I don't have a website. I honestly never gave it thought. But I'm going to give it a try.
Hi Alisa!
GREAT! I am SO glad. I can talk to you about this during our coaching call.
Talk to you soon!
Irene
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Challenge! JANUARY BUILD YOUR WRITING BUSINESS CHALLENGE
- Thread starter Sunny Irene Roth
- Start date
Hi Alisa!
GREAT! I am SO glad. I can talk to you about this during our coaching call.
Talk to you soon!
Irene
Gee, at first, glance I was thinking of a blog. On my second reading, I realized you said website. Golly, how does one put that together? I need help *gulp*
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Tina, I have a website on Homestead (tied into Google+) and a blog on Blogger and a Wordpress website and I agree wholeheartedly that staring with Blogger is easiest.I'm gong to participate also but it might take me longer like Kathleen. And I think I will use blogger first before delving into WordPress. I love that you are doing these challenges for the business side of writing. I know this will be a HUGE help for me.
Of course those who start a blog on Wordpress say that's easier. It's often what you do first that sets the standard for comparisons. But if you run into any problems let me know and I might be able to help
Lisa
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Yes, I will write 4 posts.
This is double my monthly allotment but it's where I should be at, so thank you Irene.
This is double my monthly allotment but it's where I should be at, so thank you Irene
.
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So, I received this today from one of the RWA chapters I'm in...and while it doesn't make any sense to me because I can barely do FB and haven't created a website, I thought it might be helpful for those of you with active sites where you are promoting your books. It's pasted below:
Hi Ladies!
I received this email update for a blog I follow and found the info interesting enough that I felt that those of us who have websites and blogs would find it valuable…
Chris Anna
From: "Brian Dean" <[email protected]>
Subject: Here's a (new) SEO tactic I'm focusing on in 2016
Date: January 13, 2016 at 11:12:14 AM EST
Hey,
Funny story:
A while back I published a post called "How to Get High Quality Backlinks (Without Guest Posting)".
And my target keyword for that post was: "high quality backlinks".
Here's the funny/interesting part:
About two weeks after the post came out, I built a bunch of backlinks to the page.
And the post's rankings shot up for the keyword "high quality backlinks"...
...but also for "how to get high".
Wait...what?!
That's right.
Because I had the words "how to get high" in the title of my post, Google thought that my post was about that topic.
At one point I even ranked #6 for "how to get high".
Then, one day, things suddenly changed...
A few days after my page hit the #6 spot for "how to get high", it suddenly dropped to #12.
Then #14. Then #25.
Eventually, the page dropped all the way to #33.
So:
Why did Google drop my page like a stone?
I started digging into my Google Analytics.
And I found the answer!
My sitewide average Time on Page was 2 minutes and 57 seconds.
But my Time on Page for the "how to get high quality backlinks" post? 1 minute and 12 seconds.
Well here's the REALLY interesting part:
Even though my rankings tanked for "how to get high", they continued to climb for my target keyword "high quality backlinks."
(In fact, my post ranks #1 for that keyword today)
And the reason for this is simple:
People that searched for "high quality backlinks" LOVED my post. So they stuck around.
Google noticed. And boosted my rankings.
This phenomenon is known as dwell time. Dwell time is simply how long a Google searcher stays on your page.
If a searcher spends a long time on your page, Google says to itself: "People searching for this keyword LOVE this result. Let's show it to more people."
The question is:
(That's less than half)
In other words, people were leaving my page like a sinking ship.
Specifically, people searching for "how to get high" clicked on my result and said "What the heck is a backlink? I'm outta here."
Google noticed. And dropped my page accordingly.
Interesting, right?
How can you improve your site's dwell time and get higher Google rankings?
Here are two quick tips that you can implement today:
#1: Push Your Content Above The Fold
This is a biggie.
Imagine that you just Googled "paleo dessert recipes".
The #4 results looks promising...so you click on it.
But when you get there you see a HUGE image above the fold.
At this point you have two options:
Option #1: Scroll down and find the content.
Option #2: Hit your "back" button and head to one of the many other high-quality results.
If you're like most people, you'll choose option #2.
Bottom line? Make sure that you don't have huge images or ads pushing your content below the fold. Design your page so a visitor can read your content's first sentence without having to scroll down.
#2: Break Up Your Content Into Chunks
Now that you've hooked them with easy-to-find content, it's time to make your content super sticky.
How?
Break your content into chunks.
Nothing pushes readers away faster than walls of text. But when you break your content up into short paragraphs and distinct sections?
They put their feet up and stick around.
Bottom line? Avoid walls of text like the plague. Instead, break your content down into easily digestible chunks.
At this point you might be wondering:
What other Google ranking factors are going to be important in 2016?
Well, I have great news:
Last week I conducted one of the biggest search engine ranking factor studies...ever.
To see exactly what I discovered, keep an eye out for my next email.
But in the meantime, I want to hear from you.
Hit "reply" to this email and let me know what part of SEO you're going to focus on in 2016.
Is it on-page SEO? Keyword research? Link building?
I read every email.
Cheers,
Brian
Backlinko LLC
1603 Capitol Ave. Suite 310 A266
Cheyenne WY 82001
USA
Hi Ladies!
