How to organically rank a website

how to organically rank a website

There are a variety of tactics and strategies that SEOs use, and this is dependent on a few factors:

What is the niche of the website?

The type of business can help with the approach of SEO tactics. For example, if the business is a local house cleaning service and the competition is low, then deciding on where to focus your organic efforts would be different if the business was an online game design company where you probably wouldn’t be listing yourself for localized results (well maybe in the Metaverse).

Who is the competition?

Most marketers will perform a website or business audit. Within this audit, there is a competitor analysis that will show where the business appears. At one point, a lot of local businesses weren’t using Google Business listings or listed in Maps.

For a local business to be found by local searchers, is a straightforward approach. Imagine tourists from another country visiting and looking for the best seafood to eat. Most will grab their phone and ask this question and the results populate in less than a minute! 

Beyond Google, where else do the competitors appear? Are they optimized on Instagram or Facebook?

Is the technical SEO of the site built correctly?

There are tools SEOs use to run technical audits that allow us to see if there are technical items needing fixes. Besides Google Search Console, there is SiteBulb, ScreamingFrog, SiteImprove, and WebPageTest.org; to name a few.

If you are unsure of how to fix a site, a quick search of technical SEOs can be of help.

Who is the target audience?

Some marketers will call these Personas but it comes down to who is the site targeting. If there is no idea of the target audience, then your path to purchase and UX design won’t be as successful as it should be.

Is this site answering the user’s query?

With tools like SEMRush, SearchMetrics, and AlsoAsked, you can see how people are searching and how your site stacks up to the competition. Through the analysis of this data, you should be able to determine whether the site answers the searcher’s query.

What type of outreach is done?

Outreach can be online PR, link earning, or collaborations. Ultimately, is outreach being completed, and is the business gaining the exposure and results from the efforts? Tracking the performance through tools like Buzzstream or Meltwater can track the conversation and the success rate.7. Which type of content performs best?

When creating content, this can be any type of content: written, video, audio, visuals, or a combination. But either way, reviewing your content and the content of your competitors to see which performs the best and making recommendations to the content teams is one way to gain higher rankings. 

Don’t forget to address the visitors who come to the site through mobile. Consider how the page is designed, for easy access and ADA compliance. 

Supplying the content teams with data and analysis, and being involved from the brainstorming beginning and throughout the review process, ensures the content will be optimized. Some tools to help with measuring content performance are SearchMetrics, SEMRush, and Moz.

 

These are only a few questions that an SEO asks themselves, as there are many approaches to SEO depending on if it’s an eCommerce, publisher, or lead generation site.

 

 

Social Media Strategy & Content Promotion

In today’s digital age, having a strong social media presence is crucial for businesses of all sizes. Not only can social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube drive significant traffic to your website, but they also play a role in Google’s search algorithm. Additionally, many customers are more likely to discover a business through a referral from a friend on social media than by asking directly.

A strong social media strategy is key to driving customer interaction and engagement. This includes conducting a strategy audit, reviewing your competition, and executing a plan for monthly promotion activities.

Content promotion is also an important aspect of social media marketing. While creating high-quality content is the first step, it’s just as important to extend the lifespan of that content and gain social signals to boost your brand’s authority. This can be achieved through training your team on best practices for promoting content and becoming a content syndicator, as well as leveraging influencers and promoting your content in meaningful ways.

By following best practices and integrating promotion efforts into your content publishing activities, you can effectively use social media to drive PR opportunities and increase brand awareness.

 

 

Parenting with a Rare Disease

I was interviewed about being a parent with a #raredisease and maneuvering daily life. Although I don’t share a lot about the daily struggle, I was happy to share if it helps other parents and individuals living with #autoimmunediseases So take a listen and be your own advocate when it comes to your health.

New Energy in Action Podcast Alert! ⁠EP: 52 Parents As Rare: Lisa Weinberger – Be Your Own Advocate, Listen To Your Body, Take Control of Your Health, & Ask Questions on our website, Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast or iHeartRadio.

