What words are working for you?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Henry on September 2, 2009 at 7:32pm

Firstly check how many times (approx) your keywords are searched for: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

If the words are searched at least a few times a month, the keywords are probably worth targeting. "Travelers library" doesn't make much sense to me. Like you said, people probably search on the destination they are looking for "paris guide book".

Search engine rankings are mostly influenced by the inbound links you have to your site. You need to work on getting more links.

Permalink Reply by Diogo Slov on September 2, 2009 at 9:02pm

Hello Vera,

I took a quick look at your site. The first issue I see is that "travel library" is a very competitive keyword. There are approximately 18,000 searches a month for that word and 361,000 competing pages for the exact term.

Ideally you want the searches number to be anywhere between 1,000-5,000 and the competing pages below 10,000 competitors. That way it should be easier to rank for the terms you are targeting.

Another thing. I really like your About Me page: it's concise and says what's needed to be said, in professional terms. However, I do find your About The Library page a bit confusing. I don't know, instantly, what the library is about. I mean, what is your main goal with the website? Is it a social place where people hang out to share book indications? ("Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. Join the discussion. I want to hear your recommendations for additions to my travel library.")

But your website also talks about travels.

The affiliate programs I see on the sidebar are also related to both subjects.

The Welcome blurb mentions both targets and makes things clear, although it could be a bit higher above the fold (ATF). Dump the Mac User thingy, your ATF space is very precious. You can also place it under the fold is you wish to keep it.

Another thing that could be ATF is your Twitter badge -- specially is you want to socialize.

As for affiliate programs, my suggestion goes like this:
- title of your post: "Book Title Review", as simple as that, because that's what people type in Google.

Overall, build more links to your site. Article marketing is great for that. About 25% of the links you build should point to your domain name, http://atravelerslibrary.com/, and "travel library" as the anchor text. The other 75% of the link building efforts should point to specific pages inside your website. Ezine Articles allows two links on their resource box, make sure to use both.

As for article ideas, you can rewrite some of your own blog posts. Write articles with 350-400 words, focussed in one subject at a time, and use both links at the your resource box. Don't over optimize these articles (like I recommended you do on your blog posts), otherwise the articles will outrank your blog posts. And that defeats the purpose. :-)

Vera, I think I'm talking about too many things at once. Pardon me. Feel free to ask questions about any of the subjects I'm discussing, I'd be glad to make them clear for you.

Cheers,
Diogo

Permalink Reply by Vera Marie Badertscher on September 21, 2009 at 9:20pm

Hi Diogo: It was so good of you to reply in such detail. I was not ignoring you, I have been doing some traveling, and don't check this site as often as I should. You have a lot of good ideas, and I'm going to put some in to practice just as soon as possible. (Will move the Amazon ad for Mac software down and the welcome message up.But that's a dilemma, too, because advertising does much better above the fold.)

I have read many times the recommendation to place articles in these non-paying sites in order to get incoming links and promotion for the blog, but for a freelance travel writer, that goes against the grain. I'm willing to take more time and use exchanges of guest posts to help build links.

Diogo: You lost me when you said "As for affiliate programs" and then talked about titling posts.

Thanks again to both of you.

I agree that traveler's library is not a good keyword, and I don't think of it as one. Instead, I use travel literature, travel books, and place names (limited to an individual post's subject matter).

Both you and Mike suggest that traveler's library is not a good keyword, but you don't suggest other words I should be concentrating on. I have tried the analysis that Mike suggests, but just got more confused. Travel is hopeless because of the competition. Travel books is difficult because it is searched for in the context of booking travel. travel literature seems to fall inside Diogo's suggested parameters.

Is there anything wrong with emphasizing the place name that is being discussed? That always sweeps in some searchers, although not many.