22. Improve your SEO Ranking and Boost Your Website Traffic with Lauren Taylar
Limitless Podcast —Episode 22— SEO Ranking & Website Traffic
If you are a business owner who is solely relying on social media to create an audience and make a profit, then you are missing an essential key to your marketing strategy. Jamie Ratermann talks to Lauren Tayler about why you shouldn't be snoozing on your business’ website. Lauren explains why in order to create long-term brand awareness, reach new audiences and earn more revenue you need website marketing and search engine optimization, more commonly known as SEO.
Episode’s Highlights:
The importance of SEO and Website marketing.
How SEO ranking works and what you could do to improve it.
Having good SEO can improve your website experience.
Why blogging is still relevant today.
What are Keywords and how do they work.
It can help your business reach new audiences.
SEO & Website helps build trust and credibility.
About Lauren Taylar
Lauren Taylar is a brand designer, website designer and SEO strategist for female coaches and creatives who want to feel confident in their online presence, attract more dream clients, and expand their organic reach on Google. As a former SEO strategist with one of the leading online reputation management firms in the country, Lauren combines her technical background with her passion for design to create visual brand identities, build custom websites and create tailored blogging strategies.
Resources:
Connect with Lauren: Instagram │Facebook │ Website
VIP Design Days - https://laurentaylar.com/services/vip-days
Looking to allow sales to be a little more effortless? Check out my new 5-week website conversion program, The Wealth Portal here: https://www.jamieratermann.com/the-wealth-portal
Thrive Mastermind: https://www.jamieratermann.com/thrive-mastermind
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Thanks for listening! Stay tuned to my website for more episode updates and other exciting programs and resources.
Read transcript below
Lauren Taylar 0:00
When you're able to help someone for free with your content, then they're excited to look into your paid options because if you've already helped them for free, then they're really curious about what it's like to work with you more in depth.
Jamie Ratermann 0:13
You're listening to the limitless podcast where we dig into all of the possibilities that exist when you lean into the big vision for your life and your business. Hi, my name is Jamie Ratterman, and I am a Holistic business coach, meaning I am just as invested in growing your health as I am in growing your wealth. With 11 plus years and Brennan social media marketing, I help rebellious entrepreneurs master marketing and body leadership and say fuck it to the hustle. This show is here to encourage you to become radically aware of your self imposed limits, to break free of your shoulds and to expand your brand into a movement led by you. The way I see it, marketing is a way of spreading your mission. Social media is a gift for connection, and sales are where you build your strongest relationships. Let's dig in. Hi, lovelies, welcome to episode 22 of the limitless podcast. I am so excited today I am kind of revving up for a masterclass for my upcoming program, the wealth portal which me and Lauren, the guest today get to dive into about how websites get to be a really wonderful place of confidence for you creates a lot of clarity in your sales and ultimately is that portal for effortless sales. So she's talking to us a lot about the tactics that Lauren has come into many of my programs, to just demystify this idea that SEO is really difficult or building website traffic is difficult. It's not it's just about really having faith in who what kind of business you're running and allowing people to search and find you. So she gives us so many amazing tips today. So if you hear any that you've absolutely loved, DM me, because I could talk about it for days I had to, I had to edit myself because I kept wanting to ask more and more questions. So if there's anything that surprised you, or if you're thinking about how you want to build your own website, this is your time, we'll make sure to drop all of the links that we talked about in the show notes today, because there's a lot of things we can use. But if you are looking to really feel confident about your website, take a look at wealth portal. It's going to be my five week program and it is starting on August 15th. Hello lovelies, welcome to episode 22 of the limitless Podcast. Today I have someone with me that I'm really excited to share with you for the fact that I am somebody who really loves to show you that there's so many ways to make money online. And she is somebody that's going to talk to us about the power of your website and what you can do with it. So today on the podcast, we have Lauren Taylor, Lauren Taylor has been a guest coach in many of my programs to teach us that SEO and your website are such a place of empowerment. I like to kind of tell my clients that she's my SEO sorceress. So whenever she comes in, she makes it easy, and really allows us to see that her website gets to be our home base. So Lauren, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us on the podcast today. Feel free to tell us a little bit more about yourself.