Lisa Weinberger – Be Your Own Advocate, Listen To Your Body, Take Control of Your Health, & Ask Questions

 

Medication Options for Rare Diseases: SubQ

Low-dose subcutaneous immunoglobulin is an effective treatment for autoimmune bullous skin disorders: A case report

The above is the new treatment I am using for my rare disease, Pemphigus Vulgaris. I also found out I have CVID, (Common Variable Immune Deficiency, which is part of PI.  I don’t understand why my doctor said she couldn’t find research as here are four case studies that specifically discuss blistering diseases and Hizentra and remission.

A little background about me: I was diagnosed with Pemphigus Vulgaris in June 2018 after a year of blistering. I was on Prednisone for 14 months, the highest dose was 100mg a day. It took me a year to taper off the Prednisone. I have had two rounds of Rituxan, following the RA protocol and two maintenance doses. I tried IVIG and got aseptic meningitis. I started using LDN in June 2019 and stopped in December 2020, as I was approved for subcutaneous immunoglobin. I see an acupuncturist and functional physician weekly since December 2018.

Seriously, I should look into being a patient advocate or something because this treatment doesn’t suppress the immune system and allows the patient to control when and where they infuse their medicine.

Since being diagnosed in June 2018, all I feel I have done is research in trying to solve my disease or figure out a way to live a normal life without harsh medications. The medications got it under control and I am thankful for that but the side effects have left me with other issues from suppressing my immune system, losing muscle, Addison’s disease, lymphedema, and fatigue, that I am not willing to continue.

In reality, if my first doctor 20 years ago believed that I had my first autoimmune disease, and I actually found doctors who understood our “invisible” diseases, I don’t feel I would have gotten this bad.

But after all the hard work, I am finally feeling more and more like my old self. Still tired and giving energy to what I need to do but hoping this year I can get back to doing more than just what is needed.

I posted the above on one of my social media networks and someone brought up AI. I am open to AI or advanced medical practices. There are more detailed tests to see if a person has titers of autoimmune diseases. Why none of my past doctors ran these after I shared my struggle is beyond me.

The doctors: It was always that I was depressed. Depressed cause my body hurts not mentally depressed. As a once active individual, full of muscle and energy, the depressing part was not being able to continue being as physically active as I once was. If I did an hour of activity, I slept for a week but that was looked at as normal?

I was a daredevil! I did everything from the basic sports of swimming, softball, and basketball to dancing and then aggressive inline. I jumped and rode ramps on my blades and loved every second! I loved the adrenaline and now I’m lucky if my adrenals will even produce enough to stay awake all day.

Maybe AI would have found my issues out sooner if this was entered into the diagnostic system. Either way, I just want people to take control of their health, do the research so they don’t end up like me. Feeling like shit for 20 years, being told I’m a hypochondriac and now trying to get my body and life back to it once was at 44.

If you are struggling with an autoimmune disease and not getting better, speak up and find the right doctors.
    • Do your research and bring it with you to all your appointments.
    • Sometimes we have to try all the medications to get to the subcutaneous immunoglobin option due to the health insurance approvals.

Be your own advocate and listen to your body. Take control of your health and ask questions.

A Rare Disease That Sounds Like It Belongs in Harry Potter: Pemphigus Vulgaris

It started last year (2017), when I was extremely fatigued for months and couldn’t shake the exhaustion. I slept at night as usual, but had a hard time getting up in the morning. The exhaustion, pain and swelling were always present, and no matter what I tried, the discomfort would not subside.

I went to my primary doctor, who sloughed off my symptoms as being tied to inflammation associated with Fibromyalgia. The doctor told me to take calcium and turmeric and sent me on my way. By December, my gums were very inflamed and my tongue was burning. I went to my primary and again was told that it was from the Fibromyalgia. This time, the doctor gave me thyroid medication for a thyroid condition I didn’t have.

