The One Thing That Will Help You Create Content That Captivates and Converts

Let’s get started. Lauren, welcome to the Crank It Up podcast. I’m so excited to have you here as part of our series of working smarter, not harder in January. And I think what we’re gonna talk about today is gonna be so beneficial. We’re gonna talk about something that is important, but also feels a little bit like a foreign language.

I know it did to me. Maybe others are much more knowledgeable than I am. It’s like you know it, but you don’t really know it kind of topic.

The Key to Engaging Content: Strategies for Captivating and Converting Audiences

So today, we’re talking about SEO. And I think, if you are in any kind of business, any kind of entrepreneur, just a person on the planet, you’ve heard this term, this acronym, SEO.

And you think maybe you know what it is, but you don’t really know, and you don’t know how to use it, and you don’t know why you should use it. And Lauren is my resident expert in this, and she’s also, you know, a Disney enthusiast, so we have that in common. Also, Broadway. Like, we have so much connective tissue.

Lauren [00:01:26]:
Yes. We do.

Julie [00:01:27]:
I know. There’s so much there. And she’s also really smart on SEO. So you and I have been working together for a little bit on doing some stuff for my website. And you gave a talk in November at Momentum, the conference there for our mutual friend, Lou Mangelo.

And I just would love for you to start the discussion with listeners here on the podcast about what the heck is SEO? And as we’re in January, and we’re starting this new year with new goals, maybe people have some new different goals for their business. How could they start to implement some of this?

So we’ll start wherever you want because you’re the expert. We’ll start wherever you wanna get started talking about it.

Why don’t you give us a little bit of background on you and how you came into this field?

Lauren [00:02:17]:
Absolutely. So I kinda fell into it because another place where we connect is that we are teachers originally. I didn’t teach at a school. I taught ACT and SAT as a tutor while I was pursuing an acting career in LA, and I realized that I really had a passion for sharing knowledge.

I kinda always knew that about myself. And so I started my own business. So I started with a large company, went off on my own, quickly realized, uh-oh. Now that I’m on my own, the leads just aren’t showing up.

Like, I have to do something to, like, get leads. You know, and this is true of any business. You need people finding you when they need you. And I think we were talking before we got on here about network marketing and how, like, there’s this concept that, like, I can just market to my network.

But if you really want a thriving business, you have to build the network. You have to reach new people. You have to bring more people in. So when I went off on my own, I went, Oh, I built it.

They didn’t come. Shoot. Now what? And I was very, very lucky that early on in my career as a digital entrepreneur, there were, like, little bread crumbs sprinkled down the path that I just kept following, and SEO was something that was brought to my attention, and I realized the power very quickly.

Understanding that SEO Works vs. Figuring Out How It Works

Understanding that it works is a different ballgame and then figuring out how it works.

Julie [00:03:45]:
Oh, say that again, sister. Yeah.

Lauren [00:03:48]:
Right? Like, you could be like, cool. High level. This sounds amazing. Uh-oh. Yeah. Now I have to do what? Let me define the term first.

SEO is search engine optimization. And the reason it matters is that when people have problems, they ask uncle Google.

They get in their search bar. They type in either an informational query or a transactional query if Like, hey. I need a Beachbody Coach or a BODi Coach. You know? Right now, we’re in that, like, flux in terms of peep what people call it.

But, you know that when you have a problem, that’s where you go.
Google is a matchmaker to connect people to you and your business

And so SEO, Search Engine Optimization is the way you raise your hand and say, hey. I solved that problem. As a business owner, as an entrepreneur, I solve x problem. Google. Send them to me.

Julie [00:04:40]:
Choose me. Pick me.

Lauren [00:04:42]:
Yeah. Google’s a matchmaker all day long. That’s all he does is matchmaking, and it’s a totally different proposition than social. Social is, like, friendly and fun and, like, you’re just trying to create community and connect and be like, hey. And, also, I have this other thing.

But SEO allows you to show up in the search queries right when people are in a mindset that they already know they need you. It’s a totally different thing, and the most beautiful thing about it for those of us who were time-strapped, is the fact that the long tail effect of it is really powerful.

So once Google realizes, oh, this person’s legit and for real, and there’s a lot of ways that he sort of tracks that.

But once he realizes that, it’s very hard to fall out of his good graces as compared to social media where I think all of us felt at times like, oh, gotta feed the content machine.

Gotta do something because 24 hours have passed. I’m falling out of the bottom of the algorithm. It’s a totally different thing for Google.

And beauty is also a challenge that does take time. So the front end, it feels like, oops, like nothing’s happening. It can feel like crickets.

[00:05:54]:
But once you start to get picked up, oh my gosh. Google, for three years running, delivered 16,000 new users to my digital doorstep in my first company every single month for free. $0 ad spend.

And that was in the college admission space that is so crowded. Like, if I say test prep, you probably think The Kaplans, the Prince Interviews, the Revolution, perhaps. Like, there’s so many names, Khan Academy, they all come to mind. I was still able to stand out in that sphere.

And so highly recommend that if you are intrigued by that, that you take a little time to understand this because it is so powerful, and it’s the kind of thing that, like, self care is so important. This is self care for your business. This is feeding yourself.

Julie [00:06:44]:
I love that.

Lauren [00:06:45]:
It’s continually bringing people through the door right when they need you.

Julie [00:06:50]:
So what I love about what you said if we go back to the very beginning is whatever kind of business owner you are, you need new people. Constantly. You need new people.

