Why SEO Strategies Are For Writers, Too

 What are some of the questions people ask when they read your work? What are some of the phrases or questions in those keywords? 

That’s SEO- or search engine optimization- the very thing that is used to evaluate the keywords and make sure that your work is the answer to the question, while determining where your website will rank from these keywords. 

Source

You can look at the keywords that best fit your work, and that are the closest to the front page of search results. This goes beyond the broad, basic keywords, but also highly specific, hyper local keywords. The basic keywords have a much higher search volume, but achieving a high rank on these keywords is very difficult. It is reminiscent of the social media strategy that targets everyone in a way that relies on high reach to yield a fraction of the potential return.

This is why it’s important to think about some of the most recent questions you’ve asked via search. You can think about what you read and what you learnt as a result of reading that. What websites did you discover? Which of those did you begin to trust and return to? Those answers all started with a particular question, and there are specific ways in which you can benefit from an SEO return on investment and you can become the answer to the questions asked. 

Some keywords have a lower search volume, so it’s easier to rank highly on them. And they are much more likely to be keywords searched by people in need of services and close enough to take advantage of what you have to offer- so if your published work is particularly niche, you can still be the answer to some very specific questions! 

Invest In Keywords

You may have identified the keywords you wish to own, and now SEO experts can help you build rank on those websites through using those keywords in your work as it is published online. The keywords may be used for inline links on the page which lead to other pages on your website. 

SEO experts can help to optimize your online presence, but there are some ways in which you could do it yourself. This includes writing blog posts that contain keywords within them and that answer the questions commonly asked about the subject you’re writing about. 

However, sometimes SEO expertise is absolutely necessary if you want more people to visit your website and read what you have to say. Some search keywords rank differently with slight variations of words or phrases. For example, if a word is at the beginning of the question rather than the end, for example, the ranking for the results can be completely different than if it is the other way around. 

Strong optimization positions a website to rank highly for as many of those keywords as possible.

Good SEO does a lot of the work for you. It steers you into the path of the people with whom you wish to engage with and when. 

How do you make the most of SEO when writing online?

A Personal SafetyPIN

This is a sponsored post in partnership with BraVoMark and SafetyPin Technologies. All opinions are my own.

We live in a virtual world. It's quite different from the world I grew up in, considering the online world didn't exist until I was in my twenties. 

We do everything online these days! From dating to shopping to finding child/elder/pet care to paying bills, there is nothing we can't do online.

I am a serious bargain hunter. I cannot stand paying too much for something if I can find it cheaper somewhere else. Craigslist, Ebay, and all of the other various garage sale type apps are my best friend. I have gotten so many things for next to nothing from these places! 

Some people would say I'm cheap, I say I am frugal.

Eventually, the online world can spill over into the offline world. If you find a massive deal on say Craigslist or Let Go, you have to meet up with the person to get your item. With so many care services available, you can easily find someone with just a few clicks. And, of course, there is the dating world. A lot of people meet their life partners, like both of my children, online. 

As you can imagine, safety is paramount in these situations. How do you know you are going to greet a new friend, potential partner, or someone qualified to care for your pet or child?

Well, there is a new safety officer in town....uh, online...you know what I meant.

SafetyPIN is a new service that is like a virtual badge of trust. It is the perfect way to know if the person you meet online is safe. 

SafetyPIN offers an array of checks and balances, so to speak, for anyone who is looking online for a specific service. SafetyPIN offers a 4 part screening including criminal background check, financial background check, identity verification, and a behavioral questionnaire developed by criminal profilers and clinical psychologists to weed out dangerous people who may not even have a criminal record. SafetyPIN holders are regularly rescreened to make sure they continuously meet all of the requirements.

All of your information is encrypted and your private information is never shared with another party. YOU control who can verify your SafetyPIN that you share through messaging or on your profile. It is quick and easy to sign up and most applications are approved within 24 hours. It costs $1 to apply, $6 for the first 6 months, and it is less than $5 a month thereafter. You can cancel your membership at any time.

It's a wonderful service, in my opinion, for our digital world. You already know before you venture out that the person is trustworthy and that your safety is guaranteed.

For more information, go here to watch this video by CEO/Founder Jenny Thompson.

Data Collection And How It Can Be Used

There are a lot of people on the internet. A LOT.

As you can probably imagine, a lot of people means a surplus of data. Meta data, hierachial data, reference data, it goes on and on. There are social media sites, blogs, vlogs, and various other websites that are collecting data every single second of every single day.

That's a lot of data.

I was wandering in my brain the other day and got to wondering how all of that data is just swirling around out there in the ocean of the internet and the internet, for the most part, hasn't collapsed upon itself because of all of the information it carries. 

Basically, I imagined mountains of humming, whirring servers plotting to take over the world.

My brain is a weird place, always.

So, to The Google I went to find out how exactly that works. What I found is that there are quite a few data management tools out there that offer solutions for companies with all of this data. 

I'm never going to be able to invent ANYTHING because people think of these things before I do.

Anyway, I fell way down that rabbit hole and kept on digging.  Data and how companies handle it has been in the news quite a bit recently. Many companies are trying very hard to not make the mistakes of Facebook. It was a mistake no one wants to make again. It was a huge event in history with a gargantuan effect on how data is handled, NOT shared, and managed. The impact of that catastrophe has shockwaves that are still spreading throughout the internet and will continue to spread for many years to come. I'm not sure what that means for the future of Facebook but I've always been partial to Twitter, anyway.

The way data is influencing AI is another interesting topic I came across. Microsoft recently announced that they are learning how data, advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI are able to optimize operations and drive innovation. In this case, the collection of data is being used in a positive way to bring better products to customers while keeping the internet speedily winding through its tubes as we are used to. In a sense, the internet is evolving with us.

I came to the conclusion that data collection can be used in a positive way or negative way. Obviously, we would prefer the positive way, as we all learned the hard way. If the *positive* collection of data means better and faster response to health concerns, smarter computers, and better ways to facillitate solutions to problems generally handled by computers, it would be the best thing for the internet and us as a whole. 

As long as it does not begin the mass overtaking of humans by machines, I'm alright with it.

What do you think about data collection? Has it personally affected you? I would love to hear about your experiences in the comments!