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Hey friend,

Ready to make search engines like Google your blog's new best friend? Although SEO is complicated, it doesn’t have to be intimidating. In this email, I’ll show you a few simple things you can do to make a huge difference to your organic traffic. 

Why SEO matters (beyond just rankings)

Yes, SEO helps you show up in search results. But good SEO practices are really about:

• Understanding your audience — The keywords people search for reveal their deeper needs, which you should address in your content.
• Writing naturally — Yes, you want to use keywords in your posts. But focus on creating genuinely helpful content, and the search engines will reward you.
• Long-term growth — A strong SEO foundation means your blog posts will keep attracting readers long after you hit publish.

Simple SEO 101

All SEO starts with keywords. Not just random words but terms your ideal reader actually searches for. The free versions of tools like SEM Rush, Hrefs, and Ubersuggest can help you figure out what those terms are. If you use WordPress, try the Yoast SEO plugin to simplify the search engine optimization process.

Deal alert: AppSumo recently added an SEO tool to its platform — KWHero. I haven’t tried it, but KWHero has great reviews by other Sumolings. Plus, AppSumo offers a crazy-good 60-day, money-back guarantee, so I never hesitate to recommend AppSumo products. 

Where to put keywords?

In addition to naturally weaving keywords into your blog post text, also put them in your:

• Blog post titles
• H2 and H3 headings
• Image captions
• Image alt text

Using keywords in your blog posts is not about tricking Google. It's really about letting Google know to associate your page with the keywords you want. 

And ultimately, because Google values in-depth, informative content, write for humans first and search engines second. If you focus on providing value to your readers, SEO will become a natural extension of your blogging. 

Also, keep in mind that it takes time to see results from your SEO efforts. But starting with these basics will set you up for long-term blogging success that grows organically.

In the next email, I’ll be talking about one of my favorite bloggy topics and the cornerstone of a powerful content strategy – something that can boost your SEO and authority in a big way.

Stay tuned!

Write on,

Renae :)