can be:
- Text
- Images / pictures
- Quotes
- Videos
- Products
Before I start writing a blog post I always have a topic and product in mind. I think about what to write about the topic. I brainstorm a little bit to make sure I think I have enough information and ideas running through my head. Content is important, I want to make sure I have enough to say about whatever it is I’m writing about. Even if its Halloween costumes, in my head I’m already building a story about what I’m going to say before I write it.
What is your angle going to be? You don’t want to rehash the same old facts they have said on Amazon. Be sure you have a unique angle to come at your topic with.
Before I start a writing I decide on a way to monetize the blog post. Products or affiliate programs are what I use most often. There are some blogs whose sole focus is ad revenue, that’s not my specialty. I write for commissions from products or affiliate products and I always have one in mind before I start writing the blog post.
Now that you’ve thought of a product or affiliate program to monetize your blog post with check to make sure it’s available. I know this sounds crazy, it’s happened to me where I started writing a blog post before I checked if the product was available on Amazon (or where ever). It’s a bummer. So make sure the product you’re linking to is available.
When you write, you need to have a voice! Try not to sound generic and dry. You don’t want to just rehash the same old stuff that it says on Amazon. You want to bring your own unique spin to the topic. Before I sit down and write anything I write out my talking points. This is just a list of the different angles that I can talk about that I think are unique. If you think of something funny, write it! Be a story-teller.
Need help coming up with some content?
Look at questions on Amazon, see what people are asking about a product specifically. Each product has a questions section and a review section. Read through those for ideas on what to say in your own blog post.
Look at images and videos on the topic. Don’t read what others have written but instead, look at pictures and videos and come up with your own words to describe the product or topic. This helps with having your own voice and not sounding like someone else.
Add videos to your post if it pertains to the content and helps sell your reader. The video should have a thumbnail that looks appealing on the page. I’ve found adding product displays under videos adds to visual appeal and gives the reader a quick chance to buy.
Add quotes that pertain to the topic. Well-positioned quotes elevate your content.
Use posters from Amazon (or other affiliates). I like using posters in some of my posts if I need images that pertain to the topic and don’t have many of my own. Posters and pictures add to visual appeal and give you more content on the page.
Images
I have blogs that use my own images and I have blogs that only use product images. Decide on the images you want to use before writing your blog post it makes the process of building the post quicker.
If you are using your own images for your blog then think about jazzing them up in PicMonkey before uploading to your blog. You can add all sorts of creative touches to images and it’s a FREE photo editing service.
Use smaller image files. I made this mistake in the beginning, my images files were too large and the pages were taking forever to load. Learn from my mistake and upload smaller image files. If you don’t understand ask me so I can help you.
Recipe and craft blogs can benefit substantially from good personal photos pinned on Pinterest. Practicing your photo editing skills is something I would definitely invest my time in if I was a food or craft blogger.
Before uploading images to your blog be sure that the images have your keywords as their name. Don’t save images with generic names and numbers and then upload them to your blog. Rename your images with your keywords, this is much better SEO and you’ll come in SERPS and Google images too. Score!
Bolding Content:
When it comes to bolding, I only bold the first keyword in the first paragraph and after that no more bolding of keywords.
I bold ONLY what I think is valuable to reader. I know that a lot of people are skim readers, so I bold the important information. I bold the important features of the topic throughout the blog post.
Do not bold all your keywords, it’s distracting to the reader and the reader is who we want to buy.
Adding Products / Affiliate Links
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How I Build Products with Easy Product Displays
I made my Amazon product displays (as well as other affiliates) in Easy Product Displays.
10% Discount Coupon Code: 10THANKYOU
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Using Contextual Links in Information Articles
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Contextual Links that Make Sales Video
I did this video after I made this course, but there is a lot of good information regarding contextual links that make sales. Also, please feel free to post your blog posts in the group for feedback on where the best place for contextual links might be, as well as any other feedback. We have a lot of talented people and an encouraging atmosphere.
