Happy Thursday Reader,
It looks like Google's August core update wrapped up yesterday!
A few days ago one of my food blog mentees (we'll call her Cynthia 😉) messaged me saying she wants to rank on the first page for "buttermilk pancakes".
A big, ambitious goal! And I'm all for it 👏
I told her it's not going to be easy, but it's also not impossible!
After all, if I can work my way onto the first page for "banana cream pie", I'm optimistic that she can make it there for "buttermilk pancakes"!
Cynthia's been blogging for a few years now. She switched her niche a while back and now she's working towards becoming THE breakfast & brunch blog! 🥞
Her buttermilk pancake recipe hasn't been touched in a couple of years, so she knew the first step is to re-optimize the photos and copy.
You know, make it "helpful" and all that 😅
But what else can she do to increase her chances of ranking?
I excitedly sent her some advice while she got to work on the updates!
Cynthia was generous enough to let me share the tips I gave her (and this whole scenario) with you! (Thanks, Cynthia!)
1️⃣ Internal Linking
Internal linking helps Google crawl your site and understand what your content is about. It also helps users find similar content that they might find interesting.
My advice: I told her to link to her buttermilk pancakes recipe from her other buttermilk and pancake recipes, and to add it to her homepage (AKA her highest authority page) and sidebar.
2️⃣ Anchor Text
Anchor text goes hand-in-hand with internal linking, and it's often done ineffectively. I explain my strategy in this post.
My advice: I sent her a list of keyword variations to use as anchor text when she links to her buttermilk pancake recipe from other posts on her blog. I also explained how she can utilize Link Whisper to easily view/edit anchor texts.
3️⃣ Build Backlinks & Traffic
When other sites link to your content, they're called backlinks. These links tell the internet that you're an authority on that subject.
My advice: Submit the pancake recipe to recipe roundups, give it a boost across social channels & email newsletter, ask for ratings/comments on it, and see if there are media articles related to breakfast/pancakes she can pitch it to. I also suggested that she bring them to her next local news station feature at PIX11!
I hope this advice helps improve your ranks and workflows!
What else do you do to give your posts extra boosts?
