Tracey Wallace is a author turned content material marketer turned search engine optimization professional. She was the pinnacle of BigCommerce’s content material group and now serves an identical function for MarketerHire, a market for freelancers, which launched in 2019.
In our current dialog, she addressed the post-Covid workforce, the advantages of hiring freelancers, and, sure, find out how to drive site visitors with content material advertising.
Our complete audio interview is embedded under. The transcript is edited for readability and size.
Eric Bandholz: MarketerHire has grown dramatically.
Tracey Wallace: Sure, we’ve grown an insane quantity. I’ve been there for a few 12 months and a half. I used to be the one full-time advertising employees initially.
MarketerHire is a market for freelance entrepreneurs. Once I joined, the first advertising tactic was adverts; they’re nonetheless essential for us. However I used to be introduced in to construct natural search site visitors, which is my background. I’ve executed it for a number of different B2B corporations.
We’re making an attempt to develop our advertising group of 5 staff and 7 freelancers. We use freelancers from our community. However we nonetheless want in-house expertise, so we’re hiring product entrepreneurs, copywriters.
Bandholz: Everyone seems to be on the lookout for advertising assist now.
Wallace: Proper. So many individuals have stop their jobs. In August, the variety of individuals within the U.S. who stop their jobs was the best in 20 years.
It’s scary for enterprise homeowners. Bigger corporations can throw more cash, extra advantages. Nevertheless it’s costly for the small guys. We not too long ago interviewed over 600 advertising leaders and located that many are hiring freelancers. They nonetheless want work executed.
There are a variety of freelancers; many have extra credentials than inside staff.
Hiring freelancers will be cheaper, too. Nevertheless it requires cautious onboarding and venture scoping. Even advertising leaders that rent freelancers don’t at all times know the scale of a venture.
Bandholz: We’ve shifted lots to freelancers at Beardbrand. The fantastic thing about hiring freelancers is getting somebody someday per week who’s specialised, similar to social media, video modifying, or copywriting. That’s all they do, they usually adore it. Whereas one individual in-house might love social media however hate running a blog or video work.
Wallace: Proper. That’s the problem generally with early full-time hires. Early on, you want people to do a variety of issues. However because it scales, the enterprise requires specialised experience.
Bandholz: Let’s revisit natural search. What are the methods to execute that efficiently?
Wallace: We might do a two-hour-long podcast on natural search methods. Folks usually ignore it as a result of it takes time. Entrepreneurs will not be sometimes affected person. We will put cash behind a Fb advert and see fast outcomes. Natural search takes six months to a 12 months.
That’s some huge cash for companies to take a position with out seeing an instantaneous return. I labored at BigCommerce for 4 and a half years. I used to be the one content material marketer for 3 and a half of these years. That’s nuts. Shopify, then again, had a bunch of individuals engaged on it. HubSpot invested in it very early.
The perfect recommendation I may give to any small enterprise serious about rising natural search site visitors is to publish one article per week — even as soon as a month. And write about your personal experience associated to your enterprise.
Do a fast Google search in your matter. There’s a ton of search-engine-optimization instruments to assist. However Google itself will present info simply by looking out. There’ll be 10 articles on web page 1. Have a look at these, particularly the highest 5. Learn them.
On the backside, Google has “Associated searches.” Copy these strategies and drop them in a Google Doc. Google additionally contains related questions in search outcomes, known as “Folks additionally ask.”
Click on on these questions, and extra pop up. You solely want three or 4 questions. Drop these in a Doc, too.
Then take a look at what you’ve simply collected. Begin to formulate the form of inquiries to reply and what individuals are on the lookout for. These questions needs to be headers in your article — HTML headers similar to an H2.
Then write the reply in your personal voice under the header. You would even use CopyAI or Jarvis.
Bandholz: What are CopyAI and Jarvis?
Wallace: These are new copywriting instruments. I’m unsure how a lot they value. I’ve tried them and some others.
I’m a author. It’s not difficult for me to supply content material. I’m not a fan of the copy the instruments produce.
However in case you aren’t a author, these instruments might help. Insert a subject similar to find out how to construct a motorcycle. Then select your tone, voice, different variables. You would insert complete outlines, and the instruments will write articles for you.
It’s all primarily based on synthetic intelligence, not human writers. However you’ll be able to edit it and duplicate and paste it.
So in case you are struggling to publish one month-to-month article, strive an AI device.
Bandholz: So the technique for search engine optimization is creating content material across the merchandise you’re promoting.
Wallace: Sure. I take advantage of an search engine optimization platform known as Ahrefs. I desire it over Semrush. Lots of people desire Semrush. I’ve used Ahrefs my complete profession.
Go to Ahrefs and enter your own home web page URL on the prime. It can present the variety of key phrases your website already ranks for. For every key phrase, Ahrefs lists the search quantity.
Ahrefs additionally gives a key phrase issue rating — 1 to 100, with 100 being probably the most troublesome. If you happen to’re new to content material advertising, ignore the upper scores and concentrate on the decrease ones.
Search for key phrases with a excessive quantity that you simply’re already rating for, even just a bit bit, and with low key phrase issue. Then go to that web page in your website and enhance it — add content material or enhance what’s there. You’ll be able to fairly shortly begin shifting up.
Google rewards websites that replace pages.
Bandholz: Beardbrand has round 1,000 articles. Numerous them haven’t been touched in years. How will we replace them?
Wallace: You’re in a great spot with 1,000 older articles. Once more drop every article URL right into a device similar to Ahrefs. What key phrases are they rating for? Most likely aren’t rating for a lot of.
Then determine which URLs are the strongest — rating for the perfect key phrase or getting probably the most site visitors. Then rewrite that article and mix all associated weblog posts into one utilizing 301 redirects. Google likes long-form content material.
Attempt to replace the highest articles every year, if not each six months. You don’t at all times want an enormous replace.
And embody photos by all means. Put the key phrase within the picture title. It’s tremendous essential. You’ll be able to even cover key phrases again there. Instruments similar to Clearscope will inform you what key phrases have to be in your article for it to rank the best. I extremely advocate it.
Generally you’ll be able to’t match all of the key phrases in an article. I embody these in my image names.
Bandholz: Let’s deal with electronic mail assortment? Do you advocate popups?
Wallace: Properly, I hate popups as a shopper. I’ve at all times hated popups. However they work so nicely.
If you wish to gather extra electronic mail addresses, a popup is smart. Simply know that some individuals will despise the web site due to it.
I like what some manufacturers are doing with SMS, the place they solicit textual content messages on their Twitter profiles or their web site and even packaging. Customers textual content the manufacturers. As a client, that doesn’t really feel prefer it’s in my face. It doesn’t really feel determined.
Bandholz: At Beardbrand, we encourage people to textual content “Model” to a telephone quantity, and we’ll present model recommendation.
Wallace: I adore it. I feel it’s genius. I’ve seen cooking manufacturers say, “Textual content ‘Recipe’ to this quantity, and we’ll ship you recipes.”
It’s genius. The model didn’t spam me. I requested to obtain the information. I’m not aggravated. Plus it’s straightforward to opt-out.
I ought to add that I don’t know the way it’s working for manufacturers. However as a shopper, I prefer it.
Bandholz: SMS is killing it for everyone now. Retailers have to get on that practice earlier than it will get crowded, like electronic mail.
How can listeners attain out to you?
Wallace: I’m on Twitter — @TraceWall. I’m lively there. It’s my foremost place. MarketerHire is on Twitter, too — @MarketerHire. The web site is MarketerHire.com.
