Revamped my 25 points before publish a post training and I need your help
When you have time and interest, I want to ask long term members to check up my checklist before you hit the publish button, 25 points
There have been some changes for filling in SEO keyword phrases, and I am wondering whether I have explained everything in the right words according to what Google wants.
Nowadays, it's very important to write naturally, and Google crawling is looking in a more sophisticated way through the posts than in the past.
I, therefore, do want to give newbies the right information.
Can you please correct me when I am wrong? Or when I should formulate some sentences in an other way?
Recent Comments
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This has been a major help for many, Loes. Thank you.
I used this list extensively when I first started.
Hi Loes -
The only thing is the ALT tag and I know there was much discussion this but I still use a keyword in one image and after checking on a few articles on google this still seems OK
Paul
What I understand is, that you should name your images for what it is, and if your keyword ie Moulinex blender, and your picture is a Moulinex blender, you can use the keyword, but when your keyword is, how to lose weight, don't call your picture of a Moulinex blender after your keyword.
On #23 I would also add optimization of images to save your site speed. This can be done easily with free plugins or a site called TinyPNG
yes, I can have an image that is say 2400x2000 and resize it to a smaller size but the file size could still be rather large.
This training is about where to think of on a post before publishing, not to tell about plugins you can use, that's another chapter
yes I get that but it will save them time if they optimize their image prior to uploading which can be done with or without a plugin. TinyPNG is just one website that does this for you for free :)
I disagree with #10 if I'm reading it right. as you said in #9, the description comes from your first paragraph. I think some may read #10 as they need to change the meta description completely by using their keyword.
The keyword should already be in your first paragraph, so if you've done your writing well, the keyword will show there.
If I edit my meta, I usually will just remove some of the text on the end in order to make the meta read better.
As I reader, I get very frustrated when I have done a search in Google and the description shows what I searched for but then when I look at the article, I can find the information I was looking for because they have altered the description.
I checked up a lot of posts, to see what Google comes up with, and it's at random. Sometimes they use the first paragraph, sometimes they use the filled in meta description, and sometimes it's just rubbish.
I found one description of me what looked like this
contact: workathomefuture@gma...© Loes Knetschhow to change you have ever seen...
It's hard to say what Google chooses to show
I would change the wording in #1. It should read Post Title instead of URL. We understand what you mean but someone new might get confused as to which URL.
The only thing I can think of that maybe should be added is internal links. Google likes that as well.
You should never put a keyword in the alt-text of an image, Google now views this as a spam signal.
Yoast recommends a lot of dated things, it's also the worst performer as far as ranking a site goes, it's why it's not recommended in core training but AIOSEO is used instead. Joost the owner of Yoast was reduced to buying five star reviews to cover up the avalanche of one star ones from the 3.0 update.
I have lost count of the number of newcomers whose sites have ranked poorly, only to achieve far better results once they've stopped using Yoast's 'recommendations', including the use of keywords in alt-text. Please could someone clarify alt text for images? I seriously suggest you only ever create training based on your own experiences from a profitable site, rather than hearsay from third parties, especially one whose raison d'être is to sell you a premium plugin!
I have checked up the Yoast rules, and they did change that part. Thank you, I have changed it in the list.
the alt-text on an image should describe what the image is, if your keyword fits with the description then yes you can use it.
Since images get you ranked as well, Google wants to make sure you are giving accurate information.
So if you have an image of a dog and your keyword is best dog food, that doesn't help your reader.
Hope that helps Loes :)
I don't use Yoast, I have activated the plugin on my test website, to see what they are recommending nowadays.
Thank you for your attribution, Richard
I meant in the URL #1, under #7. Eye-catching title, I refer to the title and #13 is about adding internal links
This is a pretty brash set of statements...
Where can you show proof that Yoast is the worst performer for ranking a site?
Where can you show that Yoast has bought 5-star ratings?
Who specifically here has ranked poorly from using Yoast SEO versus AIOSEO?
