In this video I take a look at how you can find related keywords on Google to boost your position in search results.
We spoke briefly last week about KWFinder and how easy it was to find the correct keywords for your business. Knowing your keyword phrases, also known as long tail keywords will help you create that strategy for your blogging and SEO. Keyword Finder is a powerful tool to help you discover your niche keywords.
KWFinder helps you discover that sweet spot with keywords that many people are looking for but have a low competition level, meaning it would be easy to rank higher on Google for those mid to lower keywords.
The one thing I love about KWFinder is it simple and easy to use. For someone like me who is such a visual person I love the how they show you all the data you need, the ranking, what other sites are using those keywords and what their domain and page authority is. This tool takes the complexity out of keyword research. Be your own keyword expert!
First Step with KWFinder
This is a free tool, but you are only allowed to have 3 FREE searches per day. First thing, create an account here. If you really want to take your SEO and blogging to the next level and really want to dive deep into finding your long tail keywords, I would suggest looking at their monthly or annual pricing. After your 3 free searches, you will have to either upgrade your plan or wait 24 hours.
The second Step Start Searching for Your Keywords
It is very simple, on the homepage of KWFinder there is a box that says “Enter Keyword” this allows you to search for the keywords you think are important to start with. You can also choose a specific location and language. If you are a local business then the location option would be very beneficial for you. When you are local you want to know what your community is searching for to make sure you re providing them the correct information. Or even if you sell online but only is the U.S. that is something to think of as well. Some of you may be ahead of the game already and have a list of keywords, maybe from an old website company, coach or just your own research, you can upload those into KWFinder, it has to be a CSV file.
One thing to remember or be aware of when you are using the location feature when you type in your keyword and the location you are wanting to search you would then click find keywords and KWFinder will show your results on a single screen. It will then display all sorts of data for you, such as the difficulty level of being able to rank for that keyword, cost per click (CPC), search volume.
The Third Thing, What does this all mean?
How hard it is to rank for that specific keyword. You will see green, yellow and orange buttons with a number in them, ranging from 15-63 or even higher. This is really important for your strategy. If the keyword is in orange which is usually over 45 that means it is going to be very difficult to rank on Google for that keyword. Your strategy at this point should be looking for the yellow and green keywords. KWFinder shows you different keywords that are similar to the one you searched for, it is also going to tell you how many people a month are searching for that keyword or long tail keyword.
For example I searched “Social Media Online Coaching” the ranking was 47 which is yellow meaning it is possible for me to rank on Google with that keyword, but if I wrote about “Social Media Monitoring” which is a 32 it would be easier for me to get on the first page of Goole or other search engines with that long tail keyword.
Here are a few things below that each search will provide you:
* What’s trending
* Monthly Search Volume
* Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
* Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
* Google SERP results
SERP Competition Checker
Get localized Google SERP results with KWFinder. The SERP checker is a Google SERP competitor analysis tool providing 45+ SEO metrics. (SERP= Search Engine Results Page)
Another feature to look at when look at your keywords, on the right-hand side of the dashboard it will show you what websites are using those words and what the competition level is, the green, yellow or orange rankings. It will also display on each website their DA (Domain Authority) and their PA (Page Authority).
Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). …Domain Authority is calculated by evaluating linking root domains, the number of total links, MozRank, MozTrust, etc. — into a single DA score.
Page Authority (PA) is a score developed by Moz that predicts how well a specific page will rank on search engine result pages (SERP). Page Authority scores range from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank.
Creating Your Keyword Planner
Once you have found the keywords and long tail keywords you want to use, you can create a list within your KWFinder account that you can save to help you manage your search efforts. You may want to think of different lists, categories of your keywords. For us, we may have a list that is “Social Media” and one that is “Digital Marketing Tools” the important reason about having different keyword lists is you will be writing different content on your website, think of the services you offer and how you can write blogs all around those different topics. Those are the keyword lists you need to create.
How to create a new list:
- Select the keywords you want to add to a list
- Then you will see “Add to List” click that button
- Then enter your list name
- And DONE!