And, you know, as a fellow Disney enthusiast, Disney’s a multibillion dollar, multinational company. Right? Most people on the planet have heard of the Disney company. Every single day in my inbox, I get an email from Disney. They’re not taking my business for granted.

Julie [00:07:21]:
They’re not just assuming that I’m coming. They’re constantly, this multibillion dollar, multinational company is constantly looking for new people. Of course, they want their return people, but they’re looking for new. Where’s the first time visitor?

So they’re constant… So if a multibillion dollar multinational company is doing that, that to me is a breadcrumb of a clue that, oh, successful people do this.

I should pay attention to this and figure out how this is gonna look for me in some way. I’m going to adopt the mindset that I need to be on a quest to find new people all the time.

Lauren [00:08:00]:
And have a way to stay connected to them. So you mentioned email, which I know from my dear friend, Paul… he’s amazing, and he’s absolutely someone you should connect with and learn from, because what he does to curate community is really powerful. And make no mistake. Your email list is a community.

However, how do you get people on that list? You know, we hear you build your list. You own your list. The money is in your list, and it’s like, that’s lovely. My mom’s on mine.

Lauren [00:08:35]:
End of story. Yeah. These crickets on the other side. So, how do you bring people to… and keyword research… you can find the exact queries that people are putting into Google.

You can see the data of how many people are searching for that specific term, that specific phrase, that specific question, and you can address it with your website. And then once you do, you can say, and your next right step now that you have this information is and you give something free or you have a paid offer, whatever the case may be.

You are able to optimize the flow with the human beside the data in mind.

And that’s really the power of it all, and it all hooks together. And so I think sometimes we hear, like, oh, I have to do SEO, and then I also have to do this, and then I have to have, like, content.

No. No. No. It’s all one thing. I talk about the organic marketing ecosystem. How does it hang together? How does it flow together? If you’re gonna develop something, let’s make sure that you’re paving the path and rolling out the red carpet.

So it’s not just SEO in a vacuum for SEO’s sake. I don’t care if you get traffic. I care if your bottom line grows, and that’s a larger conversation.

Julie [00:09:52]:
She said what she said. She cares if your bottom line grows. I like that. I like that. Women making money. We like that. There ‘s also another shift in mindset that, yes, I need these new people.

And I also need to, as a business owner who wants my bottom line to grow… I may have to spend a little bit of time creating some processes that will save me time after that. Kinda like meal prep.

You gotta meal prep for your business. So someone’s listening to this. I mean, you know, in my language. So someone’s listening to this, and they’re like, okay. I’m starting to understand. I need this SEO stuff. I wanna be a business owner that makes money.

I want my business to make money because if it doesn’t make money, it’s a hobby.

Lauren [00:10:45]:
Yes.

Julie [00:10:45]:
So I wanted to make some money. Where do I begin?

Search Engine Optimization Begins With Your Website

Lauren [00:10:53]:
So for SEO to work, you have to have a website because websites are what Google dishes up. The power of a website is that you own it. And so, again, in the same sort of vein of you own your email list, are there ways that are being leveraged on social to to build that email list off the social platforms, yes. Absolutely.

And I highly recommend you take advantage of those. But if you wanna be found in Google, you need a website. And so that is step one. And you might go, oh, that sounds hard.

And it’s like, yeah. But one of the things I love about online entrepreneurship, think about what it would cost to rent a storefront on Main Street. We can have these incredible margins. When I sold my first company, I was like, I had never done like, my dad did my finances, so he, like, would do a p and l, and I’d be like, oh, look, there’s they’re it is… we’re in the black.

And he said, yes. Like, great. We never calculated, like, profit margin until we went to sell. We had to have those numbers to position the company for sale, and I was blown away.

Like, it’s unreal. Like, my expenses were, like, 30% of the revenue. It’s like Yeah. There’s, like, nowhere else. I always felt I was born in the wrong time. Yeah. Until I saw that. And I was like, oh, no. I love the Internet. I take it all back.

Julie [00:12:22]:
I love the Internet.

Lauren [00:12:25]:
But if you wanna love the Internet even more, make it work for you. And so a small investment comparatively in putting a digital door step out there.

Like, hang your shingle on the web. It’s great. It’s absolutely a savings, but you do need to do it in a way that is thoughtful.

The cost-effectiveness of investing in a website compared to a physical storefront

Julie [00:12:47]:
And it doesn’t have to look like the Walt Disney World website. Like, take that off your plate right now.

Lauren [00:12:54]:
Don’t make it look like the Walt Disney World website. My God. Like, there will be time out there. I’m like, I just really wanna, like, talk to their web devs and be like, can you speed them up a little? Like, your hierarchy sucks. It’s because it’s a legacy. Like, it’s just built and build and build cobbled and Frankenstein together.

Julie [00:13:12]:
Yes. Yes.

Lauren [00:13:13]:
You know? So it’s fine. Like, it does the job. Nobody’s confused. Right. No. On a Disney site. They’re like, oh, yes. This is what I wanted. But for those of us who don’t have a Disney name, how do we indicate what we’re about, and how do we tell Google? You know?

Julie [00:13:30]:
And make it simple. Keep it simple. Simple.

Lauren [00:13:34]:
Simple. So simple, so streamlined. It doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. In fact, I have a couple of web devs I work with that will design new websites for you for, like, under $5,000, and they’re just simple, you know, five page websites.

