Because of the amazing growth of this blog, since I started marketing it just 9 weeks ago, I am getting a lot of people asking me the same question:
Could you take a quick look at my blog / website Jim and give me some tips for how to get more traffic?
This question is based on an easy to make, but incorrect assumption.
It assumes that I’m a SEO expert
- When I’m actually a Marketing Professional!
I’m not a SEO (search engine optimization), expert. Those are the people who can get you to the top of Google and help you get tons of ‘traffic.’ I am a marketing professional with a blog. The success I have achieved with jimsmarketingblog.com has been achieved through marketing, not SEO.
In fact, even though my last post has already attracted over 155 180 comments, I break many SEO ‘rules’!
For example, I’m told a blogger should post something every day, for the best SEO results. That’s why your favourite Internet Marketing or Social Media ‘Guru’ will often use guest bloggers to write stuff for them – just so they can get SOMETHING out there and keep Google happy. I prefer to post only when I have something of value to share with you – because I blog for people and NOT for Google. As a result, people know the content here will always be consistent and from the same, trusted source.
Also, I refuse to compromise on the way I write, just to make it easier for search engines! I am not repeating ‘key phrases’ or ‘key words’ over and over again. Why? Because if I only compromised my writing style by 1% in order to keep GOOGLE happy, that 1% could be the message YOU needed to hear in order to achieve a great sales or marketing breakthrough.
It’s just NOT an option for me. I write for YOU - Not for Google.
I use two forms of SEO here
I change the title tags of each post, to make them as relevant as possible to people and I also use alt tags for any images. These 2 forms of SEO take seconds to do and don’t get in the way of what I am trying to achieve.
So, what am I trying to achieve?
A blog powered by PEOPLE – NOT just another blog where GOOGLE decides who finds it and how successful it will be!
SEO is ONLY important if you want search engine ‘hits’
SEO is something I believe you need to embrace, ONLY if you want to attract better search engine results. I recommend you invest in as good a SEO provider as you can afford, if you want more traffic from Google and company.
However, I also think you should invest in some of the free, non-SEO ideas I have used on jimsmarketingblog.com. That’s what this post is all about!
Community
Look through the 160 180 or so comments on my previous post and you will see something amazing! You will actually be able to sense the genuine warmth my readers have for each other and for me. There’s already a strong community developing here and that’s what has led to the success of this blog. This feeling of community is why people are so comfortable when commenting here, contacting me or even hiring me for their marketing.
Because of this sense of community, you will also see lots of comments from people who use Twitter. There’s a good reason for that too! When I started marketing this blog (just 9 weeks ago), I had about 160 contacts on Twitter. Today, I have over 5,100 contacts – thanks to the JimsMarketingBlog.com community. Isn’t that amazing? I use just one social networking service and yet connect with more great people, than many who are in half a dozen networks. That’s the value of community!
I find many small businesses think about their online marketing in terms of; hits, clicks, visitors or traffic. I believe a far bigger emphasis should be placed on; people, community, connecting and networking.
Use great SEO – but never forget the human element. Those hits, clicks and visitors are people, after all!
Chuckypita,
Thank you for the kind words. Glad you found the blog useful.
Dee,
Thanks!
Lauren,
I am one of YOUR subscribers and enjoy reading your work at http://laurenpkennedy.wordpress.com/
It’s great that you commented here – I know your writing helps so many people – You ROCK!
Finally! I read a tip that combines common sense, marketing savvy, and practicality. I have a new blog and have been struggling with the “advice” I’ve been getting that I must post at least 3 times per week. I just can’t do that; I too, only want to post when I feel I have something useful and value to offer. This post eases my mind considerably.
Great focus away from SEO. I like writing for people too.
Yea, there’s a lot of ways to get notice by the world, SEO is not the only way. But, it is a bonus if we can get a good result in search engine
It goes with me I also am inclined towards building community, creating relations. Some cases though, when not much time is given, you calculate only hits, traffic, conversions. All what matters at the end is making money.
Jim, this post really puts the marketing/SEO/networking world into perspective for me. Being in the infant stages of starting a business, being bombarded with marketing/SEO/networking information can be difficult and confusing when trying to figure out how to achieve your goal, which is sales. You have pretty much summed it up to balancing it all in order to make yourself, and your personality a part of the company image.
Jim,
Wanted to say I enjoy your updates and this entry really hit the nail on the head for me. I’ve been frustrated by the focus on SEO rather than content and I was glad to see your post about it.
Thanks
@cgrant
I wholeheartedly believe this statement, and i’ve been saying this to my coworkers recently.
