The Post That Left My SEO Mind BLOWN

The Post That Left My SEO Mind BLOWN

Have you ever read something that felt like the writer took the words right out of your mouth? Well, I have! This actually happened to me today, right here at WA.

"What post?" you ask.

Well, you know it must have been written by a fellow WA member because this is the greatest community of like-minded, driven, entrepreneurs I have ever had the privilege of being a part of!

Ok, I will get to the point.

The WA blog post I am referring to is Allow Me To BLOW Your SEO Mind by ParthaB. I began responding to ParthaB’s post in the comment section, but quickly realized my comment had evolved into an actual blog post, so I switched focus, copied my comment into this blog post, and finished saying my piece!

(Please read ParthaB’s post if you have not already. Click the title above to navigate to his post.)

This was the first post by ParthaB that I had the pleasure of reading and it most certainly will not be the last!

Hopefully, the following content serves to add even more value to ParthaB’s post, and, who knows, some of you may relate to my experience with SEO tools.

SEO Plugins=A Self Fulfilling Prophecy

First of all, I appreciate what ParthaB’s post is communicating regarding SEO tools/plugins wholeheartedly…and this is why:

The Human Factor

In the addiction recovery niche, my first blog contains articles written from personal experience as a recovering substance user. While creating this blog, I came to despise SEO tools (specifically Yoast) because I was writing articles that contained very personal experiences that did not fit into the traditional mold of perfect SEO practice and structure.

This recovery blog's mission is to relate to others who need help turning their lives around. This requires speaking in a language (using street names for drugs, withdrawal, etc.) my readers can relate to and avoiding medical terminology that, quite frankly, would be no more helpful to my audience than the DARE program they attended in the 90s!

DARE to DELETE!

I ended up deleting the SEO plugin and, voilà, I started to enjoy writing articles for that blog again. The site does not rank very high on Google, as WebMD and national recovery programs have monopolized the first page of Google for most addiction recovery keywords. However, I am content with this because it taught me something.

Specifically, I learned there are some types of blogs that are not conducive to affiliate marketing. This particular blog serves a different purpose and turning a profit turned out to be opposed to the site's original mission of meeting my readers where they were at in life.

I am incredibly thankful that I get frequent messages from readers thanking me for helping them get their lives back together and for communicating with them in their own language. These messages and the lessons I learned regarding SEO and monetization are profit enough for my first attempt at building an online business.

A Recommendation For The Next Google Algorithm Update

Side note, wouldn’t it be nice if one of the rating factors in the google algorithm involved matching an article’s language to the language of its targeted audience? (Yes, even if the audience members are drug addicts!)

Hmm…get on it GOOGLE!!

Yoast Serves Its Purpose

My next blog was in the crafting niche and I attempted to use the Yoast SEO plugin again. This time, it greatly improved my rankings, but ONLY because it taught me the basics (which ParthaB lays out beautifully in his post) of keyword placement, meta descriptions, etc.

I still use Yoast to double-check my keyword placement and ensure I stay on topic, but I do not believe the tools are useful for much else.

Should You Use Yoast? (Or Any Other SEO Tool)

Answer: I hate to do this but I have to give you the answer all my professors in law school expected to hear whenever a question was asked...It Depends!!!

For new bloggers, with zero prior experience, an SEO Tool plugin serves a useful purpose. Experienced bloggers, not so much!

New bloggers need to develop a healthy respect for SEO tools and plugins like Yoast serve the purpose of teaching very basic keyword and article formats. This provides a good starting point for most new bloggers, but another factor weighs even more heavily on whether or not a blogger will be a success in the industry.

The IT Factor

Unfortunately, this factor is overlooked frequently in platforms trying to sell hosting or training to people desperate to start an online business.

Can you guess what I am referring to?

It really should be quite obvious, but you rarely hear it discussed.

I am referring to pure, old-school, WRITING SKILLS.

Proper Writing Skills For Bloggers

The proper skill level for a blogger to have even a modicum of a chance creating a successful blog includes:

-fluency in the language you are writing in,

-competency in the subject matter you are writing about,

-mastery of spelling and grammar,

-and a splash of creativity or imagination.

(All important, details of which I will save for a future blog post.).

The Hard Truth

A poorly written article, even one that scores a green light in Yoast or a perfect 100 score, will fail to achieve a high ranking. ParthaB’s ‘peanut butter example’ proves that well enough. (See Allow Me to BLOW Your SEO Mind)

Be Open to Critique, Especially Criticism

A new blogger benefits from taking a step back from their article and asking for feedback from others to determine if the article is well-written. (Tip: Pick someone who will be honest with you, instead of stroke your ego, if you actually want to learn something!)

Note: If you are asked to give feedback on a fellow Wealthy Affiliate member’s article, BE HONEST. That is the only way we learn from each other.

Remember,

A PERSON WILL NEVER RANK HIGHLY, EVEN WITH A PERFECT SEO SCORE, IF THEY HAVE ZERO WRITING SKILLS.

Am I being too harsh?

NOPE!

Honestly, I wish more people would speak up because I know some of y’all agree with me wholeheartedly. I have been writing for years, constantly aiming to improve my skills.

Practice to Perfection

A surgeon practices surgery on a dummy or a computer program before he ever cuts into a real human body. Likewise, a writer should practice writing a few blog articles before posting an article on a real website.

For many, writing comes more naturally, but no matter what level of natural talent a writer possesses, there is always room for improvement. If you are trying to launch a career or side hustle as a blogger/affiliate marketer, I suggest practicing your writing.

Many bloggers have no business publishing content online because they post poop and never take the time to improve their skills. It is almost as if some bloggers are throwing poop on the wall all day, just praying some will be sticking enough to stay put.

Seriously?! I know…

GROSS.

Hard truth:

Writing is simply not everyone’s forte. A blogger could employ all the SEO tools/plugins in the world, but his rankings will never improve if he has zero writing skills.

My Yoast Tragedy: The Story Of A Constantly Orange Light

Now that I know the keyword placement tenets of SEO, I do not have to rely heavily on Yoast anymore, thankfully, but it is still installed. My posts are lit with mostly orange lights but seem to be performing well on Google, so they will stay orange for the time being.

Quick Question:

I’m curious, has anyone seen a major difference in rankings after adjusting posts to achieve a green light on Yoast’s SEO scoring system?

An Extremely Useful Tool For Bloggers

I would like to suggest the Grammarly browser extension (the free version is great!) to anyone trying to improve their blog articles. It is by far the best tool out there, in my experience, for helping bloggers craft a well-written article.

A well-written article has a much better chance of ranking than some of the poopy keyword-littered groups of paragraphs so many aspiring bloggers publish nowadays.

If you think I am referring to your articles, try Grammarly!!! Not just for yourself, but to spare your fellow wealthy affiliate members and blog readers the frustration of wasting valuable blog browsing time!

Thanks for reading!