If you wanna put in a blog, which you should, that’s an SEO hack. We’ll talk about that. Blogging is not dead. But if you do that and have it done well, there is an outlay.

There is an investment. But to my mind, if I wanna make money on the Internet, I need to have a presence that says, I am here to do business.

And if people don’t trust where they land, they leave.

And so it’s very important to look credible. Listen. If you’re not here to play, you’re here to work, then this isn’t a business expense that is absolutely worth it.

Julie [00:14:25]:
Let’s also just take that concept that you just said that where they land is important, and it needs to look like you’re doing business. I would take that even into social media as well.

Lauren [00:14:37]:
Oh, yeah.

Julie [00:14:38]:
You know, like, are there pictures of your cats, or are you here to do business? What are you selling your cats, or are you here, what are you, what are you doing? Like, so you’re here to do business

I just think that that’s such a powerful mindset. Again, like, are you here to do business? And if so, then everything that you’re putting out there into the world needs to reflect that you’re here to do business.

That doesn’t mean you’re not here to have fun. It means you’re here to do business, which is a different look than just showing up to share some pictures of my family.

Lauren [00:15:16]:
Right. Yeah.

Julie [00:15:18]:
I just love that whole mindset shift. So we’ve got two mindsets just before we’ve even opened a website. 1, you need new people, and 2, you need to show up like you’re doing business.

Lauren [00:15:27]:
Yeah. Yeah.

Julie [00:15:28]:
So now that you’ve decided that, where could someone go if they’re like, I’m handy. I’ll do my own website.

Should You DIY Your Website or Hire A Web Designer?

Lauren [00:15:37]:
So this brings in a conversation around what do you own, and what is the best place to build a website? There are a lot of what are called CMSs, content management systems.

WordPress, which some people have probably heard of, is one of them. That is where I choose to do my business. It is a technically heavy lift on the front end, which is why I highly recommend farming that out to begin with.

You can learn how to update it yourself, but I would not launch a WordPress site if you know nothing about it. The thing that’s powerful about it is that for Google, they’re looking for relevant quality content.

If you build in something like a Squarespace, a Wix, a Kajabi… Here comes the gardener. Sorry. I can’t hear that. I will go like this.

Julie [00:16:27]:
Well, so you know what? The dogs at work too. So here we are. It’s just called life when you work from home.

Lauren [00:16:34]:
The thing about WordPress is that you can control your site speed. You choose your host. You can add plugins that optimize for speed, which is an important thing for Google.

They want you if your site looks like it was built in 1990 and loads like it was built in 1990. It takes 20 seconds for a page to come up. They are not sending you traffic, friends. Or if they are, they’re gonna realize really quickly they made a mistake and get out of there. So…

Julie [00:17:08]:
And so will your customers.

Lauren [00:17:10]:
Yes. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Right, please.

Julie [00:17:13]:
Did you ask me to click twice? No. I’m out. I’m out.

Lauren [00:17:18]:
Yes. Reduce friction, and time is money and time you know, more time waiting for loading and scrolling wheels in doom

No. You need to have a site that functions well. So I like WordPress for that because there’s customizations you can do. If you are handy and you know how to do it, great. If not, have it hired to begin with, but then commit to learning so that all the future updates you can do yourself to some degree.

You might want some scheduled maintenance, that sort of thing. Because I am about being scrappy and bootstrappy. You know? I absolutely understand that having a really lean startup is important until you’re profitable and you have the margins to warrant bringing other people in.

But if there is one expense I can encourage every entrepreneur to invest in. It is that. It absolutely is to have a quality website, I highly recommend WordPress.

Squarespace, Wix, Kajabi, you’re gonna run into trouble, and you’re just gonna have to, like, beg them to speed your site up by moving you to a different server. They might not.

And, also, there’s concerns for some folks about ownership. I have not done my research on this, but I’ve heard every time it comes up around web devs, they’re like, yeah. Except they own your content, which I don’t love that proposition.

So, I don’t know if that is in fact true, but there are rumblings. And so, I yeah. Just doing it yourself is a self hosted WordPress site. That’s the way I would go.

Julie [00:18:46]:
And I think that if you are an entrepreneur, if you’re someone who even if you’ve got a little side hustle, you and you wanna make it into a little bit more because here we are, first month of 2024, we got the whole year to do awesome stuff. Ask your network for a recommendation to build and design you a website.

If you simply put a query out to your colleagues, hey, I’m looking for a website developer. Because I can hear right now in their minds, as they’re listening to this podcast, someone’s going, well, I don’t know anyone who does a website.

Just because you don’t know anyone, doesn’t mean you don’t know anyone. You’ve just never asked. Yeah. So it never comes up.

But chances are if you’re in the entrepreneur space, you probably know someone whether you know that you know someone or not or someone knows someone, and you just need to ask.

You just need to say in your groups, in your threads, in your pods, go directly to your social media, go on your story, post on your Facebook, wherever it might be and go, listen. I’m looking for a website developer, someone who’s got, you know, some options for budgets and keeps it pretty simple. Do you have any recommendations?

You’ll be shocked at the recommendations you will get. You’ll be surprised that, oh, you really do know people.

So I need you, if you’re listening to this, to immediately take that thought out of your head. Right now, I don’t know anyone. You don’t know that you don’t know anyone. You just haven’t asked yet.

