If you’re a Health Coach like me, you’re likely not a web designer, computer engineer, or SEO expert. (Even though we like to think we are!)

And you’ve probably heard that ranking higher in Google Search results, optimizing keywords in your posts, and boosting site engagement can bring you new clients and help grow your business!

So, now what? All of the “noise” surrounding site traffic and engagement can make you feel overwhelmed! (Trust me, I’ve been there!)

Where’s the best place to start??

No need to fear! As I created my website (from scratch with absolutely NO idea what I was doing), I did a deep dive into podcasts, blog posts, courses, and YouTube videos on SEO.

After exhaustive research, I identified the best “first steps” anyone (yes, even you!) can do to optimize their website.

And the even better news is this: These tricks actually work! My site isn’t even one year old yet, and I’m already getting almost 2,000 unique monthly visitors from Google Search traffic!

Are you ready to learn actionable steps from a non-expert just like you?

Let’s get started!

3 SIMPLE HACKS TO BOOST WEBSITE TRAFFIC AND ENGAGEMENT (THAT EVERY COACH SHOULD KNOW!)

1. BUILD AN EMAIL LIST

I kept reading and hearing about the importance of an email list, but I didn’t understand just how valuable it is to have one until I enrolled in online marketing expert, Jenna Kutcher’s “List To Launch Lab”.

In her course, she explains that your email list is more important than your Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest followers combined!

Why?

You don’t “own” any of your social media followers. At any time, a platform could change its algorithm, causing you to lose the following you worked so hard to gain. Or, in the very near future, platforms may even require business accounts to pay per follower.

Let’s say the algorithms stay the same, and followers remain free. Do you know the percentage of your followers that actually see each of your posts? Only about 2-6%! (Gasp!)

Translation of all of the above: Social media is like the Wild Wild West; we can’t control it.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL

That’s why it’s more important than ever to focus on what we can control: our email lists!

When people sign up for your email list, they’re giving you access to a very personal space in their lives: their inboxes. Whenever you gain someone’s email address, you “own” that follower and have more control over the relationship you build with him or her.

Around 20% of your email followers will likely see your content (as opposed to that measly 2-6% on social media!).

By sending regular emails, you’ll build up your “know, like, and trust factor,” which is the first step to any sale.

Therefore, the more robust your email list, the more lucrative your sales! It’s estimated that every email on your list equals about $1/month for your business, so, when used correctly, an email list of 1,000 followers can equal $1,000/month.

If you’re convinced that you need to build an email list but have no idea how to start, don’t worry. It’s really not that difficult.

GET PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR YOUR EMAIL LIST

To get people to sign up for your list, you’ll first want to decide on an enticing offer that’ll you’ll prominently display on your site. This is also known as a “lead magnet”.

Here are some things to consider for your lead magnet:

• Consider your ideal customer’s pain points and draft a helpful PDF.
• Promise a weekly or monthly newsletter.
• Give some type of discount code for your eCourses, eBooks, 1:1 coaching packages, etc.

For more ideas, read “7 Reasons You Should Be Using Lead Magnets Right Now”.

The next thing you’ll need to do is create an account with an email marketing service. I signed up for MailChimp about a year ago because it’s easy to use and free for up to 2,000 contacts.

Finally, you’ll need to create your first email campaign, which is where you’ll link your enticing freebie to the opt-in form you create using your email marketing service. Click here for an example from one of my freebies, a printable “Eat Food, Not Feelings” journal.

For more detailed step-by-step instructions, visit Neil Patel’s post “A Beginner’s Guide to Successful Email Marketing”.

2. PUBLISH CONSISTENT, HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT ON YOUR BLOG

If you’re not already doing so, you should be publishing consistent, high-quality content on your site.

The great news is that “consistent” can mean something different for everyone. You don’t need to publish a post every day or even every week. Maybe your goal is to publish two posts per month. That’s fine!

Just decide on a number of posts per week or month that’ll work for you and remain consistent. Both Google and your regular site visitors appreciate new content that’s published—you guessed it!—consistently.

The other important descriptor is “high-quality”. When it comes to blog posts, you want to prioritize quality, not just quantity.

Experts recommend writing blog posts that are 2,000 words minimum; Google recognizes these “long-form articles” as having more authority than shorter ones, so they generally rank higher in Google Search results. (For example, this post is 1,716 words!)