Lauren Taylar 3:11
Yeah, thank you so much for that intro, Jamie. So I started my website design and SEO business about four years ago. And prior to that I was working on SEO agency and just feeling a lack of purpose in my job and the position that I was in. And it just felt very reactive with what we were doing, which basically was online reputation management. So when you Google search, a whole a high profile individual or a corporation, if there was a negative article on page one of Google, we would try to bury the head, not by you know, any spammy SEO tactics. We did everything by Google standards. But it was just not very fulfilling at all. And I realized that that there was a proactive approach that I could take with female business owners by helping them rank on page one of Google through their blog and their website. And so once I found out about the online business world, and that there were women supporting women, and you know, having businesses that really filled their soul, I just realized that I really needed to switch gears and leave my job and start my business. So here we are.
Jamie Ratermann 4:25
Amazing. So you were talking a little bit about like SEO and a specific things. So in general, the way in which you've helped people is that all these efforts, all of their passes that they're putting on their site get found are getting you get and they are able to be utilized in some way. So can you can you kind of tell us about what it feels like or how it's a little different? Making a sale or getting a new subscriber or whatever it might be through a website versus let's say social because I know you have a you you love social media, but you lot I think you love websites a little bit more.
Lauren Taylar 4:57
Yeah. So the great thing is that you You can be out enjoying, drink with friends or sleeping. And you can see that a notification comes to your email that you've made a new sale, or had someone to sign up for a call from Google. And it's just really reassuring to know that the effort that you put in for your blog, and creating this evergreen content, it spans the years. So it's not like going on Instagram stories and spending an hour trying to craft the perfect video series and then having it lasts 24 hours and then it's gone. The power of having blog content and getting found on Google is that, you know, your your efforts really go far. And it's just an incredible feeling to to know that you're still reaching people, even when you're not on because that's the whole thing with social media is this pressure to feel like we always need to be on always selling, always posting. And with blogging, you can take a step back and post less frequently. And people that are your ideal audience are still finding your content, they're still finding your packages, and some people are like ready to buy. I've had many people where I'm not like in the DMS, like trying to convince them like they find me from Google, they either set up a call, or sometimes they'll just purchase something right away. So it's really, it's really great to also have that kind of like authority factor and creating trust with being found on page one on google.
Jamie Ratermann 6:26
I love that though. I love that though. And I think I think that there's a couple of things from what you said is that there's a lot of like, things out there that tout, like, make money while you sleep. And like, you know, I've been using a term lately called like, like effortless sales. And like what, what does effortless sales actually mean? It means like, he's put an effort to allow them to make the decisions for themselves, like you don't have to be available. But then there's also some people who I've been chatting with some of my clients lately that like to do their box office sales, where they talk about their big months, and they did it all through the DMS on Instagram. And I'm just like, okay, okay, is this idea of like how you can make all this money, but you always have to be available? And I think like the the burnout of social media is, is that thought is that, like, I'll even have a moment where someone is messaging me at 7:30pm on the gram, and I'll be like, don't answer it. Let's keep the boundary Let's enjoy our evening. But also like that, that urgency of feeling like oh, no, versus like, I like sometimes I know, if my link like my Lincoln bio can handle a lot or like the like my, the ability for someone to search and find me, I think this is the biggest thing because you were talking about how trust can like happen instantaneously. Your website has, like so many pages to gain trust. And I think that's where whenever I encourage clients to be able to kind of take a step back and like, you know, social media is great, but what about like your HQ? What about your like homebase, like how confidently do you feel about it? If they feel timid about their website, they don't want to post on social, like, if they're like, they're like, oh, it's like, it's not figured out yet? I don't really know. It's like, it's not, it's not clear, right. And then if they feel really great about it, it's like, they're ready to drop it into people's DMS, if they want to, they're ready to share about the surprise sale, they had, like, there's so much built up in the fact that if we create this, like home base, this website that's like, Okay, this embodies what we want. And guess what we have, it has all the tools to create sales by itself, I don't have to promote it, it's going to be able to do these things as well. So I for me, I like and the reason why I've always loved bringing you bringing you in and then chatting with you about it is like a lot of this stuff isn't time consuming. Just like you were saying with stories, just like you were saying with not being like not being available, like a lot of this is a kind of you set it up and it becomes like a routine of sorts with when you're sharing things, sharing things like that. So, like how do you feel about in general, the people that taught like, oh, the yams are the only way to sell like, what what what would you say back to those people and like how and how can you see how websites get to be that just relaxed place to be able to invite people in? Yeah,
Lauren Taylar 9:17
I think the thing with the DMS is that it's such a quick win. Whereas with your website and blogging, it's definitely more of a longer term, like marketing plan and game. So people don't want to wait around months to see the results like they want those those quick wins. And I'm definitely not against the DMS like I think that it's definitely good to pair like a short term kind of marketing strategy with a long term one. So while you're building up your blog, like continue to use Instagram in the DMS but it's it's really like such an incredible tool to to have that running in the in the background of your website all the time. And then what was the other part of your question?