Lauren [00:20:05]:
I love that. You don’t know that you don’t know anyone. Yeah. Talk about it. Ask. So many times, we think we’re being totally transparent, and we just haven’t even, like, said the words. Right. It’s crazy.

Julie [00:20:16]:
Right. It’s in our head all the time, but we’ve not actually opened our mouth and said, hey. I’m looking for a website developer.

Lauren [00:20:22]:
Yes. Yes.

Julie [00:20:23]:
And I’m looking for someone who could work within a budget.

Lauren [00:20:26]:
Yes.

Julie [00:20:26]:
Cool. Alright. Cool. Cool. That’s what I’m looking for. And now you get out there, and now you find this person, and you start to develop a website. So how does SEO come into play with all of this?

Lauren [00:20:36]:
Alright. So once you are committed to building a website or committed to refreshing a website you may have already, then you need to look at the data. The data is really important.

The Importance of Keyword Research and Optimizing Your Website

So keyword research is something that I think even if you’re like, I’m not. I don’t really wanna do this SEO stuff, go look at the keyword research or whatever industry you’re in, whatever it is you do.

Go and start searching what you think prospects are typing into Google, and you will find information that is incredibly valuable. So the tool I use is called Ahrefs. Julie got to play with this during that presentation, and she was like, what?

Julie [00:21:18]:
It’s so I mean, it’s so it’s just illuminating. It’s also illuminating. I mean, Connor and I were having so much fun with it because we’re like, oh, maybe we don’t wanna actually type in that, but what’s so interesting is, the stuff you do on that. Yes. The stuff you think might be high hitting maybe isn’t.

Or something else because yes. Just the whole data around that was so Interesting. I was typing in a lot of stuff around, empty nesting and kind of this, like, parenting transitions, parenting grown up children, just all that kind of stuff. This really is interesting what you come up with when you start digging in and actually finding out what people are typing in to then craft what you how you might use it.

The significance of linguistic mirroring and using language that resonates with potential clients.

Lauren [00:22:04]:
Exactly. And so, you know, for me, I think the power is always in those little shifts. Like, sometimes you have the curse of knowledge. Right? So, for example, in my first business, I found “ACT prep course” was what people were looking for, not just “ACT course” or “ACT prep”. And so I was able to shift the language on my site to mirror that.

So we talk sometimes about that, like, psychological thing of, like, know, like, and trust factor And how mirroring like, when we mirror body language, it ingratiates us more. This is linguistic mirroring. You’re able to see what people are using, and you’re able to say, like, I can type this five different ways and see which one is the most important.

A friend of mine, Vincent Pugliese, of Total A Freedom, is a fellow Floridian. He was talking about recurring income, recurring income. He’s big on memberships. And so he talks about creating recurring income. People weren’t searching for “recurring income”. They’re searching for “recurring revenue”.

Julie [00:23:07]:
It’s just one word shift.

Lauren [00:23:09]:
Just one little word. And now, you know, it may maybe it’ll if you’re if you’re writing targeted posts, then it’ll definitely shift it. But just having that language in the hopper can really help and help you just connect better because people feel like, oh, that’s exactly what I call it.

Like, they’re never gonna think that, like, clearly and out loud. Right? But they, like, lean in instead of go like, oh, I don’t want recurring income.

You know? Like, it just reduces friction. So the tool I use, there’s a free version. It’s Ahrefs.

And if you search a h r e f s and then the terms keyword generator, that will show you where you can type in these queries and see the data around there is keyword difficulty, which is a scale of 1 to 100. You want it to be as low as possible.

And there’s a monthly Search Volume. This is the average monthly search volume for the previous 12 months. So if you’re doing something that’s seasonal, Then you need to keep that in mind that it probably has a huge peak. Like, if you do holiday decor, Christmas decor. You’re gonna see the average across 12 months.

You need to know that it’s probably 0 for most of the year, and then it skyrockets and then goes back down. And that’s just the nature of the beast. So understanding this data and then looking at it and going, okay.

Well, if, you know, five people a month they’re searching for recurring income and 5,000 are searching for recurring revenue, that just nudges me in that direction to use a different phrase.

Julie [00:24:46]:
And, you know, I don’t know that these two are connected, but it also helped me a little bit in words that I might use in social media. Because if they’re searching it in Google,

They’re probably also looking for it on Instagram or TikTok or they’re looking for it. So they’re just looking for it in their life. Yeah.

So they’re looking for what it feels like to be an empty nester or whatever. You know? How do I craft a morning routine?

Why is personal development important?

What you know, habits, whatever they might have habits for the new year, whatever they might be searching.

If they’re searching for that on Google, they’re also, whether they’re intentionally or subconsciously looking, they’re looking for it on social media too. Yeah. So why not be using some of those? So that’s another way, like, if you’re thinking, oh my gosh.

Why would I use all this? Well, yes. You’re gonna use it on a website. You’re also gonna start to use that language in your social media as well because all these tools are cohesive.

I’m not talking about my morning routine on my social media and you come to my website and I’m teaching you how to build a boat. Like, everything is cohesive. You know? It’s all one storefront, if you will. So think of it that way too that you’re looking for this data to not just put in your SEO to get to your website, whatever.

You’re also just looking for it to help you better serve the person who’s searching for what you’d like to solve the problem. You know? You’re better serving your client.

Lauren [00:26:11]:
Absolutely. Absolutely. I love that idea of it if it’s the same people in both places.

