SEO Mistakes I’ve Made (That You Can Avoid)

This was originally posted in our jrfcommunity ~ a public forum ~ click and connect!


Given how many in jrfcommunity are practitioners, I wanted to share some SEO (search engine optimization) mistakes I’ve made which I hope you can avoid.  Sharing business advice from what I’ve learned feels good!

SEO matters because it creates a ranking for your site that determines where you show up in someone’s search result. Search for something like Enlightenment Tools in any internet search engine (ISP = internet search provider). Those that show up at the top (below any ads) are kicking butt in SEO. And it probably wasn’t by accident or luck.

The first mistake I made in SEO was using unusual, creative language in my content.

Those of you that have been alongside for awhile know that I tend to enjoy creating new language. I didn’t like the term lightworker so I created the term Bringer of Light. I referenced bringers of light in many website posts, social media posts and in podcasts.  I didn’t like the term higher self so I used the term team and also soulful layers.

ISPs like Google and DuckDuckGo are trying to match what people are searching for with what it can find that might match that on the internet. Guess how many people are searching for bringer of light and soulful layers?  Yup, pretty much no one except a very special group here, who probably isn’t using an ISP to answer your consciousness questions. Although I still don’t like the term lightworker or higher self I now see that in order to make my work available to the wider population of spiritual seekers and consciousness devotees I needed to at least include the conventional language, even if just in an intro, perhaps with some context for what terms I am using instead and why.

The second mistake I made was offering so much content in video and audio podcasts which the ISPs have a hard time using to match searches. ISPs don’t comb through what is in a video or an audio file. Given that podcasts and course videos are the primary bulk of my content there is a huge portion of in my opinion invaluable resources, tools and enlightenment that the internet doesn’t reference and doesn’t even acknowledge exists.  The solution is to either have content transcribed and then posted on its own or to have really good, detailed summaries using terms that individuals are searching for so that they can show up in search results.

The third mistake I made was being stubborn about how I posted articles or blog posts on my website. For optimal SEO there is a set structure of posts, an ideal maximum and minimum amount of content, an ideal number of internal and external links, an ideal introduction and summary, an ideal length of excerpt. and so much more. I can be stubborn at times with a clear vision of how I like things. As an internet user, I personally really hate it when I’m just trying to find the oven temp and time for my rosemary potatoes and the internet result I select has two paragraphs on completely useless, irrelevant information on the topic. I don’t care when rosemary was first introduced as a food ingredient. I also don’t care when rosemary first began being prepared with potatoes or who came up with it, or where that person grew up or what inspired them to put rosemary with potatoes. I just want to know is it 400 or 425 for my oven temp and is 25 minutes long enough to get the golden brown edges with the crispy sensation my hubby and I like. But, here’s the thing.  The top internet search results aren’t going to be my quick answer.  Because the ISPs won’t put a quick post with only the ideal temp and time setting for rosemary potatoes in the top results.  When I search I am first seeing the top results. What ISPs show in those top results is what it has decided best matches what I am looking for.  And it is picky about what it deems best.

So many times I just write from my heart, my soulful layers, inspired by an idea and wanting to post it to make it available, hoping it inspires and informs. All that content is not showing up in people’s searches where they can see it (the first page of results).  And this is because I was following my own rules, my own heart and not appreciating that the algorithms had a set criteria list it was using.

I don’t want my work to hide from anyone it could help. Since December 2021 my posts have extra background, context, more length than a brief quickie idea and a longer excerpt with hopefully enough detail to try and describe what the article is about.

The third mistake I made was using a paywall for my content (Memberful). It appears that even though I have a public side of each for-pay course and workshop the ISPs can tell there is content behind a paywall that the searcher cannot access so it doesn’t include it in the top results, even if the description of that course or pay-wall content is exactly what the searcher is looking for. I like paywalls because the alternatives of emailing out purchased content just didn’t resonate with me. I liked the idea of everyone watching or listening to the content in one hub, able to comment, ask questions, etc.  I think in hindsight most websites aren’t really conducive to that sort of interaction. On my wordpress website the comment section is way at the bottom where some people don’t even see it. And, some of us just don’t comment, aren’t looking for connection or dialogue, and that is ok, too.  This third mistake is actually one of the reasons I was led to try out a community network here.

I’m sure there are more SEO mistakes I’ve made but those are the main ones. I didn’t realize how much it appeared I was hiding my work from the world.  But in early 2021 I began to wonder if SEO was an avenue for growth. I worked with an SEO firm recommended by my tech guy but that didn’t seem to have flow. $2,000 USD spent and with pretty much no benefit. In late 2021 I used Upwork to identify another SEO pro that seemed like a better match. I’ve loved working with him. It’s pricey, too (~$3000 USD) but I sense it will be worth it.  His insights are helpful and he is fun to work with. If any of you need SEO help/advice and have the budget, his website is here. My websites scores are up dramatically in just 6 weeks with just some very technical improvements that Joshua recommended, which mattered to SEO.

Some of you might be disliking the term mistakes. Some like to think there are no mistakes, only lessons. That’s fine.  Personally, I do think there are mistakes and that doesn’t have to mean lessons. I don’t find value in rationalizing why it may have been just perfect that I made the above mistakes for over ten years sharing my work.

With all the heart, soul and time I put into my work, my website and wanting to help people, it definitely would’ve been better for me and anyone who is helped by my work to have made it easier for me to show up in their internet searches for answers and advice. I didn’t. I had my reasons but in hindsight, they weren’t good enough to justify the way I truly have hidden my work, unwittingly, from this world.

A large percentage of my audience found me on telesummits, primarily John Burgos. It is possible more could have found me had I been smarter about SEO at the beginning.

But, I’m not complaining. It is what it is. And I now I know better so I do better.

If this helps you do better, from the start or however mature your practice may be, that makes me happy. And, maybe this post will rank well in SEO. That would be hilarious.

With love,

Jill