I’m excited to announce that SEO for Creative Bloggers™ is now available for download. It will be available on Kindle shortly. Here are the main bullets from the book:
- Finding and Using Effective, Searched-For Phrases Without Making your Posts Sound Awkward
- Creating Search Engine Friendly Post Titles that are Still Exciting and Fun for your Blog’s Visitors
- Optimizing your Images for Maximum Impact
- Building Friendships and Alliances with Other Bloggers
- Using Content Off-Site to Increase your Authority
- Using the Link Structure of your Blog to Make Posts Look Strong
I’d like to especially thank Beckie from Infarrantly Creative and Brooke from All Things Thrifty, who helped me with the book. Beckie, graciously, wrote the foreword for the book.
Monica
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I really can’t wait for this to come out. One of my biggest problems with SEO is that I just don’t really have a good step-by-step for what I need to do. I’ve learned quite a bit about it but I have a hard time understanding how the concepts I’ve learned apply to my blog. Sounds like this is exactly what I’m looking for!
Court
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Hey Monica! The book is now available for download.
Kevin Cross
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Hi Court is this book available for purchase yet? If so where can I get a copy
Court
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Hey Kevin! The book is now available for download. It will also be available for Kindle before too long.
Kevin Cross
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Excellent read Court !! I really love the checklist also included in the book I never realized how easy it is to interlink your site. I have been looking for an automatic linking plugin to do this for me but to no avail with anything that works. Probably just been to lazy:)
Court
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Thanks Kevin.
I’ve used a lot of linking plugins and they just never work right. They don’t seem to pass the same amount of value. I think that the problem is that the links don’t appear in the post itself. Do it manually, inside posts, and you’ll see the results.
Jeanette Nyberg
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SO excited about this! Thanks for all the hard work you put into this, and it’s excellent information- Waaaaa-hoooooo!
Court
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Hey Jeanette! Thank you, I’m really glad you liked it.
I like the concept for your site – very useful.
Jeanette Nyberg
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Thanks- I finished reading through the download last night, and It’s so refreshing to have a nice concise chunk of info. like this to work from- including the checklist. I will be using this extensively and sharing it all over the place. Thanks again!
gail
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read it! thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and making it easy to understand!
gail
Court
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You’re welcome Gail, thanks for reading it!
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating
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Just finished reading it. It was such a great refresher course!
Two questions…
1. Is it important to put the main key words into the URL of the blog post? You didn’t mention it, so I wasn’t sure if it mattered.
2. Do you still use meta keywords? I’ve heard many SEO people say that they’re not really used anymore by Google, but it seems like my posts where I use meta keywords do better. Not sure if I’m just imagining things, or if it really does help.
Thanks so much for this, and all the other great info you provide!!
Court
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Hey Kristi!
Good questions – I’m glad you brought them up.
1. Is it important to put the main key words into the URL of the blog post? You didn’t mention it, so I wasn’t sure if it mattered.
Yes, this does help. But, almost every blogging platform does it automatically, for you as long as you use the keywords in the post title. I’ve seen some bloggers shorten their URLs so that they contain only the keywords. This isn’t necessary and doesn’t provide any additional effect. Doing that can also make it look a little like all you’re trying to do is target keywords, which I don’t like.
2. Do you still use meta keywords? I’ve heard many SEO people say that they’re not really used anymore by Google, but it seems like my posts where I use meta keywords do better. Not sure if I’m just imagining things, or if it really does help.
Google doesn’t use meta keywords anymore so to be honest, it’s probably just coincidence in your case! Some other search engines still use them to a very small degree but this isn’t a significant ranking factor! I haven’t been able to prove an impact from using meta keywords since about 2006. They used to really matter but now it’s pretty much deprecated.
Thanks for stopping by Kristi. I look forward to getting to know you better!
Kristi @ Addicted 2 Decorating
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Thanks so much for answering those question, Court! Shortening the URL to include just the key words was actually what I meant, so I’m glad you touched on that despite my vague question.