You can still meet them, and sometimes you run into them at the right time on social media. But if you’re using the language that they already use and information for you to actually serve somebody more appropriately, more and you can find out that they’re asking questions that you never would have guessed.

They’re asking. Maybe they seem too basic or you’re like, oh, that’s really advanced, or they’re using personal development. You know? Like, that phrase is different from self help. Right?

Julie [00:26:44]:
Yes. And very much. Yes.

Lauren [00:26:47]:
You know? How do we just start to weave that in and see the whole picture, see the whole person behind the query because the other thing is if you’re a quality practitioner of whatever it is you do, which I’m sure everyone listening has an amazing gift to give.

Then it does no good if it, like, lives just inside of you. Like, you have to reach out and, like, find the bridge to bring somebody from where they are to what you have that can help them.

And so knowing the language that you can use to reach them, hugely, hugely powerful when it comes to creating content for that person.

Lauren [00:28:36]:
And I have this little phrase that I use a lot that’s just noticing is enough. Sometimes you feel like keyword research, all the spreadsheets, and I’m gonna do all this. And that is helpful.

It’s nice to be able to go back and go, oh, did I remember that right? However, sometimes just noticing is enough. It’s gonna start to, like, percolate inside of you and come out in a way that you never know who you’re gonna be able to reach because the information came in. Right? Because that information came to you, it’s gonna just, like, do its thing, and it’ll come out at the right time to serve somebody.

Julie [00:29:12]:
That’s so good. Laura, that’s so good.

Incremental Change For Personal Growth and Development.

Lauren [00:29:17]:
Lady, we both do personal development, and that’s why I love talking to you because, like, you drop these truth bombs, the JV truth bombs all the time. And I’m like, oh my God. That’s amazing. So this is why we need more jobs to say.

Julie [00:29:30]:
It’s all personal growth, baby. I say that all the time. My gosh. Like, even just the fact that you need to have SEO and your need to have a website, that’s personal growth. You gotta I mean, you gotta understand where you wanna go.

Lauren [00:29:41]:
Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think some people feel like, oh, once I see that, then my creativity is shot. I’m gonna have to just write to the prompt, Basically. Right? There are better ways to structure your content to be found.

To be sure, there are a lot of if you search on page SEO best practices, you’ll find ways to structure your content, ways to ideas for how to weave in those keywords, how to title things, that sort of thing.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, though. And 91% of web pages on the Internet are not served traffic via Google. Google does not give them organic search traffic. So you just…

Julie [00:30:27]:
Say that one more time.

Lauren [00:30:31]:
We have a 91% majority of web pages out there on the Internet get zero traffic from organic search.

Julie [00:30:40]:
Wow.

Lauren [00:30:42]:
Yeah. That was an Ahref study in 2021. And I think some of it is that, like, AI spinning up these, like, crazy websites that look optimized, but Google’s, like, reading right through it, and they’re like, no. That’s, like, a newer site. It doesn’t have credibility. You know?

And so you just have to be in the 9% majority, so you don’t have to do everything right. But if you start to do a few things right, you can really flip that switch and turn on a glut of traffic coming your way if you’re good at what you do and if you dish up quality content and you do it regularly.

Julie [00:31:17]:
And quite honestly, I would bet you that that little mindset shift probably applies just across the board that most people are just not optimizing their business, their relationships, their life.

So it’s not going to be like, we have to let go of this mindset that we’re gonna have to overhaul our entire lives to do anything. Yeah. I mean, I see it all the time in the health and wellness space. You know? Yeah. Oh my God. Of course. I need to get in shape before I go to the gym. I’m like, something feels off with that mindset.

Something’s wrong there. Yeah. Something something’s wrong. Yes. Atomic habits.

Lauren [00:31:57]:
I’m holding Atomic Habits right here. His 1% conversation, that singular, like, vector point and how you end up in New York, not DC. You wanna take off from LA. Like, It changed my mind. And, like, 4000 weeks. Have you read this one? 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman?

Julie [00:32:18]:
No. But it feels like something I should. Book recognition.

Lauren [00:32:23]:
Hong Kong. The profound shift in the way I think about 15 minutes of deep work. Like because I’m gonna eat the whole elephant in one bite kinda girl. Yeah. Like Yeah. Give me a big juicy task.

Lauren [00:32:41]:
I’m gonna get it done, and then I’m gonna need a real long nap.

Yeah. But that idea of, like, incremental change is so hard for me, but I realized that these two books less than a comment from Lee Cockrell at his mastermind for Disney folks, they probably know his name. He used to run Disney World.

He said, Lauren, nobody knows your standards. So if it’s at 80% and it’s done, better than not. And it was just such a freeing, like, oh, I can do, like, one thing a day that is serving my business long term as opposed to, like, continually going, I have to wait till the timing is perfect, and I can do all the things like now.

Just start executing. Start taking action. Start moving. Right. Because one inquiry on social media to get a web developer conversation going. It can change the trajectory of your business.

Julie [00:33:43]:
It truly can. Like, when we started having these conversations about SEO, it just felt like I’m like, okay. It’s time to step into the next level of business. Like, I’m really here to build a business that makes an impact and income.

This is a piece that I need to step into. This is no more, we’re not building a little side hustle here anymore. We’re not just kinda maybe, oh, I hope happenstance, I get a check this week. No.

We got goals and dreams, and we’re trying to go to Hong Kong and all kinds of things. We need to make some money. And I wanna do it in a way that, to your point, taps into the gifts that you have and also makes a difference in the world.

