Do you create ongoing content, such as a blog, and you're struggling to grow your audience? Do you want to market your brand yourself, but you need some guidance? Join Jennifer Rogina of ClearPath Online each week as she covers inbound marketing tips for bloggers and solopreneurs who want to become an SEO know-it-all. Learn about search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, conversion rate optimization (CRO), digital analytics, and social media. Discover how you can leverage digital marketing to grow your organic audience.
The question shouldn't be "Is blogging hard?" but instead, "Is it hard to be successful with blogging?" The short answer is: yes. But that shouldn't stop you! I want to explain what is difficult about blogging, how to make it simpler, and why you should blog anyway.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/is-blogging-hard/Additional Resources:* How to Start a Blog - https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-start-a-blog/* Marketing Persona Template & Guide - https://clearpath.online/resources/marketing-personas/* On-Page Optimization Checklist - https://clearpath.online/resources/on-page-optimization-checklist/* Expand Your Reach without Social Media - https://clearpath.online/resources/is-social-media-essential/* 1-Minute Marketing Updates - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr2d-TvfT0Gtjn7kEh1jzkI5oSZD-uQDv
Let's start with a clear answer: no, social media is not essential for blogging success. Social media can promote your blog and expand your reach, but it is not the only way to attract a larger audience to your website. Here's how you can grow your blog without relying on social media.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/is-social-media-essential/Additional Resources:* Marketing Persona Template & Guide - https://clearpath.online/resources/marketing-personas/* On-Page Optimization Checklist - https://clearpath.online/resources/on-page-optimization-checklist/* Internal Linking Guide - https://clearpath.online/resources/internal-links-for-seo/* Grow Email Subscribers - https://clearpath.online/resources/grow-newsletter-subscribers/
When you're building a blog, one critical component is having a plan to grow your newsletter subscribers. The goal is to turn casual readers into devoted fans. Here's how to make that happen and grow your newsletter subscribers along the way.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/grow-newsletter-subscribers
Deciding to use a branded blog name is a good start that leads to more questions. Here's a guide on how to choose the perfect blog name.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/what-should-i-name-my-blog
Selecting a name for your blog can be a challenging task. Opt for a clever brand name? Or should my blog be my name? As with many questions in the realm of digital marketing, it depends. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options. Let's dig into the pros and cons of using your personal name for your blog and when it's most suitable to do so, as well as when a brand name might be a better choice.View the flowchart and full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/should-my-blog-be-my-name/Domain Availability Search: https://namecheap.pxf.io/AWZZna
Blogging provides an incredibly empowering outlet to potentially change lives - both your own and those in your future community. Here are five reasons why you should become a blogger.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/why-become-a-blogger/
Learn how establishing topical authority can boost your search engine rankings, even over more popular but less focused blogs.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/topical/Additional Resources:* How to Batch Content - https://clearpath.online/resources/batch-content/* On-Page Optimization Checklist - https://clearpath.online/resources/on-page-optimization-checklist/
Multitasking lowers productivity by 40%! Batch tasks for efficiency, especially in blogging. Boost productivity with our step-by-step guide to batch your blog content creation.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/batch-content/Additional Resources:* Keyword Research Guide - https://clearpath.online/resources/keyword-research-system/* Content Calendar - https://clearpath.online/resources/blog-content-calendar/
Writing a blog doesn't have to be a daunting task. When I first started it would take me days. Now it typically takes under an hour to write a blog article. Having a system in place helps speed up the process substantially. I'll outline how to write blog posts faster and more effectively by repeating a simple blog writing process.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-write-blog-posts-faster/
Six months ago, we created our YouTube channel and we have been posting content every single week. We thought we'd go over what we've done with the channel, what we've learned, and how much money we've made with it. That way we can give you an idea if having a YouTube channel would make sense for you.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/youtube-video-results-6-months/
Google Analytics is an amazing tool and can help with content marketing. But, it can be overwhelming in the beginning. We'll go over seven important Google Analytics metrics that you'll want to track for your blog.These metrics were originally put together with Universal Analytics in mind. But GA4 is the future of Google Analytics. So, I've updated this list of metrics that was originally intended for Universal Analytics and identified the corresponding GA4 metric to monitor.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/important-google-analytics-metrics/
To be successful, marketers need to be able to track their campaigns. One of the tools marketers can leverage to make that happen are UTM tags. Let's discuss how to create a UTM code to track your marketing campaigns.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-create-a-utm-code/
Creating content takes time. That's why you want to make sure you're writing content that people want to consume. To do that, you need a keyword research system. We are going to walk through a simple process to find the keywords worth writing about.View the full article and download the free template here: https://clearpath.online/resources/keyword-research-system/
Google Search Console provides a wealth of information about your website. It is the tool Google leverages to communicate with webmasters. Search Console can notify you of issues and allows you to make requests of Google. It even reports crawl errors. Let's discuss how to fix crawl errors using the Index Coverage report in Google Search Console.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-fix-crawl-errors/
The Bing Webmaster Tools are one of the few tools you want to setup on your website from the beginning. They are packed with insights, data, and tools that you can use to improve your website. And the data begins that day it's setup, so even if you aren't ready for it yet, start collecting the data. Here's how to setup Bing Webmaster Tools.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-setup-bing-webmaster-tools/
Google provides a free tool for website owners to see potential issues and gain insights not available in Google Analytics. It's called the Google Search Console. We're going to walk through how to setup Google Search Console on your website.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-setup-google-search-console/
Digital marketing is always changing. When you're busy it can be hard to stay current on algorithm updates and best practices. Here are some of the best digital marketing resources. Whether you want to stay up-to-date or you're trying to learn digital marketing these will help.Here is the full article with links to all of the resources mentioned: https://clearpath.online/resources/best-digital-marketing-resources/This episode originally aired in 2020. It has been updated for 2022.