Jamie Ratermann 10:03
No, most mostly just kind of like the confidence that comes with, like, really, like, when you help someone establish a site. They're like, Oh, this is me. This is actually me. So this is like, it feels really good. Like, how have you noticed, just like the energy shifts that kind of come up when someone creates, like a website like that? Yeah,
Lauren Taylar 10:20
I think that most clients realize it after they see the finished product. Seems like a lot of the times, you know, they know that they're getting a better website, but until they actually see it, and they see the full transformation, then like, that's when it really kind of hits them of like, wow, like, this website really embodies the essence of my brand. And then they they do have that huge shift in confidence and being able to share it. And also like being able to confidently charge higher pricing for their programs. Because, you know, if you tell that you're like a multi six figure, business coach, but then your website's DIY, and it's just looks like it was, you know, pieced together as a puzzle. And things aren't really like, things really aren't laid out clearly, then it just kind of sends like mixed mixed signals, you know, to your audience. So like, when you have like a really clear, clean, organized, professional website that like matches the caliber of your work, like that's really going to stand out to potential clients. So confidence and energy is a huge thing that that clients realized, you know, after they, they see that that finish product, because sometimes they're like, oh, I don't know, like, how much is really going to make a difference. But then when they have it in their hands, and they can actually see it. It's It's incredible how different they feel
Jamie Ratermann 11:41
totally. And I think for me, what I love about is it like in general marketing is just about how do you make your mark when someone gets to see you, and I think and, you know, content and posts, and all of them are always helpful. And I'm going to I will tout them all the time. But like, you have full control over your website, like it gets to be you I was a question that came up recently was like, Do you change your website? I'm like, Yeah, that's a living embodiment of who will my bit who I am and what my business is about. So it's going to get the adjustments that I think the best part of it is like is that you can really, like there's no algorithm trend that you have to kind of work again, in my marketing master program, like I'll have I have a homepage, we build the homepage. And the difference between before and after that there is is like, absolutely like, like, I have a business now. I'm like, Yeah, I can't say that about someone that posts on social. Like I have, like, I have like a full blown business. And I think that's what feels really good about it. But I always run into this mess. Of course, though, because there's because you know, tick tock and Instagram, all the things are really flashy and beautiful. And just like you were saying, like, some things are short term and quick, like quick versus like the building the website kind of takes a little time for it to start making things happen. But like, what would you say to people that are like saying, like, you know, blogs are done, like, like being being making money as a blogger or making money just through your website is is like a thing of the past? Social media is like the is the only way? Like, how would you kind of talk them back a little bit?
Lauren Taylar 13:15
Yeah, well, I would definitely say that blogging is not dead. There's just a lot more noise out there. But apart from Instagram, where the algorithm is like changing all the time, like Google changes all the time, but it's more of you know, them just making updates to to make the experience better for the user. Like, at the end of the day, Google still wants to showcase high quality content to its users. So if you're following this kind of methodology of creating, like amazing educational content for your audience, then you're going to see an uptick in, in traffic. And you're going to start appearing on page one of Google. And then like when you create these educational blog posts, and then you link back to your services page, like that then helps to boost like that specific page of your website. So when people are searching for the exact services that you have to offer, and your services page shows up on page one, like people are typically ready to buy, and that like, you know, that just kind of skips over, you know, having to constantly compete with the Instagram algorithm and things randomly changing, like, and Instagram going down. Like there's just so many unknowns with social media and also like it could go down or go away at any minute. Like we love to think that Facebook and Instagram are going to be around forever, but they're not. And your website is not going to magically disappear from the internet. So it definitely like makes sense to put the time and energy into having a platform that you own that you can add all this great content to that is going to help you attract clients. without all of the other crap that goes along with having to constantly be on Instagram,
Jamie Ratermann 15:05
