You’ll be Shocked by What These 49,000 People Like You Taught Us About Online Visibility

We’ve reached 2,489,000 downloads for the Squirrly SEO Plugin.

Since day one, we wanted to give you a powerful tool that will help you boost online visibility.

Therefore, our purpose was clear: figure out a way to offer you fantastic PRO tips and best practices that have already worked for tens of thousands of people before you.

49,000 people to be exact. We’ve helped all of them save $40,498,500 USD that they would’ve had to spend on Google AdWords in order to increase their search traffic.

You can either pay a lot of money to get in front, or use SEO and grow organically.

This was just to give you a sense of magnitude. (calculated via: 285 hits * 2.9 USD cost/click. And then multiplied for 49,000 people).

For today, I want you to focus on your first lesson on SEO.

Practical Things You’ll Learn in this Lesson:

  • How to do keyword research for your site
  • How to enable Squirrly to generate your Sitemap
  • How to check your site for SEO Errors

This Lesson will be broken into two Major Chapters:

  1. +285% Increase in Traffic – The Results of using Squirrly SEO
  2. Turning Data into Features That Help You Get Excellent Results

You know; most product owners would have just been happy seeing the impressive increase in traffic of their customers. At Squirrly, however, we don’t just look at charts and numbers; we want to make sure every individual user gets top results. That includes you!

You’ll have to work hard to get all of these great results!

Squirrly SEO is your Assistant for better rankings, not just a plugin that adds two lines of code to each page. Squirrly offers you incredible assistance and helps you push all of your site’s limits.

But for that, you’ll have to use our tools to the maximum; the tools you’ll ONLY find in Squirrly SEO to help you come up with winning strategies:

  • Keyword Planning and Research,
  • SEO Strategy Management,
  • Google Rank Checking,
  • Auditing your Blogging, SEO, Social Media, and Authority.

We included over 200 Tools and Features to help you become the very best. Use them. Push Harder. Implement a Marketing/SEO strategy. Earn Superstar Level in SEO by Ranking on the first page of Google, even if you’re a NON-SEO Person.

Chapter 1: +285% Increase in Traffic – The Results of Using Squirrly SEO

Here is a super handy section of our website. It contains many facts and numbers about the experiments and other related Squirrly SEO information.

At one point, we wanted to find out more about the results that people got after using our features to the maximum. We didn’t include those who didn’t use them in this test, because they obviously had no chance to ever bring in results. No work, no results. That’s just how it goes.

The reason we’re doing this coaching session at Squirrly SEO is to help you work better, smarter and push your limits.

Also, we couldn’t have created the test with people who never optimized an article.

Criteria for the test:

    • We’ve tested to see how articles optimized to at least 50% with the SEO Live Assistant fared against articles that haven’t been optimized.
    • These tests were run on websites where people actually used the features and tools of Squirrly SEO.
    • Each user in this test already had at least 100 Visits / Day to their website.
  • Websites accepted into the test had a Piwik-based analytics solution which was developed by the Squirrly Company during 2013 and 2014.

So What Were The Results?

Pages optimized with Squirrly were getting +285% Increase in Traffic compared to the pages that weren’t optimized!

Some pages and whole websites went up with even +500% increase in traffic. Some of the +500% websites have been outlined and presented in our success stories.

Now, after this amazing experiment was over, it was our job to analyze exactly what they had done with the Squirrly SEO Plugin that made them so successful.

If you will follow the method for achieving The SEO Star Level we’ve created, you’ll be walking in their footsteps, heading towards success. Don’t worry, our Settings Assistant will guide you on the right path.

Chapter 2: Turning Data into Features That Help You Get Excellent Results

I realized that the best way to create a repeatable method was by observing the people who wanted to share data with us in the past. They needed new ways to improve their stats, so we did sort of an automated group learning. 

All the research we’ve made has now been shaped into two different features of Squirrly 2018:

    • The SEO Star;
  • The Online Visibility Score.
You'll be shocked by what we learned about Online Visibility by doing group learning with 49,000 people Click To Tweet

The SEO strategies of these 49,000 people were different. And their results came in various ways, that’s why it’s important to keep moving forward and always check your progress.

We’ve learned a lot more and howto.squirrly.co (the Knowledge Base for Squirrly SEO) is now a valuable resource center. 

But that’s NOT the best part.

The best part is that you will get to see exactly what we’ve learned, namely the aspects necessary for WordPress sites to succeed on search engines and on social media.

We’ve turned these insights into a process, and we came up with an assistant feature that helps you reach SEO Star.