It's important to have a strategy for WordPress categories and tags so you are using them in a manner that makes sense for your readers. The technical aspect of adding categories and tags to a post in WordPress is straightforward. What's much more complicated is understanding when and why to do it. So, I'm going to talk about strategy and how to decide which categories and tags to add to each article. Here's a strategy for how to use categories and tags in WordPress.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-use-categories-and-tags-in-wordpress/
Everyone makes mistakes. And when it comes to SEO, it's no different. There are ways you can self-sabotage your SEO efforts. Here are ten common SEO mistakes to avoid so you don't hurt your search rankings.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/common-seo-mistakes-to-avoid/
We all know writing content based on keyword research is important. But, once you have your desired keyword, how should it be used in your content? Here's how to optimize keyword placement in content.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/keyword-placement-in-content/
Creating consistent blog content is important. You know you need to create a content plan and write your content in batches. But, scheduling your blog post doesn't mean it's done. Once the article is published there are a few tasks you'll want to do to further optimize your content. Here's what to do after publishing a blog post.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/what-to-do-after-publishing-a-blog-post/
You don't have to spend much time researching SEO before you come across advice to create meta descriptions. But what is a meta description, how do I write one, and how does it affect SEO? Here's how to write a meta description for SEO.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-write-a-meta-description-for-seo/
So, here's the problem. You're doing all the things. You've done your on-page optimizations, you have a sitemap, you added internal links. But, you still have basically no traffic. Your numbers are embarrassing. How long does it take for SEO to start working?View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-long-does-it-take-for-seo-to-start-working
What is the difference between new and returning users in Google Analytics? What do these metrics mean and what should you do with that data? Here is everything you need to know about new vs returning visitors in Google Analytics.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/new-vs-returning-visitors-google-analytics/
SEO isn't something you can learn in one night. And although it can take several years to become an expert, there's a lot of space between knowing nothing and knowing everything. So, how long does it take to learn SEO? Or, more specifically, how long does it take to learn enough SEO to grow an audience for your own blog?View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-seo/
Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics are two completely different tools. They don't rely on each other. Yet, they do work well together when you choose to use both. Here's the difference between Google Tag Manager vs Google Analytics.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/google-tag-manager-vs-google-analytics/
Adding hashtags to Instagram posts helps to increase the reach. It makes it easier for people to discover the content. The trick is to use the right hashtags for each post. That means, use the hashtags that are popular but not so popular that your post gets lost. And keep it relevant, don't reuse the same hashtags for every post. Instead of choosing random hashtags, create a strategy to increase discoverability chances. Here's an Instagram hashtag system you can follow.View the full article with the free template here: https://clearpath.online/resources/hashtag-system/
To see growth from SEO, you need a strategy. Understanding SEO basics and focusing on your target audience is a great start. But, to see growth you need a strategy that keeps you focused. Here's how to make an SEO strategy with five easy steps.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-make-an-seo-strategy/
Collecting Google Analytics data is great, and important for all website owners. And when you first start out, sometimes simply collecting data is all you can handle without getting overwhelmed. Once a decent amount of data has been collected you need to start analyzing it in order to get a benefit. You need to make sense of the data and understand what story it's telling in order to make improvements. An easy way to get started with analyzing your data is to focus on the Google Analytics automated insights. We'll go over three simple ways to analyze data using automation built into Google Analytics.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/google-analytics-automated-insights/
What role does Quora play in digital marketing? Can Quora help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Here are three ways how Quora can benefit your site.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-quora-can-benefit-your-site/
Getting natural backlinks to your website is one of the most difficult parts of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). And many consider backlinks to be a strong ranking factor. There is a tool called Help a Reporter Out (HARO) that can help streamline this process. Let's dig into how to get HARO backlinks to improve SEO.View the full article with the links here: https://clearpath.online/resources/haro-backlinks/
One of the most challenging parts about blogging is being consistent. And consistency happens to be an important piece. One of the best ways to tackle this is to create a blog content calendar. We'll go over everything you need to know to create a content calendar for your blog.View the full article and download the free template here: https://clearpath.online/resources/blog-content-calendar/
For several years now there has been a lot of chatter about the importance of responsive web design. As the years go on mobile continues to be even more important, and so does responsive design. But, why is responsive web design important? What is it and how does it impact SEO? Let's discuss four reasons why responsive design is important.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/why-is-responsive-web-design-important/
Split tests are fun. They allow you to test your assumptions and make changes that you can be sure make sense for your audience. A split test is when you have two variations of a page on your site (or the entire site) running at the same time. You send half of your traffic to one version, then the other half to the other version. A split test tool tracks results and shows which variation produced more conversions. But, how much traffic do you need to run a split test? We'll go over the details you need so you know when you're ready to get started with split testing.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-much-traffic-do-you-need-to-run-a-split-test/