I seem to see more and more bloggers doing that recently.
Thanks again!
Kathy, Petticoat Junktion
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Hi Court, I enjoyed watching you with Beckie and the girls on Better Blogging. I just downloaded your SEO book because Beckie put a post on blogtalk. I am still in the middle of reading it. Couldn’t put it down or close it(ha)! I have to ask this question before I forget. When naming your photos, why put “small-white-kitchen-table.jpeg” then in alt. put small white kitchen table. I have been putting small white kitchen table in both spaces. Is there a difference, should I put the dashes in the first name space? Ok, I have to finishe the book now. Thanks, Kathy
Court
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Ok Kathy that’s a good question. The filename for images in a browser aren’t supposed to have spaces in them. Most browsers can handle ‘small white kitchen table.jpg’, but some primitive browsers can’t. You could put ‘smallwhitekitchentable.jpg’ but then you’re relying on the search engine to break up the words into the right pieces. If they get it wrong, you could be left out of an image search that you could have shown up for. Hopefully that helps.
Kathy, Petticoat Junktion
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That does help Court. But just so I’m understanding correctly , I should always use dashes between each word in the photo description and then just type the regular text in the alt. text box.
I’ve been typing regular text in both boxes.
Happy New Year
Court
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Ok Kathy I understand what you’re asking me now. In the e-book, when I talk about dashes, I’m not talking about the description box. I’m talking about the actual name of the image file that you’re adding to your blog.
So the process is this:
1. You take a picture.
2. You put that picture on your computer.
3. You change the filename of the picture from DSC3940 to small-white-kitchen-table.jpg.
4. You put the picture on your blog and use ‘Small White Kitchen Table’ for the alt. tag.
The description you’re talking about isn’t talked about in the book!
Kathy, Petticoat Junktion
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Thanks Court, you’re awesome!!
Debbie reFresh
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Thanks Court! I didn’t know how bad I needed this until I checked some of my blog titles
Debbie
Court
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Hey Debbie! Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad is was useful for you. Let me know if you have any questions when you go to implement everything!
Beth at Unskinny Boppy
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Ok, this is just the best thing since sliced bread! Thank you SO much for writing all of this down in an easy-to-understand format. You rock!
I am reading through it but have 2 questions.
1. Can we go back and apply this information to be retro-active for our previous posts? Will the SEO stuff work on older posts that have been republished with new, updated photo titles and title wording?
2. Because Pinterest FAR exceeds my search engine traffic (for now!
) I like to give my photos pinterest-friendly titles so people don’t have to rewrite much when they pin the photo. For example, when I use my Pinmarklet to pin this blog post instead of naming the image “3d-seo-for-creative-bloggers-700px” I would have titled it something like “SEO for Creative Bloggers Free e-book. DIY and Home Design bloggers heads up! It’s FREE!” so that when people pin the image it pops that eye-catching descriptive title into Pinterest automatically.
Will that type of Pinterest friendly title wording matter if I use the dashed wording for the alt tag?”
Beth at Unskinny Boppy
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Annnnd… I just got to the last page of the book where I see you’ve already answered question 1.
Court
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Hey Beth, ok looks like you have the answer to #1. That’s great advice for Pinterest and using your recommended title wouldn’t hurt your SEO effort at all because the keywords are still in there. In fact, I’m going to steal the title right now.
I have a lot to learn when it comes to Pinterest.
The dashed version is actually for the filename – not sure what happened to my tags. Ok here’s what I have:
Title: SEO for SEO For Creative Bloggers™ Free e-book. DIY and Home Design bloggers heads up!
Alt: SEO For Creative Bloggers™
Filename: 3d-seo-for-creative-bloggers-700px.png (it’s fine to have extra words)
jenny@birdsandsoap
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Thank your for this book! I can’t wait for the kindle version!
Court
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You’re welcome Jenny, thanks for stopping by and I’m glad you liked it. Hopefully the Kindle version will be out next week!
