Do you cringe when you hear the tech savvy crowd talking about the importance of SEO? I think we all understand how important it is to have a good search engine ranking, but the technical side of search engine optimization leaves me feeling like a 3rd grader at a mathematician’s convention.
I don’t really understand SEO so I have just been ignoring it and hoping for the best. Every once in a while I start thinking I should try and figure it out, but I quickly realize that it’s over my head. Have you had a similar experience? Have you been hoping that good content will make up for poor SEO?
Good content is king, that’s for sure, but search engine ranking is how people find your good content. If your individual posts have a poor search engine ranking, it won’t really matter how good they are, no one will ever find them.
So, what’s a tech challenged blogger to do?
I found a solution that works so well I wanted to share it with you. I started using an SEO plugin called Scribe about a month ago and it has completely changed the search engine ranking for every article I’ve put up since. I am so excited by the results that I made this video so I could take you backstage and show you the actual process of optimizing a post that currently scores a big fat zero for SEO. I think you will be amazed at the results.
Backstage with Scribe SEO plugin
This was a very basic introduction to Scribe. It can actually help you in ways you probably never thought of. Just so you know, Scribe is not free, but if you want to become a pro blogger the value of this tool far exceeds its minimal cost.
So, if you want to continue to focus on good content and have a high search engine ranking, Scribe might be just what you’re looking for. I use it on every post I write. I also plan to go back and optimize all 300 plus posts that currently have a search engine ranking score of zero. This is the best way I know to guarantee tons of search engine traffic for years to come.
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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
HI Jonathan,
I am with you on the tecnically challenged part…I love technology and open to learn new things always. But this SEO thing was just confusing. The theme I am using apparently is SEO optimized…so I think its doing its part…But i really dont know.
So I guess trying Scribe wont be such a bad idea for me. The only thing now is will it work with wordpress.com? I will have to do a little research there…
But thank you fro bringing this to my attention…I have got to get my search engine ranking high high
Did you know there are such things as Anchor posts? The posts that always bring the most traffic through a search engine…
oh still so much to learn…
Am off to do a little research…
Much love,
Z~
Hi Z, I had a feeling that many of my fellow bloggers would relate to the tech challenged part. Most of us are writers who learn what we need to as we go along. I am not sure about blogger.com, but Scribe loves the Thesis theme.
Thesis is the most SEO optimized theme I know of, but were are talking about optimizing articles which is totally different than an optimized theme. Each article is ranked according to certain criteria independent, yet related to the blog itself.
Once I got Scribe I quickly realized that none of my articles were SEO ready. they all got a zero. As I continue to use it I am able to do better instinctively, but I still rank in the low 40% quite often until I run it through Scribe a few times.
It really has been like a magic SEO box for me. I don’t think I would have ever learned this stuff.
This is great set of tips for people who don’t want to take the enormous time it takes to learn SEO the hard way. I’ve been very intrigued by this plugin and have ended up looking for some free tools for several reasons. SEO-Quake is a cool plugin for FF I’ve been using for my SEO fix.
As to why I haven’t tried this plugin, well the cost, my site is hobby, doesn’t generate much cost and don’t want to sink much money in for any part of it, but I like the idea of more time to write, less on SEO. The other reason though was that I read a bunch of comments and replies from the author of this plugin and was less than impressed by his conduct which immediately kept me away from his product (I’m usually quite harsh in that way as I definitely like to promote things from people who can be civil and reasonable in most circumstances). Anyway, just an opinion on my part, thought it was interesting to see this promoted by few bloggers I know. I think if you are fast at doing it yourself, you can easily, this tool just makes it easier for those without that dedication to learn directly.
.-= Mike King´s last amazing blog post ..My eBook Released! Building Better Relationships =-.
Hi Mike, thanks for your feedback. For me the learning curve for SEO is just too huge. I just want to write, but I also realize the importance of good SEO.