What a beautiful thing. Isn’t that what all humans want? Okay. So that means you’re gonna have to have conversations about stuff that you might know a lot about, including SEO. That was me. Like, sometimes she would send me things.

I’m like, this is Chinese to me. I don’t know what this says. But that’s why you hire people to help you kinda figure that out and just start to have the conversation around…

Okay, I’m gonna put my big girl panties on now, and I’m gonna actually have a business, not just a hobby. That means I’m gonna need a website. I’m gonna need to have conversations around SEO, and I’m probably gonna need to hire, and I’m gonna chip away at this until it gets done. I’m not I don’t have to I don’t have to do all the things today.

I don’t have to do all the things on January 1st.

Lauren [00:35:06]:
No. I think that’s what burns us out with, like, these resolutions and stuff. We’re like, It’s January 3rd, and I’ve not arrived.

The 50 pounds, done. Done with my website. Humans were so strange, and we’re so impatient, and we’re so silly. So what else do you wanna tell people about SEO?

Offer Valuable, Free Content On Your Website and Build Relationships

Lauren [00:35:33]:
I think the other thing to think about when you’re doing keyword research, because really it all starts with keyword research, is to think about each query as the user who typed it in.

So I always use this example. If somebody’s searching what is organic marketing they are not the same person who is typing in organic marketing course. Their search intent is different.

Someone who’s searching for an organic marketing course probably has a credit card in hand. Right? They are ready to buy something. They understand the value that that has. Yep.

Whereas, somebody who just needs information, they if you try and pitch that person

Kinda like hitting a wall there. And so I see so many people building their websites, maybe understanding a little bit about SEO, and then, like, dishing up the wrong offer and thinking that it’s them when they don’t make the sale.

It’s like, no. If somebody’s asking for something that’s transactional, that’s a sales page and you can optimize that sales page and have it buy now be the call to action.

Provide assurances. Make sure they know the price. Make sure they understand your return policy. Make sure they see your face, know who you are, and understand who’s gonna help them.

Right? Lay everything out. Leave nothing to chance. Like, this is what this is what you do now, And then this is what’s gonna happen, and here’s what you’re gonna get. Be really clear.

[00:36:57]:
For somebody who’s typing in that informational query, if you want them to hang around and become part of your community, have a really valuable but free offer that they can use the currency of their email address to receive.

Julie [00:37:10]:
Yeah. And that’s why we’ve been talking about that a lot, that idea of the free offer.

We’ve been talking a lot about sales. We’ve been talking because we’ve been working a lot with Brendon Burchard who’s like, we need to offer them oh, man, something free, you know, a freebie in return for that email address or whatever that is, and Paul suggested that too.

Paul Gauter, we talked a lot about that freemium. What can you give them that is of value? Whether it’s a PDF, whether it’s a link to a pre workout in our space, whether it’s a recipe booklet that you made, whatever it might be, what can you kinda give in exchange?

So I love that you mentioned that. And here’s what I would do if I didn’t know what to do about creating a freemium. I would take myself to Google.

I would think about how to create a freemium I mean, that’s exactly what I would do. Yeah. That’s exactly what I would do.

Lauren [00:37:59]:
Yeah. And somebody’s gonna dish up some really good helpful content through organic search. You know, it’s one of those things that I think we can overcomplicate. What I like to do is think about content that I’m dishing out in terms of verticals.

And so for instance, yes, I have the SEO course. Right? And all things through the SEO course point to a Free DIY audit.

So you can go through this free three part course, and I will walk you through how to assess your website as it is. And then there’s, you know, nurture and also, hey. If you wanna take the next right steps and grow your organic traffic, here’s the course that I offer. Sure. So that’s one path, but I also talk a lot about purpose.

I have a course called Big Why Life where you name your big why. And I talk about your life’s compass

And how the needle on your life’s compass is your purpose statement.

And it’s pointed to true north, and true north is defined by your currently held values and your vision of what you want your future life to hold.

And those currently held values are informed by your past. So it’s like your past and your present are guiding you forward, and it keeps you on track. Value conversations are something that happen a lot. So I have a free PDF of 111 core values to choose from.

And so for everything that I write about purpose, your next right step is to download that PDF.

If I’m talking about organic marketing SEO, your next right step is to assess your website and benchmark it where it is today.

Rip off the Band Aid, look at the ugly, and then we’ll figure out what to do from there. So you can see how as I’m creating content, I’m one person creating two pronged content. Yeah. I know where I’m landing every single time, and it’s ace. I’ve only made two premiums.

Yep. Looks really amazing when somebody comes in. They’re like, that’s exactly what I needed. Yes. There’s no guessing. It’s not like I’m trying to give the website audit to somebody who’s there for purpose or

Lauren [00:40:01]:
And then when they go into my email management when they sign in for that, they’re tagged as entrepreneur or purpose. Yep. And I know who they are. And in that way, I can sift if I’m writing Really, like, SEO specific post.

I can say don’t bring in the people who have purpose because that doesn’t make any sense for them or vice versa. Sometimes it’ll apply to the entrepreneurs, but mostly it’s targeting the purpose people, then I make sure I focus there.

Julie [00:40:34]:
I am loving this right now because, I mean, we do this too. I mean, this is what I do as well. And, of course, we’ve learned amazing things.

