keywords – Jean's Writing

Well, it’s the end of another year.

And as your reading to ring in 2018 you may want to see how your blog did during 2017.

First, do what I did, Check those WordPress Stats.

In 2016, I published 222 posts, with 16,046 views. In 2017, I published 172 posts with 14,636 views. Not too bad, considering, in 2017 I cut back my blogging to 3 times a week.

Understanding blog ranking, blog stats, and keywords can help improve your blog views.

There are lots of ways to check your blog stats and ranking. Websites that show which keywords work best for your posts.

Some of these tools I understand and some I are a bit over my head. But most of them are a big time suck. So bloggers, beware. Look, if your curious but don’t get mired in the muck. Or like me, you’ll end up with a big headache.

There are a few free services and free trials to help you figure out all this stuff.

For instance…

GOOGLE TRENDS – Find out which keywords or subject are trending.

SERPSTATS – Website analysis and Domain ranking. Plus which top page/posts on your blog had the highest visibility.

KEYWORD RANK CHECKER on SERPS website- Discover the average monthly searches for a keyword and the cost-per-click (CPC).

KEYWORD RESEARCH – Helps discover which keywords are working on your blog.

WORD TRACKER – Find out which words are searched the most.

Bloggers, tell me…

Did you check your stats for 2017?

Did you fare better or worse?

Do you understand Keywords and Stats? (I’ll be honest, I don’t.)

I HOPE YOU’LL TAKE A MINUTE TO FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

The shopping frenzy has started.

If you’re like me, you’ve burned up Google and Amazon, searching for just the right gifts.

Late last night I was doing just that as I hunted for just the right gift. After a lot of junk popped up, unrelated to the item I wanted, a question began to germinate in my brain.

What pops up when someone Googles a subject I’ve blogged about? Or me, or my books?

If someone wants to know about ISBNs, will they find my blog?

Every writer hopes their books will appear on the first page of Amazon, and every blogger wants their blog to appear on the first page of Google search.

So how do we accomplish this?

Tag Words!

These little devils are more important than I ever realized. But don’t let the thought of the dreaded SEO scare you. Think of it more as waving at the internet shouting, “look, I’m over here.”

Picking the right keyword or tag for each blog and your book determines how quickly someone can find them.

After a lot of reading and research here’s what I’ve figured out.

Keywords and tags are the same things.
But categories are not the same as tags or keywords.
Tag your title. (If you’re writing about book reviews, make sure to use the keywords “book reviews.”
It’s important to research keywords. This doesn’t take a lot of work, simply use Google to see which words are busy or if your blog is popping. Or go to SEO Book Keyword Research Tool for more help.
Compound and plural words research different from simple and singular words. Such as, key word vs. keyword or keywords.

Now go Google yourself, your blog, and your keywords.

What did you find?

Are you set? Can people locate you easily?

Leave a comment or click the “write me” tab or look for me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on, and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.