Here’s a link to another one of Neil Patel’s helpful articles: “How to Write a 2000-Word Article in 2 Hours”.

SET TANGIBLE GOALS

The fact that high-quality posts are generally the most well-researched long-form articles brings us back to the notion of consistency. When it comes to your blog, you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew.

At first, my goal was to publish two posts each week. I met this goal for about six months, but the quality of my content suffered the busier I got. For that reason, I decided to drop my goal to one high-quality piece each week.

Often my posts are 2,000 plus words, but sometimes they’re not. Regardless, I never publish a post just for the sake of publishing something. I’m always proud of the pieces I add to my blog.

As mentioned, I haven’t even hit the one-year mark, and my site is already getting almost 2,000 unique monthly visitors from Google Search traffic. That’s because consistent, high-quality posts can drive new traffic—a.k.a. new paying clients!—to your site.

Hopefully, you’ve followed hack #1 so that these new visitors will also join your email list! (Hint, hint!)

3. OPTIMIZE BLOG POSTS WITH A KEYWORD

Finally, you want to be sure to optimize each of your blog posts with a keyword so that your content has the chance to show up in Google Search results (ideally on the first page!).

Note: a keyword can—and probably will be—more than one word! Most people search entire phrases in Google, not just single words, so keep that in mind.

My favorite keyword research tool is the “Keywords Everywhere” extension for Chrome and Firefox.

Once you’ve installed it, you can type any keyword into Google to get three useful numbers: volume, CPC, and competition.

• Volume = how many people search for that term each month.
• CPC, or “cost per click” = how much an advertiser would pay for each click in a pay-per-click marketing campaign. (I don’t have ads on my site yet, so I don’t really pay attention to this number.)
• Competition = how competitive the keyword is, with 1 being most competitive and 0 being least competitive.

The sweet spot is any keyword with high volume (thousands of searches each month) and low competition (as close to 0 as possible). Again, I don’t worry about the CPC number right now!

LET ME EXPLAIN THIS FURTHER

So, for example… Let’s say I want to write a post about weight loss. Before starting it, I’d play around with a few keyword options using the Keywords Everywhere data.

When I Google “weight loss,” I get the following Keywords Everywhere results: Volume: 368,000/mo, CPC: $2.43, Competition: 0.97

Translation: A LOT of people (368,000!) search for that term on Google each month, but the competition is too high (almost 1). Therefore, this would not be the best keyword if I want to rank as high as possible in Google Search results.

After much trial and error, I finally identify the keyword “how to lose weight without exercising,” which has the following Keywords Everywhere results: Volume: 22,200/mo, CPC: $1.12, Competition: 0.19

Since this term still gets thousands of searches each month and the competition is waaaay lower, this is a much better option.

To be clear, SEO experts would scoff at my keyword research process. It can get so much more complicated than this, but I don’t have the time or energy to deal with that nonsense! (Just being real!)

SEO LIKE A PRO

If you want to take it up a notch, tools like Ahrefs and SEM Rush can help.

I don’t use either of them, but everyone who’s anyone in the blogging world seems to recommend tools like those. If you’re intrigued and want to learn more, check out this informative (but brief!) episode from The Blogging Millionaire podcast.

Once you’ve identified your ideal keyword, you’ll want to optimize it in your post. (I know, I know…it never ends!)

HOW TO OPTIMIZE A POST

If you use WordPress, download the Yoast plugin for help with this. Yoast is amazing (and FREE)!

If you don’t use WordPress, you can optimize each post by including your keyword:

• In the title (preferably towards the beginning). To continue with my example above, I could title my post “How To Lose Weight Without Exercising: 3 Tips That Make The Process Painless!”
• Throughout your post as much as possible — especially in headings.
• In the URL. If I were to use the example keyword on my site, I’d choose this URL: https://thehealthinvestment.com/how-to-lose-weight-without-exercising.
• In the titles of images. Before you upload an image to your post, rename it to include your keyword in its title. For example, “how-to-lose-weight-without-exercising.jpeg”.

And there you have it!

IN CONCLUSION

Even though you’re a Health or Life Coach—not an SEO expert!—these three simple hacks will boost your traffic and engagement, meaning you’ll be able to broaden your scope and help more people!

All my best to you on your journey through email listing and keyword researching and optimization. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me with questions!

What are some of your favorite website hacks? Tell me in the comments!

For more on Brooke, head here!