Link Building: Simple Steps to Increase Your Search Traffic

/in /by

If you’re serious about increasing search engine traffic, you need to focus your efforts on link building. And you must be very systematic when it comes to how you create and promote your content. While it’s true that content is king, you can waste a lot of time and energy if you don’t have a clear content marketing and link building strategy.

Why are links so important?

To answer this, you have to go back in time to days of the internet before Google. Search engines like Yahoo! and Alta Vista were the market leaders. Their search results were ranked 100% based on a web page’s content.

Google’s PageRank Algorithm completely changed the game. Instead of simply analyzing page content, Google looked at the number of links to a page. Now, nearly 20 years later, links are still the best way to determine the quality of a page. Their algorithm keeps getting more complicated, focusing on link quality and not just quantity, but links and link building are still at the crux of search traffic.

If links increase search traffic to my website, how do I get more links?

  • Step 1: Find content worth linking to
  • Step 2: Create new content that’s even better
  • Step 3: Reach out to website owners that have already linked to similar content

Step 1: Find something worth linking to

Your goal is to create a high value page that you can use for links. Keep in mind that this needs to be real, informative, helpful content. Content so useful that people can’t help but link to it. The way you do this is to find content that has already generated a ton of links.

Step 2: Create new content that’s even better

The next step is to take what’s there and create new content that’s far better than the original.

Make it longer

Sometimes if you publish a blog post that’s simply longer or includes more suggestions that will be a difference maker. If you find a link magnet – the article that’s worth linking to – with a title like “50 Ways to Reorganize Your Kitchen”, publish a list of 150 ways.

More Current

Maybe you found a great article that is a link magnet but the content is old and out of date. That’s a great opportunity for you to come along and make it more current.

Snazzier Design

A visually stunning piece of content can generate many more links and social shares than similar content on an ugly page or site.

More Thorough

If you’re updating a list post, go deeper. Most list posts are just a dull list of bland bullet points without any deeper content that people can actually use. If you see a list post like that you can easily add a brief description and a reference that is a link to another site.

Step 3: Get your word out and reach the right people

Step 3 is the hardest part of the link-building process since it involves asking people for links. Instead of emailing random people, you need to find site owners that have already linked to similar content. The theory is that those people are likely more inclined to link to you if they’ve already linked out to another site.

So how do you do this?

  1. Use an SEO backlinks tool like (ahrefs.com, majestic seo, or Open Site Explorer) and export all of the links pointing to your competitor’s content into a spreadsheet.
  2. Omit referring web pages that don’t make sense to contact. Examples of these are forums, article directories, etc.
  3. Email all of them using the following type of template:

Hi [Name],

I was searching for some articles about [your topic] today and I came across this page: [url].

I noticed that you linked to one of my favorite articles – [title of article].

Just wanted to let you know that I created a similar one. It’s like [name of their article], but more thorough and current: [URL].

Might be worth a mention on your page.

Keep up the awesome work!

Best,

[your name]

Obviously you should tweak this template for every person you send this to.

Remember that the goal here is building quality links. You should aim to get a 10% success rate. Hopefully those links that you do get will increase your organic search traffic.

 

Master LinkedIn – 7 Quick Steps to Overhaul Your LinkedIn Profile

/in /by

LinkedIn was founded in 2002. Unlike many of its social media competitors – Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat – LinkedIn has had sluggish but steady growth. LinkedIn now has almost 500 million users. LinkedIn has 3 million active job listings. 40% of LinkedIn users log in every day.

Like any social media platform, LinkedIn has both the power to promote talented individuals and the liability to destroy your professional image if used incorrectly.

Here are some social media rules and lessons on LinkedIn etiquette:

DON’T Send Spammy or Irrelevant Messages

For some people LinkedIn has become yet another place to bombard others with direct messaging sales spam. They are treating it almost like a secondary workplace email address.

Don’t treat your LinkedIn contacts like an email contact list and just send bulk communications. If you are going to message someone, be sure to write a custom message that is aimed at that individual and contains information that is relevant to them.

DO Use a Professional Headshot

LinkedIn is intended to be a professional networking social media platform. You are going to make first impressions with prospective clients, potential employers, and colleagues via your public profile. You cannot afford to have a photo which represents an image of you that you wouldn’t want others to see.

So, your professional headshot should not include an image of you: drinking alcohol, wearing offensive t-shirts, using holiday photos in general, smoking, wearing sunglasses, or making any ridiculous faces.

Above all, make sure you actually use a photo of yourself. This should show your entire face and should not be blurry thumbnail.

DON’T Make Negative Public Comments

Keep feedback constructive and look to provide this when it has been requested rather than assuming an individual wants to hear your view or opinion. In the same way you shouldn’t overtly criticize a fellow colleague in your workplace, think three times before commenting negatively on someone’s post. If you do feel compelled to respond to something, send the user you’re commenting on a personal message instead.

DO Use Personalized Connection Messages

When you connect with someone on LinkedIn you have the option to personalize your request to connect with a message. You should definitely personalize your connection message. For new connections or individuals you don’t have a relationship with, it’s just common courtesy to craft a personal message. While keeping it brief, hint at why you’re connecting with them. Why would this person be interesting in connecting with you?

DO Check in Regularly and Respond Promptly

Forty percent of LinkedIn users log in daily. As such, it makes sense to check in regularly and respond promptly to messages.

DON’T Keep Your Profile Private

LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool. Don’t hide yourself away. Build a profile that only contains information you’re happy to share publicly.

Do Make Regular Posts or Write Articles

You can write full-fledged articles on LinkedIn that can attract new connections. If your business is B2B, make quality posts on LinkedIn whenever you make business posts on Facebook, Twitter or any of your other social media platforms.

Content Marketing Lead Generation Tactics

/in , , /by

Content marketing is one of the most important SEO factors in 2017. This should be no surprise to anyone. Google has long rewarded websites with relevant, quality content. What this means however, is that if small businesses want to compete with big businesses, they need to effectively use content marketing to generate a steady flow of leads. And if done correctly, content marketing will also create awareness, build trust, convert leads, serve existing customers, and help you generate referrals too.

The good news is that you don’t need as much content as you might think. Focus on quality over quantity. Consider writing just one or two blog posts a month, but make sure you adhere to the following system for using content marketing to generate a steady flow of leads.

Content Marketing Lead Generation

  1. Build a list of 6 of the most useful content ideas for your ideal customer
  2. Create a lead generating content upgrade for each of these 6 ideas
  3. Start promoting each idea in social media and advertising

Step 1 – What content should you produce?

The key factor here is to remember who your ideal customer is and remember that effective, lead-generating content is going to be content for that ideal customer. Using your knowledge about your business and your customers, and tools like the Google Keyword Tool, Spyfu, or Semrush, develop a list of core content topics and assign one or two to each month for the next twelve months.

Each theme should be a significant topic related to your business or industry and represent an important search term. Think about it as if it were a book. Each month is a chapter in what could be a book at the end of the year.

Step 2 – What exactly are content upgrades and how do I create them?

The idea of driving someone to your website or landing page and enticing them to give you their email address in exchange for something they are looking for is standard marketing procedure these days. However, the idea of bait for lead capture has evolved. The basic idea behind a content upgrade is this:

Write a great blog post and then when people show up to read it offer them an “upgrade” to the content (check list, video, case study) relevant to the topic in exchange for contact information.

If you can do this correctly, you can effectively convert visiting traffic to a lead funnel. The benefits of content upgrades are:

Creating Content Upgrades

One of the best ways to create a content upgrade is to look at your Google Analytics data and find the most popular content and then consider way to personalize a content upgrade for these posts. Hubspot has a great post from 2016 with 20 example of lead generating content – 20 Types of Lead Generating Content to Put Behind Your Landing Pages.

You don’t have to overthink this. Most people just want a snack – they aren’t looking for a manual. Here are some ideas for good content upgrades:

  • a checklist based on a how to post.
  • take a longer list type of post and then expand on the first 10 in more detail.
  • create a list of tools related to a particular type of advice.
  • create and offer a screencast showing readers exactly how you do something.
  • share a template.

Step 3 – Start promoting each article using advertising and social media

The Field of Dreams mantra just isn’t applicable anymore. If you build it, people won’t really come and they probably won’t find you online. You have to promote your content on social media. Here’s some advice from one of my favorite marketing blogs – Kissmetrics: 17 advanced methods for promoting your new piece of content.

 

 

How Not To Get Hacked – Six Easy Steps

/in , , /by

There’s been a lot of talk about Russian hackers these days, and while the thought of getting hacked by the Russians (or anyone else) often conjures up thoughts of Jason Bourne, most incidents of hacking are actually much less sophisticated. Let’s face it, hackers, like us, often take the easy way out and go for low-hanging fruit. The good thing about this is that it’s relatively easy to avoid getting hacked. What follows is a simple primer – how not to get hacked – six easy steps.

How Not To Get Hacked Step 1:

Create Strong Passwords

The first and most important rule is to never use the word “password” for your password. Don’t use these passwords either:

  • 123456
  • 123456789
  • qwerty
  • 1111111
  • 123123
  • qwertyuiop
  • 123321
  • 666666
  • 1q2w3e4r5t
  • google

These were the most commonly hacked passwords in 2016.

What all of these have in common is that they are painfully obvious. It is very important to choose your passwords carefully. Don’t use the name of your dog or cat or children. All of these are easily guessed. Strong passwords are cryptic – a meaningless string of numbers, letters, and characters. It’s also important to not use the same password for everything. Your Gmail or Yahoo password shouldn’t be the same as your Facebook password and that shouldn’t be the same as your bank password. Imagine if you were one of the billion or so Yahoo users who were hacked! The hackers would suddenly also have access to your bank account and your social media presence. They could learn everything about you at once.

Check HERE to see if any of your email account passwords have been compromised. If they have (and they probably were), make sure you go change the passwords at the sites where you have an account (or you set up an account eons ago).

How Not To Get Hacked Step 2:

Stop Trying To Remember Passwords…Get A Password Manager

As a website designer I need nearly 1,000 passwords in order to get my work done. Even if I had a meaningful and secure logical way of producing passwords, I would never remember them all. For the past 4 years I’ve been using LastPass. Basically LastPass creates extremely complex passwords (more than 20 characters if I want) and then remembers them whenever I go to a website. All I have to do is create one very long strong password that works as a master password. The master password will then unlock a secure, encrypted vault that contains each unique password for all of your accounts. Password managers also integrate seamlessly into Web browsers, so you can quickly log into any of your accounts from any of your devices. The basic version of LastPass is actually free. If you want to use LastPass on your mobile devices, then all it costs is $1/month.

How Not To Get Hacked Step 3:

Use Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication requires you to enter a password and choose whether to receive a second code via email or your cell phone.  Then, that second code is either texted to your cell phone or sent to your email so that further authentication steps will be required. The exact methods may vary, but two-factor authentication is a much more secure way to prove that you’re you.

How Not To Get Hacked Step 4:

Be Wary of Public Wi-Fi

If you take the right steps to secure your Internet connections, you will probably be okay with public wi-fi. However, avoid doing the following things while on public wi-fi:

  • Don’t check email.
  • Don’t access your bank accounts.
  • Don’t shop online.

In general, whether on public wi-fi or not, seek out websites that start with https:// instead of http://. That extra “s” is a critical level of security. Legitimate shopping, bank, and email websites all use SSL encryption.

For more information about the danger of public wi-fi, check out Norton’s post on the risks of public wi-fi.

How Not To Get Hacked Step 5:

Be Defensive and Watch Out for Phishing Tactics

Spoofs are cyber criminals who try to steal passwords from people who actually know how to come up with complex passwords. This is also called phishing. They’ll get you to click on a link leading to a spoofed website that looks exactly like the one at which you have an account. When you “log in” to the spoofed website, your user log-in credentials are stolen. Do not click on the link. Instead delete the phishy email.

How Not To Get Hacked Step 6:

Trust Your Instincts

If an email or website seems suspicious in any way, delete it or don’t visit it. Many of the attacks – an email phishing campaign for example – attempt to take advantage of our caution and reason by appearing to come from an authoritative source – like our banks, credit card companies, or even the IRS. But in reality, most of those entities will mail you multiple letters before any action is taken. If something – even mailed to you – looks suspicious, pick up the phone and call your bank. Don’t use the number on the suspicious mailing or email.

How To Avoid Phishing and Spear Phishing

/in , /by

Phishing is when someone sends you an email that looks like it came from a bank or service you trust. They try to get you to open an attachment that compromises your device or to click on a web link and to sign in on a malicious website.

Spear phishing is the same as phishing, except the email you receive is especially crafted just for you. The attacker has researched you well and knows who your friends, family and associates are. They may know who you work for and what you are working on. The phishing email received in a spear phishing campaign looks much more authentic, appears to come from someone you know and may refer to something you are working on. Spear phishing attacks have a much higher success rate.

Follow these two simple rules to avoid a phishing or spear phishing campaign:

  1. Never open an attachment unless you are 100% certain that someone you trust sent it to you. If you have any doubt at all, pick up the phone and call the person.
  2. Never click on a website link unless you are 100% certain that the person or organization that sent it to you is someone you trust. When you do open the link, check your browser location bar at the top for the following:
    • The location should start with https://
    • The part after https:// should be the domain name of an organization you trust. For example, it should say paypal.com and not paypal.com.badsite.com. Everything from the first forward slash to the final forward slash in the location should be a name that you trust.
    • The https:// part should be green if you are using Chrome and it should also say “Secure” to the left.

If you receive an email that looks suspicious in any way, just delete it. Then pick up the phone and call the person who sent it to you. They may not know their email account has been hacked.

How To Avoid Social Engineering

/in , /by

Social Engineering is what happens when someone phones you and pretends to be an organization or individual that you trust. They will try to get sensitive information out of you including passwords, usernames and a description of systems that you have access to.

This kind of attack is common and is used to commit tax refund fraud. It is also used to gain access to your bank accounts. You will even find attackers trying to get access to your workstation by telling you that they have found something wrong and asking you to install their software to fix it.

You can use a simple technique to avoid social engineering scams. Usually the individual will claim they’re from a reputable company or organization. Simply hang up, find the organization’s central number, call back and ask for that individual or someone in the same role.

Using the callback method is an effective way to defeat social engineering.

Staying Safe Online: The Connect4 Cyber Security Survival Guide

/in , /by

Today I’m publishing a guide that I hope will help improve your personal online security. This guide focuses on the basics – how to reduce the life-altering risks we face as we navigate the internet.

This is a Cyber Security survival guide. I’m going to start by giving you a clear picture of the current state of Cyber Security. Then I’m going to prioritize what you should be protecting. I’m going to focus on the biggest risks and I will explain how to reduce the risk for each category.

If you find this useful, please go ahead and share it extensively.

Current State of Cyber Security

Would you believe it if I told you that there’s a 66% chance that your data has already been stolen and will be stolen again and again? Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter whether you use secure passwords, two-factor authentication, are young or old, or which websites you visit or businesses you do business with. At various points in your life, your data will be stolen. And in all likelihood, it will be stolen repeatedly.

Today, 64% of Americans have already had their data stolen through data breaches. That is almost 2 out of three people.

In the past 3 years we saw the first data breach of more than 1 billion user accounts with the Yahoo breach. That breach affected 1 in 7 people on our planet! In the United States, the OPM breach included the data of our top spies, including their fingerprints and personal data. Even our intelligence services can’t protect highly confidential personnel data.

Data has been stolen from private companies, intelligence agencies and the military. Even cyber security companies have had their data stolen.

How Data Is Stolen

Even if you use a strong password, two factor authentication and best practices for security, your data will still be stolen because the companies whose services you use in some cases will fail to protect their own networks and systems.

How to Prioritize What to Protect

If data breaches are the new normal and if you accept the premise that they are inevitable and unavoidable, the problem we need to solve in our personal and business lives becomes “How do I reduce the risk and the impact of a breach?”

It’s helpful to start this conversation by trying to prioritize what we need to protect. I’m focusing on the really important, upper level things and this is my prioritized list so it’s possible your list could be in a different order.

  1. Information about us that could help criminals target us in the real world.
  2. Our financial means – savings accounts, ability to borrow, and our assets.
  3. Sensitive personal information – medical records, tax data and other private data.
  4. Our ability to earn an income through our reputation and our ability to provide products or services to people.

Preventing Criminals from Targeting Us in the Real World

In most of the developed countries, it is rare to hear stories of real-world targeting of individuals through information they have ‘leaked’ into the cyber realm. But in developing countries where there’s a greater disparity of wealth, or if you happen to be a superstar or athlete in a developed country, it might be good to:

  • Never show high value items (like jewelry or cars) online.
  • Share your location in general terms, and if you want to share a specific location, do it after you have left that location.
  • Don’t share information that may indicate when or how much you’ve been paid.
  • Consider making social profiles only available to people you have approved.
  • If you work for someone or some entity with access to highly confidential information, avoid disclosing who your employer is and what your job title is. This includes public websites like LinkedIn.

Protecting Your Financial Means

I’m not concerned with credit card fraud in this section. That risk falls on the vendor and transactions can be reversed. Instead, I’m focused on the kind of risk that can have a permanent impact on your financial well-being.

If an attacker is able to authorize a wire transfer from your savings account, they can empty your bank account and the funds may never be recoverable. This risk applies to savings accounts, checking accounts and investments like brokerage accounts and money market accounts.

If they are able to borrow in your name, it can permanently damage your credit score and your ability to borrow money to buy a home, for example.

I suggest taking the following steps to reduce the risk of large scale financial fraud:

  1. Make a list of savings and investment accounts. Audit each account to determine how you prove your identity when transferring funds and get a clear idea of what an attacker would need to do to commit fraud on each account.
  2. Implement any additional security provided by your banks or brokerages:
    1. callback to a predetermined number.
    2. authorization from multiple parties prior to transferring funds.
    3. two factor or hardware-based authentication.
    4. limiting transaction size when not in person.
    5. real-time alerts.
  3. Monitor account statements weekly. Make this a routine.
  4. Place a credit freeze on your credit report if you are in the U.S. This restricts access to your credit report and makes it difficult for thieves to open up accounts in your name.
  5. Place a fraud alert on your credit report – also if you are in the U.S. This lasts 90 days and forces businesses to verify your identity before issuing you credit.

In all of these cases above, if you are able to choose a password, choose one that is complex (more than 12 digits and including uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and other characters), and use a password manager.

Protecting Your Sensitive Information

Sensitive data that you need to protect includes your medical data, tax data, and social security number. There are two surprisingly easy ways of protecting this information.

First, try to avoid creating data about yourself. If it doesn’t exist, you don’t need to protect it. You will frequently find forms that ask for your social security number or equivalent. Most of the forms don’t actually require it. Don’t provide it if it’s not required.

Second, the best way to protect data is to delete it. Once again, if it doesn’t exist, it doesn’t need to be protected. Don’t hoard sensitive data. When you do need to store and protect your sensitive data, encrypt it and use strong device passwords.

Protecting Your Ability to Earn an Income and Protecting Your Reputation

Most of us rely on some type of IT infrastructure to earn a living. Whether you are an architect, photographer or computer programmer, it is important that you secure the systems you use. Here are a few tips to secure your own systems and the services you use:

  • If you have a WordPress website, make sure that you have a malware scanner and firewall in place, and look into upgrading your security by using SSL.
  • Use a password manager like Last Pass to automatically store and generate long complex passwords that are different for each system you access.
  • Secure your phones, tablets, laptops, and PCs by using disc encryption when available and use complex passwords for device access.
  • Avoid adding data to systems that you need or use.
  • Enable two-factor authentication on all systems or services you use.
  • Keep backup drives in a secure place and destroy sensitive data that you don’t need. Never simply throw backup devices in the trash without either using a secure wiping software or physically destroying them with a large hammer.
Protecting Your Online Reputation

If you use social media, never simply ‘Share’ or retweet someone else’s post until you have fully read it, understood it and also understand any context around it. If you accidentally share something that is highly controversial without fully understanding what you’re sharing, you may find your professional reputation severely damaged.

Secure any social media accounts that you own. If your account is hacked, it may be used for spam which could damage your online reputation.

Secure any websites that you own. If your website is hacked, it will damage your search engine ranking and infuriate your customers if their data is stolen. This can have a severe impact on your reputation. If you use WordPress, install Wordfence which will help prevent a hack.

When installing apps on your smartphone, avoid apps that are aggressively viral. Some apps gain access to your contacts list and can SMS, private message or email your contacts a message from you that suggests they also sign up for the service.

How to do SEO for Small Websites

/in , /by

I hear it all the time: “My website or budget is too small for SEO.” “We don’t have the traffic…no one ever visits our site.” Believe it or not but you should spend time on SEO especially if no one visits your site. SEO for small websites is even more important than SEO for big websites.

The whole point of SEO is to make your website more visible. If you’re not doing SEO, your visibility isn’t increasing. Think about it – doing just a little SEO could mean the difference between having 0 visitors and having a few warm leads from your site.

Here’s how to do SEO for small websites with little to no traffic.

  1. Develop a content strategy – most small sites hesitate to create a content strategy because they think it’s too much work. It takes some work and advance planning, but it’s well worth it. In today’s world, people want answers – people are seeking authoritative answers to their questions. Do you ever turn to Siri for the answer to a question? Where do you think these answers come from? They come from people who create website content. Research long tail keywords. Plan ahead of time and try to publish two blog posts a week. Branch out to different content types. Share your content on all the big social networks like Facebook and Twitter. If you’re part of a niche group – like therapists – consider smaller social networks and niche sites.
  2. Nurture a following – marketing is interactive. Brands engage customers through social media and many top bloggers have ongoing conversations in the comments section. You need to identify your audience, build a solid value proposition, and then build your audience through guest posting and paid advertising.
  3. Optimize your site for mobile – truly optimizing a website for mobile devices is more than creating a mobile version. You have to change a lot but start with page speed.

Conclusion

You don’t need a huge website to get some of the best SEO results. Follow my tips for how to do SEO for small websites and your website will become more visible. The lesson is that it’s never too early or too late to learn the basics.

How to add internal links to your website

/in , /by

Adding internal links to your website is a critical part of SEO as well as improving usability on your website. This post will provide you with the best practices for adding internal links to your website. But before we start, it’s important that you already:

  • have written content – pages or blog posts – on your site.
  • are continuously creating new content. Getting into a regular publishing schedule is important in order for this technique to work effectively.

Link from content-heavy pages to other content-heavy pages

The best internal links are those that connect one article to another. This creates a strong internal linking structure deep within the site. If your website navigation is decent, you’ll have enough linking structure to the site’s main pages such as the homepage, the about page, the contact page, etc. You don’t need to link to these pages!