Contextual Links:
This doesn’t apply to all blog posts but I use one contextual link to the product or products in my first paragraph. This is good for product review type blog posts, not so much recipe and information type blog posts. This was something I picked up on back when I was on Squidoo. I noticed a few of the “higher-earners” always had a link in the first paragraph going to whatever product it was they were going to be talking about. I started adding them to mine and my sales went up practically overnight.
Visual Product Displays / Images
Images Visual displays should be larger, at least 200px but bigger if possible. Not so big that it doesn’t fit the screen nicely.
Appearance is everything, make sure your stuff is aligning properly and looks nice.
All images files you upload to your blog post should have your keywords in the file name.
Make sure your product images have alt tags with your keywords in them.
Buy Buttons are subjective, sometimes I use them, sometimes I don’t. It depends on the overall appearance of the page that decides where I use product buy buttons. I love buy buttons, they are an excellent call-to-action and they work wonderfully but not in all situations. Sometimes a simple picture of a nice product is all you need. This is going to be a subjective area.
The important thing to remember is I use contextual links in areas where I think a reader is going to want more information.
In recipes, I add contextual links under ingredients that I think a reader might want to actually visualize and see.
In crafts I add contextual links under the supplies that I think a crafter would purchase online. Not every supply is linked, just the ones I think they would purchase online. Too many links looks spammy so you want to sprinkle them in there, not link every supply.
If I am using a tool, whether it be a crafting tool, kitchen tool, shipping tool, etc I will add a link to that.
The trick is not to overdo it but to sprinkle those links in places you think a reader would want more information or a visual of the tool or item.
member when you look at your blog posts is to ask yourself, “Would I buy from this page?” Put yourself in the reader’s seat. I read a lot of online articles and I know what makes me buy and what makes me click. Examine your own online purchasing habits and evaluate your posts with that in mind.
Linking Tips
Links should open in a new window to keep readers on your page.
Use your keyword in the link description and any “alt tags” in your product images.
Don’t put too many links close together because on mobile it makes reading your post a pita.
After you have published your blog post, make sure your links work.
Using Pinterest
I use a business account. My personal boards and business boards are together. I do not have separate accounts. I have one account for my personal and business pins.
The important thing to remember with Pinterest is not to spam it. Genuinely pin your pins to boards of relevancy and be sure to interact by commenting and repinning for others. You don’t have to comment and like every pin of course, but be genuine in your Pinterest presence.
My boards are organized and grouped together by topic and category because I like things neat and clean when I look at them online. I love for things to flow together and look pretty and so do most serious Pinterest users.
60% of my traffic is driven from Pinterest. Boards and pins are found in search engine serps and image returns not just inside Pinterest. All of this is tied to the SEO of your blog from the first few days of this class so before jumping into this please get the basics down.
Watch what other pinners create! This is a big one. You can learn a lot from looking at what other people create and gleaning from what they have done on their pins and boards. Always be looking to improve your pins by perusing the most-popular and prettiest looking pins in your niche. Look to improve your boards by look at other people’s boards. I’m always checking out what others do in order to improve my own style and technique.
Pinterest is a beast and I really am trying to cover as much as I can in a way that helps you. There’s always more to learn and improve with this beast. I’ve barely touched the surface I’m sure but this is what I know works for me.
Good SEO on a Pinterest Board
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My BEST Pins have 4 elements:
Optimized board name
Optimized image name
this is when you upload it to your blog, I drive this point home a lot. Your images need to have keyword names when you upload them. Not only for Pinterest but for search engines returns too.
Eye-catching image (we have tutorials below to help)
Blog content that delivers what the image says
Board Organization
Fill out your profile, add your website to your main niche. Write something about your main niche but also include other topics you have interests in. Be real.
Boards should flow nicely inside your profile.