Between January and February, my tongue burning came and went and I had canker sores — or so I thought. The canker sores never fully disappeared. I tried to solve the issues using acupuncture, Chinese herbs and vitamin drips. Unfortunately, the natural route was not working. If anything, it was getting worse. Three different doctors misdiagnosed me again — this time with oral thrush — and I spent a lot of time and money on medications I never needed. I went to six different doctors, three of whom said they didn’t have a clue what I had. With no help or guidance, they gave me Prednisone and sent me on my way.

Continue reading “A Rare Disease That Sounds Like It Belongs in Harry Potter: Pemphigus Vulgaris”

How to Launch, Grow, and Monetize a Website

How to Launch, Grow, and Monetize a Website

Thinking about launching a website? It can be intimidating when you’re first starting out. But throughout my time as an entrepreneur, I’ve come up with a set process for ideation, testing, promoting and monetizing. First, a little about me. Over the past 20-some years, I have launched multiple online businesses. Some I consider successes, while others have been failures. I’ve always been interested in education, so I launched my first business in that industry at age 18. I provided a private tutoring service that offered students in-home sessions.

While it was successful, I quickly grew out of it and moved on to other interests. In the early 2000s, I decided to up my game and move into digital marketing. I had the educational and content side down, but digital marketing has a lot of moving parts, and it took a little more effort to learn. I spent hours at Barnes & Noble reading about the Internet and online marketing. Reading about it wasn’t enough, though; I needed to tap into shared knowledge.

Continue reading “How to Launch, Grow, and Monetize a Website”

Advice from social media and SEO expert Lisa Weinberger

Originally published on TechRepublic. Interview by Nicole Nash.

During a very busy travel year, training internal teams and speaking at conferences, this interview was completed on a 6-hour plane ride.

——–

If you want to integrate SEO into your social media strategy, read this interview to learn one expert’s approach. She also reveals her favorite analytics, SEO, and social media tools.

Continue reading “Advice from social media and SEO expert Lisa Weinberger”

Breaking Down Silos: How to Help Your Team Win at SEO

Originally published on Conductor’s blog

Being in the SEO industry for 20 years as a consultant and a director — most recently, the Director of SEO, Content and Social Media for Vitacost.com – I see the same problem at every company I work at: a severe lack of communication between departments.

When educating an organization on integrated marketing and the importance of SEO in every decision, these are the management tactics I’ve found to be the most useful in pushing that message across.

But first: do your homework!

Observe what is and isn’t working within your organization

We have all heard about the “silos” which occur within organizations, or lack of communication between departments. Often this doesn’t happen consciously – it’s simply a product of monotonous everyday tasks.

As an outsider looking in, or as a newbie to a company, I like to observe and learn the current processes and procedures of how teams work together for the first few weeks. There is a lot of listening, taking notes, and reviewing similar complaints from various stakeholders within departments.

Ask yourself: are all departments communicating the right things?

What I typically find is that everyone wants the organization to succeed and everyone is passionate about his or her contribution to the company; no doubt, that’s a great environment to be a part of.

But when it comes to communication between departments, complaints are often similar. The departments are communicating, just not about the right things. They aren’t talking about what is necessary to move forward and reach goals.

4 Tactics That Have Been Phenomenally Successful For Breaking Down Silos

1. Set up bi-weekly meetings to make sure everyone knows what’s happening.

At Vitacost.com, I first observed a disconnect between merchandising, onsite promotions, the blog content team, and the social media team. Through discussion, we discovered that no one knew about the hefty amount of social media promotion is done or the contests being executed. These contests occur weekly and monthly with specific vendors, and the social media and content teams were the only ones aware of it.

We started a bi-weekly meeting as well as check-in emails to make sure all parties were aware of the scheduled social promotions. After that discussion, everyone was open to communicating and working together that within a week — communication vastly improved. It was quite amazing to see the change happen so quickly.

2. Incorporate other departments’ needs into your editorial calendar.

The same occurred between the content team and the merchandising department. As we all know, content can make a huge impact on users wanting to stay on the site, especially if promoted to gain more engagement. Within a week after sharing my observation and suggestion of incorporating merchandising needs with the editorial calendar, both departments’ initiatives were fully integrated.