yeah, it is. It's crap. That is the amount of questions I get going like, what do you think of this and like, we got to wait through the waves of this versus, like there's a stability, I think there's a stability and safety and feeling like you have that autonomy over your spot. So I think I think what I was, actually too, I wanted to mention, as well, I am somebody who loves it's that send in tickets to Instagram all the time, like things that aren't working. And I every once awhile have to send one into Squarespace. So that's what I use for my site. And I can definitely tell you that that Squarespace or speedsters like to get back to you versus Instagram, like knowing that, like you also have that guidance there as well. But like, I think that's, it's yeah, it's just creating a safety and stability. But also, like you were saying, like a real confidence within it. So kind of walk us through a little bit about what really makes a website like, like, what makes a converting website? What makes it something that's compelling that once you are found on on Google, or once you are someone clicks through to a site? Like how, how can you make sure your website is, is converting and compelling for your ideal client? Yeah,
Lauren Taylar 16:18
so the first thing is really clean design. Because the visuals are what we see. First, I think we like our brains, like read the visuals and like less than a second. So especially the top of your homepage, like above the fold, like before you start scrolling, if that is really clunky and messy, then someone's probably just going to click out like you really have to make a strong first impression. And so the so the visuals are really important with you know, just making sure that the website is easy to navigate. But then beyond that, your visuals are what get people to, you know, to kind of stick around a little bit further. But then copy is extremely important because that is what gets people to take action. So I always tell like a lot of my clients, like if you can afford a copywriter definitely make the investment because you can have the beautiful design. But if you have a copy that is super vague, and just doesn't connect with your ideal audience, and they're not going to take action. So that's, that's super important as well. And kind of tying back to the visuals, having like a really strong like brand photography session and having high quality images that really evoke the emotions. And maybe even like including some of the brand colors that you want on the website, like having that as part of your imagery is really important. It's like can completely transform a website, I have some really cool like before and after photos of some of my past clients where they got more, they would always say like a boring, like session done, but it was just more of like the Okay, let me sit in a chair and smile, and I have my laptop. And then they like so some of these examples are like more like spiritual entrepreneurs. So when they got new photos of them, like really showing more of like the energy of their business, it completely transformed the redesign and the new website. So that can play a really huge role as well like making sure that you're not shy when you go into a brand photography session, making sure you find the right photographer so that your photos do a lot of the speaking for you as well. And then a fourth thing that I would also mention is you having like a really clear navigation and having enough calls to action leading save visitors from like one step to the next. So if your top goal is to have someone check out your services, then the call to action above the fold on the homepage should be to lead someone to your services page. So making sure that at the bottom of every page, there's some kind of call to actions that the user isn't just kind of stranded, like at the bottom of your bow page. Like where should they go next? It's probably your services page. So making sure that you have enough of those clear calls to action throughout your website.
Jamie Ratermann 19:16
I love that Yeah, I think usually usually I'll get like an early entrepreneur and she was like, do I have to do brand brand photos, you don't have to like here like let's take a couple of photos but you're gonna love it a little more when you when you make that investment and like it's gonna make it's gonna just like feel feel different. And I love that you bring up photos I think that even photographers are feeling a little bit of pain right now. Because like video is like is taking off so like one photos are like are an essential piece of not only blogs and and your website but really like an energy shift as well. So I think I love that you brought that up. But it's important for me to just jump in like how do you see video being an enhancer? as well on on your website, like do you do you ever encourage some some symbol and like informal video for people to create with their site with their pages?
Lauren Taylar 20:09
Yeah, I think that adding videos can definitely be a great way to make the website more interactive. Of course, if you have, like, in general, like a YouTube channel, definitely, like create blog posts from that. But even if it's from like a brand photo shoot, they do like some images. And then also they do like a 22nd video, that's definitely something that you can add as like a banner on your website, just kind of like playing in the background, but like, doesn't have any noise, maybe showing like, behind the scenes of like the work that you do. But typically, for those kinds of videos, I've probably only recommend like one or two, because they can slow down the speed of your website, which then impacts SEO. But typically, you know, if it is like a longer video, maybe like a minute and a half that you want to go on your about page or somewhere on your homepage, you can embed the video from like YouTube or Vimeo or something and that is typically fine in terms of like not, not flowing down the website as much as like a full banner video does. But yeah, I think it's, it's great, like a lot of and I'm seeing it more and more like a lot of photographers have these, you know, built in aspects of their packages, like including a 15 to 22nd video clip or doing an actual recorded like three minute video of you speaking and things like that. So I think that, you know, depending on the work that you do, it definitely can be great to to add that enhanced visual to your website.
