SEO is writing this particular post worth it?

[LiveEntrepreneur]

So I am using the weekends to write blog posts and I have the most time to do them so will try and write a few over the next 2 days. I wrote one today that was 2,400 words and I am aiming for this keyword that has monthly 90 avg. monthly searches and low competition which is good. Though I looked at my competitors on Google for that keyword and realized he wrote a 3000-word article so, in this case, I would usually write 3,500 words to beat the competition but my question is that for this keyword volume is it even worth it? Keep in mind in my head I'm thinking to my self 'that's too much effort'.

 

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[lowtek]

The length of the post won't really matter. Keep in mind that the days of slapping up blog posts and getting instant traffic are behind us. You have to do be generating back links, at least from the main social sites.

 

[LiveEntrepreneur]

The length of the post won't really matter. Keep in mind that the days of slapping up blog posts and getting instant traffic are behind us. You have to do be generating back links, at least from the main social sites.

Could you site a source for this? From what I've read google wants more indepth content?

 

[GigMistress]

So I am using the weekends to write blog posts and I have the most time to do them so will try and write a few over the next 2 days. I wrote one today that was 2,400 words and I am aiming for this keyword that has monthly 90 avg. monthly searches and low competition which is good. Though I looked at my competitors on Google for that keyword and realized he wrote a 3000-word article so, in this case, I would usually write 3,500 words to beat the competition but my question is that for this keyword volume is it even worth it? Keep in mind in my head I'm thinking to my self 'that's too much effort'.

I know there are a lot of stats about the length of posts/pages that do best on Google on average and all that, and I'm not disputing that on average those things may be true. But, I've been ranking well for terms far more competitive than what you're describing here with 600-1,000 word pages and posts for years, and the needle didn't drop at all when all the talk about the length of pages kicked in.

Even assuming that page length plays a role, that certainly doesn't mean that the longest page wins--it's just one factor, and there's no reason in the world to think edging out your competitor in word count means you'll rank better.

As to the keyword volume being worth the effort, it depends on the phrase and what the people who make that search are looking for. 20 monthly searches could be worth the effort if almost everyone who types in that phrase is looking for exactly what you're selling and the lifetime value of a converted visitor is significant.

 

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[Timmy C]

So I am using the weekends to write blog posts and I have the most time to do them so will try and write a few over the next 2 days. I wrote one today that was 2,400 words and I am aiming for this keyword that has monthly 90 avg. monthly searches and low competition which is good. Though I looked at my competitors on Google for that keyword and realized he wrote a 3000-word article so, in this case, I would usually write 3,500 words to beat the competition but my question is that for this keyword volume is it even worth it? Keep in mind in my head I'm thinking to my self 'that's too much effort'.

SEO takes a while to rank, not that I know a great deal between good SEO and bad.

Any faster ways you could get traffic?

A multidimensional approach perhaps.

Google ads, social media, Reddit and forums aswell as your SEO for example.

 

[Fid]

It's not about the number of words per se. It's about writing comprehensive content that satisfies users' search intent.

Write a 1000 words article that is dense in value and you will outrank 3000 words of only-somehow-related gibberish stuffed with keywords.

Ask yourself: what does the user searching for say "how to prepare for a marathon" really need?
A 500-word intro on history of marathons?
A list of rules for marathon runs?
Or a checklist of 25 things they need to do/buy/achieve to prepare for a marathon?

Write a comprehensive article that provides lots of value.
A side effect? It will be quite long, probably 2000+ words long.

I've done that for my clients and hit top#5 overnight.

The question is this – is 90 searches per month really worth it?

 

[DoTheWork]

The average monthly search volume numbers tend to be misleading in my experience. I have an auto detailing blog from a year ago, and many of the keywords that I rank for bring in double, triple, or more than the traffic that the search volume claims.
This could also go inversely, where there is less volume than what it states, but I've noticed it more in a positive direction.

 

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[Andy Black]

What’s your goal? To get email signups from the page? To make direct sales from the page? Something else?

For some of our clients we get them to create a sparse landing page to collect email addresses in exchange for some lead magnet. Then we run ads on Google to the page and see what folks searched for the most and how many swap their email for the lead magnet.

A problem we always seem to run into is that clients put waaay to much content into the landing page (squeeze page), and waaay too much time and effort into the lead magnet.

Wait till you can get visitors to the page before spending any time trying to improve the signup-rate.

