🍩 Donuts Newsletter Issue #5: Hunting Big Keywords + Niche Website Project Update

🍩 Good day, Donuts!

I will cut straight to the chase.

-1- First, I've finally posted the update for October and November. It is a quick update because most of the things that happened during the last two months will be discussed here. Before you continue reading this newsletter, read the update and then come back here.

Many things have happened, and I took the time to reflect on them. I am very tight on time right now, but I am committed to slowing down, dedicating more time to my marketing blog. There are so many topics I want to write about, but right now, life is happening the way it is happening, and the only thing I can do is accept it the way it is. Next week I am going back to my parent's house in the Rhodope Mountains, where I will be spending the next two months. Life, in the very heart of these spectacular mountains, is moving slow and you are moving at the same pace, and yet, completing everything and still having more time left. 

Now, did you read the update? If you did, then keep reading what's next. If you haven't, open this link, read it, and get back to the meat over here.

-2- Second, in my last update, I wrote, "Don't expect to see a hockey stick chart."

Well, there is a tiny one. 

I wish the hockey stick were headed towards 15 000 or 150 000 organic traffic, but it's the best chart I've seen for this website so far. Also, this chart is after Google's November core update, and the update positively impacted this website. 

Small or big, this is irrelevant for this conversation. What's relevant is how I earned it.

I went for a hunt

That's right. I went for a big hunt, and I've harvested some good keywords.

According to Ahrefs' data, this keyword has a search volume of 17 000 and a difficulty score of 1. Two weeks after I've published the article, targeting the above keyword, it ranked under #22, and I think a week or so later, the article moved to number 13, without any link buiklding.

One of the investors in my niche website told me, "Mila, can you give me access to Google Analytics? I promise I won't be a pain in the ass if I don't see exponential growth." Previously, I've shared Koray's epic exponential growth graphs (ha, I guess it did no good to me by doing so :)) But one day, I asked myself - how can I show my investors an exponential growth graph without using Paint or Photoshop? 😃 

How? Well, by having:

1. Thousands of articles with low volume keywords or
2. Hundreds of articles with high volume keywords

The truth is, my website has none of the above. The website has 305 articles; most keywords have 0-10 searches, 20-50, and some 100-500. Even if I rank for every article on spot 1, the math shows me that it is pretty unlikely to see the moon traffic. I don't have the volume (of keywords) and the quantity (of articles). And that's how I decided to deviate from the Avalanche + KGR path and go for a big keywords hunt.

The 17 000 volume keyword isn't the only example. Here is another one. This article ranked #6 just three days after publishing it, among results with DR70+ domains. What's mine DR? It's 4.

(the article below the 17 000 is the one I am talking about)

This means that I am moving away from the initial Avalanche plan. I think that the Avalanche technique was great for 2015, but for 2021+, Google wants websites covering a broader meaning in context. For me, this means going niche down but category-wide. For almost a year, I used to publish articles targeting two categories, tightly connected to the name of my domain (and the niche, of course). But when I look at my top competitors, there are not limited to two categories; they cover almost every topic within the niche.

Let me give you more context so that you can understand me better. A niche is basketball shoes. A category could be male, female, kids basketball shoes, but also Nike, Puma, Yeezy. Also, a category could be basketball shoes from the 70s, 80s, 90s. Instead of targeting only Nike basketball shoes for females from the 70s, you target everything under the niche basketball shoes.

And I think that Google prefers pulling results from websites, which can satisfy more queries in a niche. Just think about it, if you can read all the info you want from one website, why do you have to waste time searching and opening 2-3-5 websites? Or why do people love going to the Mall? Because a single building offers everything within walking distance. You can satisfy your needs faster. And isn't Google trying to do the same with the invention of Rich Snippets? Quick, instant customer satisfaction.

I'll let you digest my thoughts on dumping the Avalanche technique and going after high-volume keywords. This newsletter is getting a bit longer, so in next week's email, I will discuss how I influenced which article to rank for my main keyword by simply altering anchor texts and internal links. And yes, I did it for my website and for an eCommerce + content website.

I don't want you to get bored, so I'll continue this conversation next week. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts regarding my thoughts, let me know.

I am going to hunt some salmon sashimi from my fridge. 😃 Have a slowing-down Sunday, donuts! Talk to you next week.

Own your future, Friends!

Mila 💌

🙏 If you're enjoying my Donuts about Marketing newsletter, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend (or three). You can send them this link.

I'm always open to feedback and suggestions.

-

I also share my struggles and success on TW, IG.