This saves the list to your account, you can always add and delete keywords from that list as you need to. You can also download your list into a CSV file if you would rather do that. One thing to always remember when adding your keywords to your list, it is better to add the easy (green) and mid (yellow) to your list rather than hard (orange).
WrapUp
This amazing tool provides you a ton of powerful information to help you succeed with your SEO and Blogging strategy. In today’s digital marketing world it is important to always stay abreast of the hottest topics and trends in your industry and become even more of an expert than you already are. By utilizing KWFinder and all of its bells and whistles you will be able to find those relevant long tail keywords for you and your business, taking your digital marketing to the next level. This is an efficient way to stay on top of those trends and searches and will save you a ton of time in the long run!
Interested in learning more? Take a look at these articles:
Hey there techy-friends!
This video goes through how to update your PHP settings if you are experiencing problems on your WordPress website.
Recently WordPress made a TON of changes due to security threats and outdated code, which in return caused theme developers to update their code. These updates caused a few issues and this video addresses one of them: old PHP versions aren’t compatible anymore with the new code.
In this video, you will see where in GoDaddy to update the PHP Version (for CPanel accounts). BUT, I go a step further and walk through how to update your PHP settings after you upgrade your PHP version.
This is helpful information if you:
- Aren’t able to upload images, PDFs, or files to your WordPress Website
- Are experiencing time-out issues
- Are receiving notifications about your Memory Limits being reached.
- If you’ve read help documents that say to adjust your php.ini files or .htaccess file to increase the file-upload-size or memory-limit.
Before you make any changes to your PHP version or settings (or before you update your wordpress/theme files) please make sure to do a backup of your site and database.
We recently created a few new WordPress websites and saw over and over that either our theme files were too big to be uploaded or the media library would display a HTTP error when we tried to upload images. It turned out that these new WordPress installs had maximum file upload settings set to 2M compared to our preference of 256M.
So what do you do?
Oftentimes articles regarding not being able to load a file or image to WordPress just straight into logging into FTP and updating the php.ini file or .htaccess file. You may see something for example like:
Try increasing the following values in php.ini, for example:
memory_limit = 64M
upload_max_filesize = 256M
post_max_size = 256M
But often this doesn’t seem to do anything. Or you try adding the additional code to your .htaccess file and your site breaks. There is an easier way!
Step 1:
When you log into your hosting account on GoDaddy, proceed to the CPanel.
Step 2:
Then scroll down to the Software section and click Select PHP version.
Step 3:
This will open a new window displaying your current PHP version (heads up, if you are experiencing theme errors after a recent WordPress and Theme update, check out the PHP settings and upgrade to 7.1+. Often old PHP versions are not compatible).
Step 4:
On the right side of the screen, you will see a link that says “Switch to PHP Options”
Step 5:
From here you can adjust the:
- max_execution_time
- memory_limit
- post_max_size
- upload_max_filesize
Click Save and TADA!
No need to log in through FTP and figure out where the php.ini or .htaccess files are. If you still are unable to upload media to your media library, there may be an issue with file permissions. Or you may want to reinstall the WordPress and Theme files just to make sure they are loaded properly.
Interested in learning more? Take a look at these articles:
Creating Branded Images on Canva
Why Your Social Media Channels Need Post Diversity
As a business owner, it is important to figure out what steps go into each process, service or product you sell. When we start our business we are excited to serve our customers/clients. We sometimes max ourselves out and take on too much or can’t do everything. We forget to take vacations, spend time with family and friends, take care of US. We are working too hard and too much! Write down each step or task you do for each service or product, look at them and see which ones you can put on autopilot.
Things Each Entrepreneur should have on Autopilot:
- Social Media Posts
- Blog Posts
- Newsletters
- Chatbox on Facebook Messenger
- Meeting Reminders
- Invoicing
- Leads
- Networking Connections
- Sales Pipeline/funnel
- Event Registration Process
Interested in learning more? Take a look at the following videos:
Finding Related Keywords on Google
Interview with Casey Smith – Wild Liberty Design Co.