Jeanette Nyberg
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Hi Court, Sorry to be stalking you on here- I understand and will implement your ideas for my blog I commented with above. But I have a quick question I’ve been wondering about for a while. If I want to attract traffic to my blog in a general way- not for specific posts- would it be helpful to use the same key words on different posts? For instance, I would use something like, “funny mom blogger”, or “humor blog” for a few posts instead of keywords from the post.
Court
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Don’t worry Jeanette, I like questions! I’m not sure I understand 100% what you’re asking me. When you say, not for specific posts, do you mean you want to attract the traffic to your home page?
Jeanette Nyberg
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Well, I want to attract readers to my individual posts OR my homepage- What I post about on this blog is a lot of satire, so it isn’t easily SEO’d. Meaning, if I write a post about getting organized, it’s usually not what people want to see if they’re actually looking to get organized, because it’s not serious. So… should I use general terms that describe my whole blog when choosing keywords for posts?
Court
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Ok I understand now.
This might get a little complicated. Here goes.
Google is a relevancy engine. Which means, they try to figure out the themes you’re most likely to have solid content for.
For example, let’s say you’re constantly posting funny stuff about a certain topic (like funny monkey pictures). Well, if Google sees that your stuff about funny monkey pictures is constantly attracting attention and getting linked to, they will rank you more easily for posts about that topic.
But, that doesn’t mean that they will rank you well for ‘mom blogger’. But, if people are constantly linking to you on their lists of mom bloggers, you’ll start to build relevancy for that.
The sad part of the story is that every topic is different to their relevancy engine. So, if you’re blog isn’t topical, it’s harder to build relevancy for topics.
What really has to happen for you to start showing up in searches for ‘Funny Mom Blogger’ is this:
1. You need to brand yourself as a funny mom blogger. And, those words need to appear on a page of your site, probably your home page. As you can probably see, it might be a little awkward to call yourself a funny mom blogger. But, maybe you could say ‘my attempt at being a funny mom blogger’ and poke a little fun at yourself.
2. Other people need to link to you from their sites, calling you a funny mom blogger or putting you in a list of funny mom bloggers.
Keep in mind that this is just an example. I don’t necessarily know that this keyword fits in with your site or that it’s your best option – this is just an explanation of what it would take to start showing up for searches.
All topics are like that. You have to build relevancy.
My advice would be to find some recurring themes for your site! The more specialized you can be, the better it will be.
Jeanette Nyberg
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You are awesome. This clarifies it immensely- I have some strategizing to do, obviously. Looking forward to the hangout on Google tomorrow!
Court
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Awesome Jeanette, I’m really glad that I was able to help you out.
Kelly
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Oh. my. goodness. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I’ve only been ‘professionally’ blogging for a year or so and I’m like a sponge… soaking up any and all relevant information. Providing all of this for FREE is extraordinary. Wishing I had questions to ask right now, but I need to process and think through some things… Thanks again and congrats on a fabulous e-book!
Court
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Awesome Kelly! It makes me really happy that you liked it. Please let me know when you do have questions. I’d love to help you out however I can.
Jeanne Medina
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Thank you for sharing all this! I’ve had a blogspot for a long time and have toyed with the idea of doing a real wp site but I’ve been too busy and too scared to broach all that techy stuff. I’m making my resolutions for the new year and I’m taking this as a sign to take the plunge. Your book will surely help me. I’ll be sure to spread the word to all my blogging friends.
Court
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Hey Jeanne, thanks for stopping by. Wow – I checked out your site. You guys are looking good!
Jen
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Thank you so much for making this available! I can’t even begin to describe how much this has helped me. This information is so valuable and to get it for free is so amazing. Thanks again!!
Court
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Hey Jen!! You’re welcome. I’m so glad that you liked it. Let me know if there’s anything that I can help you with!
Richella @ Imparting Grace
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Thank you so much for sharing your expertise! I look forward to reading this, and I really appreciate your making it available.
Court
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You’re welcome Richella.
I really like your header design. I love light colors like that.
