Google Ranking Saved This Blog During a Break

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A few months into my journey as a new blogger, I was killing it. I reached over 10,000 page views after just 4 months and was on track to be able to apply for Mediavine (without having to sell my soul or buy traffic)! Then, I had a bomb dropped on me, and the truth is, I couldn’t focus on writing or sharing anything positive. For the past few months, my Google ranking saved my blog and earned me an average of 300-450 pageviews every single day with little-to-no effort. Sometimes, you have to take a mental health break, and having your posts optimized for search engines will save the day! Here’s how I was able to forget about the blog for a while during my self-care hiatus.

 

Google Ranking Matters

Ranking on Google is actually pretty easy if you know what you’re doing. I know it can seem overwhelming, but there are a few steps that you can take to rank your blog in no time.

Keyword Research Tools

This is by far the most important factor in Google ranking. You have to know which words to focus on so that your posts will show up on page one of Google. If you target the term “SEO tips“, for example, you will be competing against folks like Neil Patel. You have a better chance targeting words like “Google ranking”, like I’ve done in this post, to achieve the goal of ranking on page one.

Keywords Everywhere Extension on Google Chrome is a free tool that I use to research which keywords will be great to use in each blog post. Simply download the extension, open a new browser window, and search for the keywords, one by one, until you find one that is relatively low competition with decent search results. I first found out about this tool from Sunny Lenarduzzi on YouTube. This video helped me start ranking on Google and Youtube. After all, YouTube is the #2 search engine, so it doesn’t hurt to double down on SEO. Oh, you didn’t know I’m on YouTube?! Click here to subscribe to my channel! I’m going BIG with video in 2019, so don’t miss it!

 

Squirrly SEO Plugin is a free WordPress plugin that can give you a breakdown of everything needed to rank your posts. They offer a paid version that I used for quite awhile as I was learning the ins and outs of SEO. There is no contract, and you can cancel at anytime, but the keyword research tool through Squirrly is second-to-none.

You can grab the free version of the plugin here.

But SEO isn’t Everything

Even though my search engine optimized traffic kept me afloat during my blogging break, I want to share a fun fact with you. The posts that have received the most organic traffic (and the most shares on social media) are posts that I was passionate about writing. My friends know that I don’t sugarcoat anything. So when I decided to write about why I quit Beachbody coaching, I knew there’d be some backlash. I did NOT expect it to take off and blow up as much it did! I am extremely passionate about sharing life experiences, wins and losses, and lessons along the way. The fact that I was able to optimize my posts for often-searched terms with little to no coaches speaking out was a bonus. I love sharing experiences. So my own voice trumps SEO. I will always stay true to myself and my story.

Related: Best Affiliate Networks for Bloggers

I’m still finding my voice in blogging. Some days I want to write financial articles and extreme frugal living posts. Other days I am vulnerable and want to talk about real stuff (like how my husband almost lost me). I love getting raw and vulnerable, and Google’s algorithms can’t keep up with real-life storytelling.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Stay true to yourself, and the readers will come. If you can sprinkle some SEO juice in there, that’s great. But writing is more than just ranking. ” quote=”Stay true to yourself, and the readers will come. If you can sprinkle some SEO juice in there, that’s great. But writing is more than just ranking. ~Melissa Blevins, perfectionhangover.com” theme=”style3″]

Automation Saves Time and Brings Traffic

Don’t forget about using Tailwind as a traffic booster when life gets hectic. You can automate your Pinterest-sharing and set up looping. It’s truly an amazing tool well worth the small investment for an annual subscription. You can sign up for a free trial of Tailwind here.

I wrote about how much I love Tailwind in one of my #1 Google ranking posts titled “Winning Pinterest Strategy for Blogs” How to 10x Your Audience in One Month!

If you find yourself overwhelmed or dealing with major life upsets, take a break and come back to your blog. Or use this trial as an opportunity to grow your blog and your business beyond your wildest dreams! By optimizing your posts to rank on Google and automating Pinterest, you can take the time you need to get back to you. Then, when you’re ready, you can show up in a BIG way for your audience.