From Paul Gowder who taught us that too. You know? Just that as you’re bringing someone in, if someone’s coming in for fitness, they don’t need my book list maybe. You know? And someone who wants to come in with my book list may not be interested in a workout.

So let’s get it because then you are really serving people the value that they’re coming to you for. Now they again, back to what you said, they know, like, and trust now they know, like, and trust you. Sometimes stuff overlaps. Sometimes it does.

However, when you can tailor that stuff, and to your point, you made two PDFs. Not 22, not a new one every time you talked about something, not every time you made a post on social media or are you directing them to something else. No. You’ve made two.

Everything comes back to two. That’s what so I just that’s what I want people to get in their head. Like, Wow.

We have to stop making these mountains out of tasks that are so doable in 2024. We have to stop making them bigger than they are. Just because you don’t know how to do it right now doesn’t mean you can’t figure it out.

I didn’t know how to diaper my child, and yet something I figured it out. You know? We don’t give ourselves enough credit for things that we have figured out along the way.

Lauren [00:41:57]:
Absolutely. And I think too this year, I’ve never felt more afraid in business, I think. And I think it’s a good sign. It’s like, oh, yeah. That’s right. I’m pushing myself to produce more, to deliver in a way that I know it’s gonna be seen and heard and found and, oh, like, this is a new level of, like, work that needs to happen internally in the business.

How am I gonna manage all of this? I think fear is an indicator you’re headed in the right direction.

Julie [00:42:32]:
Yeah. Awesome. Everything you want is on the other side of that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. I agree.

Lauren [00:42:38]:
There’s some fear that’s like, oh, no. No. No. That’s the uh-oh feeling. That’s different.

Julie [00:42:43]:
That’s a hard no feeling,

Lauren [00:42:45]:
but Yeah.

Julie [00:42:45]:
There’s a lot of fear that there’s a lot of fear that we manufacture too. That it stands in our way of getting to that next level that we’ve just manufactured. Okay. So let’s say someone is like, okay. I’m in on this SEO thing. You have a course. Can you talk to us just a little bit about that?

Lauren [00:43:01]:
Absolutely. So it’s called the Organic Marketing Ecosystem. And, essentially, it shows you, like, what that means. Right. What do you mean by ecosystem? Why is my website part of this ecosystem?

How does it all hang together? So I sort of do a high level of that. Then we talk about how to do keyword research, what it is exactly you’re looking for, and what are we going towards with that.

What’s the content plan that you’re gonna create out of that? And how do you find the ways to make that content plan sing once it’s on your website.

We talk about some of the scary technical stuff, but I walk you through it. I hold your hand. It’s super simple. You know? I wanna make this accessible for everyone. Whether you are executing it yourself or you’re handing it off because there’s a lot of folks in the SEO space that frankly are just not.

They try to make it seem scary so that you’ll pay them. And, like, I’m so, like, if you want me to do it, I’m happy to, but I also love teaching a man to fish. So, like, if you want somebody to teach you to fish or you wanna, like, know when the used car salesman is, like, talking scammy stuff to you, then, you know, it’s your job as the quarterback of your business to know who to pass things to or to know when

Julie [00:44:16]:
Notice the football reference. Everyone just notice football reference we appreciate,

Lauren [00:44:19]:
I am absolutely here for it.

Julie [00:44:23]:
We are very here for the football reference. That’s a great analogy, though. Like Yeah. You’re the quarterback of your business.

Lauren [00:44:30]:
Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. So you’ve gotta know what plays you’re running, and, ultimately, it’s on your head even if you hire somebody.

And most SEOs will stop there. They’ll be like, we got you traffic. You’re welcome. And the real issue is that that’s not what we are after. We are after revenue. We are after impact and income.

And so we don’t roll out the red carpet. Understand the differences between keywords that work for a sales page versus for blog content or a podcast or videos, whatever the case may be.

And you gotta have fresh content on your site. So Yeah. I walk folks through that. And then, there comes with quarter of an accountability group that I’m building out.

Julie [00:45:16]:
Well, what’s that?

Lauren [00:45:17]:
You wanna continue, my goal is to make the most productive corner of the Internet. Like, this is very stripped down membership. Like, we get together and have deep work sessions. We goal set, And then we have accountability at the end, rinse and repeat.

We benchmark our websites every quarter. We track our progress, and we really do the work that’s important to move our businesses forward.

And so, that’s all going live. If you love your business, you should learn to love SEO, so it’s going live on Valentine’s Day.

Julie [00:45:54]:
I love that. I love that.

It’s a beautiful gift too to give yourself a space to go and ask questions like that. You know? I think that the other fearful thing is, okay. I’m gonna take this on, but who am I talking to about this?

I don’t know anyone else who’s doing this or I just need someone to talk to about it and to get in a group. I love that you’re doing that because to get in a group with other people with income and go, is anyone else freaked out by this thing, or does anyone else have something to celebrate or whatever and just be able to have those conversations? I think that’s really pivotal.

Lauren [00:46:25]:
Absolutely. Absolutely. And one of the things that I think is most powerful about this, one thing that will really help your website grow. It needs to be strong in and of itself. Right? You have to have a firm foundation. You have to have your own content plan working on your site.

However, you need backlinks. You need links from other people’s credible websites coming back to your website, and there are ways to find out whose sites are credible and not.

However, we’re creating an alumni network. And the reason we’re doing that is because we all understand how we’re crafting content and if we do guest posts for one another. We come to each other’s shows. We support one another in business. These can be your seas and rising tides lift all ships.