Core Values, Why They Are Important To Your Business
Has anyone called you a control freak? I get that all the time! I feel as a business owner it is super important to create a schedule and stick to it, allows yourself some grace to adjust things, and we all know life happens and things come up. I always say stick to your schedule at least 85% of the time. So, yes I do feel like I am a control freak because I like my schedule! From home life to business.
My mom and niece were just in town for a week and I was able to get most of my work done before they came so I could enjoy time with them, but I still had a schedule each day of the things I HAD to get done, like write my blog, do a video, client work etc. I gave myself the grace to have fun and I got my work done before, as soon as you fall off the scheduling wagon it is so hard to get back on track. Think of your schedule like a diet, how many times do you start a diet and do great for a week or two and then something comes up and we fall off, it then takes us weeks, sometimes months to get back on track. By creating a schedule for yourself and sticking to it, it allows your business to run so much smoother. You know what needs to get done each day when you have time to check emails, work on projects, play with your kids, run errands, videos, all those things as an entrepreneur we have to do each day. You are creating a plan for success!
Here are 5 reasons having a schedule are important:
1. Your S.M.A.R.T Goals become real
Remember back in January we spoke all about S.M.A.R.T goals and what we wanted to accomplish for 2018? If one of your goals was to increase your clientele by 20 clients, or increase your video subscribers to 1000 then on your schedule you should mark out time to network, make calls, send a newsletter to past clients or potential clients, make videos and ask people to subscribe. By putting something on our schedule that we want to accomplish helps us succeed with our goals.
2. Stop spinning your wheels
Do you ever feel like you have this imaginary list in your head of things you need to get done and then 5 minutes later you forget and you are walking around for an hour saying “What was I suppose to be doing?” I know I can’t be the only one this happens too. Within your schedule create a ‘To-Do’ list this can be a daily ‘To-Do’ or weekly, whichever feels better to you. This then allows us that space to write down those things we need/want to get done and we stop spinning the wheels in our head and forgetting.
3. Life happens – be prepared
We all know as business owners life happens, a child is sick, an unexpected event pops up, maybe you are not feeling well. Anything can happen, by being properly organized it is easier to adjust your schedule. When you are able to pre-plan and pre-work to get things done earlier you are allowing again that grace period of these unforeseen life events that come up.
4. Everyone is on the Same Page
When you are able to create a well-crafted schedule for personal life and business life everyone can be on the same page. Each person knows what they need to do and when. You know what needs to be done to accomplish your goals and maybe what your team needs to do or even family. You are creating the foundation for your business and on that schedule or plan, you are also setting guidelines for others. I know having a schedule or plan doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but when you are a business owner and entrepreneur a lot of fun, shiny, new things that I like to call SQURRIELS show up and DISTRACT YOU!
What I am getting at is having your schedule and plan set you know what you need to do and when and so does everyone else. End-goal . . . less stress for you!
5. Keeping Track
Again I know I can’t be the only one who can’t remember what I did last year or even last week at some points! When you have a schedule, whether it be a day planner or Google calendar or even a Google sheet like I use, we write down all of our meetings, activities, and To-Dos. This allows us to track what we were able to get done each day, week, month and year. This makes it easier for you to keep track of your goals. Going back to point 1, if we wanted to get 1000 new subscribers to our YouTube channel and I looked back at our 2018 schedule or plan I could see I did 5 videos per week and that increased our subscribers past 1000! Or whatever your goal may be.
It is important to add your benchmarks to your schedule for your annual goals as well, to make sure you are sticking to them and are on track. Schedule them out, let’s say June we want to have over 125 videos on our YouTube channel and 500 subscribers. When that event pops up on my Google Calendar I would know YES! I am on track and have surpassed that goal, or I need to work harder to make sure I meet the goal before the end of the year.