What are the numbers suffering and how many people have you polled to come up with this?
How do you know that this is the reason that AISEO is used in the training (I missed that)?
I like to read facts, not innuendos...
There are a lot of good reviews for BOTH plugins from what I can see, and I really would like to know about this...
Hearsay is not a good thing, I agree, please inform me so I get smarter like you...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Unlike many, I neither indulge in innuendo, hearsay, nor pontification about things I know nothing about.
I always prefer to engage with the source.
1. http://d.pr/f/aSNQwm
2. http://d.pr/f/Mm69qO
3. http://d.pr/f/FFHM06
How about you?!
Hey Song. I've been AWOL, focusing on the 'house that WA bought' for the last few weeks. However, I'll be back with a vengeance shortly!! :)
Right...
From what you have provided I see an ongoing dialogue between yourself, Joost and others...Your accusations and claims seem to have turned into a personal vendetta against the creator and the plugin itself...
It seems to me you had already drawn a conclusion and were hell-bent on pushing that conclusion, no matter what the other side's viewpoint was. Not based on facts.
I see the same innuendos in that set of files/posts as I saw in your comment to Loes...I see no hard figures, I see no cited cases, I see no personal stories that would back up the claims you make in the posts nor here...
I do not operate this way, as you obviously do...Your attitude is the same in those posts as it is here though...The smugness and condescending attitude you add to the tone of the comments does not make you right, sorry...
Not sure who you are or who you think you are...In my mind, you are another person who is working online to have success. That is OK....We all are doing that...
However, if this is how you handle yourself with everyone here and elsewhere, as it appears is the case, I do not think you belong in my world, nor do I care to listen or read about what you have to say...
From what I have seen, the things you state in your posts are often not written with objectivity, rather from your preferred perspective, regardless of reality...
Your comments are also often unnecessarily attacking/denigrating in nature as if you have to point out just how superior you think you are...This is not a positive thing from my perspective nor needed...
Truthfully, I have purposely avoided much contact with you (and a couple of other folks as well) here, and I see why yet again with your 'proof' as well as your comment to Loes regarding her request for positive and useful feedback
For the record, I am in the position of not having to listen or read what I consider to be blather or noise. I have had enough of that in my life. I have walked the walk and can talk the talk too.
It appears you are also in that position, so we will just have to agree to disagree...I do wish you well and hope that the chip on your shoulder wears off over time...
Life is too short for a lot of BS...
Cheers!
Dave : )
I apologise for my original partial response.
I'm actually incredibly busy at the moment, and I can't attach links to PMs on my mobile. I intended to send you a PDF this morning showing a league table of seo plugins, with SEOframework and AIOSEO holding the #1 and #2 spots respectively, with Yoast being #9. I wasn't willing to publish it here as part of my original comment as it's premium content from another site.
I too was fan of Yoast, so much so that I'd bought the premium version. It was only at the catastrophic 3.0 update, where myself and thousands of other users got tanked out of our hard earned rankings, that I even started questioning whether it really was as good as their excellent PR had led me to believe.
You're probably unaware as a non-user, but Yoast actually conflates two entirely different things, seo meta data and on-page seo. It was only afterwards that I also discovered that even their on-page ‘traffic lights’ really aren't that good, and in fact there are far, far better on-page seo tools such as Web Text Tool https://app.webtexttool.com/#/register-free should anyone find such interactive feedback useful.
I'm genuinely surprised you don't agree that it was somewhat disturbing to see that rather than help us recover from a disaster of his making, Joost felt it was more important to try and cover up his failings by buying paid for reviews. I certainly feel that it was warranted for us to call him out on that, and as you can see he felt the need to respond and apologise, so I'm bewildered that you somehow see that as me or others waging some kind of vendetta. I also hope you’ve now noted, given your original comment, that no, I’m not dealing in hearsay, nor innuendo, but in facts, comments that are based on experience, in-depth research, and actual engagement with the relevant parties. OK?