I had looked into Scribe and was hesitant because I didn’t know if the results would justify the cost. Dragos was using it and he really knows his stuff. That’s what convinced me to give it a try.
Once I did, I was hooked. My instincts about SEO were all wrong. So, my efforts often made things worse. Maybe, after a few hundred posts I will get a better feel for it, but I am serious about blogging and Scribe is a serious tool.
SEO represented a huge hole in my standing with the search engines, it feels great to know that that hole is filled. I’ve been hitting the front page of google out of millions of listings for some pretty significant keyword phrases, and within minutes of posting. That’s pretty gratifying.
Jonathan,
I have been using Scribe for the last month or two – and in that time I have come to understand SEO in such a greater depth. I love this tool!! And not only for what it offers (which is so great), but also for how it helps me to better understand what SEO is really about and how I can most effectively use that.
Hi Lance, do you recommend it too? I am thinking about it….but I am not sure I even use Thesis to its optimal level yet and Thesis is supposed to have so much built-in SEO already. I wonder….you guys are really convincing
!
Hi Farnoosh, As a blogging platform Thesis is optimized better than any other (as far as I know), but that doesn’t do anything for your individual posts. They need certain elements to rank well that have nothing to do with how good your theme is. It’s like having a nice car to drive around in, but not having a drivers license. Both are important.
Farnoosh,
Yes, I DO recommend it. It’s a great product and really does so much for me in an area I just never really understood (SEO).
Hi guys, thank you so much…..So not to get too technical but here is what I specifically meant: If I am adding the tags, categories, custom title tag, and meta-tag description and keywords and image data, then do I still need Scribe? Does Scribe automate the process? In the video, I see that we still have to do all that manually….does it then make suggestions on keywords? What besides the score does it do to help me automate the process? Does it also tell me about page rank?
Hope you don’t mind the questions of a savvy potential buyer!
THANK YOU!
Let’s walk down the list,
You will still need to add the Custom Title Tag and Meta description before Scribe will even work.
As I understand it meta keywords are no longer something that google considers (feel free to correct my if I’m wrong on this anyone). Instead their bots scan for relevant keywords in much the same way that Scribe does.
Scribe will suggest tags that you probably won’t think of, but certainly you can do this part. The category should be related to your primary keyword for consistency.
Sounds like you are covering the basics, I was not because before Scribe I didn’t understand Custom Title Tags and Meta descriptions. If you want to check your skills you in these areas you could try Scribe for a month and evaluate some of your posts to see how they score. If nothing else, the recommendations that Scribe makes will help you dial in the process and you may be able to get by without it.
That’s excellent Lance,
Looks like our experiences with Scribe have been very similar. I don’t know if you have ever tried to optimize for a certain keyword and had Scribe refuse to recognize it. I’ve done that twice so I contacted them to find out why.
Turns out that Scribe has ways to recognize relevancy that were beyond me. Anyway, the point is that I was barking up the wrong tree and this tool wouldn’t let me do it. I thought was pretty cool.
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback.
Jonathan,
I have had that happen …. and have been perplexed by it when it happens. And I haven’t contacted support about it. So…now I understand it even better!! Good stuff to know! And I really do love how it helps me create the meta tags – something I didn’t even think of before.
I know what you mean Lance. I’ve got well over 300 posts with no meta tags. I should understand a thing or two about SEO by the time I get done going through them all (hopefully anyway).
This was very informative. I don’t know a lot about SEO optimizing, so you’ve definitely helped me out. I may have to give Scribe a try. Thanks a ton!
.-= Nea|Self Improvement Saga´s last amazing blog post ..How to Change Your Life and Become a Better Version of You =-.
Hi Nea, I think that most of us look at the whole SEO thing and scratch our heads. Even though Scribe has helped me grasp the concept a little better I don’t imagine that I will every be into SEO.