Drag your niche boards to the top (that correspond to the website in your profile)
Group the rest of your boards by topic/category
Choose nice featured images for each board.
Use descriptions for each board: add keywords naturally to it.
Categorize each board.
Optimized Board Names
Have board names that are keyword specific.
i.e. “Superman Costume Ideas” (specific)
Have some more generic ones for things you really like and friends pins
i.e. “Fathers Day Gifts” (more generic)
Get More Re-Pins
This ties in with Board Optimization as well
Use good images (first and foremost)
Join social media Facebook groups where others will re-pin your pin to a relevant board.
When I first put a pin on Pinterest, I social share it in a group to gain a little momentum.
When repinning for others put it on a relevant board, not a generic one like “Friends Stuff”
How to Get More Re-Pins Right Away
Pinterest runs on popularity and relevancy, when you first pin something to your board from your own website, you want to give that pin a proper send off to show popularity. I do this by putting my pin in a group for others to re-pin to a relevant board. The relevant board matters! Popularity and Relevancy! You need BOTH!
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More Followers
You don’t need as many followers as you might think. Pinterest now has a “smart feed” and it’s the most relevant pins that returning back to pinners. Another reason is because you have pin buttons on your blog and most people who pin have the extensions on their browsers so your pins are getting shared if your SEO is in place and bringing you traffic. It’s why I did SEO, content and visual appeal first in my class. Don’t stress on having a bunch of followers all at once. This is my opinion and I know it varies but I really believe that good seo, good content and getting repins to relevant boards is more important than gaining the mass amounts of followers. Opinions will vary on this but I really do try to keep my Pinterest presence genuine. My followers do grow little by little.
How to Get More Followers
Use Pinterest Search and search similar interests to your own boards and niche
Follow those boards OR pinners
Another way is to scan for people who have around 1,000 followers or more. Usually when I’m browsing Pinterest I come across people with similar interests and lots of followers. I come across pinners who have family-friendly content on their boards and lots of repins. Most of the time because they have 1,000+ followers, they almost always follow me back because I have similar content to theirs. I basically search out pinners like me with my interests and you should too.
I find these pinners in the social groups I’m a part of as well as just from my normal browsing.
Do NOT follow more than 100 people/boards a day so your not appearing spam-o-licious. I believe the Pinterest cap is 200-300 per day and that is generous, you don’t need to follow that many a day. Please don’t.
Group Boards
Being a part of group boards in the same niche is good for getting more re-pins, followers and visits to your blog. Thank you Melissa and Anita for mentioning it in group.
Getting an invite to a group board varies but I’ve found these ways to help:
- Follow people in the same niche or with similar boards
- Follow the group board admin and then send them a message requesting an invite
- Read the board description at the top, they sometimes have the way you get invited spelled out for you.
Be sure to read the rules of these boards as they vary.
Re-pin and follow people on the board with pins that you like. Comment and like the pins for more interaction with the pinners.
Other Social Media Platforms
Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook
I am not a social media guru, this is just a basic tutorial to help get your blog posts ranked faster which leads to quicker sales from them. I’m still learning all this social media myself. Its ever changing. For this class as far as setting up accounts, getting followers and doing all that – you’re going to have to do it the old fashion way get help from Google, YouTube and friends in our groups.
I social share every single blog post when it is finished to give it a little push. These are the NEW ones or freshly updated (like some of you are doing). I want to get my page indexed quickly in search engines and by sharing and getting reshares, I’m getting noticed faster. It’s a little jump start for each blog post and it works for me.
Using #HASHTAGS gets me views from followers I don’t have. You’re going to have to look up the hashtags for your niche but for the most part – basic niche words work if you’re starting out. #HulaHooper #OnlineDating There are more in-depth hashtags but you really need to seek those out for your niche specifically. You can do this by searching on the different social media platforms for your niche.
You can also follow people in your niche this way as well. I’m not going into huge depth on hashtags because there are a ton of resources available and I’m still learning all this myself – what I do know is they work for getting traffic from people specifically following topics. That’s huge.