I’m also fortunate enough to be a member of a number of other premium sites, and some like WPMUDev specialise in technical support from genuine experts. It was with their help, and after researching all the alternatives, that I reverted to AIOSEO as did other WA members who had suffered a similar fate with the Yoast 3.0 update. I was stunned when over 80 posts that had languished on pages 2-3, and that I'd abandoned all hope of ever ranking, suddenly shot to page 1 in the SERPs after the switch back to AIOSEO, one of which became my second best earner! I'm reliably informed by many other WA members that they also enjoyed a similar experience.
Oh, and you ask who do I *think* I am?
OK, instead, let me tell you who I actually am.
I'm one of four — although I'm sure there are more — who joined WA in 2012 and have had (or in one case almost had!) a $100,000 month and are on target to earn $1m in the coming year.
So what?
Well… I want that same *success* for each and every member, including you.
However, you'll no doubt find out for yourself, especially if you stay at WA for any length of time, that eventually you'll get PMs every day asking for advice and hands-on help because a site isn't earning.
In my case, over half of the issues I have to address on a daily basis are those where newcomers have followed member created training, and where that member wasn't an expert in the field, but merely rehashed hearsay, dated advice or third party content.
It’s also my experience that those creating such training are usually suffering terminal ambassador-itis, where it's all about me-me-me, rather than a genuine desire to help other members succeed. It's simply sad to see them spamming newcomers profiles (and something I thought was a breach of the rules), but it's far worse when a newcomer thinking these members actually know what they're talking about, rely on such promoted information, and it ends up damaging their chances of success. I’m sure you’ll agree with that?
If you check my profile, you'll see I rarely blog and never create training. So, if you’re wondering how I rank, I don't know, nor do I care, but it is probably because I spend many hours a week, behind the scenes, trying to help other individual members succeed, privately, on a one-to-one basis.
Therefore, yes, I do genuinely believe that members should only create training in which they are themselves experts in the field, after they have actually "walked-the-walk" as you so eloquently put it. I will never stop challenging anything that I believe puts at risk a member's chances of success and I’d encourage every other member here at WA to do likewise.
Oh, and as a response to all those irrelevant ad hominem attacks, I truly hope that chip on my shoulder sticks around for a long, long time, seeing as I’ve been told, that in many people's eyes, it's actually a massive rough diamond! ;)
Thank you for your comprehensive reply Rich, this is substantiated, and I strongly suggest to you to create a blog to inform members about your Yoost experiences.
I'm surprised at the tone of this comment and also your first one requesting him to show you some data. And I notice Jay said it will always come down to opinion between the two of those plugins.
I'm always prepared to research criticism and comparisons between yoast and AIOSEO and I found the link to the guy saying he noticed a difference in traffic very interesting as well as the fact AIOSEO is in the core training here.
However what you say in your comment is the exact same 'innuendo and smugness' you accuse someone else of having, and honestly those words don't belong on the dashboard when it comes to speaking about another member, you are on page one of google potentially with that and it is nothing more than slander.
I don't see your facts of figures either [update, just found your apology, but honestly the initial attack should be left hanging on the dashboard]. And as for an attack on any other member that is just not on. If you don't want anything to do with someone then that sort of comment is not the way to go about it.
Attacks come cloaked in the words used at times, ad-hominem or otherwise, and they are not helpful to any member. I see this too often...
Candor, on the other hand, is an attribute that is valued in most circles, certainly in mine...I use it all the time. It is quite different from an attack, however, or it should be.
Why?
There are times when the use of candor can clear the air and bring about understanding and open the door to REAL growth.
Perception is reality is what we used to say in the Army.
Rich has provided further clarification that does add to the short, curt, and acerbic comment he started with, and I appreciate that.
What I See...
Like it or not the attitude used in words/comments, when they are mean, smug, condescending, attacking in nature, and at times a bit self-serving poison the atmosphere for the rest of the members.
That is the elephant in the room, and it needs to be discussed and quashed IMO...
