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What is a Site Keyword Roadmap – And Why You Need One

As you design (or update) your website, it is critical that you think about the individual people who will be visiting your site and engaging with your content. With all the data readily availble on number of visitors to your site, where they come from, and what pages they are visiting, it is easy to think about site visitors as an impersonal group. The one thing you don’t know from the data, however, is who the people actually are.

Website visitors are not merely an abstract group of traffic. They are individual people. Keep this in mind as you plan out keywords for your website and content. The more you speak directly to the people visiting your site, the better your results are going to be.

Your website visitors are not merely an abstract group of traffic. They are individual people. The more you speak directly to the people visiting your site, the better your results are going to be.

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What is a Site Keyword Roadmap?

A keyword roadmap for your site helps you bring together all your keywords, the pages they related to, and the content you need to create in one place. Creating a site keyword roadmap allows you to visualize the changes and updates you want to implement on your site. It also lets you map out which keywords correspond with which pages on your site.

This visual reference map gives you direction as you create your website content.

Why Do I Need A Site Keyword Roadmap?

Creating a site keyword roadmap for your website allows you to create or update your website in an organized fashion. It helps you place effective keywords in your content so that you speak directly to the people visiting your website. When your keywords align with the keywords your audience is searching online, you’ll be poised to offer solutions to the problems they are seeking answers for.

Additionally, your site keyword roadmap informs search engines how your website is structured, and what content can be found on the site. Approaching search engine optimization (SEO) in a systematic way by using a site keyword roadmap helps your site rank better in search engine results.

Elements of a Site Keyword Roadmap

Keywords: Keywords are the words people type into search engines to look for specific content on the internet. People may search “website designer” or “how to find keywords.”

You want your site to show up for specific keywords so that when people search those keywords they find the content they are looking for on your site. Knowing the keywords you’d like to be known for, and implementing them strategically in your content, is critical for attracting “organic” traffic to your site.

Website Pages: All websites are made up of one or more pages. There is your home page, plus as many additional pages as you need. Often these include an about page, a products page, a contact us page, and more. Each of these pages can be optimized for a certain keyword.

Consider the content you have for the page, and the type of person that content speaks to. Choose keywords that connect the content to the search terms those people will be typing into Google and other search engines.

Consider the content you have for each page on your site, and the type of person that content speaks to. Choose keywords that connect the content to the search terms people will be typing into Google and other search engines.

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Content: Content consists of the words (known as copy) and images on each page of your website. It is important to incorporate the keyword for the page into the content on that page. Create your content with your keywords in mind.

Implement Your Site Keyword Roadmap

Are you ready to take the site keyword roadmap for your website and implement on your website? Do you feel intimidated by the process and would like some help?

Reach out to the Web Pages That Sell team to discuss your website needs, and let us help you!

6 Places to Use Keywords to Make Your Content More Visible

By Rebecca Metz

Keywords are the terms your ideal client is typing into Google or another search engine when they are looking for something online. “Life coach in Minneapolis” and “business coach for virtual assistants” and “how to get more sales from my website” are all examples of keywords. Knowing the keywords you’d like to be known for is critical for attracting “organic” traffic to your site, but that’s only one part of the equation. You also have to use your keywords strategically.

As you create content for your website, whether it be a new page or a blog post, consider how to incorporate the keywords people are searching to find content like yours. If you aren’t sure how to figure out what keywords are important for you to use, setup Google Analytics to start tracking which keywords bring people to your site already.

Help potentional visitors find your online content by strategically placing keywords in your content.

Are you ready to use your keywords on your website in ways that will actually help people find your content? Read on for 6 places to put your keywords to boost the online visability of your website.

Are you adding keywords in these 6 places on your website? Read this article to find ways to use keywords strategically.

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Page Titles or Blog Article Titles

Do you struggle to write titles for your website pages or blog articles? Or, do you like using cute, clever blog post titles? Keep this in mind: The subject is the keyword field that Google and other search providers give the most weight to. Don’t waste this space!

Focus on creating a clear, consice title that says exactly what your article or post is about. Use this space to put keywords that potential visitors will search on Google or other search engines so your article has a better chance of showing up higher in the search results.

Sub-Headings in Articles and Website Pages

Everyone today is in a hurry. People rarely read an entire article from start to finish. Instead, they skim it quickly for the most important points before deciding if they want to invest their time to read it more completely. Because of this, it is important that you write your content in such a way that caters to the readers behavior.

