Publisher Lesson #1: Don’t pay for ads until you’ve got your SEO well in-hand
Search engine optimization is the most effective way to improve your site’s visibility. It takes little more than time and forethought to turn any given web page into a highly attractive destination for search engines. Paid searches cost too much for businesses trying to break into crowded fields. Even when audiences are extraordinarily specific, SEO will get you further on less. If you still want to pay for ads and paid search results after your SEO is well-integrated, go for it.
Publisher Lesson #2: Think carefully about who you’re trying to attract to your site and why
Why are you online? To attract more readers? To attract more writers? Who exactly does your site reach? Once you’ve decided, you need to make sure your content is useful for them. If you’re writing to your readers–hoping they’ll buy more books–you need to give them information they find useful. Why do they turn to you anyway? What’s your expertise? What can you give them digitally that no one else can?
Publisher Lesson #3: Your customer-facing SEO techniques need to read naturally–or it will all feel like a marketing campaign
Don’t write every post in a keyword-heightened craze (more on that later). Don’t tag every possible word and topic, hoping to grab every remotely possible reader. Don’t write posts with your company name every third line! Remember that you’re shooting to draw in a slice of the internet–not everyone! The more pointed, honest, and consistent your customer-facing SEO, the more your readers will trust it. Really find the balance between branded and non-branded content as the video below says. It’s the only way your customers will start to see you as a content expert–not just a sales rep.