I received this email update for a blog I follow and found the info interesting enough that I felt that those of us who have websites and blogs would find it valuable…
Chris Anna
From: "Brian Dean" <[email protected]>
Subject: Here's a (new) SEO tactic I'm focusing on in 2016
Date: January 13, 2016 at 11:12:14 AM EST
Hey,
Funny story:
A while back I published a post called "How to Get High Quality Backlinks (Without Guest Posting)".
And my target keyword for that post was: "high quality backlinks".
Here's the funny/interesting part:
About two weeks after the post came out, I built a bunch of backlinks to the page.
And the post's rankings shot up for the keyword "high quality backlinks"...
...but also for "how to get high".
Wait...what?!
That's right.
Because I had the words "how to get high" in the title of my post, Google thought that my post was about that topic.
At one point I even ranked #6 for "how to get high".
Then, one day, things suddenly changed...
A few days after my page hit the #6 spot for "how to get high", it suddenly dropped to #12.
Then #14. Then #25.
Eventually, the page dropped all the way to #33.
So:
Why did Google drop my page like a stone?
I started digging into my Google Analytics.
And I found the answer!
My sitewide average Time on Page was 2 minutes and 57 seconds.
But my Time on Page for the "how to get high quality backlinks" post? 1 minute and 12 seconds.
Well here's the REALLY interesting part:
Even though my rankings tanked for "how to get high", they continued to climb for my target keyword "high quality backlinks."
(In fact, my post ranks #1 for that keyword today)
And the reason for this is simple:
People that searched for "high quality backlinks" LOVED my post. So they stuck around.
Google noticed. And boosted my rankings.
This phenomenon is known as dwell time. Dwell time is simply how long a Google searcher stays on your page.
If a searcher spends a long time on your page, Google says to itself: "People searching for this keyword LOVE this result. Let's show it to more people."
The question is:
(That's less than half)
In other words, people were leaving my page like a sinking ship.
Specifically, people searching for "how to get high" clicked on my result and said "What the heck is a backlink? I'm outta here."
Google noticed. And dropped my page accordingly.
Interesting, right?
How can you improve your site's dwell time and get higher Google rankings?
Here are two quick tips that you can implement today:
#1: Push Your Content Above The Fold
This is a biggie.
Imagine that you just Googled "paleo dessert recipes".
The #4 results looks promising...so you click on it.
But when you get there you see a HUGE image above the fold.
At this point you have two options:
Option #1: Scroll down and find the content.
Option #2: Hit your "back" button and head to one of the many other high-quality results.
If you're like most people, you'll choose option #2.
Bottom line? Make sure that you don't have huge images or ads pushing your content below the fold. Design your page so a visitor can read your content's first sentence without having to scroll down.
#2: Break Up Your Content Into Chunks
Now that you've hooked them with easy-to-find content, it's time to make your content super sticky.
How?
Break your content into chunks.
Nothing pushes readers away faster than walls of text. But when you break your content up into short paragraphs and distinct sections?
They put their feet up and stick around.
Bottom line? Avoid walls of text like the plague. Instead, break your content down into easily digestible chunks.
At this point you might be wondering:
What other Google ranking factors are going to be important in 2016?
Well, I have great news:
Last week I conducted one of the biggest search engine ranking factor studies...ever.
To see exactly what I discovered, keep an eye out for my next email.
But in the meantime, I want to hear from you.
Hit "reply" to this email and let me know what part of SEO you're going to focus on in 2016.
Is it on-page SEO? Keyword research? Link building?
I read every email.
Cheers,
Brian
Backlinko LLC
1603 Capitol Ave. Suite 310 A266
Cheyenne WY 82001
USA
Upvote
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I have a website programed, more or less, but haven't done anything with it yet. I'm waiting to see what my cover looks like, so I can integrate the color scheme.
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I modded a class for Pat Haggerty on Wordpress websites. If you watch, you could probably find one coming up again on an RWA chapter sight or again on Savvy. In the meantime, I found this link: Creating a Wordpress Author Site in 4 Easy Lessons.
Creating a WordPress Author Site in Four Easy Lessons with Pat Haggerty | Romance University
Pat teaches via screen shots so his classes are very doable.
Not to promote Wordpress over Blogger or Homestead...it's just the only exposure I've had. And creation of a website is one of my DO-IT's for 2016.
Creating a WordPress Author Site in Four Easy Lessons with Pat Haggerty | Romance University
Pat teaches via screen shots so his classes are very doable.
Not to promote Wordpress over Blogger or Homestead...it's just the only exposure I've had. And creation of a website is one of my DO-IT's for 2016.
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I took his Scrivener and Scapple classes. I learned so much. And having taken the classes, he'll respond via email to any questions down the road.
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I said I'd get one in by Sunday; it was Monday but it's done.Yes, I will write 4 posts.
This is double my monthly allotment but it's where I should be at, so thank you Irene
It also set up the next one (and I did most of the work yesterday), plusI have one written last year I can pull for the 3rd, then I'll post whatever I learn about Deep Work (before our chat next week!) for the 4th.
This is the plan, anyway
.
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I am revising my website, but I finally have the home-blog page set correctly to post weekly blogs, which I'm beginning today. I will post one blog with a writing theme weekly for the first several months, and I'm hoping to add another blog regarding all things Southern by the beginning of summer.
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I have not had time to participate in this challenge. However, I am seriously considering taking Pat Haggerty's Wordpress for Writers next month at Savvy.
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