Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Self-Host Your Blog (And How To Do It)

When it comes to running a successful blog, there are a few key components you need in order to be successful. One of the most important factors – and often overlooked – is self-hosting. You must have a self hosted blog in order to have full control over your blog and grow your audience, you need to be self-hosted. 

Self-hosting may seem like a daunting task, but it’s really not that complicated. And once you have your blog up and running, the benefits are endless. From having complete control over your blog’s design to being able to monetize your blog, self-hosting is the way to go if you want to be a successful blogger. 

If you’re not sure whether self-hosting is right for you, keep reading. In this article, we’ll go over the top 7 reasons why self-hosting is the best choice for serious bloggers.

By the end of this article, you’ll know everything you need to know about self-hosting and why it’s the best way to host your blog. Let’s get started!

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, ie., I earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase and sometimes if you just click on a link at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more info.

self hosted blog

7 Reasons Why You Must Have A Self Hosted Blog

1. You Have Complete Control Over Your Blog

At the end of the day, the reason top bloggers and myself included utilize self-hosting (companies such as Bluehost, Indigoblu, and SiteGround vs using a free site such as blogger) is all about control and ownership of our blog sites. You own your blog site when you are self-hosted.

I have my own domain name, and I control the look and feel of my entire site. I decide which advertisers and affiliates I want to have on my site. There are no limitations on self-hosting outside of what you can imagine you want your blog to do.

Free may sound good on day one, but in the end, if your goal is to make money, you will find yourself switching over to self-hosted. I’ve seen it time and time again. If you are on a free platform, just remember that you are at their mercy. They can suspend your site whenever they want. Free platforms use your site to place ads and they earn money from those ads. You are doing all the work with no earning potential.

2. You Look More Professional

If your goal is to earn money from blogging, then you don’t really want someone else branding all over your blog site. Your blog is a business and you need to treat it as a business. Imagine that I’m giving you all of this wonderful advice and instead of my domain name being bragdifferently.co it was bragdifferently.worpress.com. It does make a difference in how you are perceived.

In addition, it also establishes a trust factor with your audience and the brands that you are looking to do business with. Imagine if you came to this website and it was janky looking (yes I said janky) Would you take what I’ve provided seriously or would you be looking at my janky site thinking, she doesn’t know what she is talking about because the blog site itself is unprofessional?

Consumers, readers, and more judge you in a few seconds. The same applies to your website. If you aren’t willing to invest in your own website, then why would a brand want to partner with you?

I’m in quite a few blogging groups where we share one another’s content as well as make comments. Quite frankly I don’t share content from people that are on free blogging platforms and I’m definitely not sharing your content if your website looks janky.

3. Customization Of Your Blog Site

When you are a self-hosted blog site, you can choose what your website will look like. You can choose to use a premium template or even a free template (I don’t recommend it). The point is that you have options. With most free platforms you normally only have a few templates to choose from. The designs that they offer are limited.

The biggest flaw with free blogging sites is that you are going to look exactly like the next free blogging site. They are not going to provide you with a sleek, premium template. There is a reason the platform is free.

4. Plugins – Access To WordPress Plugins

One of the cool features of being self-hosted and utilizing wordpress.org has got to be the plethora of plugins that you can use on your site. Plugins enable you to customize your site on so many levels. You are limited to whatever non-self-hosted platforms offer. Hub Spot has The Ultimate Guide To WordPress Plugins – this will provide you with a solid overview of what plugins are and how they work.

The practicality of your blog and therefore your readers’ experience of your site can be greatly improved with a few key plugins. As you may have guessed, all of these plugins are only available on a self-hosted blog!

Let me give you a quick example: I have several key plugins that I use, one being Yoast which helps with SEO and another being Grow Social Pro (by MediaVine), Newsletter sign-up – these are all plugins that are available when you are self-hosted. I guarantee you that you are not getting this functionality with a free blogging platform.

5. Monetization

If your goal is to make money with your blog, then you have to be self-hosted. I often get asked, can you make money on your blog if you are on a free platform? Yes, you can. There are limitations and restrictions. Major affiliate programs will not allow you access to their programs if you are not self-hosted.

Honestly, you really can’t take a blogger seriously if they are not self-hosted. In the blogging world being self-hosted does in fact matter to the masses. As a blogger, if I am going to purchase a course from another blogger, the chances of me purchasing something from someone on blogger.com is slim, that is not to say that you shouldn’t use blogger.com to create a profile that leads to your actual blog site.

