SEO is so much more than metadata and tags. It’s not a short-term fix, but a long-term marketing strategy which includes writing content of value and compelling headings, along with formatting, metadata and more.

Although Google’s algorithms use over 200 signals, you can actually take simple, straightforward SEO measures to vastly improve your search engine ranking.

Google’s #1 mission statement is to “Focus on the user and all else will follow” – they’re looking for “relevant content” with “the best user experience possible”.

So, you can stop inadvertently hurting your potential web traffic - it’s easier than you think.

Whether you’re building a personal brand or trying to drive traffic to your site through organic SEO, blogging is the number one way to get exposure online.
 
But here’s the catch:
It takes patience, research, planning, a great workflow, and a whole lot of time.

Sometimes the one thing that may be blocking your way to success is you.
  
Money blocks are the mistaken beliefs, imagined fears, or hesitations that are all connected with the idea of what increased affluence will bring, or what we need to do to get there. 

These obstacles often exist only in the mind. But they can make a mark in your reality. They can lead to self-sabotage. They can dampen your entrepreneurial fire.

We all know that knowing your "why" is important, but it's so much more than just a talking point or mission statement. It's the thing that drives your decisions, which is why you should come back to it frequently.

Recently, my husband shared how he is using the question of “why” to help his team stay on track. They were given a new assignment by their administration and immediately jumped into a how to complete the assignment and who would do each part. They argued for almost an hour trying to figure out the best approach and what would have the best outcome without adding too much to their already heavy workload. 

But they got nowhere because they didn’t start with why they were working on this new assignment. They didn’t know the overall purpose, so they got lost in the details. This happens frequently in business, especially when you’re doing things on your own with no one to bounce ideas off of.

So how do you make sure you’re always making Why a part of your business?  We’re going to go through a few easy steps to help you stay on track.

Last week we talked about your branding and how to create an experience for your visitors. Now we're going to talk about how to apply that branding to your website and how to setup your navigation for the best use of your audience's time.

You know branding is important - and you probably have been told 1000 times that branding isn't "just a logo". But what does branding really look like aside from the design aspect? Today we're going to dig into the personality of your business and talk about building a structure. We're also going to look at what goes into making a brand guidebook. Let's dig in.

Workflows can help you streamline your work, and they give you a predictable routine to follow. They’re ideal for large, involved projects, especially when the projects involve more than one person. Even your blog post writing process can benefit from a workflow, especially considering how time-consuming it can be to go from brainstorming a post to scheduling it on social media.

Being an entrepreneur entails talking - with anyone and everyone. Building relationships can be the make it or break it point for small business owners. While building those relationships, a business owner is also working on creating products, updating their social presence, maintaining current clients, and so much more. It’s difficult enough trying to keep up with all of the work you’re doing - trying to keep track of everyone you’ve ever talked to and what you said is too much. That’s why maintaining a CRM or Customer Relationship Management software is the answer to every business owner’s prayers. 

Back 2 Basics is our new blog post series launching March 4th. For 10 weeks we're going to work our way through the basics of online business. We'll be cleaning up our own business while working through the series to act as a live case study. In this series, we will be talking about establishing a foundation for your business that will allow you to thrive for the next several years. We're going to address things like business plans, SEO, social media, branding, finding clients and tons of other topics.

If you use Squarespace and ConvertKit, then you know that there is no way of creating a lead box on Squarespace unless you buy lead pages or use a third party app. 

The problem with using a third party app is that ConvertKit does not track analytics which is one of the main reasons for using ConvertKit. 

ConvertKit only tracks emails that are sent directly through ConvertKit. So if you're using a third-party app like Zapier, your analytics are going to show people going to the page but not opting in.

So today I am going to show you how to create a lead box on Squarespace that directly connects to ConvertKit so you can always have the correct analytics information.