“I find many small businesses think about their online marketing in terms of; hits, clicks, visitors or traffic. I believe a far bigger emphasis should be placed on; people, community, connecting and networking.”
The internet sure works in magical ways! Especially twitter, it’s exceeded all of my expectations, and I continue to gain important and useful contacts through it every single day.
Andrea/ @MakingMusicMag
SEO is important as well, but it doesn’t fall in the same category.
SEO belongs to website strategy, webpresence and so on,
whilst blogging might fall into Social Media Marketing strategy.
Both important, both different focus, different uniquenesses & objectives.
There is no doubt in my mind that you need both on page SEO and off page SEO.
Social media marketing is a very important element of SEO. The more quality links you have to your site, the better.
I think that’s exactly right. In the old days, it was all about eyeballs, but no one cared about whose eyeballs. These days, every single visitor (even the trolls) matters and having a successful site is about engaging with each and every one of them on an individual level.
This is another post from someone who does not understand SEO getting his disciples all riled up.
What Jim fails to tell all of you, is that SEO is not about increasing traffic, but about increasing conversions. When you optimize a site, you don’t optimize for more traffic. Otherwise every site would read “barack obama” “sex” “porn”. You optimize your site for the keywords YOUR AUDIENCE will be researching to find you.
Sure, traffic comes along with that. And lowlife SEOs try for more and more traffic, even if it is unqualified. But get real. This is 2008, not 1999. Sadly Jim is stuck in 1999 with this philosophy, and he is trying to get all of you on his side.
Look at his twitter followers, he has over 7000. How many of those would you (or he) say is his target audience? Is he trying to get traffic (followers) or is he trying to have a community?
This post is completely backwards. SEO is not about increasing traffic, it is about driving the RIGHT(qualified) traffic and getting them exactly what they want. Please don’t get this confused.
Randy,
I’m not an SEO expert, I’m not even a keen amateur – It’s not my thing, as I state at the start of this post.
I am not anti-seo, as you suggest – I stand by what I said, that it’s better if you combine great SEO with non-seo marketing too.
You wondered how many of my followers were in my ‘target group’. I have no idea, because my target group, as you call them, are just people who share my interest in marketing and sales. As you can see from the comments, this also seems to be the kind of people who comment here.
I appreciate your comments Randy.
Just read Randys comment. sounds like he never read your post though.
Im guessing he also dont know you are pro seo and that you have told readers to go hire the best seo guys they can?
Weird that he never supplied his own website address in his comment?
Hey Randy.
So no name and no url with your comment?
Thats what I call smart seo right there. You comment on a well read blog and dont leave a link to your own site.
And you are the seo expert?
Leigh,
Yes, I am pro Search Engine optimisation as you say. My point with THIS blog is to provide a human-powered blog. Even so, as I said in the post, I use both Title Tags and Alt Tags (both are SEO related.)
Salty,
It’s possible he doesn’t have a site. I’m guessing that’s why you didn’t leave a link either?
For those inquiring, I am flattered. Enjoy!
That’s very thought provoking. I used to freak out when I didn’t add to my other blogs in the past…which is why they all dropped on the way side. This helps me go forward with the one I just started a week ago.
Jim, I agree that a people focused approach is definitely a better strategy.
Here is why I think so :
1) It’s people who come to your site that you want to stay
2) Word of mouth (or the spreading of knowledge through people rather than search engines) is far more valuable.
3) Attract comments – People like to interact and it has to be easy to do so.
In my search for the best backlink tactics (my blog) I’ve found that there is not always correlation between Page Rank and where you are on a Google Search – it’s all depends on what people are searching for. If you focus too much on the search engine ranking / key words then you’ll end up changing your content and you’ll get caught up in this endless loop.
Patience and the human touch – definitely.
I see how active you are on Facebook – and I see your face all the time. You have a great human approach to your internet marketing.
You mentioned, “I’m told a blogger should post something every day, for the best SEO results.” Unfortunately, you were told wrong. There is no need to update everyday for SEO purposes unless you’re chasing trends traffic, like who’s the hot celeb today or who got a bailout today.
Otherwise, it’s a matter of targeting the right keywords and building the right back links to your site. That way your traffic level will remain the same even if you don’t update in a week, month or even a year.
Hi Jim,
I went on a lot of different google chat room to learn or just understand how to create more traffic on my blog, one guy told me to register to adsense from Google to attract traffic and make a lot of money…. I mean it sound good when it said that but this isn’t something I want to do now. I liked what I found on your blog about communication with people instead to hide yourself behind a screen and just wait for your blog to do the work….But at the end of the day the content of your blog has to be pretty good.
Thanks anyway…Will follow your advice.