You limit your ability to generate income if you are not self-hosted.

6. Savings

Blogging is a business and there are fees associated with blogging. However when you compare the wordpress.com fees vs. self-hosting with Bluehost; self-hosting wins hands down. I am going to showcase Bluehost because it is the company that I use for my own blog sites.

Let’s compare the packages.

WORDPRESS
Personal $4/mo
Premium $8/mo
Business $25/mo
eCommerce $45/mo

BLUEHOST
Basic – $2.95/mo
Plus- $5.45/mo
Choice Plus – $5.45/mo
Pro-$13.95/mo

If you are on the WordPress.com Personal package, you can not earn ad revenue; you can not integrate Google Analytics (if Google can’t track you and know that you exist, then what is the point) You have to jump up to the $25 Business plan in order to have access to plugins and basic features that you get when you are self-hosted out the gate.

7. SEO

As a blogger, after good solid content, then SEO is the next most important aspect of your blog. You must have a solid SEO game plan in order to find yourself on page one of the Google SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). SEO is critical in getting that organic traffic that Google sends your way.

When you are self-hosted you are better able to optimize your content. A self-hosted blog site will outperform a site on a free blogging platform. Hands down, I guarantee that Google trusts a self-hosted site with their own domain name, ie., bragdifferently.co over a free site.

BlueHost and other hosting companies oftentimes provide additional SEO tools that come with your hosting. When you are self hosted, you have access to SEO Plugins such as YOAST and Rank Math. The tools guide you in implementing SEO on your blog pages.

What Is Self-Hosting?

What is a self-hosted blog? Self-hosting is the process of hosting a website, email server, file server, or other services on your own server rather than using a third-party provider such as wordpress.com, wix, or blogger. In the blogging world, when you hear someone talk about being self-hosted, they are simply referring to being on a paid hosting plan where you own your blog site vs being on a free platform or limited platforms such as Blogger, Wix, or even WordPress.com. This can give you more control over your data and your privacy, as well as the ability to customize your service to your specific needs. You will still host your blog site on a server such as Bluehost, SiteGround, Indigoblu, or even NameCheap. The big difference is that you will OWN your site.

Why You Should Have A Self-Hosted Blog

There are a number of reasons why you should self-host your blog. First and foremost, self-hosted blogs are much more professional than free-hosted blogs. This is because you have complete control over the design and branding of your blog. You can also choose to use a custom domain name, which further adds to the professionalism of your blog.

Another benefit of self-hosting your blog is that you have complete control over your content. With a free hosted blog, you run the risk of having your content deleted or censored. But when you self-host your blog, you can be confident that your content will always be available.

Finally, self-hosted blogs are much easier to monetize than blogs that are on sites such as Wix, Blogger, or WordPress.com If your domain name looks likes mydomain.wordpress.com or mydomain.blogger.com then you are not self-hosted. If you want to make money from your blog, self-hosting is the way to go.

The Benefits Of Self-Hosting Your Blog

There are many benefits to self-hosting your blog. By self-hosting, you will have full control over your content, which means you can customize your blog to suit your needs. You will also be able to use your own domain name, which can make your blog look more professional. And self-hosted blogs are generally more reliable than free-hosted blogs.

Self-hosting your blog has a number of advantages. You’ll have more control over your blog’s design and appearance, and you’ll be able to add features that aren’t available on hosted platforms. You’ll also be able to use your own domain name, which can make your blog more professional and easy to remember.

Self-hosted blogs typically rank higher in search engines, which can lead to more traffic and potential customers.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog, we highly recommend self-hosting. It may require a bit more work upfront, but in the long run, it will be worth it.

How To Self-Host Your Blog

If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level, here’s how to self-host your blog. First, you’ll need to choose a web host. We recommend using a web host that offers a WordPress hosting plan, as WordPress is the most popular blog platform. Once you’ve chosen a web host, you’ll need to set up your domain name. You can usually do this through your web host. If you go with BlueHost, you will get a domain name for free the first year.

After your domain is set up, you’ll need to install WordPress. Many web hosts offer a one-click installation process that makes it easy to get started with WordPress. However, if your web host doesn’t offer this option, you can still install WordPress manually.