As I said, I will choose, as I am sure you do, who to listen to here and who not to as they are here perhaps more to soothe or feed their ego.
I do not know where you see an apology from me, there is none.
My comment was no attack, rather this is my perception of the comment from Rich as presented. It does include my feelings from other comments I have on my own posts that have been posted by him, however.
Again, I make no apology for that. No reason to offer one...
This platform is not a dictatorship. If you read through my comment carefully you see bits of concern and also best wishes. These words I added are as genuine as the rest of my words/thoughts.
Neither I nor anyone here on this site has a monopoly on ideas or THE WAY to conduct online business. I do not care if that person has been here from the start, I don't care what level of success in dollars they may enjoy, there are much more meaningful measures of success for me.
As I have said before: This platform is a small pond, and the 'big fish' here often are small compared to the big ocean of water and fish (the internet and the huge-sized fish that are to be found working the internet).
A dash of humility goes a long way in that big pond, and it is the same for this small pond too, again IMO...
It is hard to keep the lines of communication open if listeners shut you down. If truly the intent is to help, as I believe is the case, berating others is not a good way to get that accomplished.
Presenting oneself as THE ONE and routinely doing it while ridiculing in a passive-aggressive manner others clearly dampens the open discussion platform we have here.
That is what I see happening, intended or not. Again, perception is a reality often, just like in the Army.
I do not need your approval or affirmation one way or another. I do wish you well as I do Rich. You may not like that I am being quite open about my feelings, but that is what this place is all about too.
Bottom Line:
We are here to grow, not to be dictated to, nor ridiculed. or talked down to by anyone, whether they are an Ambassador or not. I'm sure you feel the same? We all need to be aware of that and act accordingly...
Cheers!
Dave : )
Thanks for your input, that is something I can grasp and make sense of. Also, your personal experiences add credence to why you have made the switch...
I use both plugins, but also premium themes for the most part too. You are right, the newer themes do take care of a lot of the SEO for you...
The point on newbies using a free theme makes sense as well. Overall, good and actionable info. I will start looking closer at my sites SEO performance between the two...
Cheers!
Dave : )
If members weren't encouraging deviations from core training, or restricted themselves to creating content where they are actually experts in the field, then it wouldn't be necessary for me to even think about writing a post on the above.
However, perhaps you're right, especially given the ad hominem attacks, that now is the time for me to make a major missive, and reinforce Jay's post on the responsibilities of ambassadorship. ;) WA Ambassadors: Know Your Limits
busy here too, just time to speed read your comment, I'd have to say comments set an example, robust dialogue and debate is welcome but as Alan said this was more...
To get back to my blog, which is a bit hijacked by now, I have changed the rule for alt tag on images, do you have any further attribution to make on it?
I appreciate your detailed explanation Chris, and I can see that you have the same passion for excellence we all have. Perhaps it is in the delivery of the message where you and I differ.
Take that for what it's worth, as success is measured in many ways, and if we are seeking to help others achieve it, they have to be open to receiving the message/information.
That is my point.
In my limited experience with online marketing, there are many similarities to a world I know very well, which is sales, yet many differences, such as the nuances of SEO and etc.
I look to this place as being an environment where we can all learn from one another and from tapping into the varied skill sets you can find within the membership...
I do think you have presented your case in a manner that I can understand now with your comment, which was not the case in the prior comments.
In our striving for excellence, robust discussion is normally a good thing...Discussion can be civil in nature, and while passion for one's viewpoint can help, it can also get in the way at times...
There were days long ago when I had to put up with and act on a lot of decisions that made little sense, and such edicts at times put real people in real danger...This is why I have little patience for such these days...
In that light, this subject is not one that is a life or death thing, just one that has an important impact on real people's chance of success online with online marketing. So yes it does matter. I get that.
Cheers!
Dave : )
Dave.
Apologies for the tardy response, but as I said earlier, I'm incredibly busy at the moment.