Jamie Ratermann 21:31
Totally. I think it's a lot to do with just like, catching attention. And I and just like you were saying, like when someone lands, they want to feel like they're like, Okay, well, I'm, I'm somewhere let me let me focus here. Let me pay attention to it. I love that you shared that important insight, because I've definitely had a client or two that it's like, well, I have this 10 minute lesson that I just want to put right in there. And I'm like, why don't we like make that a like a freemium, they like sign up for us. Because like, that's a little hefty. It can be a little hefty for your site. But I have seen how like some video can just be like, even for like sales pages. Like this is why I've decided this is what it is. But as you said it I was like okay, yeah, so I'm like say I'm like we agree on this here is that is that like no longer than like 60 seconds. Like, that's not we're not trying to make it too long. And of course, like the YouTube embeds and different stuff like that. So I love I love those aspects. So I have a lot of people with their copy. And I definitely have some copywriters for a couple clients who like I don't like this, like, I'm not into it, but I. So I would love to chat a little bit about kind of how you see, like, kind of some pitfalls, when what because you were saying like if the if the copy is vague, or if or if there's too much, because there are a lot of coaches that I get clients after, who will tell them like, if you put all of the energy into the copy, they will read it all, and they will buy and that is the thought I literally had a mastermind client talks about this morning. And I'm like, All right, let me like usually my question was like, when's the last time you read a whole sales page? If it's got tons of coffee? And she like? Never? Exactly. So where do you think he would like draw the line as far as like, what's, what's enough? And what's too much? And like, kind of how do you see? Like, when someone writes really compelling copy, like, what's usually the characteristics you notice?
Lauren Taylar 23:23
Yeah, um, I would say it really depends on the goal of the page. So I know sometimes with like about pages, some people want to include like a whole essay about their entire life. But for that page, I'd probably say like a max of like 1000 to 1500 words. Because that page is also like, geared towards like, it's not just about you, but it's also about like tying your story to your ideal audience and having them see themselves like in your story. So it's good to, like, include some decent amount of information on that page a like, you know, not go too far into it. But even for like, Well, yeah, I guess I would say like services and sales, or like program sales pages, even like for my course, I think my sales page was like 3000 words. But there was a lot in there about like the modules and FAQ. And I don't know it's a different features. And so those I feel like it's normal for them to be longer. And I find that there's also some clients that don't want like any copy, they're like, Oh, can we just build like 200 words here and like, be done with it? So but I think that it's definitely good to have, at least like, you know, a decent sales page. So if someone does want to read it because I am one of those weirdos that was like, I read the entire sales. Like, especially for some of the like larger programs, like if I am investing in a group program or any program that's between like, 5020 $1,000 like, I want to know everything that I'm getting, and really make sure that it's the program for me so I do I think even maybe for some like 500 all Are courses. I am a person that likes to read everything. And so it's at the, you know, unlike the other end, like, I think it's good to have the longer sales page or longer copy because if someone doesn't want to read it, then they can just skip over it. But you're still appealing to those, you know, like those two different kinds of people like if they just want to skip over and buy they can buy but if someone needs more information and reassurance that the program is like right for them, then they have that option. But yeah, I would say like for the websites, in general, like a typical services page doesn't have to go too deep into things. I feel like it's typically like the sales pages for different courses and programs that are much longer. But this is also something that like copywriters are very good at, you know, talking through with clients and you know, giving, like the right amount of copy and not making it too short or too long. And yeah, like depending on what your preferences are, if you prefer to be a little bit shorter, you know, I know that copywriters are really flexible in that sense.
Jamie Ratermann 26:06
Totally. Absolutely. I think that like even like thank saying the word count sounds like oh, wow, that many words, but it's like how you pair it with visuals, how you're thinking about taking a client on a journey through the page. And I think that like a large portion of that, like, it's, it's, for me, it's like as somebody who either writes it themselves or a writer that comes in, it's like really understanding how do you clearly want to say the the desire within this program, the desire within this homepage and your business. And that takes them like, you know, in our work and like, if you hire that copywriter, it makes her job so much easier. If you hire a web designer, it makes their job so much easier when you can give that clarity of like, this is how I want someone to experience this page. And you're like, cool, like, and like I've always noticed how much like just like, like, if you if you don't have web designers have to do like the work of like, how do you want people to like, feel about you? Or like, how do you want to resonate with it or with your clients like all they they do better when it's like I get to enhance what you're already sharing with me, I get to enhance like the energy that you want to put in and do those things. So I think I love that I just I love how for me like the website gets to be this really fun, like, okay, want to take them on a journey. And it gets to be fun. And then I and then I have a have a designer just like, go like, let's make this even better. Like yes, perfect. So I wanted to kind of talk about the fact that you like a lot of your business has been built, built off of blogs, and like how you kind of make that as a part of your kind of main marketing channel. So they can need to kind of talk to us about what it looks like to have a blog, why it's important, really, in this day and age, but also, but also to like what, what kind of mechanics do we have to consider if we if we decide that we're going to show up on our blogs each month? Yeah.
