Brandmerry Blog Archives
How to Add SEO to Your Squarespace Website
How to Add SEO to Your Squarespace Website
I know how important it is to drive traffic to your website if you have a blog. Otherwise, what's the point, if no one can actually see the content that you're creating? So today I want to support you in two pieces of the puzzle to improving the SEO on your website.
1. Content is Key
Number one is your content. I am telling you that none of the cool features matter if the content on your blog and on your website is kind of crappy and ultimately if your audience doesn't want it, then they're not going to be searching for it, so it's really important that you put the majority of your energy on creating content that your audience wants. You need to know who your audience is and, more specifically, what it is that they're looking for online and then you create the content to meet that need.
Some of my favorite ways to find out what my audience is searching for are to step in their shoes and imagine what they're googling online. Now if you're like, I don't want to imagine Michelle, I just want to know specifically, so I ask them. Go ahead in a group, in a private community and ask them what they're searching for online or what specific questions they have about the industry that you're in. Another fun tip is to go to blog posts that are in a similar industry as you would see, what kind of comments are coming through the bottom, see what people are asking about, and then create content that meets that need. Or, go into a facebook group and see what people are asking about your specific niche and create content that again meets that need. I can't stress enough to you how important content is and if you're struggling with coming up with ideas, it is as simple as asking your audience, what can I create for you?
Some of my biggest, most impactful, most traffic driven blog posts that I have are really specific, so the titles themselves need to be really specific as well. Some examples for you are "7 Tips For A Well Branded Photo Shoot" or "How to Convert Clients on your Website." Remember you. People are searching for the content that they need, so make sure that not only is the content amazing, but also the title is super descriptive and on point for what your audience is ultimately searching for.
2. Keywords
The second piece of this puzzle is my favorite thing to do, and that is adding keywords to your blog posts. Now, I do not suggest that it's just a keyword heavy blog posts, so it's just keywords, right? You're not actually giving value, none, no, no, no, no. Lead with value, but add in those key words that's going to tell Google, hey, that's what this blog post is about.
Another really cool thing that you could do is add keywords to the images within your blog post. If you watch the whole Youtube video below, I actually dive-in to my Squarespace site and show you exactly what I'm talking about here. As a result, I saw this was having a big impact on my SEO. You'll see I have a ton of images in my blog post. I have videos, I have all kinds of things. One of the things that I absolutely love to do is to go in and edit the image. Once you upload your image, you'll see a place for file name, update your file name, make your file name, the name of your blog post, or maybe a key word that is in relation to your blog post. This helps Google rank your content. So they're pulling all the different pieces from your website, including your images, so update your file name. It's as simple as seriously just clicking on here and typing what ever you want. I don't have captions underneath my photos, that you guys can see, but I do have things written. Again, giving google more to work with, with my site. Again, I show you exactly how to this in the video below, so be sure to watch if you're not sure what to do!
Bonus Tip
I'm going to give you guys one more bonus that I absolutely love. At the end of all my blog posts throughout my website, I have a lot of personal information, and I have a signature. This is another amazing space to add a little bit more seo to your website. You can go ahead and just type in your title right or maybe the name of your business. So for me, I type branding and business coach, and then I can also go into design caption below and you'll see branding and business coach. Okay, so this helps. This helps you rank on Google for your title. It helps Google know who you are, what it is that you do specifically. And again, all I have to do is do not display caption and hit apply. So fun little tip for you in improving SEO. Using images on Squarespace, making these small changes to the content that you're creating and the SEO that you are adding to your website in the form of keywords can have a big impact on your brand awareness.
Can I get an "A" for driving traffic to your website with zero ad spend? That's like the entreprenuers dream, but I also understand that coming up with content, coming up with ideas is kind of daunting. So I have a really cool free resource for you that you can grab here: https://brandmerry.lpages.co/content-creation-training/
It's how I map out 30 days worth of content and as little as 30 minutes, there's a really cool bonus video that kind of walks you through my process and they're really easy spreadsheet that you can use in your own business to kind of categorize what content you're going to create and plan it all out in advance. It's going to help you overall in your business, if you can start streamlining these practices now.
You can watch the whole video for a more in-depth tutorial of this with several bonus tips below!
Head over to Youtube and be sure to like and comment on the video while you are over there to help more people see this information ↠ https://youtu.be/H39rEQNWBdw
And as always please share and comment on this blog post, I love connecting with you!
Michelle Knight is a Branding and Business coach for female entrepreneurs who are struggling to gain visibility and traction to take their business to the next level. She works with her clients to dive deep into their story so they can create a brand and message that positions them as an expert and allows them to create their desired income to free up time in their schedule for what matters most. Learn more >>
Become a Public Speaking Pro
It has been reported that 74% of people suffer from speech anxiety - 74%, And I totally believe it!
During my 7 day challenge in my Facebook community more than half of the people participating in the challenge reported a fear of public speaking or networking. The thing is public speaking is one of the best ways to get your messaging, your brand and essentially you in front of the right people.
I’ve literally been speaking in front of people my whole entire life. I participated in performance arts for most of my youth, medaled in speech competitions and could never turn down a microphone. Later in my life I majored and worked in public relations, helping write speeches for business CEO’s and nonprofits. Even today I work in the communications department at a major nonprofit, talking on camera, writing speeches for our Executive Director and speaking to large and small groups alike.
So when I tell you I know a thing or two about public speaking, I mean it! Now I might not have a fear of public speaking, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous - cause I do. However, my experience working with others who have this fear has prepared me to help coach and train entrepreneurs overcome their fear of public speaking and completely ROCK their next speaking gig.
Today I’m sharing three things you can easily do to prepare to your next engagement. If you are looking for a more in-depth training and to learn the top five tips I’ve learned over the years then register today.
Practice, Practice
This might seem like a no-brainer, but it still needs to be said. Why? Because no matter how many times it is said people still skip this step. Seriously, the number one thing you can do is PRACTICE. Get your butt in front of a mirror and practice. Grab a friend and practice. Just practice. Practicing your speech makes you recognize repetition, facial expressions and just better prepares you to deliver your speech.
Tell A Story
So I understand that the point of your speech might be to share a product or service, and ultimately buy into what you are sharing. But the key to getting great results is to have them buy into you. In order to do this you have to be relatable and authentic (so much more on this in the training). Telling a story from the beginning breaks the ice, is a fantastic transition and makes you seem more relatable.
Simplify
So often we think we have to cram everything we know into a speech - this just isn’t the case. You want people to take away your main points and you can’t possibly do that if you are overloading them with things to remember. Simple is best when it comes to public speaking. Pick your top three things you want your audience to takeaway and build your speech around that (P.S. we go deep into messaging in the webinar).
If you have a fear of public speaking, trouble speaking about your business to others or just need to take your skills to the next level then you need this training.
Click here to reserve your spot for the training.