Wait till you get email signups before spending lots of time on the lead magnet. And maybe people would prefer a checklist to an 85 page eBook anyway.

Heck, I even did this as a test last month and documented it in my YouTube progress thread. I just wanted to test the funnel so trickled folks from ads on Google to the squeeze page and 5% signed up (for a total of 14 email signups and about €14 spend). I then turned it off as I want to figure out how to do this from ads on YouTube. My budget was only €5/day.

I’ll write hundreds of words a day in this forum to answer people’s specific questions. I won’t write hundreds of words a day on some site I own in the hopes that people will eventually find them, like them, and act on them.

What’s your goal? Can you start nearer to the end?

 

[LiveEntrepreneur]

I know there are a lot of stats about the length of posts/pages that do best on Google on average and all that, and I'm not disputing that on average those things may be true. But, I've been ranking well for terms far more competitive than what you're describing here with 600-1,000 word pages and posts for years, and the needle didn't drop at all when all the talk about the length of pages kicked in.

Even assuming that page length plays a role, that certainly doesn't mean that the longest page wins--it's just one factor, and there's no reason in the world to think edging out your competitor in word count means you'll rank better.

As to the keyword volume being worth the effort, it depends on the phrase and what the people who make that search are looking for. 20 monthly searches could be worth the effort if almost everyone who types in that phrase is looking for exactly what you're selling and the lifetime value of a converted visitor is significant.

Ah, the keywords im targeting im just targetting to help grow my site, I guess. There are words that I am targeteting on my product pages which are direct keywords I guess. Am I doing this wrong? There is only so many blogs i can make on my products. Let's say im selling dog toys.

I might choose a keyword like "dog care routine" and write an article about that. But I am not trying to achieve sales with it. Am I approaching this wrong?

 

[Andy Black]

The average monthly search volume numbers tend to be misleading in my experience. I have an auto detailing blog from a year ago, and many of the keywords that I rank for bring in double, triple, or more than the traffic that the search volume claims.
This could also go inversely, where there is less volume than what it states, but I've noticed it more in a positive direction.

I see this a lot too. I take search volumes estimates with a pinch of salt. Sometimes it’s because of extra volumes from similar searches to the one(s) you’re targeting.

My preferred way to get more useful data is to run a quick test with Google Ads to buy impressions data.

 

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[LiveEntrepreneur]

i

SEO takes a while to rank, not that I know a great deal between good SEO and bad.

Any faster ways you could get traffic?

A multidimensional approach perhaps.

Google ads, social media, Reddit and forums aswell as your SEO for example.

im working on google ads, facebook ads, and instagram slowly. Getting consistent sales with the first 2, no profit yet but sales almost everyday sometimes everyday and multiple sales.

 

[LiveEntrepreneur]

What’s your goal? To get email signups from the page? To make direct sales from the page?

For some of our clients we get them to create a sparse landing page and to collect email addresses in exchange for some lead magnet. Then we run ads on Google to the page and see what folks searched for the most and how many swap their email for the lead magnet.

A problem we always seem to run into is that clients put waaay to much content into the landing page (squeeze page), and waaay too much time and effort into the lead magnet.

Wait till you can get visitors to the page before spending any time trying to improve the signup-rate.

Wait till you get email signups before spending lots of time on the lead magnet. And maybe people would prefer a checklist to an 85 page eBook anyway.

Heck, I even did this as a test last month and documented it in my YouTube progress thread. I just wanted to test the funnel so trickled folks from ads on Google to the squeeze page and 5% signed up (for a total of 14 email signups and about €14 spend). I then turned it off as I want to figure out how to do this from ads on YouTube. My budget was only €5/day.

I’ll write hundreds of words a day in this forum to answer people’s specific questions. I won’t write hundreds of words a day on some site I own in the hopes that people will eventually find them, like them, and act on them.

What’s your goal? Can you start closer to the end?

To be honest Andy, my 2nd last response I just wrote I have no idea what the goal is, I feel lost. I think my thought process was when going for the keywords that low comp, high traffic it shouldnt be too hard to get clicks to my site. but NONE of my keywords or almost none for my blog posts have nothing to do with my products if that makes sense.

 

[Andy Black]

To be honest Andy, my 2nd last response I just wrote I have no idea what the goal is, I feel lost. I think my thought process was when going for the keywords that low comp, high traffic it shouldnt be too hard to get clicks to my site. but NONE of my keywords or almost none for my blog posts have nothing to do with my products if that makes sense.

People on Google are typically looking to buy something, or looking for information.