Lauren Taylar 27:56
So really like with the blogging is centered around? Answer answering questions that your ideal audience is searching for. And Google basically like helping them and providing that support. Because that of course, like builds trust. And that is, you know, when you're able to help someone for free with your content, then they're excited to look into your paid options. Because if you've already helped them for free, then they're really curious about what it's like to work with you more in depth. But there's some really incredible keyword research tools that you can invest in, there are some that are super cheap. But basically, the key word is just like a phrase that people are typing into Google. And so the whole point of SEO is to take that key word or that phrase and put it in your content, put it in the blog post title, to then have Google match that keyword with your content so that you are showing up on page one of Google. And so you definitely want to be strategic about it in that sense of making sure that each blog post has a keyword that you're targeting. And there's you know, dozens or hundreds of different topics that I'm sure you'd be able to find in your specific niche. But that's like a really big part of Yeah, blogging and setting your blog up for success because you can brainstorm ideas of what you think people are searching. But if you're not using the exact words and phrases, then there's a chance that your blog post will never get seen. And so you're putting in all this time and energy and then no one's seeing it. So that's really important with the keyword research and say,
Jamie Ratermann 29:42
I have a question for that. So say say like I write a blog about, you know, the three best ways to get your best focus from them like that. So like if I were to like for me, I'm a Holistic business coach, like I haven't like I'm somebody who helps me with marketing, and they're how And most ways, like, what would what if you were to start to tell me like how to how to think about this, you know, not current blog posts, maybe I'll create, but still like, like, what? What, like, how would I start to think about my keywords?
Lauren Taylar 30:15
Yeah, I mean, basically like what you just kind of said like, like brainstorming is the initial is like the initial phase. So just jotting down or typing in a Google Doc, all the different things that you want to talk about in your blog, that relate to your services. And then from there, you pull a topic. So like, when you say focus, you mean like in terms of productivity? Exactly. Okay. Yeah. So then you can go to a keyword research tool, and type in the word focus or type in like productivity for business, and see what comes up. And typically, like, you want to focus on a longtail keyword, which is three words or more, because they are more niched, and they have a lower competition. So it's not just like search volume, the amount of people that are searching, or the number of searches per month for that keyword, but also the competition or the difficulty, for like ranking for that keyword. So those are the two metrics you want to look at. But basically, through the keyword research tools, you can narrow down you can typically export, like the whole list of keywords and the search volume and the competition and then pull keywords from there. The really, it can just be as simple like even for my own blog, like I would type in Squarespace and see all the different topics that come up, or even show it or like SEO in general, and you can start broad just to see what's out there. And then you can always get more niched in your actual like search for for different keywords. So it's basically like the brainstorming because that's the easiest part of like, just trying to dump everything out onto a piece of paper, and then validating that idea. So that's where the keyword research comes into play.
Jamie Ratermann 31:57
I love that. So so what what would be assigned that, like, the keyword is too broad? Like if I typed it into Google, like what what would you say? Is like kind of the threshold you you want to try to get in for for a small business? Because clearly I'm not I'm not the New York Times, I'm not gonna be doing a tons of articles about things. Like what for, like, if I was to say, like, Okay, I'm gonna just search this keyword and it's got, you know, 3 billion results is like, do I need to? Do I need to kind of continue to, you know, filter it down to so it's so it's something a little less searched? Or like, how would you what's your threshold? I guess? Yeah.
Lauren Taylar 32:32
So definitely nothing. I mean, somebody that has like a billion searches, you definitely want to stay away from that, I would say the minimum is 100 searches a month, upwards to maybe, like 5000. But it really also depends on the competition. Because that also then determines like, typically, competition is between like one and 100. So I would say focusing on keywords that have a competition lower than, like 30 or 40. When you're first starting out, because the like the higher competition you go, then you're you're basically competing with like New York Times, or Huffington Post, or these, like, publications that have been around for a decade or two and publishing like 15 articles a day, like there's just no way to compete with them. So yeah, I would say between like, 100, and maybe 5000, but then also taking a look at the the competition as well.
Jamie Ratermann 33:27
Okay, amazing. Yeah, I think I feel like that's a good threshold to kind of whittle it down to So what tools do you love the most? I mean, I, I'll do with Google Trends from time to time, like related topics under Google, Pinterest is nice, sometimes like that. But those are all free. So like, and even to answer the public could be helpful, too. I think those are the ones I usually will tell. But what what kind of tools or do you think are worth investing in that are that can help you with search?
