White Hat SEO:The Definitive Guide

Find Awesome Long Tail Keywords With Google Suggest

This couldn’t be simpler:

Just type in a keyword that you want to rank for…

…and jot down the keywords that Google suggests.

Why is this important?

Well, most people struggle with SEO because they target keywords that are too competitive.

(I can’t tell you how many people email me saying: “I want to rank #1 in Google for ‘weight loss’.” #facepalm)

That’s why Google Suggest is so darn powerful:

These suggested keywords are “long tail keywords” that aren’t insanely competitive.

But because Google is suggesting them, you know that people actually search for them.

Online Communities

This strategy is simple:

First, head over to an online community where your audience hangs out, like Reddit.

Then, pay attention to the words and phrases people use over and over again.

(Especially when asking questions)

These questions make GREAT keywords.

If you want to automate this process, check out Answer The Public.

It’s a free tool that analyzes the web for questions that people ask around your topic.

Feature #1: Long, In-Depth Content

If you want to rank higher on Google, you need to STOP publishing generic, “me too” content.

(Like: “5 Tips for X” or “7 Reasons to Start Y”.)

Why?

A recent study of search engine ranking factors found a clear correlation between “Content Grade” and Google rankings in both desktop and mobile results:

In other words:

Content that ranks well today covers an entire topic on one page.

For example:

Earlier this year I found a keyword that I wanted to rank for: “Mobile SEO”.

Instead of a generic list post, I created a massive 4,000+ word guide:

And because my guide shows you EVERYTHING you need to know about mobile optimization, it very quickly climbed up to the top 3 in Google:

Feature #3: Great User Experience and Readability

Like I just mentioned, Google closely tracks how people interact with your site.

Specifically, Google pays VERY close attention to one thing:

The amount of time that people stay on your page.

If Google notices that people leave your site after a few seconds, you can expect a rankings drop.

(Want to see a real-life example of this happening to my site? Check out the video below.)

So: how do you keep searchers on your site longer?

Here are two simple tips that work great:

First, write an introduction that gets straight to the point.

For example, check out the brief intro from this post on my blog about SEO tools:

Next, make sure your content is SUPER easy to read.

That means…

Big font (15px+):

Lots of subheadings:

And short paragraphs (1-2 sentences MAX):

Now that you’ve published a piece of awesome content, it’s time for chapter 3.

That’s where you’ll learn how to keyword-optimize your content.

Strategy #1: Descriptive URLs

Google uses your page’s URL to understand what your content is about:

That’s why you want your URLs to be:

1. Short
2. Keyword-rich

For example, my target keyword for this blog post is “ecommerce SEO”:

So I made the URL for that webpage: /ecommerce-seo.

Simple.

Strategy #3: Use Keywords Strategically

In the old days of SEO, you could rank your site using a black hat technique known as “keyword stuffing”.

(This meant cramming keywords into your content 1000 times)

Today, search engine algorithms are MUCH more sophisticated.

Which means that keyword stuffing doesn’t work anymore.

What does?

Using your target keyword (and close variations of that term) a handful of times on your page.

Like in your title tag:

The beginning of your content:

And in H1 or H2 tag:

Strategy #1: The Skyscraper Technique

The Skyscraper Technique is as white hat as it gets.

First, you evaluate Google’s first page for relevant content that’s already ranking well.

Next, you figure out what that content has in common.

Finally, you write a post that’s similar to what you just found… but WAY better.

For example:

A while back, I wanted to create something around the topic of: “how to optimize videos”.

So I did a search for terms like “video SEO”:

And I analyzed each piece of content that was ranking in the SERPs.

(By the way, SERP = Search Engine Results Page.)

Anyway:

I noticed that most of the content I found were list posts and guides.

To me, a guide made the most sense for this keyword. So I went with that.

Specifically, I wrote a guide that CRUSHED the other guides about video SEO:

And because my content deserves to rank on Google’s first page, it now ranks in the top 3 for my target keyword:

Strategy #3: Industry Studies and Original Research

This strategy definitely takes some work.

But when done right, an industry study can land you LOTS of backlinks.

For example, earlier this year we published a study about ranking signals that impact voice search SEO.

This page is now a few years old and it racked up over 3.7K backlinks.