I love it when a tool like this allows me to do something that needs to be done without having to spend endless time or energy trying to figure it out. In cases like this I would much rather spend a modest amount of money and use my time for the things I really enjoy.
Like Mike, I am more blogging as a hobby right now, but as I grow, will definitely want to know about resources that will take the SEO load off of me. Jonathan, does this Scribe plugin work mainly with Thesis, or also with other wordpress blogs?
.-= Steve-Personal Success Factors´s last amazing blog post ..Have You Disovered These Money Making Success Factors? =-.
Hi Steve, Scribe works for a number of high quality themes and they are working to open it up for most themes very soon. I must admit, the combination of Scribe and Thesis is delicious.
Hi Jonathan, thank you for an excellent video. The process looks so simple. I read a long article on doublemule.com on SEO made specifically for Thesis, which I can see you also use, and Scribe seems to be the finishing touch to that. I am in the process of going though my 130 posts to do just that, and would love to get Scribe, although I don’t think I can afford it just yet…..thank you so much for this!
Farnoosh, I knew that without a good SEO tool of some kind that I would end up wasting lots of time and still not doing a very good job. Time is a valuable commodity these days and I’ll be lucky to do all my posts even with Scribe.
@Jonathon
These are the questions that linger.
(1) How much does the Scribe plugin cost?
(2) Is this a paid review?
I can also answer Zeenat’s question.
@Zeenat
Yours is a wordpress.com blog and we do not have FTP access to wordpress.com blogs. Therefore we cannot upload plugins into them. This and all plugins are only for wordpress.org blogs.
.-= timethief´s last amazing blog post ..Protect Your Intellectual Property: Develop a Strong Brand =-.
Hi Timethief, I think I am paying $27 per month for the Scribe service. And no, this is not a paid review. I am in the process of completely redoing my Bloggers page and this was the first article toward that goal.
Here’s what I’ve got planned.
I am going to list everything I use to make this blog work. Every plugin, every service, everything – regardless of whether it’s paid, free, or subscription. I know there are a lot of new bloggers looking for this info and I am more than happy to share. These will all be things that I have experience with. If I try something and don’t like it, I’ll list that also.
My goal is total transparency so others can make informed choices. Those were good questions and I am glad you asked them, especially the paid review one. In fact, I should probably make these points clear on the new page. Thanks for bringing this up.
Hello again,
I had my blogging tips blogger hat on when I asked those two questions. I have never questioned your transparency. I knew if I asked my questions I would get honest answers and I did.
I review free blogging tools and resources with a couple of exceptions like Ecto (a blog editor which I do recommend for Mac users ) and it comes in at about the same price you quoted for Scribe. I hasten to add I’m not suggesting the 2 tools do the same thing, of course.
There are free SEO plugins and I use one but Scribe as described in your article and video sure sounds like a better tool to me and hearing it’s affordably priced makes me smile.
Your idea about a the page for new bloggers is an excellent one. Good on you.
.-= timethief´s last amazing blog post ..Protect Your Intellectual Property: Develop a Strong Brand =-.
Timethief, this is a delayed reply to say that my Bloggers page has been updated with all the tools, services, and plugins currently being used on this blog. I also included my ping list which everyone should check out. People often overlook this aspect of blogging.
Hey Jonathan,
Woah, thanks for sharing that priceless info! I’m in the exact same boat as the others in that I don’t really know much about SEO and I always assumed that Thesis was enough. Guess not!
However I thought then I would look into it and I typed in ‘scribe’ in google and found nothing about the scribe plugin (a tiny bit of surprise) but then I typed in ‘scribe seo plugin’ and found the page with the plugin.
So here’s my question, if it’s so powerful why didn’t the word ‘scribe’ come up in the top page of the search?
How much impact have you noticed since you installed the plugin? In the example of the post you edited on the video…once you did that how much extra traffic did it pull in?
If it is really that good then I’m definitely willing to invest in the product so I would love to hear from others who’ve used it and noticed an impact in traffic.