Julie [00:47:09]:
100%.

Lauren [00:47:10]:
So, I mean, your site is performing better, and you can give yourself your friend a guest post spot on your page, and they can get backlinks to their websites. If they have affiliate programs, then you can be making revenue off of that. So it’s just a place for us to, like, come together and go, okay, we all see the bigger picture. Yeah. How can we alley-oop one another?

Julie [00:47:30]:
Yeah. And how can we help each other? Yeah. Yeah. And that I just think that vibe of collaboration is very prevalent in 2024. I mean, I’m feeling it myself. I’m feeling it more. I’m feeling it, and I’m and I’m hopeful that women I’m talking to you.

Building Connections: The importance of finding and staying connected with new people for business growth, emphasizing the power of curating a community and the significance of collaboration in business and life.

I’m hopeful that women we’ll finally grasp that the only reason why you think there’s not enough seats at the table is because I’m saying it, the patriarchy made us feel that way.

So if we want more seats, it’s time to build a bigger table ourselves, which means collaboration with each other. You’re not competing against another female. And the only reason we feel that way is because of the culture that has been created for 100 and 100 and 100 of years.

So let’s knock that out of the ballpark, in 2024 and create a new and different culture that is true purely of collaboration because I do think when 1 woman wins, we all win. More of us winning is really the goal.

Lauren [00:48:26]:
Absolutely. I also feel and I’ve always felt this way. You know, it’s not…. we’re not in competition with each other. People are gonna resonate and gravitate towards who they resonate and gravitate towards. It’s just the way it is.

Some people are gonna be, like, your best friend, and the other people are like, oh, that person’s lovely, but not for me.

And that’s all okay. If we just show people, like, let’s make a charcuterie board.

Choose from all these SEO. Yes. Who are you working today? Like, I’m happy to elevate other people who are doing it well. Right? They don’t have to be vetted. But, like, If you feel affinity, find a way to, like, lift somebody else up. How can you be a blessing to somebody else? And you will get blessings in return.

Julie [00:49:16]:
Yes. And stop looking for them from the person that you think should be giving them to you and just accept the blessing when it comes. You know? Just accept the blessing when it comes.

And that that is collaboration, and that is that’s the beautiful synergy that I think you’re talking about tactically, technically in business, but also just philosophically and in life with each other. So This is why I adore you, Lauren. You’re so awesome.

Well, the feeling is mutual.

Julie [00:49:43]:
Where can people find you? We’ll put it in the show notes too, but I just like people to hear it too.

Lauren [00:49:47]:
All roads lead to my website. That website audit, if somebody’s interested in that, it’s also on my website..

And if you go there, you can just the email address, Quick free like, 30 minutes you’ll have ripped the Band Aid off. You’ll see the ugly or the beautiful. Some people are like, I’m in Google.

Maybe. Like, one of our friends did this, and he was like, I’m getting 800 hits a month. I was like, you didn’t know, please, that’s amazing. And now we’re just talking about how you get even more.

So, you know, you never know what you’re gonna find, But I promise if you show up and you feel like, oh God, I’m gonna crumble, just reach out. I’m here. Yeah. You know?

And then if you do wanna take the course, if I can support you through that, Yeah. Doors open on February 14th. It is evergreen. I don’t do launches. So sign up whenever you show up and from February 14, 2024 and beyond, but it is in presale now. So if you want an early bird, come on over and get it.

Julie [00:50:53]:
I love that so much. I just love the idea that you’re doing an accountability group. So as people are working through this thing does feel very foreign to to most of us to be in a group with other people that are doing that too. I think that’s so key.

So 2024, the year we take radical ownership of our businesses and our lives. How about that? Radical ownership, baby. Get in the driver’s seat. I love it so much.

This has been such a pleasure. We will have all the links in the show notes so that you can access all of that. Make sure you follow Lauren on the gram or Facebook or wherever you are. Lauren, I mean, I know you’re on Facebook. Are you on the Gram? Do I see you there very much?

Lauren [00:51:34]:
… Gram, but I do it the wrong way. I wanna have an SEO dedicated account. But Okay. For me, like, I think you’ll see pictures of my kids. That’s

Julie [00:51:47]:
Pictures of your cats. Cats and kids

Lauren [00:51:50]:
and possibly a garden or two. Some really lovely tomatoes in the summer.

Julie [00:51:57]:
So we’ll get you going live on Instagram. You hang out with me. We’ll get you going live on Instagram. We’ll be doing all the things. We do it all. This has been such a pleasure.

Julie [00:52:07]:
Thank you so much

Lauren [00:52:08]:
for being on. My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Meet Lauren Gaggioli

Helping Purpose-Driven Digital Entrepreneurs Create Clarity, Visibility, and Fun In Their Online Businesses

I love being a digital entrepreneur.

And I love the freedom that SEO provides all business owners who choose to learn how to leverage the power of Google to turn strangers on the internet into happy clients and new-found friends.

I’ll say it again: the internet is straight-up magic.

And if you want to learn how to harness that shine to up your impact and your income too, I’d love to help you.

lauren’s resources:

Join the affiliate program

[Book Rec] 4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Course: Organic Marketing Ecosystem

DIY Website Audit (free)

Keyword Research Tool

>>> Do you need a website? Head on over to my website designer/developer, JoLi Design Solutions.