Team building occurred across the organization and I received many comments about improved communication. Now, these departments actually enjoy working together.

3. Inform with educational materials and “Lunch & Learns.”

For those who have ever heard me speak, you’ll notice I have a distinct accent (unless you’re from the Northeast!). I’ve learned from my years of teaching that getting people to listen and understand the importance of the words being spoken takes patience.

Building an environment that understands why SEO should be part of the overall discussions takes time. After all, SEO touches many pillars.

The first step in this process is to educate. I always get a few copies of Vanessa Fox’s book “Marketing in the Age of Google” and pass it out for the organization to read. Then, I hold training sessions and Q&As; we call these “Lunch and Learns.”

4. Create an SEO best practice guide.

We typically create guidelines for SEO best practices within the first 3 months. That way, the teams are all following the same approach. These guidelines have helped tremendously. During training, team building occurs across different departments without force.

Pave the way for the next generation of SEOs

In the past, I have mentored many digital marketing novices into becoming full-fledged SEOs. Not all have become solely focused on SEO, but they possess the knowledge within their domain to be a voice and an expert in SEO. Whether they are leading social media, web development, content strategy, or paid search campaigns, they are able to use SEO as their platform for success.

As a director, my approach and goal are to pass on expert knowledge to my teams so they can take it in, expand their careers, and keep progressing in the industry. The first generation of SEOs have paved the way — I can’t wait to see what the next generation has in store next for us.

How to Use Google Voice Search for SEO

how-use-google-voice-search-seo

When Google updates their homepage, switches how the search results are shown, or adds a stronger focus on voice search, as an SEO, I am never quite sure how it will affect my sites. Sometimes there is no change in our analytics, other times there is a slight bump and then there is doubling traffic month over month consistently for five months.

Some may know, I launched a personal finance website for the cannabis community a few years ago with my business partner. Through many phases, we settled on MarijuanaRates.com which is a free search comparison tool for consumers with analysis completed and delivered through editorial.

With cannabis not being federally regulated, banking can pose a challenge though each legalized state has come a long way with new merchant companies for the cannabis industry, to enable their service to be used in transactions; making it a bit safer for cannabis employees. Having a mainly cash business is a problem and hasn’t been fully solved, but there are many smart, determined individuals in the industry working hard to solve the dangers of this process. Also due to the federal laws, no paid search is allowed which means all our traffic is through organic rankings and outreach.

Voice Search Results

It was a Friday night in March, while I was discussing with my husband about how our traffic jumped up and couldn’t pinpoint the exact channel since it kept showing direct. He decided to “ask Google” about the prices of coffeemakers. Yes, we tend to have multiple topic conversations as we needed to buy a new one…. Google “gave” the answer about the Black & Decker coffeemaker price and visualize the lightbulb above my head turning on.

I screamed, “Ask Google How much is an ounce of Sour Diesel?” and BAM, Google’s answer to us, “According to MarijuanaRates.com…”

sour-diesel-google-answer-box

 

I screamed again (not that I couldn’t ask Google myself), “How much is an ounce of OG Kush?” Again! “According to MarijuanaRates.com…”og-kush-google-answer-box

This went on for easily an hour, asking all different questions and I screamed with excitement. Our daughter thought something was wrong as I explained to her, No, it’s just mommy and daddy’s business doing something amazing!

blue-dream-google-answer-box

We knew we had captured the Google Answer boxes months prior for much of our editorial pieces, but didn’t realize that when voice search began increasing, it also meant we were the site who gave the answer to the searcher’s query verbally! Not only in Google but all voice search in Siri, Bing and Alexa (yup we checked!).

