I was never really into the technical side of the internet back when the World Wide Web was still something of a novelty, but I do remember flicking through the pages of a computer magazine my boyfriend at the time used to read religiously. One paragraph that stuck with me to this day was a vision of what the internet would grow into, which is a collection of “home pages” that each and every tech savvy person has. Fast-forward to 2019 and that’s exactly what it is, isn’t it? If we don’t have our own blogs, most of us at least have a generic version of our own web pages on social media platforms and other online networking platforms.

Turning attention specifically to my blog, many of my close friends, family and colleagues think that I do indeed have some kind of technical knowledge when it comes to web design and stuff like that, but it’s only really very basic. Taking stock of my blogging journey so far, many might be surprised to find that I basically just used a WordPress template, which granted looks unique because of a number of factors that are by design.

I specifically chose a clean layout and design with a white background to emphasise the content which I would be sharing and the content I keep publishing. It’s all about the content – the information, because that is where the value lies and sure, I do indeed illustrate discussed topics with a relevant picture if the content isn’t a personal documentation of something like a trip I went on, but you’ll notice that I tend to keep the images to a minimum.

Basically, I use a Content Management System (CMS), which is just a system such as the admin area of your WordPress blog. This allows me to publish content without needing any technical knowledge of web development or any of the back-end programming languages. If you have no prior experience with any CMS software like WordPress, but want to create a website like me, don’t worry. You can find the link to some beginner-friendly video courses online. I understand that creating a website sounds intimidating. But, with a little help and some foundational knowledge, you can definitely manage to create one by yourself.

My apologies for getting a bit technical, but it’s imperative to delve just a little bit into the technical side of things in order to drive the point home in a way that people who might also be looking to get into blogging will understand.

Cue SEO – Search Engine Optimisation. SEO is basically just optimising your content with the use of keywords you want Google to rank your site for, among others, but I don’t really apply keyword-rich SEO tactics. I prefer for Google to rank me “naturally,” so to speak, which means I get ranked based on the value placed on the content I produce. I don’t leave it all to chance though, making use of a PPC consultancy to drive paid traffic to many of my posts, but only to sort of “introduce” this content to the masses. Since it’s valuable content that’s shared, this approach has residual SEO effects in that the content is shared and I get “natural” back-links to my blog, so the investment in any PPC campaign pays off a little while afterward, but in a HUGE way.

That being said, I have also been doing a lot of research into how SEO tactics can help websites rise through the search engine results pages (SERPs). One of my friends owns an e-commerce website and she told me that she actually outsources a lot of the SEO-related tasks associated with her website — perhaps she makes use of services related to SEO by JSB Digital Works or a similar company.

Honestly, when you own a huge website such as one that sells products, it can be difficult to keep on top of everything that needs to be done to ensure each page has been optimized correctly. Hence, seeking external help is a must!

Note: If you would like more information about mastering SEO for e-commerce websites you can have a peek at this site. This is definitely something that I might look into in the future if my site continues to grow.

So, what do you think of my website? Let me know what you like best and if you would change anything! I can’t wait to hear your feedback and I am really excited to see what the future holds for my blog.