Conversion Rate Optimization (or CRO) is the act of incrementally improving your website in an attempt to increase the number of visitors that complete a desired action. One method of improving conversion rate is to send surveys to your site visitors. Then, leverage the data from survey responses to make website improvements. But how do you send surveys to site visitors and what survey questions improve CRO? This is what we'll discuss.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/what-survey-questions-improve-cro/
One of the best ways to improve your website conversion rate is to observe your site visitors. And one of the easiest ways to do this is with website session recordings. Now, reviewing session recordings can get time consuming. To save time, here's what to look for and what you can learn from session recordings to make an impact.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/website-session-recordings/
Looking at heatmap images from pages on your website is fun. There's lots of color, it seems scientific, but how does it help? You collected this data, you want to analyze it and make sense of it, but what are you looking at? Once you understand heatmaps, you can get deeper insight into how people use your website. Let's go over six ways to increase conversion rate by leveraging website heatmaps.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/website-heatmaps/
You need to be able to identify the pages on your website that need improvement. This is important to improve conversion, boost SEO, and enhance the user experience. We'll walk through how to find the problem pages on your site.View the full article with step-by-step directions here: https://clearpath.online/resources/identify-pages-that-need-improvement/
More and more often you hear about the importance of page speed. You know it's important, but you aren't very technical and it feels like a problem that's out of your hands. Why is page speed important and how fast is your site now? We'll discuss that and how to improve page speed yourself.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-improve-page-speed/
So, you have a blog. And you already know people won't magically appear. Now you need to know how to get traffic for your blog. Here are seven steps you can take to start getting website traffic.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-get-traffic-for-my-blog/
So, everyone knows content is king when it comes to SEO, but why? Let's go over why content matters and why it's an essential piece of your SEO strategy.View the details here: https://clearpath.online/resources/why-is-content-important-for-seo/
It can be difficult to understand when, or if, to add a subdomain to your website. No one wants to spend time making a substantial change, such as adding a subdomain, only to find out it's bad for SEO. But are subdomains actually bad for SEO? Let's dig into how subdomains impact SEO and when to use them.View the details here: https://clearpath.online/resources/are-subdomains-bad-for-seo/
You already know you need to do keyword research to ensure you're writing about topics people are searching for. But how many SEO keywords should you use on each page? Here are five tips to help you determine the right keywords for each page on your site.View the details here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-many-seo-keywords-should-i-use/
You're already aware you should be writing weekly blog articles. But how do you write them so they rank well on search engines? Here are ten tips to guide you on how to write for SEO.View the full article here: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-write-for-seo/
When you want to learn something new, books are a great place to start. Does this apply to SEO as well? Can I learn SEO from a book, and, if so, which book? Here's how to choose the best books for SEO.View the full article: https://clearpath.online/resources/best-books-for-seo/
Blogging takes time, which is limited for an entrepreneur. So, when you're starting and building your blog, you'll likely be wondering, How often should I blog for my business? The answers to this range anywhere from daily to monthly. Let's go over how to determine the frequency that makes the most sense for you and your site.View the full article: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-often-should-i-blog-for-my-business/
People visiting your website should have a good user experience regardless of the browser or device they are using to access your website. You've confirmed everything looks good for you, but how do you make sure everything looks great for everyone who visits? Here's how to check browser compatibility of a website to ensure everything works as intended for all visitors.View the full article: https://clearpath.online/resources/how-to-check-browser-compatibility-of-a-website/
When you're first starting out with WordPress, it can be confusing to understand when to create a post and when to create a page. Although they may seem similar at first, each has a distinct purpose. Let's dig into what you need to know about WordPress pages vs posts by outlining the four key differences.View the details here: https://clearpath.online/resources/wordpress-pages-vs-posts/
Choosing a name for your blog can be difficult. Should you think of a clever brand name? Or should your blog name be your personal name? As for most digital marketing questions, the answer is “it depends.” There are pros and cons to consider for each choice. Let's go over these pros and cons and then discuss when to use a personal name and when to use a brand name for your blog.View the details here: https://clearpath.online/resources/should-my-blog-be-my-name/
Let's start at the beginning. What is a blog? Aren't blogs those websites people use to talk about themselves and rant? Why would I want one for my business?A blog contains regularly updated informational content which is displayed on a website. The blog article topics are generally related to the overall focus of the website. Of course, you can choose to rant about your day, but that isn't commonly found on business blogs.Here's what you need to know about blogs.View the details here: https://clearpath.online/resources/what-is-a-blog/
Clear URLs can help both people and search engines better understand what the webpage will be about. But what makes a URL clear? And what is the best URL structure for SEO? Here, I present 10 tips you can follow to create user- and search-engine-friendly URLs.View the details here: https://clearpath.online/resources/best-url-structure-for-seo/