So this is something I haven’t really done well. I think the only thing that ranks high for some reason is my “Mind over Mood” Post but it’s not really well written and I’m kinda embarrassed that I show up on Google for that. But nonetheless, if I’d like to take affiliate marketing more seriously, I probably need to learn why things rank well and then learn how to write the better and then eventually faster.
Many affiliate marketers will focus on keyword research and ranking on search engines. And I assume that’s the name of the game. But I really just want to make content and understand how to do well. I just want to make a few bucks nah mean? So anyway. Let’s get to it.
How To Write Articles That Rank on Google
- effective keyword research (I need to learn more about this)
- Then keyword intent research (I don’t understand how these two differ)
- Find your target word count (I don’t believe this is mandatory, I think as long as you can answer the question your visitors are looking for thats a good look. I’m sure more words are helpful to rank but I don’t think we need to fluff the articles)
At the end of the day I’m trying to avoid the deep dives and the rabbit hole that I’ve been so caught up in because I don’t think it’ll be necessary till I can see myself cranking out posts like at a minimum 15 posts/month. I do think its doable but I just want to see myself do it for a month before I waste any more time researching.
So How Do I Write?
All my blog posts so far have just been a legitamte brain dump. word vomit to say the least. Just a bunch of unorganized thoughts that come out of my head onto a keyboard that doesn’t register some clicks. So what comes out is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo with a sh*ton of typos and gramatical errors.Which probably isn’t the greatest for SEO optimization. But nonetheless, everyone’s gotta start from somewhere right? And this is my goal here. So let’s get to it.
Example Keyword Research: Best Chef Knife
So this particular topic means we’re going to be comparing a bunch of different options. Miles Beckler often recommends focusing on helping people overcome decision fatigue. There’s always going to be lots and lots of articles displaying all the different types of options out there but we often have difficulty udnerstanding what is best for ourselves. So our job as an affilaite marketer is to round up the best options and help them understand what is best for themselves.
Using Google Autocomplete is great for initial keyword research because it;ll show what is already working. These are great things to include as sub headers, in the FAQ or at least in the text in general. Bigger numbers often rank higher. Adding the year is helpful. Alternative text (ex. best Japanese kitchen knife <– note kitchen instead of chef). This is considered keyword research intent. Basically what people are looking for.
Finding the Approximate word count
With our example for best chef knife. What you would do is google the content heavy articles that rank well for your topic and find the average word count for the ones that rank well. Gather the top ten is probably the best.
Average is 2400-3000 words. Then we will start looking for the products.
Introduction
So I suppose very minimal writing in undergrad has got me to at least understand how to frame an essay and that I suppose is similar to blog posts. Miles Beckler mentions somethings as a towards or away framework which I’ve never heard of. But all that is, is essetially writing about your visitor’s pain points and what they are looking for. AKA how to write a sales pitch.
Ex. move away from pain dull knives that are a pain, and move towards buttery smooth cutting
Best Overall
Find a high profile person that most people would search for. Ex; Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver, etc. And whoever has the most search results we’ll probably use that product as our best overall
Best Budget Option
Find the best bang for your buck. This is where real research will come in and really understanding the pain points of your audience is key here.
After that some other good options to be looking for would be; Best Runner Up, Best Under Monetary Amount
Alternates 1, 2, 3
This is where you can link to other posts you have written and where you’ll most often spark new ideas for new articles. You’ll most likely find other things during your research that are popular that aren’t super tied in with the topic so this is where it’s a great option to put in that information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Miles Beckler often mentions celebrities but I dunno if that’s necessary. I suppose this is where we’ll include keywords that rank well that we haven’t mentioned yet. But obviously with the intent of content first cause we’re not writing just for the search engine we’ll only do well if we’re actually providing help but its good to know that that’s what this section is good for. And to actually help answer some questions you’ve probably had when you were doing research.