If your post or article is more than a few paragraphs long, be sure to include sub-headings to give the quick readers an overview. Not only are you providing time-pressed visitors a birds-eye view of the article, but sub-headings also tell the search engines what your content is about. Be sure to use your keywords strategically in your sub-headings so Google (and others) know how to classify your posts.

Image Titles and File Names

Search for nearly anything on Google, and you’ll see images appear at the top of the search results. These images will almost always have file names and titles that correspond to the keyword you’ve searched. You can — and should — make use of your chosen keywords by naming any images appropriately and setting the titles and alt attributes to clearly describe what the image is.

Go through the images you have on your website, and the photos or files you have included in blog posts. Update the titles of the photos and the file names to ensure they reflect the content you are using the phote or file alongside.

Pay attention to the image titles and file names on your website – this is a good place to add your keywords.

Meta Descriptions

The meta description is the snippet of text that shows up below a listing in Google and other search engines. With WordPress, you can either explicitly declare a meta description with the use of a plugin such as WordPress SEO by Yoast or let Google decide what to use.

While the meta description itself has no weight when it comes to your search results placement, it can have a great deal of impact on whether or not someone clicks through to your site. Take care to write a compelling description that contains the keyword you want to be found for.

Add Inbound Links

As you’re creating new blog posts and pages on your site, it’s a good idea to link from one page or post to another. This serves two purposes: it helps readers learn more about a subject by having additional pages to read, and it helps the search engines find and explore other content on your site.

In both cases, it’s helpful to use keywords as the “anchor text” for these links. In other words, hyper-link the keyword when linking to the related page or article. It’s a clear declaration to both human readers and non-human search engine readers that the content linked to is about a specific subject.

Use Keywords in Your Content

It should go without saying that including keywords in the bulk of your content is important not only for search engines but for readers, too. However, don’t make the mistake of using the same phrase over and over again. Doing so will turn your readers off. Instead, use variations of your keyword throughout the text of your article. You won’t bore your readers, plus you’ll reinforce your main point with the search engines, which are now smart enough to recognize synonyms and rank your content accordingly.

Be sure to use variations of your keyword throughout your content. You won’t bore readers this way, and search engines are smart enough to recognize keyword synonyms.

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Don’t worry if you don’t get your SEO perfect right out of the gate. It can take time to properly optimize a website for search — and some would argue that it’s a never-ending job — but do keep these 6 areas in mind for every post you make and your site will be much easier to find in a search.

Do you need some help converting your site into Web Pages That Sell? Get in touch with us and let us know where you want to start!

Google Analytics: An Introduction

By Rebecca Metz

Data. It’s a critical part of operating a business. Data is important for any business owner because it helps guide decision making in a relevant way. If gathering and analyzing data seems overwhelming for you, there is a free service you can use to get all the information you need for your website. Here’s all the basics you need to know about Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is a free, cloud-based software from Google. This tool allows you to learn about the behavior of visitors that come to your website. Gathering this data allows you to understand what improvements would be beneficial for your website based on how your audience is engaging with your online presence.

Data allows you to understand what improvements would be beneficial for your website.

Collect the Data You Need

Google Analytics can measure almost anything you need measured. Customize your data dashboard to collect the information that will help you make informed decisions based on your website analytics.

Customize your Google Analytics dashboard to collect the information you need to make data driven decisions about your online presence.

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Here’s a sample of the metrics you can setup your Google Analytics account to collect:

Site visits – Shows the number of people who are coming to your website.
Page views – Shows the number of pages that have been viewed.
Bounce rates – A bounce is when someone comes to the site but leaves in a couple of seconds.
Time on site – Average amount of time each person spends on your site.
Pages per visit – Shows the number of pages that are looked at each time someone visits your page.

Make Data Driven Decisions

As you may already know, these metrics are important when making decisions about your website and online presence.

For example, your bounce rate tells a story of what is working and not working. If you’re running an advertisement on social media that’s getting a lot of clicks, you’ll want to ensure you have a good low bounce rate on the landing page the advertisement is directing people to. If the bounce rate is high, you can start looking into why – perhaps the content isn’t aligned with the advertisement or your landing page has a technical problem.

