Going For Google Gold Week#14

A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimization (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO? 

·         Unfortunately, I was not able to get my laptop to find Google Gold, so I wasn’t able use that benefit. I did, however use key words to drive traffic. It was moderately successful, but not what I would have liked.

What were your keywords. How did you select those keywords? Did you change or refine your keywords through the semester?

·         Originally, my keywords were the post titles, but then I realized we were to use the Week#. After that time, traffic died down. However, having sold Verizon White Page advertising years ago, I do know one way to drive traffic is to use targeted key words. Moreover, not only do you use targeted key words, but you use synonyms for those targeted keywords.

How did you use social media to enhance your SEO efforts? What your your surprises or general impression of using social media to improve your blog's profile? Was social media generally receptive of your blog, or did it get ignored?

·         In order to drive traffic, I would immediately Tweet and Facebook my posts, along with inviting friends to view it. Had I had time, I would have then Google + share it on my blog in couple days after my first post with some variation, thereby doubling my traffic. This might sound a little like spamming, but it does work. I would send my original post months later with the label – “this still matters”.  

What was your most "viral" post? In other words, which post obtained the most traffic? Why do you think?

·         I never really had what I call a “viral” post, but I would say my Napkin Idea#1 got the most views, and revisits. I would say it is because my idea was something that stirred the soul – finding missing children.

Finally, did you make it to the first page of Google results for your keywords? If not, what page of results did you make it to?

·         No, I did not make it to the first page of results. It is clear just entering ‘missing children’ into the search engines results in pages and pages of missing children sites. So, in the future, in order to stand out, I would need to utilize what I have learned here to bring my site to the surface. Next time, I would find a synonym of my targeted keyword, identify the ones with high search volume for my article and then make sure I use it in my content. This would help others find my content without having to use that exact word.