Start with the buyers? Try to sell your product to people who search using buyer search terms. These search terms will *typically* be lower volume and higher value (resulting in higher CPCs and difficulty in ranking organically).

While you’re testing these campaigns, you can run try to help the info-seekers. Guess what you offer people who are searching for information? That’s right... information. Possibly a lead magnet in exchange for their email address.

If you do offer a lead magnet then make it something that reduces complexity rather than increases it. A one page checklist is easier for you to produce, and is easier for them to consume. They may also prefer to download the “Free QuickStart Checklist” to the “Free 200 Page Comprehensive eBook”.


*My* goal is to add value, and get paid. It’s not to “write articles”, “get traffic”, or even “get email signups”.

If I was to write 3,000 words then I’d need to be sure it adds value to at least one person, somewhere. Personally, I let the “get paid” part come in its own time. I have faith in the “add value, get paid” process.

Personally, I have no patience for SEO. Someone right now is searching online with cash in hand to buy your product, or with a coffee in hand looking to educate themselves. Are they going to find you?

 

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[SEBASTlAN]

Write the best possible answer to the query. Word length is irrelevant.

 

[GigMistress]

Ah, the keywords im targeting im just targetting to help grow my site, I guess. There are words that I am targeteting on my product pages which are direct keywords I guess. Am I doing this wrong? There is only so many blogs i can make on my products. Let's say im selling dog toys.

I might choose a keyword like "dog care routine" and write an article about that. But I am not trying to achieve sales with it. Am I approaching this wrong?

No, that's not wrong. It's smart to draw in traffic from people who generally fall into your market (in your example, dog owners). But, the main value in those long-tail keywords (the more specific phrases with small numbers) is that the right ones will attract people who are more likely to be interested in your product/service.

So, following your example, let's say that "tiny squeaky dog toy" only has 90 searches/month, but you sell a very small squeaky dog toy and not everyone carries the really small one that's great for 50-pound dogs. In that case, 90 searches per month is worth investing time in, because most of the people who search on that term are going to be looking to purchase something you're offering and are likely to click through and become customers.

I would say, though (and as in most other areas, reasonable people may differ) that it's not worth investing significant time in chasing a specific long-tail term that doesn't relate directly to your offering, because while visits to and sharing of that post will help build awareness in your audience, it will happen very painstakingly with low-volume keywords.

What I do (again, experts differ) is to focus the main energy on a combination of high-volume keywords that will draw larger audiences and low-volume keywords that will draw customers. The low-volume general interest keywords just get worked in as secondary terms in other posts or get shorter posts more geared toward sharing. Often, those shorter posts rank well anyway, just from providing good content (and that's all the more likely if they get shared a lot).

Keep in mind, too, that while writing 3,500 words on dog care routines may (and I emphasize that's a "may," not a "will") help you rank higher in search, the vast majority of people searching that phrase don't want to read 3,500 words.

 

[GoodluckChuck]

The best way to do content marketing with SEO is to publish articles and watch the results. This is the only way to really have a clear path forward.

The estimates you get from tools and Google are pretty inaccurate especially with low volume. These days the only metrics I really pay attention to come from Google Search Console. There, I can see exactly how many impressions there are for my articles.

Once I see what Google thinks, I make updates and changes to articles that make them worthy of being read. Up to that point the idea is to get the content up there even if it isn't 100% good.

If you post 10 articles you think will work and then wait 6 months, you'll see which ones are working so you can make smart decisions moving forward.

TLDR: The best strategy is to publish a bunch of "feeler" articles and pay attention to the analytics to see what's really going on out there. Don't worry so much about details like word count until you are already competing for traffic.

 

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[LiveEntrepreneur]

I

People on Google are typically looking to buy something, or looking for information.

Start with the buyers? Try to sell your product to people who search using buyer search terms. These search terms will *typically* be lower volume and higher value (resulting in higher CPCs and difficulty in ranking organically).

While you’re testing these campaigns, you can run try to help the info-seekers. Guess what you offer people who are searching for information? That’s right... information. Possibly a lead magnet in exchange for their email address.

If you do offer a lead magnet then make it something that reduces complexity rather than increases it. A one page checklist is easier for you to produce, and is easier for them to consume. They may also prefer to download the “Free QuickStart Checklist” to the “Free 200 Page Comprehensive eBook”.


*My* goal is to add value, and get paid. It’s not to “write articles”, “get traffic”, or even “get email signups”.