In the past few months of monitoring our captured answer boxes, we have seen a few changes:

  1. Our featured image has been shown, then not shown, then shown again.
  2. Recently, Google is showing images from other sites but using our data and information for the answer.
  3. Originally the answer box was showing our charts aka rate tables for the answer and have switched to grabbing the actually written editorial as the answer. Not the rich snippet.
  4. Depending on the day, time of day, week, location; sometimes we hold the top ranking but Google doesn’t show the answer box.
  5. Sometimes the answer box will pull information from a different amount blog posting and then fix itself.

How do we use Google voice search in our SEO strategy? Continue to analyze what our community searches for and answer their queries through continued data acquisition, content creation and outreach. By working our cannabis business, where the main source of traffic has to be organically driven, taking the experience and knowledge and applying it has been the greatest gift to us.

We are grateful for the many users and visitors to MarijuanRates.com. With 20k+ sessions, 18k+ users and over 105k+ page views since March, we continue to grow as the cannabis community welcomed us and we continue to build more consumer friendly tools to help with their budgeting needs. We wanted to share from March to present day, we have a great community, who spends time on our site and visits many pages, getting their questions answered and we couldn’t be happier with the results.

If you are a business interested in advertising on MarijuanaRates.com, please contact us and we can discuss our packages.

 

The 3 C’s of Social Media

3 C's of Social Media

Abide by the “3 Cs” when it comes to social media.

Conversation, Community, and Curation are the “3 Cs” of social media. Everything is based from the main “C” which stands for Content development with a purpose. Since the cannabis industry cannot pay for digital media, all MarijuanaRates.com traffic comes through organic marketing. A lot of our traffic and brand recognition is due to the 3 C’s.

Conversation

Think before you speak is a saying heard many times from educators to their students. The same rule applies for online conversations. Don’t post or send a message without reading through what you are writing. Consider your audience and PLEASE don’t use the word “should.”  Pose questions and gather input. Thank your responders and just be genuine. Fakeness can be seen quickly through words and online conversations.

  • Create your own platform to speak to your target audience. For example, if you want to discuss personal finance for cannabis, now you can here. Before I created a sub-reddit, I participated and still participate in other sub-reddits but felt it was time to launch our own.
  • Comment on posts and genuinely show interest in points made by blogger and comment as early as possible on the post; provide some insight or offer another angle.
  • Pose questions and find specific problems, tasks or goals associated with our audience. Pose them as questions on influencer’s social media post or blog.
  • Share your content within a comment or in response on a Facebook or Instagram post, offer a link to content that answers someone else’s concern.
  • Respond to existing conversations and jump into a comment thread on a blog, reply to a Twitter conversation, LinkedIn postings or just Like or Heart some good sentiments.

Community

Besides the typical social media networks, look for niche sites or forums. Reddit has grown into a great place to connect to individuals and companies who want to discuss specific topics. A connection in my network made this suggestion for MarijuanaRates.com and it has been one of the greatest suggestions. We have been accepted into a few of the marijuana forums and everyone is willing to help us with our editorial.

  • Leverage influencers and followers to create events, Tweet chats, Facebook Live events, Instagram stories, AMAs, and Google Hang-Outs.
    • Coordinate with in-house experts and selected influencers.
    • Leverage influencers with greater footprint than you.
    • Format with specific questions that can be used in articles or videos afterward.
    • Record the event.
  • Use email newsletter distribution to internal contacts and your network.
    • Once you have 50-100 relationships, consider offering a newsletter.
  • Attend events and conferences to reinforce relationships.
    • Create a reason and strategy for this information that provides value.
    • Shake hands, get a coffee, and interact.
  • Use prize driven contests and hashtag creation.
    • Leverage “sweepers” to gain attention to your topic.

Content Curation

  • Read and research authority websites, blogs, publications, associations for high-quality content. Post or tweet with a point from the content. Possibly use a question to create engagement. Use:
    • Partner content
    • Influencer content
    • Industry associations
  • Share this content on proper networks, based on topic and target audience.
  • Change message “marketing copy” to connect with your audience.
  • Curate from past contributors to create notifications to current followers. This keeps your activity always current and relevant.
What else can you add that begins with a “C” when managing social media?