Speed Up Loading Time

Google is usually secretive about the factors that go into their algorithm.

But there’s one factor they’re not shy about:

The importance of your site’s loading speed.

So:

How do you know if your site is fast enough?

First, use a Google tool called PageSpeed Insights.

If you have bloated code or huge images slowing down your page, this tool will tell you about it:

If you want to dig deeper, try WebPageTest:

Unlike Google’s PageSpeed Insights, WebPageTest gives you A LOT of details on your site’s performance…

…and hooks you up with actionable things you can do to reduce your site’s loading time.

Fix Errors

Next, use the uber-helpful Google Search Console to find errors and problems with your site’s technical SEO.

Just head over to the “Index coverage report”.

And see if Google has trouble finding your important pages (which can happen if you blocked Googlebot by mistake).

If you run across errors, I recommend checking out Chapter 2 of my guide to the Google Search Console, which breaks down errors that you might run into.

Case Study #1: How Emil Ranked #1

Today you’re going to learn how Emil rocketed his site to the #1 spot in Google using ethical, white hat SEO.

(And a good amount of content marketing.)

Let’s walk you through the specific steps that Emil used…

Step #2: Find Content That Already Ranks for That Keyword

Once you’ve found a keyword, it’s time to get a feel for what’s already out there…

…so you can destroy it.

(Yes, I let out an evil laugh when I wrote that ????)

So:

How do you find content that’s already done well?

A simple Google search.

Simply search for your target keyword (and a few closely-related keywords), and see what comes up.

For example:

Emil Googled “employee wellness program ideas”, “wellness programs” and “corporate wellness programs”:

And he noticed a few trends in the results.

(Namely: most of the results were lists of program ideas, they lacked visuals, and they didn’t provide any details of how to actually implement each program.)

Step #4: Promote Your Epic Content

Here’s how Emil promoted (and built links) to his content.

Emil Used “Pre-Outreach”

Once Emil put the finishing touches on his post, he knew he had something special.

That’s why he decided to promote his post…

…before he even published it.

(This is known as “Pre-Outreach”.)

Here’s how it went down:

First, Emil found blogs that wrote about employee wellness. And he sent them this message:

Because he didn’t beg for a link or share, they were happy to hear from him:

In fact, one of the people that Emil reached out to linked to him later that day:

(And several people shared his blog post on social media.)

Emil Promoted With “The Content Roadshow”

Next, Emil promoted his content with “The Content Roadshow”.

Let me show you how The Content Roadshow works:

First, Emil searched for bloggers that wrote about employee wellness, human resources and other related topics.

And when he found a piece of great content like this one…

…he emailed the author:

In this case, Kristi asked Emil to submit his content to her roundup:

He did… and got a sweet backlink in return:

Emil Emailed Brands

Next, Emil emailed the other companies that he referenced in his post.

For example, Emil mentioned Authority Nutrition here:

And sent them a message to let them know that they’ve been featured:

As you can see, they happily shared his post:

Emil Built Backlinks

Now that Emil had some social proof going, it was time to get down and dirty with link building.

Here’s the exact process that Emil used:

First, he searched for his target keyword in Google…

…and popped the top 50 results into a spreadsheet:

Next, Emil found out who linked to the top 50 results.

He popped each URL into Semrush and went one-by-one through the results.

Then he emailed each of those people to let them know about his new, superior resource.

Let’s take a look at a real life example of Emil’s outreach in action…

Here’s his first email:

Her response:

His second email (with a link to his content)

Boom! A link:

All of these links led to a solid uptick in traffic:

And a #1 Google ranking:

(Because Emil didn’t do anything shady, these rankings should last over the long run)

Step #1: Richard Found a Keyword

As an SEO newbie, Richard wanted to know which white hat SEO tools the experts used (in other words, not automated black hat tools).

And when he typed “link building tools” into Semrush, he noticed that this keyword got a decent amount of searches every month.

Step #3: Richard Created an Awesome Piece of Content

Like I said, Richard was brand new to SEO.

So he wasn’t about to write a post like: “Here’s the best link building tool on the planet”.

Instead, he emailed 115 influential people in the SEO space…and got 47 replies (that’s a 41% conversion rate).

The end result is Richard’s expert roundup post, 55 SEO Experts Reveal 3 Favorite Link Building Tools: