There’s all kinds of content on the interwebs about SEO -- ranging all the way from empty fluff, to advanced technical stuff, to straight up out-of-date and wrong.
So don’t worry, I get it -- it can be super confusing to figure out what you ought to be focusing on.
Here are a couple of things I bet you've heard about SEO:
• Wordpress rules, Squarespace (or Wix or Weebly or any other site builder) drools
• All you have to do is "get the green lights" in Yoast
• It's very tech-y and you basically need a PhD in computer science
I’mma be totally honest with you:
I call bull.
SEO involves all kinds of little things and big things and has all kinds of different aspects to it. And focusing too much on one aspect over another (like tech) leads to trouble (ie. lack of results)
And besides, for online entrepreneurs and bloggers like us, it’s the things that are the real needle-movers we need to focus on. Everything else is just sprinkles.
HERE'S THE ABSOLUTE-BOTTOM-LINE-100%-CORE-FOCUS OF SEO:
Google wants what Humans want.
Google is a search engine (duh) who's #1 focus is on giving its users (the people doing the searching) the best experience ever.
So when someone searches for something, Google wants to give them the best possible results it can.
This makes our job waaaaaayyy less confusing.
Google wants to show Humans what they want. That means we have to create great content and a great on-site experience for Humans. Then we make sure that Robots can understand it too.
Basically, SEO is like making your website bilingual - it'll be able to speak Human and Robot equally well.
But it's not just about the tech. The content on your site needs to speak Robot too, not just the site itself.
The real needle-mover in SEO is content
The very thing you already do a billion times over to build a relationship with your readers, establish your brand voice, and nurture towards purchases is the key to leveling up your site and business for the long-haul.
What's that you ask? If that's they key, why isn't it already doing the thing?
Great question! Your content already speaks Human like a pro (specifically, your ideal human reader). But it's not very good at speaking Robot.
And content that speaks proficient Robot (in combination with speaking fluent Human), is the missing piece of the SEO puzzle to bring in long-term traffic that directly impacts your bottom line.
So how do we make our content speak Robot?
With keyword research!