Thanks for the information Jonathan!
.-= Amit Sodha – The Power Of Choice´s last amazing blog post ..500th Post Celebration – A Big Free Unique iPod Giveaway =-.
Hi Amit, Scribe has only been out a short time and there are a lot of other topics using the word scribe (as in copyist).
The other factor is that there are not many affiliates for Scribe because you have to own it to be an affiliate. Just so you know, the link at the bottom of my article is an affiliate link. I love this product so much I am more than pleased to share it with others.
As far as traffic goes, I really couldn’t give you before and after numbers for each optimized post. What I can say is that I am getting more search engine traffic overall, and I expect that to rise as I go back and optimize more posts.
What we need to keep in mind is that the more posts google ranks high from our blogs, the higher they rank the whole blog. That leads to more traffic, which leads to higher rankings. I have seen my optimized posts hit the top 3 positions on google for some significant keywords, out of millions of listings, within minutes of publishing.
With hundreds of millions of blogs out there, the only way to rise to the top is to start by creating great value and killer content. Plus, you must be willing to do the things that other people a blowing off like SEO.
Thanks for the clarification Jonathan. I’m going to take a dive in and give it a go!
.-= Amit Sodha – The Power Of Choice´s last amazing blog post ..500th Post Celebration – A Big Free Unique iPod Giveaway =-.
P.S. Jonathan, I can’t say thank you enough for bringing this to my attention…there’s been this niggly thing in the back of my head constantly thinking about SEO and noticing the little SEOvbox below my post as I’m editing them and I couldn’t help but think I should be putting something in there. You’ve set me on the right path! Thank you.
.-= Amit Sodha – The Power Of Choice´s last amazing blog post ..500th Post Celebration – A Big Free Unique iPod Giveaway =-.
Dear Jonathan, Yes, the SEO has been a concern for me too, and yet I too am technically challenged. So I’ve got to look into this more. Thank you for taking the time to share what works for you. Like TT said, I totally trust your integrity so it makes it much easier to decide what to use. I trust Dragos too and yet he is sooooo far beyond my comprehension. I don’t even yet have the language.
By the way, when I first heard your voice on these videos I kept thinking, “Where have heard that voice before?” Well, it hit me today that you sound like Clint Eastwood!!! LOL!! I’m laughing, but you really do sound like him. It’s wild!! And your videos are fantastic.
Hugs,
Robin
.-= Robin Easton´s last amazing blog post ..Beyond My Comfort Zone =-.
Actually Robin, my voice was feeling a little worn out so I called Clint and asked if he could fill in for me. And of course, he jumped at the chance.
Are you laughing?
Am I laughing?!!
YES!!!!
How could I not.
I am also impressed with the quick come back!!
.-= Robin Easton´s last amazing blog post ..Are Your Maps Holding You Back? =-.
Here’s an interesting and informative article I just found called: Must See SEO Guide for All WordPress Bloggers. It’s pretty complete if anyone is interested.
Hi Jonathan, (tried to “reply” to the rest of that thread above but didn’t see the option..maybe the thread was long enough!!!)…just to thank you for the tips and let you and Lance know that I am now, as of 5 days ago, a proud and happy user of Scribe….thank you for all your suggestions and help here!!!!
Wow, that’s Excellent. Please let me know how you like it and if you would recommend it. I’ve got nested comments set at “5 levels deep,” maybe I should bump it up a bit.
In a way SEO does matter but just concentrate on delivering great value and you will get PEOPLE referrals which bring you lots of traffic and they are the type that buy things.
Good job with this video! These are very helpful tips for bloggers to get the best SEO and SMO. I really agree with you saying “to continue focusing on good content and have a high search engine ranking” that’s really hitting the bulls eye!
Thanks for the share!
Best SEO and SMO recently posted..BIGGER and BOLDER Changes in the Blogosphere