Tools to help you with your scheduling
Let’s talk Insights! If you are anything like me, you could care less about the analytics right? They are just numbers, what do they mean? I have always loved numbers, but analytics not so much. If you put those numbers and stats into a pretty infographic, then I am all over it! Since I have been a social media manager for almost 10 years, I have had to find that LOVE for analytics and be able to explain them in such a way where our clients get it! With Instagram busness profile, their insights ROCK! I get it! I would say it’s a mix of pretty pictures and hardcore data. I love the way it compiles the information to make it easy and understandable for you to read.
When Instagram Insights came out, I was not sure how much I trusted them. I remember when Facebook Insights were out and some of that data was wack! I mean for a few of our clients, it just didn’t make sense or even add up. I always said take Facebook Insights with a grain of salt. Now, with that being said they have come a long way and I think they learned a lot, so they were able to implement more pros into the Instagram Insights.
Instagram Insights:
These insights collect data for you that will help you learn more about your followers and audience. We started our Social Speak Network Instagram not even a year ago and we have some awesome insights to who our audience is, what days and times they are looking at our account, where they are located and much, much more!
Overview
First things first, you have to have a business Instagram account o get these AWESOME analytics. When you log into your account, on the top righthand corner you will see 4 lines, click there and this will take you to your insights.
From there the first thing you will see if your overview: this is going to show you your incease or decrease of followers from the week before and the reach from the week before. You want these number to always be in the +, if you see a – negatice or decrease we need to take a further look. Below your weekly numbers you then see your actions meaning how many people liked your posts that week. We had +19 actions in the past week. So, with all the posts we put up we had +19 actions meaning people liked our posts or made a comment.
Discovery
Ok, let’s discover something new! This area is all about discovery, just like it says. It is going to tell you where your post was seen and how many people it reached. This shows your reach and impressions. Your reach is the number of accounts you reached this week. Impressions are the number of times the media you created this week were seen. Your posts are discovered in particular places within Instagram such as a user’s home feed, a search someone did, your profile, your location or location tag and/or a hashtag you had used.
Demographics
This is where it gets exciting! You really get to see who your audience is. I love how Instagram has put together these insights.
The demographics on Instagram insights are great, they tell you the % of men and women that are engaging in your brand, the top locations, age range (which is key) also a HUGE nugget of information here is the days and times that people are engaging. So Monday early mornings may be one of your biggest days, whereas maybe Thursdays between 11-2 are not very good. You can play around with this and see what weeks, days, and times are best for you and your brand. Then create your strategy around those days and times to be sure to give that value back to your audience.
YAY, we have shown you all about Instagram Insights, now what do you do?
Download our Instagram Insights Tracker by clicking HERE
Learn how to create branded images on Canva to help keep your brand consistent on social media.
All aboard! It’s time to jump on the Instagram Stories Train. Did you know that Instagram Stories has over 800 million people that use this feature??? WOW! That is amazing. Below is a video that talks about the best ways to use Instagram Stories for your business.
Some tips to remember:
- Have a plan for your stories – what are your goals when creating your stories
- Use all the features that Instagram offers you, the stickers, colors, text, selfie sticker, location, as you use more of these options Instagram will push your story to more places
- Try out the different features of stories to mix it up with Type, Live, Normal Picture or Video, Boomerang, Superzoom, Rewind, Hands-Free, and Stop-Motion
- Build your brand through Instagram Stories
- Stories only last for 24hours – be sure to share to Facebook Stories and as IG posts
- Videos for Instagram Stories can be 15 seconds
Topics for Instagram Stories:
- Talk about products or services you offer
- FAQ
- Being an expert in your field
- Exclusive offers for your Instagram Followers
- Signing up for FREE offer or newsletter
- Behind the Scenes
- Testimonials
- Contests
- New Blogs
- Recipes
- Podcasts
We would love to hear about your Instagram Stories Successes!
What is it like as an entrepreneur? How have you found ways to keep your life organized?