Lauren Taylar 33:53
Yeah. So I really like Uber suggests as like the main kind of SEO tool, so you can audit your website to find any SEO errors. But then you can also do keyword research. And I think that their cheapest plan is around $30 a month. But you do get I think, five to 10, like free searches a month as well. So if you're just, you know, trying to find the search volume for like 10 different keywords, then you can you can kind of continue with the free plan. And then there's a Google Chrome or maybe also like Safari extension anyways, it's an extension for your internet browser, called Keywords Everywhere. And that is the cheapest option that you'll probably find. And that's around 10. I think $10 For 100,000 searches. So if you don't want to spend a lot of money, this is literally like the cheapest way to go. And so what's great is that you can do a search in Google and it will show you like in the actual search bar, what the search volume is for that keyword. Word. And then for all the like suggested keywords on like the right hand side, it will then show you the search volume. And I believe now It didn't used to show competition, but I'm pretty sure now it does that you do have both of those metrics in there. But that's incredible. And that also, once you add that in there, when you go to answer the public, it will also pull numbers into answer the public as well. So you can see all of that search data, in addition to finding in Google, so that's, that's really cool as well.
Jamie Ratermann 35:33
Okay, we're dropping those in the show notes. Yeah, go sounds like amazing tools. Yeah. We talked a little bit about the times and like the New York Times that type of stuff. Like whenever I think the biggest hurdle that sometimes will come up is out when I like, when it comes to searching for a website, you tell me if I'm wrong, but like is that you want to have your website be updated? Like, like, meaning there's new pages that are added on a regular basis, which for me, that's usually a blog, a blog, gets to make a lot easier. But what would you say? Like if someone who's like, Alright, fine, I'll really get into my website, how often did they need to be blogging per month? Let's see some results from search. Yeah,
Lauren Taylar 36:13
I would say the best, like, the optimal amount of effort would be one to two times a week, if you're able to push out that much content. But if you're just getting started, and it feels really overwhelming, even just one post a month, and then building up to two posts a month, and then three, and then four, like, don't be afraid to start small just to get the ball rolling. But at an absolute minimum, I would say once a month. But if you can work your way up to once a week or twice a week, then that's definitely best. Because then you're you're gonna see faster results
Jamie Ratermann 36:48
with that. Totally. Oh, my gosh, I love it that because like, well, one is that most people I'm talking to are trying to get four posts out a week on on the gram, and else places and all that. And then so like, the blog has to be this like, foundational spot. And yeah, I always like to emphasize, like, if you write the blog, it can become like I have, I have a lesson. And within this was like, if you're at the blog, it can be two emails, it can be six social posts, like it's like the blog is to be like, where you you like lay everything out? And then then you get to create other pieces of content around it. But would you say like, as far as length is concerned, if we're, if I'm doing a post a month, or four posts, or four blog posts a month, like where would the length lie? Like how long? How long is best?
Lauren Taylar 37:32
Yeah, I typically recommend a minimum of 1000 words. You could have, like a shorter post, I would say, as long as it still answers the question or, you know, like the, like, sad if satisfies the answer for you know, the blog post topic, like one of my things like best-performing blog posts might only be 600 words, but it's like very niche. And if I were to add any more, it would just be fluff. And I definitely don't, you don't want to do that. So I would say anywhere between like 1003 1000 words, I would also recommend that you like when you're creating that specific post, that you go to Google and put in the search term that you want to rank for. And then also take a peek on page one and those blog posts and articles and see how long they are. And that can also in addition, you can, you know, take a peek at what they've written and see how you can bring a different angle to you know, the topics that they've talked about, or just you know, write something completely different because Google likes to have different types of content on page one, you definitely never want to copy anyone's work, because that's only going to negatively impact your SEO. So looking at like the length, but then also looking at the different points that they make and how you can make a difference or add a different kind of perspective.
Jamie Ratermann 38:59
Okay, amazing. Yeah. So I feel like it's important to do a bit of a realistic timeline. If we were trying to build a business simply off of SEO, they're not doing anything else were like, What would like if I would, so I decided that all right, I'm gonna go all in, I want to do at least four blog posts, maybe eight a month. What how long do you think it would take? Or how long would, should I like, you know, curtail my expectations? Before I would start seeing just traffic from SEO standards are concerned.
