Made some fundamental mistakes at the start
Hi Everyone
Well.. I'm on a steep learning curve at the moment... am going back to the basics and kinda starting over. After getting horribly depressed at my dismal traffic stats in google analytics the other day (When I check out my google analytics I just want to cry), I started looking into what I may be doing or not doing that's slowing down my progress.
Thanks for all the help and support, Isaac @IsaacSc Paul @paulgoodwin Michael @MKearns Jovo @jvranjes and Anke @AHohaia
Turns out I skipped a vital step right upfront - I never created a sitemap for any of my sites and submitted them to the search engines.
I got this sorted today.
I started with Marion Black's quick, simple training.
Sitemap: Using All in One SEO Plugin
To ensure that I was submitting to Google Webmaster Tools correctly, I also did Kyle's Training.
Setting Up & Submitting a Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools
Kyle recommended using a different plugin: Google XML Sitemaps and I found this plugin had more functionality, so I used this plugin for my main site (Inspiring Mompreneurs).
I then realised I hadn't even verified my sites on Bing!
So I also did Kyle's training. How to Create a Bing Webmaster Tools Account
Verified my sites on Bing and added sitemaps for each one.
My verdict:
Sometimes you re-inventing the wheel is EXACTLY what's needed.
If I compare my site on Google Webmaster Tools before today it looked like this:
Now it looks like this... WOOOHOOOOO!!
Decision made:
This week I'm taking a break from posts to go back to the basics and fix as many errors as I can on my websites. Perhaps then I will see some traction in google analytics.
Thanks again to everyone who reached out to me in my hour of need. I will implement your suggestions too.
All the best
Lauren
Recent Comments
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I hope you don't mind me learning from your mistakes. I am going to remember not to skip those important steps. I hope your stats go up very soon.
Please do, Wendy! Glad if I can help others avoid the mistakes I've made. Will be wonderful if I see a traffic boost. Hope to share positive results & further enhancements soon.
Huh? What's Yandex? Ha ha... will look into it. Thanks Paul. I understand from Kyle's training that once I'm on Bing I'm automatically on Yahoo. So 3 down.
That's a great news Lauren. Hope this will bring the traffic your site deserves! Btw, don't forget to fetch with webmaster every time you publish a new post =)
Thanks Isaac. Yes, fetch is the next step I must master. The google consol has been my nemesis for a while. I struggle to navigate my way around it. Find it super confusing. I don't think its designed for non-techies like me. Was relieved to find that Bing is so much more user-friendly.
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Thanks for sharing your mistakes....the best part of The WA community and a great way that we all learn. Debbie
Thanks Debbie. That's exactly why I shared this info. ;)