Behind the scenes
I know I feel like each and every day I am running around like crazy. Taking my daughter to school, client work, networking, videos, errands, letting the dog out, house chores, you name it! I have been an entrepreneur for 10 years now, WOW time flies! It can be hard to balance work and life, some nights you are working late, some mornings you are up early, trying to fit everything in in one day! To be honest with you I have really been an entrepreneur at heart since I was 5 years old. I would travel back to Michigan each Summer and started helping my grandma and grandpa in their H&R Block office in Oscoda, MI. I helped make coffee, answer phones, once I learned how to read they had me filing paperwork, getting forms, speaking with the customers and from that moment I knew I wanted to own my very own business. The joy of having my own clients, my own desk, my own business name it was so exciting to me! Once I set out on my own in 2007 I have been like the energizer bunny who just keeps going and going! I really don’t know how to STOP! I love working, I love having a busy schedule and learning new things. I feel that to be a successful entrepreneur you need to keep yourself busy with the right things, set your goals, be organized and set boundaries.
Who’s with me as a female entrepreneur we wear many different hats during the day. I can be on a conference call while changing laundry or letting the dog out. We have to organize the family schedules, work schedules, and fun schedules. People have NO clue what goes on behind the scenes of your day to day life!
Being Organized
I have always been organized in life, ask my mom! I love things neat, clean and organized. I have realized over this past year, life is NOT always like that. We have been going through a remodel of our house and it has been a bit challenging. We have contractors in and out all day, trying to organize their schedules is like trying to find a taxi in New York!
I try really hard to remain ORGANIZED, but sometimes I feel like I am just overwhelmed. I am shifting my schedules and my day around to find time to write blogs, make videos, and take calls. It’s easy for calls because they CAN’T see my office or lack of space for an office. When I do my videos I NEED a nice clean background, that can be hard to find right now. So, what I guess I am trying to get at it, it’s ok to be disorganized once in awhile. It has shown me the importance of setting that foundation early on in my career of being able to adapt to different situations and know what I need to get my work done each day. You just have to be a little creative some days.
A few tools I found to keep my family and business organized:
Google Calendar – Everything I do is on my calendar! I can invite my husband to family functions or my business partner Caitlin to team calls. I can color code each of my calendars, from networking, personal, writing, videos, etc. It keeps me on my toes. I love when things are color coordinated, so this is perfect!
Google Drive and Google Pictures – these allow me to share documents with my family and business life. I can have different folders for personal and business. I have my daily task sheet on Google Sheets for everything I need to get done each day, our client information, social media posts and more. I am able to share documents or folders with the people I want. The thing I like the most is I can access the items from any device I own! It makes my life SO much easier.
It is important to find these systems to put in place to help you stay on track. As an entrepreneur we can get lost in creating our own schedules so staying organized and setting boundaries is key!
Putting systems in place and being able to delegate
One thing we have earned over the past 10 years is we can’t do EVERYTHING! In order for our company to grow we needed to find people to help with daily tasks, maybe twitter followers, Facebook Likes, Content writing, etc. We wrote down one day things we LOVE to do for our clients and things we know we need to do, but not in love with it. We then reached out to the local colleges and found interns to help! We have been able to put systems in place for each client on what needs to be done and when. how much time it should take and when the project should be complete. We were then able to implement these systems with our interns and now contractors. By putting these systems in place it allows us to be able to create a schedule for what we want to get done and the flexibility for our team to work when they can.
Don’t get me wrong this did NOT happen overnight, it took us awhile to find the right people and what the right tasks were for them, we have had about 7 people work for us and some didn’t work out, some went their own ways but still keep in touch and for our interns they all ended up getting awesome jobs, thanks to us!
It’s like that motto, “You have to spend money to make money” well in a way it is true. If you try to manage everything in your business you will limit yourself. Start making lists of the things you love to do in your business and the things that you don’t love. Maybe like your books, calls, networking, social media, etc. Then start looking for other businesses that offer those services. Ask friends or even post to Upwork.
It is scary taking the first step to delegating something, trust me coming from a control freak, nothing is the way you do it! HAHA Once you find the right person or company it takes a BIG weight off your shoulders that is one less thing you have to worry about and you know it is getting done.