It's not a question of delivery. I am simply sick-and-tired of tidying up after the pathetic failures of members who are only focused on their own egos, who can't even talk-the-talk, let alone walk-the-walk.
OK, I'm sure we can both agree that it's tragic that a computer generated number on a virtual leaderboard is some member's entire conception of their self-worth.
Sad... Sad... Sad... Sad... huh?!
Let me give you one example, I spent two days a few months back cashing in favours and helping a distraught member recover their Amazon affiliation whilst another was threatened with losing theirs because they were told to add prices to their reviews.
So, yes, I will hold every single member to account, regardless of their 'rank', even if they are ambassadors. I do not care that they are so insecure that their WA ranking is their only definition of self worth.
You know why?
I'll tell you.
I'm afraid that all I am seeing is that they are willing to destroy a newcomer's chances of success just to gratify their own ego.
Whereas I want each and every newcomer to enjoy the success that I've enjoyed.
So, do feel free to let me know if you have a problem with that.
I'd be genuinely interested to know why.
Rich.
Hi Rich...
My second coffee here, 0530 AM, the day has started...We want the same thing, success for all here...Yes.
I sense a lot of frustration in your words and I can somewhat understand your approach here based on your explanation...That spills over into your comments at times, and that is off-putting (for me).
Of course, I do not speak for anyone other than myself, but as one of many having a voice here, my perspective may be worth taking into consideration...
As I said, our delivery is different. Yours is more of an aggressive style, while mine is more one of looking for viewpoints, compromise, and resolution.
It appears to me that you want resolution without the first two steps often. That is OK, we are not all the same, it would be a very boring world were that that case...
The danger that I have experienced with your approach is that people will stop listening depending on the delivery tone and choice of words. I did and do. Pretty sure others do as well...
Even when you believe totally in what you are thinking is right, others' viewpoints can be heard and a civil discussion can take place, without a disparaging undertone that automatically puts people on the defensive...
There are situations when this more open approach is not appropriate, I realize that. I have been in such situations many times over the years.
In these cases, there is no time or room for a discussion. Immediate action is what is required. Most often this is not the case here.
My approach here is one of seeking the right answer for myself and for others, and in some cases, there is not a right answer. The SEO plugin issue is a prime example.
Having a discussion on which may be better ignores the real 'tall pole in the tent' (or elephant in the room) that underlies this issue.
That important point is this, from my perspective:
Without having the appropriate content, the keywords, an engaging way of presenting the content, etc. no plugin will help you get a high ranking by the search engines...
Perhaps I am being a bit naive here, but I look at things from the 30k feet level, then drill down. Once you have the basics in place, then such discussions about plugins can be entertaining and helpful.
Giving too much credit to a plugin for succeeding or not with SEO clouds that reality. It can influence people to think that the only thing they need is a plugin - that is not true.
I too want people to enjoy the successes I have had over the years, and maybe help them avoid some of the mistakes I have made along the way.
Let them find new ways to make mistakes is my attitude...
Regarding the WA ranking points you mention, I could care less about that, it means very little, as you say.
I am earning the same amount of money from it as a new member with a ranking in the 100s of thousands as I do now with whatever rank I have today. Zero.
Totally agree with that. Unless you can leverage whatever perceived 'power' ranking brings for good, it is pretty much a nonfactor IMO.
There may be some who link their self-worth from this ranking thing, so maybe their motives are somewhat misplaced, again in my opinion...
For the most part, what I have seen (minus that period when we had a bunch of rank-climbers gaming the system) we have people of all ranks that want to help one another...
That is what adds tremendous value to this place, over and above having the excellent roadmap and other features premium members have access to.
We are not that much different in the outcomes we seek...I have no problems with that...Long answer to a simple question, time for coffee number three...
Cheers!
Dave
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Loes, you are the revamping Queen!
Best wishes for a peaceful zondag avond.
Greetings from the south of Spain, Taetske
Thank you Taetske, same wishes to you, greetings from the North:)