How do you like getting things for free? Well, I know I love to receive as many freebies as I can. When it comes to business, the primary way to draw people to your product is through advertising. Most advertising you will have to pay for, but there are other ways to get free attention.
The best way to get free advertising is through word of mouth. If you or your business made a great impression on someone, then that person may tell someone else. In a perfect world, this form of advertising would be all that you need. However, it would take years to build a huge, cash-flowing business. But, in case you want to stay small, then it works perfectly.
The other way to receive free traffic to your product or service is through search engine optimization or SEO. SEO is the process of ranking on search sites such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. However, it’s easier said than done.
Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business
Today, I will talk about the process of getting your content ranked on Google. I will also share some of my experiences with Google search and SEO. Please, don’t think that it is easy to get free traffic; however, it’s also not impossible. Let’s get started.
SEO basics. At the heart of SEO is the search engine. A search engine is multiple algorithms all acting together to serve the user the best results. For instance, searching for “Mexican Food” in San Diego will differ from in Rhode Island.
The first part of the search process is when the user enters the keywords. Keywords are the words the user types or speaks into the search box. However, keywords are just the beginning of what the algorithm uses to serve results.
Web administrators would just “stuff” keywords into their content and web data to rank on search engines a while ago. Google got wise to this and created better algorithms. Today, Google ranks websites on various metrics like keywords, how mobile-friendly, and how user friendly. If users react well to the website they click on, the web page will slowly rank higher.
4 Steps to Become Rich
How long does it take to rank on Google? First and foremost, you will be competing with the giants of the internet. If you are fighting for a competitive keyword like “dividends,” it will take years to beat the big guys. But don’t let me discourage you.
It takes Google a few months to index your site and start ranking your pages and overall site. I like to think about the book “The Compound Effect” as I write my articles. Each article increases your presence on the internet. The bigger your footprint, the more likely someone is to find you.
That’s why I write 1000+ words every day. I have 670+ articles on my website. If each piece is 1,000 words, then I have 670,000 words online. That is the equivalent of 22 books at the standard 30,000 words each. Over time, people will start to stumble upon my content.
How Much Do I Need for Retirement?
My website. I never pay attention to the SEO tactics for my articles. I could probably be doing much better in the ranking if I spent time optimizing my content for SEO. But, I’d rather spend that time writing and creating books.
However, I am starting to see sparks of life from my SEO and Google Search. Today, I received three visitors from Google Search. There was a time when I received one visitor from Google Search over six months. This month alone, I have had 14 visitors from search.
Two of the three visitors clicked on “5 Takeaways from Passive Income, Aggressive Retirement,” and the other visitor clicked on “Buy and Rent an 18-Wheeler Truck for Passive Income.”
It feels fantastic to get organic (free) traffic to my site. Of course, I also have other means to attract visitors, such as my free pdfs floating around the world, my free books on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited, and my posts on my Facebook Group.
Run a Passive Airbnb Business
Increase your rankings. Everyone will offer to optimize your website for SEO when you start your business—don’t buy into the hype. The best way to increase your search results is by improving the user experience of your website.
I got this information from the book “Product-Led SEO,” which explains how to get the best search results by using a product. This goes hand in hand with the content-first approach to starting a business I read about in “Content Inc.”
The idea of both of these books is to focus on creating great content and products that will help you build an audience. Once you have excellent results from your content, you can introduce a way to monetize your traffic and audience.
Product-Led Example. Luckily, I read the book “Superfans” before starting my business. I am using my free pdfs as a product. Can you imagine if someone searches for Dividend Growth Investing and they land on my website that has a beautiful free 46-page pdf sitting right there?
Passive Income: How to Stay Motivated
They can then send the pdf to friends and family, who will click on the links inside the book for more information, articles, and free pdfs. As Google sees people clicking into my site and navigating to more articles, my rankings will increase.
But, I am still a ways off from all of this happening. It may take 2-3 more years before I see significant traffic to my site; however, I am starting to see signs of life. Something is satisfying about creating a website from scratch and building traffic page-by-page.
SEO focus. So should you focus on SEO for all your content? You can definitely do better than I did. You can optimize your metadata, pictures, and article titles to maximize your SEO rankings. I would recommend reading multiple books to get the best results.
However, SEO is a moving target. Every day can bring something different in the search algorithms, and your website could fluctuate in the rankings. I would instead focus on creating lots of great content, excellent products, and a unique voice among the crowd. Those things will ensure that you will always get the best results.
The Business of RV Life
My quick recommendations. Two things that will help your site grow in SEO are writing book reviews and writing product reviews. These types of reviews will bring organic traffic to your site because people will be searching for information on these topics.
The more books I review, the more chances I have of snagging a visitor from search. On top of that, they may even click on the affiliate link to the book on Amazon. This traffic will build a truly passive e-commerce website at that point.
I would always recommend writing and creating unique content, but reviews are a great way to draw in visitors from the cold. Remember, the idea of a sales funnel is to grab random people “off the street” and move them along your funnel. SEO and search are the equivalents of grabbing people off the street and bringing them into your store.
You’ll Need $20,000/month in Passive Income
Conclusion. Search Engine Optimization is a powerful tool you can use to put people into your sales funnel. Your new business will need customers to be successful. However, don’t overly focus on SEO. Focus on making excellent content and a great product.
I know that it will take time to gain influence; however, you will build a strong following if you grow organically. You want an audience that will stick with you through thick and thin. As an entrepreneur, you only receive payment when you add value. Ensure your content is valuable to your customers, and your SEO rankings will improve regardless.
Please join my Facebook Group if you want the latest articles and free books delivered to your news feed. Also, you can contact me inside the group and ask questions. I also have a Facebook Page where you can see my latest articles.
- PDF of the Month: Financial Independence through Real Estate 2 (Free 123-Page PDF)
- Free PDF Downloads: Download FREE PDF books here (Twitter Link)
- Financial Mindset: Become CEO of Yourself (book)
- Retirement Planning: Don’t Gamble with Retirement 3+4 (696-Page Free PDF)
- Investing: How We Plan to Retire on Dividends 2 (165-Page Free PDF)
- Cryptocurrencies: The Magic of Cryptocurrencies (Free PDF)
- Real Estate: Real Estate is a Mindset (Intermediate) (Free PDF)
- Business: Retire Rich, Retire Comfortable with a Business 2 (Free 185-Page PDF)
- Everything!: The Biggest Book on Passive Income Ever! (book)(Web Edition)(Art Edition)
- I bought a Kindle Oasis: Check it out Amazon
- Read My Books for Free: Free Kindle Books Schedule
- Sign up to Access our “Hidden” Free Kindle Book Schedule
- Kindle Unlimited: I Why Finally Subscribed Kindle Unlimited (learn more)
- Book Reviews: 54 Takeaways from 54 Books (book)
- Want to Build Passive Income from Books and Affiliate Marketing? (Learn here)
- Writing: Can Grammarly Make You a Better Writer? (direct)
- My Favorite Chromebook: The Ultimate Chromebook (direct)
- Follow us: On our Facebook Page and Join our Facebook Group
- Amazon Author Page: Check out my author page on Amazon
- Monthly Dividend Planner: Check it out on Etsy
Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. All Right Reserved Military Family Investing
Leave a Reply