Lauren Taylar 39:28
Yeah, I would say the average is around three to six months. So it can feel really slow. But once the ball gets rolling, the more blog posts that you create, then like the faster you'll rank for them. So it's yes, it's basically like a snowball effect. It feels really slow in the beginning, but then as you get some more momentum and your traffic increases, the more that Google sees a you're an authority on this kind of topic, the easier it's going to be to actually show up on page one for the newer blog post that you're writing, because you've already established yourself as, yeah, like as an authority in that kind of niche.
Jamie Ratermann 40:07
I love it I, here's the thing. And this is what's like, here's what's really important, like, we're taught, we talked at the beginning about how like, social makes you feel like you always have to be available. And a part of that is like, again, like this short, like the short fixes. And like, Absolutely, if you're launching something, and starting next week, writing a blog about it might not be the most efficient, but if it's something that's going to continue to run a blog would be something that could help you get people on the waitlist in the long term makes a lot easier. And I think when people talk about effortless trying to relax a little bit, only during the short term quick fixes, is going to make you still like feel like you're on that hamster wheel. So I talked about this in two ways, with your website with a blog specifically, but also with like Pinterest, because Pinterest has a little bit of a longer tail as well. And that I've had clients like 3x their stuff, but it didn't happen like that. And they're like, I want that and like Yeah, well guess what patients and it's gonna be worth it. But there but but it's, it's kind of like delayed gratification. It's really sweet. When it happens. It feels really like, like, oh, all of that. All of the hard work that passed. Jamie did like allowed this launch to be just relaxed and easy. So I Why should we all go for the delayed gratification? Like why? Why is it? Why is this as as important as I was trying to get those quick fixes?
Lauren Taylar 41:27
Yeah, I would say because it's sustainable. It's kind of like what you're saying, like with Instagram, you know, if your audience is expecting you to show up every single day, then you feel that push to be on every day. And when you're having a really crappy day, or something is just you know, going on in your personal life, the last thing you want to do is put on a fake smile and dance on Instagram and posting. Like, put together these like, you know, silly reels when that's the exact opposite of how you're feeling. So having an evergreen content system in the back end that's working for you 24/7 That makes it more sustainable. So when you do you feel the need to pull back from being on social media, like you, you're still being visible, if people are still finding you, they're still joining your email list or buying your products. And you don't, you don't like have to push through and force yourself to do something that you definitely don't want to be doing. So it's really that sustainability piece. Yeah,
Jamie Ratermann 42:29
totally like this is where structure and strategy get to allow you to feel more like you have more energy, like it's a relaxed thing. It's but it also comes a little bit with face because I think like they're gonna face it, like the work that you're working like the things that you're doing turnout, and they do out like I've never, I have never had a client that's been going on and I'm full fledge in the blogging. And then like if they did it every month, like they said, like, like, like with the practices that we've put into place. After three to six months, just like you're saying, I think I think I had someone that like five months, like I had had two new one on one clients come in through search, and I was like, how's that feel? And they're like, I didn't have to do it. And I'm like, I know, like what you did, but like you didn't have to do too much like that. That feeling gets to be like, it's kind of like taking care of yourself taking care of the long term of your business. I think that's what's what makes it so fruitful. But it's just not as sexy. Yeah, it's not as sexy in the front end,
Lauren Taylar 43:28
right? Yeah, exactly. But it really is like such an incredible feeling like a lot of my clients when they get their first sign up from Google, they DM me and they're so excited. It's like such a big celebration. Because, yeah, like all of that that hard work and effort that they put in is now paying off and it's only going to get better and become easier over time.
Jamie Ratermann 43:49
Totally. Absolutely. Absolutely. So I I feel like I've been picking your brain for the entire hour. I feel like I could continue because I love this stuff so much. But I always like to ask a question of my guests before we hop off. Because you know, this, this podcast is limitless. So I What does being limitless mean to you? Oh,
Lauren Taylar 44:10
that's a good question. I would say not getting in your own way, and getting comfortable with the uncomfortable and the unknown and just striving to do better and just fully step into the person that you want to be and that you aspire to be in like start Yeah, start embodying that person. Oh, I love
Jamie Ratermann 44:37
that. That's a beautiful response body and the body the person you want to be. I love it. Lauren, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us today. How can people stay connected with you?
Lauren Taylar 44:48
Yeah, on Instagram. I am over at Lauren underscore Taylor Tay l a r. Now O R. And then Lauren taylor.com
Jamie Ratermann 44:59
Amazing. Yeah, her website has her blog has so many ways to think about, think about your your pages, but she gives a lot of good feedback in there as well. Lauren, thank you so much for being on the podcast with me today. Thank you so much for having me.