If I was to write 3,000 words then I’d need to be sure it adds value to at least one person, somewhere. Personally, I let the “get paid” part come in its own time. I have faith in the “add value, get paid” process.

Personally, I have no patience for SEO. Someone right now is searching online with cash in hand to buy your product, or with a coffee in hand looking to educate themselves. Are they going to find you?

I do use the buyer search terms for Google ads but for SEO I think I will need a lot more backlinks before I start to rank for them.

You said the goal is to add value. That's the goal, but what is your method? Isn't it with SEO, or email campaigns, etc?

 

[Andy Black]

I

I do use the buyer search terms for Google ads but for SEO I think I will need a lot more backlinks before I start to rank for them.

You said the goal is to add value. That's the goal, but what is your method? Isn't it with SEO, or email campaigns, etc?

My methods for adding value?

Posting content as responses to people’s questions, observing where it helps and where I repeat myself, and then creating articles from that and posting again where it will help people immediately. I only post in this forum, Facebook groups, and a bit on YouTube which I’m trying to figure out.

What I personally don’t do is post content to my own website hoping people will find it from Google. If I want people to find something from Google then I’ll run ads to it.

I don’t do email marketing. I have a paid email newsletter where I send occasional updates and musings. This isn’t marketing though, the newsletter is the product and I’m not upselling anything else.

I chat with people a lot. Mostly on Zoom and sometimes in person. Some of these conversations are recorded and put on Soundcloud. Hopefully people get value from those too.

For clients, I add value by helping them generate leads. It doesn’t always work out, but hopefully they have a better idea of the process if we part company.

 

[Tiger TT]

So I am using the weekends to write blog posts and I have the most time to do them so will try and write a few over the next 2 days. I wrote one today that was 2,400 words and I am aiming for this keyword that has monthly 90 avg. monthly searches and low competition which is good. Though I looked at my competitors on Google for that keyword and realized he wrote a 3000-word article so, in this case, I would usually write 3,500 words to beat the competition but my question is that for this keyword volume is it even worth it? Keep in mind in my head I'm thinking to my self 'that's too much effort'.

I wouldn't spend time writing that much for a 90 visit/month keyword.

But you can find all the variations of that main keyword. Maybe then it becomes 800 people searching for those keywords and since you have many different variations of the keyword it will be easier to write the article.

 

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[LiveEntrepreneur]

My methods for adding value?

Posting content as responses to people’s questions, observing where it helps and where I repeat myself, and then creating articles from that and posting again where it will help people immediately. I only post in this forum, Facebook groups, and a bit on YouTube which I’m trying to figure out.

What I personally don’t do is post content to my own website hoping people will find it from Google. If I want people to find something from Google then I’ll run ads to it.

I don’t do email marketing. I have a paid email newsletter where I send occasional updates and musings. This isn’t marketing though, the newsletter is the product and I’m not upselling anything else.

I chat with people a lot. Mostly on Zoom and sometimes in person. Some of these conversations are recorded and put on Soundcloud. Hopefully people get value from those too.

For clients, I add value by helping them generate leads. It doesn’t always work out, but hopefully they have a better idea of the process if we part company.

Ah ok with Google ads at the start aren't you worried that it won't be profitable? Or is it a bit of a gamble hoping that you will be some time down the road?

 

[Andy Black]

Ah ok with Google ads at the start aren't you worried that it won't be profitable? Or is it a bit of a gamble hoping that you will be some time down the road?

Me personally, I'd set a $5/day budget and run it for a few days and see what the data tells me.


My overall strategy and process is here:

• How to get profitable or fail fast with AdWords

Check out this post and a few more to see me messing about with low budget campaigns for a week, then turning them off to have a think about what I've learned and how to "pivot" slightly going forward.

• EXECUTION - Figuring out YouTube (post 43 onwards)
• I acquired 14 email signups from ads on Google.
• I got 7k views of a video on YouTube (but no signups or anything because I didn't have a CTA).
• I'm now thinking how to convert YouTube views into email subscribers.
• Then I'll figure out how to add value to the email subscribers, and get paid.

We're doing exactly this process for a client who has lots of blog articles that are no longer getting them the 30 email signups a day that they used to (since some Google algo changes). Their goal is to get email signups in exchange for their lead magnet. We've got them to create a dedicated landing page for Google Ads visitors (so we can amend that without affecting any of the SEO on their main pages), and we've got them to *reduce* the amount of content on this squeeze page.