3 Facts You Need to Know about The SEO Star

    • Our tests showed that if you become an SEO Star, you’ll increase your site traffic by about 285%;
    • Reaching SEO Star is mandatory if you want to start being successful with your website. Otherwise, all the efforts of publishing content will go to waste because the website is just not ready yet;
  • Improving your SEO Star level will also help your visibility on both search engines and social media.
By using the #SquirrlySEO plugin, your #WordPress site will be able to reach SEO Stardom Click To Tweet

4 To-Dos for Reaching SEO Star:

In the above image, you see the level you start at after installing the Squirrly plugin.

To improve SEO Star Level, you need to follow the next steps:

1) Do a Keyword Research

Follow all the steps in the presentation to do your first Keyword Research. After, save at least one great keyword opportunity in Briefcase. After doing this, go back to your WordPress dashboard > Squirrly > Dashboard.

You will see that your SEO Star level has gone up!

2) Check for SEO Errors in Your Website

This process enables the Squirrly plugin to find SEO errors that might keep your site from ranking on Google.

For each of them, you can let Squirrly fix it for you. With each issue that you solve, you’ll get closer to the becoming an SEO Star.

3) Get Your Sitemap from Squirrly

Squirrly is the only SEO plugin that supports videos as well as images being included in the sitemap.

It also works great with multisites.

4) Check Your Results in the Following Weeks

You will see your SEO Star increase and that makes all this hard work be worth it. Next, you’ll focus on Google Ranking.

Here’s where you can see the results of the tasks you’ve implemented. Today it’s just to get you familiar with what kind of data you can get here and know where your site is currently ranking.

Bear in mind it takes Google a couple of weeks to do their deep crawling in order for you to see the results of the tasks you completed.

Congrats on Finishing the First Lesson!

As I kept saying throughout this lesson: All that we’ve learned from 49,000 people using both WordPress and Squirrly has been turned into the SEO Star Feature.

And this is the best way to go about this. By taking a step forward to a better site with each action you perform. You don’t have to do it all at once. Or in a single day. But the Squirrly SEO Star will be there to show you how much work you have left.

Your Goals for this Lesson:

  • Do a keyword research for your site
  • Enable Squirrly to generate your Sitemap
  • Check your site for SEO Errors

And you can also go ahead and read about how you can get an amazing Online Visibility Score.

20 Simple Methods to Get Inbound Links for Your Website

inbound links
Do you want to increase your search ranking? Sure you do. Pretty much everyone does. Well, this is where inbound links come in handy.

Now, when I explain how Google sees these links as votes of confidence, I always see folks nodding their heads. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

Then I ask them how they think we should handle the link-building process.

All I get are blank stares.

I thought I’d try to help all of you out there who need some help. Here’s a list of 20 ways you can get inbound links for your website:

1. Ask for a Link Trade

I hesitate to include this one, but the truth is that it still works. However, sending an email to a blogger asking to exchange links is not very reliable. It’s just cheap and fake and fluffs. As a rule, Shout Out Studio tries real hard to avoid this type of marketing.

But if I’m trying to help someone, I’ve got to share. Now let’s move on.

2. Create Foundational Content

Create content that uses foundational information and vocabulary for the industry you want to target.

This post is an example: We wanted to create a list of all the recommended ways to handle business link-building.

That will be foundational content that will engage a broad audience. Content like this is both relevant and worth sharing.

Other examples of similar foundational content would be “Link-Building 101″ or “The Definition of Link-Building”.

3. Run a Contest Centered on Content Creation

Executing a digital contest might not sound like a ton of fun, but it can absolutely transform the online business if done right.

Your contest should involve a big payoff for participants and ask participants to create content across the web. This way, you’re going to end up with an increase in inbound links.

4. White-Hat Link Building

There are several agencies out there who specialize in building massive amounts of links for their clients. Most of these folks are submitting links to Squidoo lens and other sites they keep up with.

Beware of anyone who does this for far too little money.

Manually building these links takes time and if you’re paying $5, you’re probably getting bad service.

5. Directory Submissions

There is a load of directories across the web. Use these as places to list your website and give a business description. Here you can find a list of  Free Directory Submission Sites where you can submit your website.

Directory submissions can cost money, but it can be VERY VERY worth it.

I’ve worked with businesses who hesitated to pay to be included in a directory. Well, it was – in fact – links from those paid directories that drove new business to their site.

6. Ego Bait – Create a List of Industry Experts

“Ego Bait” is a phrase used to describe the method of enticing engagement with rewards that play to the target’s ego.