Small tweaks can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your online campaigns and website presence.

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Small tweaks can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your online campaigns. When you have accurate, relevant data, making adjustments to your online presence and campaigns is much easier.

The information you can gather through Google Analytics will set you on the right path to optimize your online presence.

Consider what you could do with data such as demographics, how people found your website, how long visitors stay on your site, what pages and posts they are visiting, the keywords that bring people to your website, and more! Keep an eye on the content and topics that generate the most traffic so you can add more pages or posts related to that topic. Use the data about what time people visit your site to determine your social media and blog posting schedule.

The information you can gather through Google Analytics will set you on the right path to optimize your website and online content.

Do need help transforming your site into Web Pages That Sell? Connect with us and we’ll help you figure out where to get started!

Product Review: Cogsworth Scheduling Tool

By Rebecca Metz

If your business is anything like mine, you regularly schedule phone calls, meetings, and other appointments. Fortunately for both of us, there are a myriad of scheduling tools that sync with your calendars, and have various features to allow for seamless scheduling. Eliminate the back and forth email threads trying to find a time that works for both parties. Simply send the link to your calendar – preset with your available times – and the other party can choose a date and time that works for them.

Eliminate back and forth email threads to set a meeting time with Cogsworth scheduling tool.

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Schedule meetings and phone calls with ease using a scheduling tool like Cogsworth.

Choosing the Scheduling Tool That Is Right For You

When I first started using a scheduling tool, I used Time Trade. This was years ago, and I couldn’t stop talking about how much I loved being able to just give a link to people who wanted to schedule time with me. I was able to create boundaries for me time with this tool, and it made it easy to fill up my calendar.

I still use Time Trade, but as other scheduling tools started coming on the market, I found that Cogsworth seems to have the best of everything.

My Favorite Cogsworth Feature

Cogsworth adds an extra level of flexibility by incorporating the ability to ask questions of people when they schedule time with you. Some tools allow you to ask one; Cogsworth lets you add multiple questions. The ability to ask questions is ideal for some business owners who need to screen the people who want to schedule time with them. Knowing someone is genuinely seeking your services, and is the type of client you work with, is incredibly helpful for busy business owners.

Ask multiple questions when people schedule a call with you through Cogsworth. See why it’s a good fit for your business in this review.

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In addition to weeding out people who aren’t the right fit for your service, the ability to ask multiple questions is helpful for certain service providers who need specific details prior to the first meeting with the potential client. Additionally, if you require your existing clients to schedule their meetings with you through Cogsworth or another scheduling service, this will allow you to ask questions about why they are meeting with you, and other details about the call.

Sync Cogsworth with your Google or Outlook calendar for streamlined meeting scheduling.

Key Features to Note

Sync Cogsworth with your Google or Outlook calendar
Embed the scheduling form right onto your website
Set your open dates and times, and add buffers between appointments
Get notifications and reminders about appointments, and send reminders to the person you are meeting with
Accept payments through the scheduling form

With these, and other features, you can customize your Cogsworth calendar and forms to be just right for you and your business.

Streamline Your Appointment Scheduling

Using a scheduling tool like Cogsworth streamlines your appointment scheduling. It gives you the freedom and flexibility to fill your calendar on the days you want it filled.

Do you want more tools to optimize your website for your business needs? Get in touch with the Web Pages That Sell team! We’d love to chat with you about your website and business goals.

Enhance Your Productivity with Google Calendar

By Rebecca Metz

As a business owner, productivity and effective time management are important. The better you can organize your time and complete tasks, the stronger your business will be. A key piece to any productive system is an effective calendar tool.

Prior to technology, pen and paper were the only option available for scheduling appointments and keeping track of projects. Now, you have any number of calendar tools at your fingertips. One that you may be aware of, but may not use to full capacity, is Google Calendar.

Google Calendar is a time management and scheduling calendar service that has been around since 2006. It has quickly become the industry standard for online calendars. Anyone who has a Google account has access to Google Calendar. Google Calendar can help keep you on schedule, more productive, and more organized.

Google Calendar can help keep you on schedule, more productive, and more organized in your life and business.

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Enhance your productivity by using Google Calendar to manage your appointments and projects.