Beckie
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Court your book is awesome, even after reading it the 4th time. Thank you so much for being part of it and some of the first eyes to look it over. Super grateful for all you are bringing to our niche!
Court
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No Beckie thank YOU. I honestly helped a ton to have your help on the book. I get relativity blindness and I can’t tell you how nice it was to have someone help me with getting it right. And, the foreword adds a ton to the book. Sincerely, it meant a lot that you were willing to help out with it!
Marissa S.
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WOW! Thank you so much. This was some of the best advice I’ve come across as a new blogger. I’ve taken over a year to poke, prod, stalk & research everything there is to know about blogging in the creative niche & SEO For Creative Bloggers is absolutely genius! And I appreciate that you “practice what you preach”, because giving this quality advice so freely is undeniably a blessing to anyone who will come across it. I will be forever in your debt & will be sharing this with everyone I know! Thank you Courtney and congratulations on such a successful work!
Court
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Hey Marissa! I’m so glad that you liked it and I hope that it’s helpful for you. Thanks so much for sharing – that will really help me out.
Marji Roy
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Excellent resource! Thanks you so much Court for putting this together and sharing. I have a couple of questions. Places I need to improve include doing the keyword search before titling a post, naming photos, and updating back blogs.
Only one question today ( I reserve the right to ask more as I implement your suggestions
. Does length of name matter at any point when naming a photo or creating the url? I work in blogger and they definitely shorten the url. Is there a optimal character limit in either area?
Court
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Hey Marji, that’s a good question. Blogger does kind of mess with the filenames but you can use filenames that are pretty dang long. I just looked at some old images and see some that are like 30 characters long. If you use a long one, I’d be happy to check it for you to see if it’s ok!
Anita Langford
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Thanks so much for the information on your blog and the downloads. As a new blogger, it sometimes becomes overwhelming. Your tips have really been a great help.
Court
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Hi Anita! You’re welcome.
Courtney Karella
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Just skimmed through this – and I can already tell this is going to be a VERY helpful read. Printing it up right now, going to read the whole thing tonight. THANK YOU!
Lewis Saka
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Does the book talk about SEO plugins that can do some of the work for you? Is it better not to use plugins?
Susan (Between Naps on the Porch)
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Hi Court,
Do you offer consultations? I have a couple of specific questions pertaining to my blog and would love to ask you directly about those.
Thanks,
Susan
betweennapsontheporch@gmail.com
Miriam/El invitado de invierno
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I downloaded your e-book a month ago and I started implementing your back linking advice regarding newly published posts and the Google Adwords searching (most of the other tips I already followed, somehow). It so works!! So I just dropped by to say thank you! My traffic was indeed very modest (still is), but it has gone up by more than 50% in one month. Your advice was gold.
Court
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Awesome Miriam – I’m so glad that it’s working for you!
sonesh
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I downloaded your Book
Surely it will going to help me
Thanks
bhpexpert
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Thank you for this book!
Lori @ A Bright and Beautiful Life
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Thank you very much for this book. I’m new to blogging {4 months} and still trying to learn it all so I really appreciate this book and all that you are sharing ~ I’m super eager to begin reading. Have a great day.
Jessica @ Dear Emmeline
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Can’t wait to read!! I’ve heard you all taking about SEO at the g+ hangouts but since I have no background knowledge to go off of it was still hard to understand exactly what you were talking about! Thanks for putting it together this way!
Ahmad
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is this book will be translate to another language ?
Ellora @ Creatively Southern
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Great book and you have so much helpful information. I’m recommending your e-book in a post tomorrow about growing readership for beginners. So much to learn and this has helped me so much as well as the Keyword Academy! Thanks Court!
Marty Walden
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Thanks so much for this, Court. I’m always a little late to the party
I downloaded this months ago and just now read it. I knew a lot of the info (thanks to you Google Hangouts) but a refresher and some additional tips were great. Thanks for helping all us DIYers!
Marty@Marty’s Musings
Roman
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Hello. Thank you. Very good tutorial
usman
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thanks for your nice and helpful book ..