Google Algorithm changes, especially the “Helpful Content” and anti-spam efforts, have caused a lot of anxiety amongst smaller web publishers.
I mentioned this in my recent newsletter and I got a bunch of replies asking for advice.
While these things are still rolling out it is unwise to declare what the exact SEO tactics are to recover from or mitigate the effects.
We can, however, speak to the strategy that I always recommend …
- Write and create for your specific audience member.
- Don’t rely on Google (or any other single source of traffic, leads, income, or technology).
- Create and sell products/services rather than rely on advertising alone.
It is something I have been speaking about since the 1990s, and I have even fallen foul of thinking “This time it is different, I can rely on XYZ always being there, surely?“
All His Eggs, Google’s Basket
A good friend back around 13 years ago was doing incredibly well with his website about mobile technology, riding the wave as people transitioned from Blackberry to iOS.
The problem was his entire traffic was coming from Google search and his entire monetization was coming from Google Adsense.
Unfortunately, he built a niche website that answered search queries and not an Authority site.
While search traffic, and even Google Discover traffic, are amazing and well worth building, you can not rely on them.
Frustrating but true, the more you try to build around what you believe Google wants, the more likely they are to penalize you.
Understand Who You Want to Attract
I have written a lot about pen portraits and building target profiles so I will not go over it a bunch here, but just know it is important that you know who you are trying to attract and what they most want.
Google wants to serve the most informative and highly matching content to the people searching. They do not want you checking off a list of items to pass the Google Test.
Even so “AI tool” generated content seems to be proliferating, and Google even paid people to use their own content generating tools, search engines will need humans to deliver content that humans want to consume for a while yet.
One thing that machines can not do is truly empathize or know how something feels, so try to get inside the mind and heart of the people you want to help the most and you will have an advantage over the word-salad, cardboard-cutout copy that is filling the web right now.
Go Where People Hang Out
Another thing that machines can not do very well right now is truly interact at more than a surface level:
You need to be finding out what really drives people in your community, and create content that nobody else is making and that helps people more than anyone else can.
This is a tall order, but that doesn’t mean we are aiming for perfection, just what your intent should be.
People who are genuinely part of a community are also more likely to have their admin messages answered and links accepted rather than banned as spam.
Build an Email List!
One of the very first things you should do when starting a website, even when you only have a “Coming Soon” page, is to collect email addresses from interested visitors.
Note that I did not say collect business cards, buy lists, or fill out other people’s forms to sneakily get email addresses.
A list full of people who don’t know who you are, nor care, is not an asset.
Heck people have to double-opt-in on my newsletters and I still get people accusing me of spam because they forget they signed up.
Collecting Emails, the BASICS
When you have a list of people who want to hear from you, the worry about where your traffic is going to come from is massively reduced.
People who know, like and trust you, will click through, they will watch your videos, like and share, all that good stuff. Some of them will even buy from you, perhaps more than once.
Starting your email list or newsletter is simple.
Rather than give you a bunch of options, I will make it even simpler:
- Sign up to AWeber for free.
- Create a form and copy the code they provide.
- Place the form prominently on your site.
When Sonia and I have taught classes on email marketing we usually suggest having at least one autoresponder message that goes out when someone signs up.
An autoresponder is an email that your mail service provider sends based on timing (eg. 1 hour after signing up) or some other trigger (eg. the reader clicks a certain link).
Email lists should be two-way communication, it is a great place for you to get to know your readers just as much as they should get to know a bit about you.
Usually you would have a whole sequence of these autoresponder messages, which allows you and your audience to grow a deeper connection over time, but just thinking about that can be daunting, so if you are just starting make sure you introduce yourself and if you can, ask a question.
Own Your Assets!
Your audience, if you do it right, will want to stay in touch with you. That means your audience can not be taken away (though it is easy to lose them through your behaviour and actions).
If you communicate regularly and keep a backup of your list(s) then you have an asset that you can take with you and move around. No single provider can stop you.
This is different to if your list lives on a commercial platform (eg. an e-commerce marketplace or website builder) where you have to send emails through them, or even you are not allowed to export the email addresses.
It’s horrible that the biggest names in e-commerce (looking at you Amazon) do things to prevent you from building a customer list, but you can understand it from their “serving the shareholders’ best interests” point of view.
In those situations you are building their company an asset, not yours.
Therefore you should build your website on your own branded domain name (even if, like mine, it is a variation on your name) and with a branded email address (eg. chris@chrisg.com) so that people recognize you and can be sure it is you.
Any other platform should direct your visitors back to your own website, be that your e-commerce platform, your social media profiles, your emails, or your discussion groups.
Use Platforms for Attention, Your Website and List for Retention
There is nothing at all wrong with strategically spending time on social media, video platforms, and marketplaces, it is after all probably where your audience mostly hangs out.
Do not do what I do most of the time which is just randomly post whatever comes to mind. Seriously, my most successful content always seems to be about pets and other animals, not exactly a lead generator!
Social media services and marketplaces have to attract to survive, so they invest a lot and do a lot of the heavy lifting for you of gathering people together.
As well as generic communities, where they aim to cast a wide net, there are also niche-based smaller communities that serve the same purpose but might be easier to get noticed on.
For example, I can sell 3D models on 3D-specific marketplaces such as myminifactory, and/or on Etsy. Fees and rules etc will vary, but as a source of new customers all options are worth trying.
But once someone has found you or bought from you, then you need them to join your community.
Bring People Home
Once you have acquired someone’s attention, you should always lead them gently back to your website (and hopefully your email list):
- Set your profile links to your about page or a landing page, not “Linktree” style services.
- Put thank you cards into any physical mail you sell that prominently displays your URL.
- Videos and discussions should always link back to a written article or page on your site for more information, and if possible bonus material.
Next Steps
Let me know if there is any part of this that is unclear or that you would like more detail about.
If you haven’t yet started your website, check out my article about choosing a niche and if you have an existing website but you want to start selling products, check out my WooCommerce tutorial.