This is how it works:

  • Create a list of the top 20 bloggers within your industry
  • Create a page on your website with a list and description of the blogs. Be sure to include links to their site
  • Create a sidebar badge that those bloggers can place within their sidebar
  • Lastly, contact each blog alerting them to their inclusion on the list and share the badge with them. Most bloggers love showing these on their sidebar or “about” page.

7. Think like a Publicist

Getting yourself some larger press coverage can produce a load of potential inbound links. Getting yourself mentioned on an industry website or even within the newspaper can build links back to your site.

8. Guest Post on another Site

Many bloggers love to have others help them create content. Find relevant blogs and see if they’ll allow you to guest post. Have two or three articles ready to go when you approach the blog.

Ensure that your proposed content fits will be relevant to their audience.

Almost 100% of guest blog posts include links pointed to the author’s website.

Make sure you optimize them first by using the best keywords

9. Syndicate Articles

There are many places for you to syndicate your blog content across other channels. Folks in the SEO community often disagree on the effectiveness of syndicating articles. Google penalizes for duplicate content across the web but rewards inbound links.

Shout Out Studio doesn’t recommend this method to our clients, but I know folks that have used it very successfully.

If you’re looking for places to syndicate your RSS feed, the Social Media Today Community is a great place to start.

10. Publish Press Releases

To release online Press Releases, you can use services such as:

It can put information about your business in the hands of journalists who can distribute the content all over the web.

These articles can include links back to your site. Thus, you could earn thousands of inbound links if these online press releases get distributed well.

11. Submit an Article to an Industry News Site

It’s similar to guest posting. However, it focuses on reaching out to some of the top industry blogs and submitting an interesting/timely article. That will enable you to receive an inbound link.

Links that get in front of your targeted audience are great for search, but the referral traffic is even better.

How to optimize your articles for both Search Engines bots and Humans

12. Think like a Local Business

Grab links from your local Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, and the local library. They are considered trustworthy by the local community and your site can benefit from getting exposure on them.

13. Use Your Partners

Develop business relationships with non-competing businesses in the same field.

You can use these relationships online and offline. For instance, you can share links and distribute each other’s business cards.

Manufacturers, vendors or retailers associated with your business may be willing to link to you from their website. That’s especially true if you write a review or conduct an interview with them.

14. Answer Questions to Get Inbound Links

Sites like Yahoo! Answers, Quora & Google Groups allow you to respond to questions. That gives you an opportunity to provide relevant links back to your site within your answer.

Answering questions effectively will give you credibility in front of a potential audience. Also, you’ll gain inspiration for future blog posts by

15. Use the Pro Link-Builder’s Secret Weapon: Squidoo

Link building agencies often just add links to your website from pages they curate on Squidoo. Well, did you know it only takes 15 minutes to set up a topical Squidoo page?

Be sure to include expert information and popular, useful tools for your field. Also, don’t forget to link back to your website.

16. Build a Collection of Tools

Folks are often searching for useful online tools. Whether it’s SEO tools, mortgage calculators or Body Fat Calculators, these are valuable for them. Plus, they often love to share with their audience.

So, start building an information-rich list of tools relevant for your audience. That can earn you some really powerful inbound links. 

17. Review Products, Apps, and Services

Write a thorough review of an iPhone app, relevant service or a product. Companies are always looking for case studies and testimonials.

After writing your review on your site, be sure to contact the provider to let them know about the review. Also, give them permission to share the content however they want to.

18. Give Away Free Samples

I’ve worked with several companies that have created thousands of links to their site by giving away free samples.

These companies had their giveaways picked-up on “freebie” and “couponing” websites. For hundreds of dollars, these sites received thousands of dollars worth of inbound links.

19. Make Sure You’ve Got Those Social Profiles Filled out

Search engines are relying heavily on social networks to verify and give authority to their rankings.

If you have profiles filled out on relevant websites, you’re letting search engines know you’re legitimate. Also, most profiles allow you to link back to your site.

20. Let People Share Your Content

Creating great content is critical. Making sure it’s share-worthy should be at the forefront of your mind when scheming new ideas for images, blog posts & videos.

The next thing you should do is communicate clearly that you’re OK with folks sharing/using your content & images. However, specify that they need to attribute the content with a link back to you.

If you’re using original content, this will help you spread your content as well as increase inbound links for your site. (Special thanks goes to InboundMarketingAgents.com for this idea!)

Conclusion

If you start with this list and work through even a few of these steps, I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the difference in the referral traffic and search engine traffic you receive.

Read more:

7 Surprising Numbers That Will Empower Your WordPress SEO

 How your SEO techniques and Social Media Strategy Intertwine