For example I got found on the hashtag #MommyBlogger for a toy review and got a free toy for review from a marketing company. People follow hashtags.
Social Sharing Process
Every blog post I create goes out on Pinterest, Google Plus, Twitter and the FB fan page.
After I have posted to all the social media channels I then share the direct permalink in my favorite social media groups. (I can give you links in the group if you want to join). You MUST read the rules and reciprocate properly if you join.
I do my reciprocation of other people’s links slowly, spread out. Try to be genuine about it. If you think of a comment, leave one – little things. People remember your face this way too and you’ll gain more followers naturally.
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Google Plus+
I share my blog link on G+ and give it a good description with my keyword in the first sentence. I use hashtags similar to the way I said on my Pinterest lesson. I capitalize two-word hashtags so they are readable and I try to make the flow nicely with my sentence description. This is how I like it, not everyone does it this way.
After the link is posted on my social media channel, I take the permalink (direct link to my post) and share in a group on Facebook that I happen to like. It has bloggers that I follow and we are all part of the same groups for the most part. These other bloggers will visit my G+ link and give it a +1 or comment and I will do the same for their link.
I follow almost the same process I do with G+ on Twitter. Now I’m not this huge Twitter person but HASHTAGS will get you found by people who don’t follow you and that’s why I share my link on Twitter after I make a blog post. I will also upload a nice image to Twitter to go with my blog post.
I take the twitter permalink and share it in my Twitter group. This group is mostly made up of the same folks. Bloggers, like me. I will tweet their link, they will tweet mine.
Facebook Fan Pages
This is for people with fan pages, not everyone has one. Because Facebook works on a smart feed similar to Pinterest, when you post things to your pages you’re going to need likes and a few comments to get in the feed. I’m more social on my personal page than my fan page I’m know I have a lot to learn in this area. That’s the cool part of this biz though, look at it like an opportunity to always grow your business – because that’s what it is!
I use Hashtags in my posts, I know some do not. You’ll have to experiment with this.
When I post to my page, I take that permalink (directly to the post) and put it in my favorite group with my blogger friends to get some social interaction. All this just gives my post a little push and gets more eyes on it.
Image Tutorials
When saving images to your computer be sure that those images have your keywords in the file name.
1. How to Make Images a Specific Size Using PicMonkey
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2. How to Use FreeDigitalPhotos.net (for free images)
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3.How to Create Your Own Images for Blog Posts
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4. Editing Your Recipe Images for More Visual Appeal
5. How to Insert an Image in A WordPress Blog Post
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6. Creating Smaller Image Files
You cannot take any image from anywhere on the internet!
You must use images that are free for commercial use. These are image sites that have free images for you to use. Some will require a link back to the photo/photographer. Our video above will explain how to do this.
Images Free for Commercial Use
15% Discount Coupon Code: THELESLEYSHOW
Easy Product Displays User Tutorials
These tutorials are for users of Easy Product Displays. These simple techniques will help you create visual appealing product displays that convert sales better.
Editing the Product Text so Displays Line Up
Placing a Horizontal Rule Line In Between Products
Shifting Products Left or Right
Importing Old EPD Code So You Don’t Have to Start Over
Using Etsy and EPD Together
Interlinking Posts and Pages using EPD
Be sure to set your internal links to “dofollow” links for the video above. It’s in your settings area.
Congratulations! You have completed the Masterclass!
Since creating the masterclass, I have since purchased PotPieGirl’s What Works Now! and have implemented a few of her tips and tricks from that book and seen good results. Tips like her “secret yellow box” are NOT to be missed!!
In just one month, we’ve seen amazing results from this eBook! An increase of over $1,000!!
If you have completed the masterclass, I would highly recommend you getting THIS eBOOK because it compliments this program well. You will not be sorry, the two are like peanut butter and jelly in affiliate marketing!