Create text links using anchor text

The best links use descriptive anchor text. What do I mean by descriptive anchor text? Anchor text is the word or words that are linked to another page.

Your internal links should use anchor text. But not – click here. Click here is not descriptive. It doesn’t tell the user what the click will do or where it will go. I recommend linking using phrases that describe what the target link is about. Here are some examples:

If I want to link to an article about raising sheep, I would do it this way:

If I wanted to link to an article about Google Hummingbird, I would do it this way:

In each of these examples, I’m associating the subject of the link target with relevant phrases.

Do not do these things when creating internal links

  • Do not try to create an exact match between the anchor text and the link target. This technique, known as “exact match anchor text” has been associated in the past with SEO penalties through the Penguin update.
  • Do not use phrases like “click here.” This adds no value.
  • Do not link more than one sentence. An entire hyperlinked paragraph is clunky and unsightly. It makes for a poor user experience. Just stick to a few words or a phrase.

Every time you write an article or blog post, link to four or more old posts.

When you write a new piece of content, you should link to old articles. If you can, try to add five links.

Why? Google likes sites with new content and uses that as part of its ranking algorithm. Links from new pages add new page value to older pages.

Update old blog posts with new internal links

You’ll get the largest boost from your internal links if you combine it with another easy SEO technique – updating old content. When you update old content, Google will scan it again, re-index it, and likely boost its ranking slightly. Here’s a good process to follow when updating old articles:

  • Add a new paragraph of content at the beginning, explaining the updates.
  • Add several new paragraphs throughout, adding additional or updated information.
  • And most importantly, add several new internal links to the content you’ve recently created.

Adding links in places where it’s logical and value-added

Look for areas in the content where the subject matter overlaps. These are logical points of connection to create an internal link.

Broken Backlinks

Make sure you don’t have broken backlinks. These can hurt the final outcome!

 

How to Use Long Tail Keywords in Headlines

/in , , , , /by

According to Worldometers, every day we are inundated with more than 2 million blog posts and 200 billion emails. No matter what you are writing – blog posts, emails, online ads, or anything else – the headline is a crucial element. How do you get people to stop and read what you write when there’s so much competing content? If you get the headline right, you will probably be positioned at the top of the search results pages. A truly great headline might even prompt people to respond and share your article. Keyword-rich headlines will improve your website rankings and increase engagement with your audience. Your target audience is looking for blog posts that will solve their problems and address the keywords they typed into Google’s search box.

Follow this 3-Step Process for Using Long Tail Keywords in Your Headlines

First Step: Research and choose long-tail search terms.

Let’s stay with Google AdWords Keywords Planner for our example.

On the dashboard, type in your main keyword phrase (e.g., start small business) and click the “Get Ideas” button.

You can see the long-tail keywords that we’ll integrate into our blog post headlines:

starting a small business checklist
best small business to start
steps to starting a small business
help starting a small business

Second step: Model popular and viral headlines.

You can’t just pick long-tail key phrases. You also have to identify viral content specific to your industry, learn from it, and then improve upon it.

When you find headlines that have been shared thousands of times on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., it means that you can get great results, too. All you have to do is study them and incorporate the underlying strategies into your own content.

How do you find these viral blog post headlines?

Visit BuzzSumo, input your main keyword (i.e., start small business), and click the “search” button.

The two viral headlines are:

5 Simple Ways to Start a Small Business ~ 102,658 Facebook shares
6 Things I Wish Somebody Had Told Me When I Started My Small Business

Third step: Create your headlines using the viral headlines as a model:

Original Headline: 5 Simple Ways to Start a Small Business

Keyword phrase to integrate: steps to starting a small business

Unique and keyword-rich blog post headline based on the model:

7 Steps to Starting a Small Business and Growing It
3 Simple Steps to Start a Small Business That You’ll Love

When I find a headline that makes me click, I’ll copy it, study it, and create a unique and better one.