Key Features to Note

Google Calendar is popular for its many useful features. If you have a Google account, make sure you are utilizing these productivity enhancing features:

Multiple Calendars: If you like to keep your schedule organized and different types of events and tasks separated, Google Calendar allows you to create multiple calendars and display them all at once. For example, you could have a separate calendar for product launches, emails schedules, and social media marketing. Multiple calendars help keep everything organized. Remember you get to pick which calendar details are visible at any time.

Appointments: Google Calendar makes it simple for others to make appointments with you. Simply mark the available times in your calendar by using the event Appointment Slots. When doing so, be sure to note the time duration for the appointment slot. You can then share a link to your calendar appointment page for others to sign up for an appointment.

Browse Calendars: Would you like to automatically add all the US holidays to your calendar? Is it important that you know the weather for the day? When creating a new calendar, simply choose Browse Calendars of Interest, pick the calendar you desire, and it will be added to your calendar automatically

Share Your Calendar: Sharing your calendar with a family member or business associates is a great feature of Google Calendar. When you share your calendar, the shared account will see your calendar as one of their own. You can control if the shared account is able to only see events you add or add events as well. This is great for families and businesses who use project managers or virtual assistants.

Daily Agenda Email: Google Calendar can notify you of all events you add your calendar but one of the most helpful notifications if the Daily Agenda Email. When you enable this notification Google Calendar with send you an email at 5:00am with a list of all events you have scheduled for that day.

Are you using Google Calendar to its full capacity? Check out some useful features in this article.

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Enhance your productivity in 2020 with Google Calendar.

How Will You Be More Productive with Google Calendar?

There are many more features to discover in Google Calendar in addition to the ones I’ve discussed in this article. Whether you use Google Calendar for personal or business reasons, or both, it is a tool that will save you time and help keep you on schedule.

Website Optimization: Growing Your Email List

By Rebecca Metz

Creating regular content and inviting readers to further engage with your content and brand is important for many reasons. As you grow your business, building a robust list of email subscribers with help get your content, products, and services in front of more people.

If you don’t include an opt-in for your email list with each of your blog posts, you may be
missing out on a wealth of new email subscribers. Having an extra piece of content related to the topic of the blog post is a great way to provide value to your audience, and encourage readers to further engage with your content. This creates a win-win scenario – your readers get valuable content, and you build your email list.

Are your growing your email list by including an opt-in with each of your blog posts?

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Key Elements of an Email Opt-In

Creating free content for new email subscribers is the main piece to growing your email list through your blog posts. When creating this content, keep in mind the main goal of opt-in content: to provide value to the reader of your article. You want the content to build on the topic the article was about so the reader wants to learn more by signing up for the free content.

Opt-In Content Ideas

You have a lot of options when it comes to creating content for your email list opt-in content. A great place to start is with content you already have. Repurposing existing content allows you to maximize your time and energy, while give new subscribers content in a format that resonates with them.

Need some content ideas? Here are a few to help get your creative juices flowing

An e-book – An e-book can be any length. Consider which topics to make longer content about so that you use your time and resources wisely. You may be able to create a longer e-book about a topic that will resonate with a large portion of your audience. Shorter e-books can be for more niche elements of your audience.
A worksheet – This is a great content form for articles that have specific actions the readers can take. Help you readers take action on your content with a worksheet designed to support them in their action-taking.
A short email or video challenge – Creating an email or video based challenge for
subscribers is a great way to keep them engaged with your content over a longer period of time. You have a lot of flexibility in the amount of content you create for this idea.

Opt-in content could be an e-book, a worksheet, or an email challenge – the goal is to provide value to your audience.

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How to Add an Email Opt-In to Your Blog Posts

Once you have created your content, it is time to add it to your blog posts in a way that allows readers to sign up for your email list. Adding your opt-in to your blog post involves a few steps:

Create a banner graphic that includes a screen shot of the free content, the title, and a call to action to download the content.
Add the banner graphic to your blog post and link the image to a subscription form from your email marketing platform.
Set up the subscription form to send new subscribers an email with the download link to the free piece of content.

Take some time to think through the promotion of your opt-in on your blog posts. Be sure the banner graphic is compelling to the reader. Consider if you want to send multiple emails to the new subscriber after the initial email they will get with the free content download.

There are many ways to expand your email list, and adding an opt-in form with a free piece of content to your blog posts is a great place to start.

Are looking to level up your website? Get in touch with me and let me know how my team can help you create web pages that sell!