What I Learned at BlogHer 2016

…that I’ll actually be implementing on this space.

It’s safe to say that spending any amount of time at a blogging conference will teach you a plethora of different things. For example, most people aren’t going to be pleased when there’s only one lunch option and wearing comfortable shoes isn’t going to make your outfit happy — but your feet will be pleased! 

Today I’m going to talk about what I took away from the sessions I attended at BlogHer. Specifically, what I want to implement here in this space and maybe help someone reading!

1. SEO. I’ll be honest — SEO was a little bit lost on me for longer than I care to admit. I attended a seminar taught by Stephan Spencer that was all about SEO and how to get your content discovered in a search. I learned that picking the right words is essential to making your pages “sing” to Google. Tools like Soovle and Google Keyword Planner are gamechangers in this arena and can help you brainstorm. Also, for anyone wondering, meta descriptions no longer rule the world when it comes ranking signals anymore!

2. Evergreen Content. Everyone knows that capitalizing on current events is a great way to gain traffic, but what happens when you have a blog that isn’t an entertainment or current events space? Utilize what you know to reference current events. For example, if a celebrity announces their secret battle with anorexia and you have previously battled an eating disorder, creating an “evergreen” post on “5 Ways To Help Someone Who Might Have An Eating Disorder” is more relevant than sharing your own story. 

3. Aim For Google Answer Box. You know when you search something and sometimes Google provides you with the answer automatically at the top? That answer is considered the Google Answer Box and it is compiled from sites that rank on the first page of Google. It typically answers the 5Ws (who,what,where,why,when) and first began around 2013. The higher on the page your site ranks, the better!

4. Pitch Alone. You and your blogger friend might have a really fabulous idea for a media member, but maybe you have a huge following and he/she doesn’t. Maybe their blog sucks (the presenter’s words…not mine!), maybe they have a crappy personality…the reality is — you need to pitch the media alone. If you have a great idea, are an expert on something or have a unique viewpoint to offer — you need to approach the media as a singular entity. This is not the time for the buddy system! Other things to keep in mind when it comes to your ideas and the media: Why do they care? What is unique? Why you? Why now?

5. Pinpoint Your Popularity. Using Google Analytics or another analytics tool, go through your blog and find your most popular posts. Do they all have a theme? What makes them the same? That’s what your readers want! Write more of it!

6. Keep The Joy. There are so many reasons that people blog, but the one takeaway point that I loved (and now I can’t remember which session I heard it in!) was “keep finding the joy in your blog”. Don’t get too caught up in the rat race of blogging, don’t forget why you started and don’t lose sight of the direction you want things to go in. I loved this! If you ever stop finding joy in your blog and it becomes work instead of a fun space, you’ve lost your joy.

Have you ever attended BlogHer? What was your biggest takeaway?