Installing WordPress is a relatively simple process, but it does require some technical knowledge. If you’re not comfortable with doing this yourself, you can always hire a web developer to do it for you. Once WordPress is installed, you’ll be able to start creating content for your website.

After you’ve chosen a theme, you can start adding content to your website. WordPress makes it easy to create and manage your content, and you can even add multimedia files such as images and videos.

Once you’ve added some content to your website, you can start promoting your site to bring in visitors. WordPress provides a number of tools to help you promote your

Of course, there is a little more to it than this, but this gives you the general idea of what you need to do in order to get started.

Overall Thoughts On Self-Hosting

In conclusion, self-hosting your blog has many benefits. It gives you full control over your content, allows you to monetize your blog, and can Increase your search engine ranking. While it takes some time and effort to set up a self-hosted blog, the rewards are well worth it. Follow the steps in this article to get started.

If you are ready to get started, then check out this article on How To Start A Blogsite With Bluehost

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15 Blogging Mistakes New Bloggers Make

There are a number of blogging mistakes that new bloggers make when they first start out. These blogging mistakes can range from not having a clear focus for their blog to not promoting their blog enough. In this blog post, we will explore some of the most common mistakes that new bloggers make.

While it is important to learn from your mistakes, it is also important to try to avoid making them in the first place. By being aware of the most common blogging mistakes, you can put yourself in a better position to succeed.

When starting a blog, there are many things to take into consideration. What is your niche? What is your target audience? What is your purpose for blogging? Once you have these key questions answered, you can begin to consider the mechanics of your blog. However, even with a well-thought-out plan, there are some mistakes that new bloggers often make. In this blog post, we will explore some of these mistakes and how to avoid them.

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, ie., I earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase and sometimes if you just click on a link at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more info.

blogging mistakes

If you’re thinking about starting a blog or are in the early stages of blogging, this post is for you. Read on to learn more about common blogging mistakes and how to avoid them.

So, without further ado, here are the 10 blogging mistakes that new bloggers make:

Top Blogging Mistakes New Bloggers Make

1. Starting a blog without a plan

2. Not paying attention to their niche

3. Not writing for their audience

4. Not being consistent

5. Not promoting their content

6. Not interacting with other bloggers

7. Not taking advantage of social media

8. Not Defining Why You’re Blogging

9. Not Researching Your Topic

10. Not Measuring Your Blog’s Performance

11. Not Implementing SEO

12. Not implementing Cornerstone Content

13. Not writing blog articles in batches

14. Not Being Self-Hosted

15. Not Using A Premium Template

1. Starting A Blog Without A Plan

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, you may be wondering if you need a plan. The answer is yes. Starting a blog with no plan is like traveling across the country without a map. A blog can be a great way to share your thoughts and ideas with the world, but it can also be a lot of work. If you’re not sure you’re ready to commit to a long-term project, you may want to start by brainstorming some ideas and creating a plan.

On the other hand, a plan will provide you with a concise roadmap so that you aren’t all over the place. Having a Blogging Plan of Action is the first step in blogging. I’m speaking from experience. Not having a plan of action will have you backstepping and tripping all over yourself.

When you start a blog with a plan, you need to think about what you want to achieve with your blog. What do you want to write about? Who is your target audience? What are your goals? Once you have answers to these questions, you can start to put together a plan for your blog.

Without a plan, your blog is likely to wander off in all sorts of different directions. You might end up writing about topics that don’t interest you or that don’t fit with your goals. You could also struggle to attract an audience, as you won’t be focused on a niche or have any direction.

2. Not Paying Attention To Their Niche

As business owners, we often get so caught up in the day-to-day grind that we forget to pay attention to our niche. This can be a costly mistake, as it can lead to us missing out on opportunities to reach our target market.

It’s important to stay focused on your niche and to understand what your target market is looking for. By keeping your eye on the prize, you can ensure that your business is always ahead of the game.

When starting a blog, one of the most important things to do is to find your niche. This can be a difficult task, as there are a lot of blogs out there vying for attention. However, it is essential to your success. You need to find a way to stand out from the crowd and make your voice heard.

Once you have found your niche, it is important to stay focused on it. This means not trying to be everything to everyone. It is better to be the best at one thing than to be mediocre at many things. When you try to be everything to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. So find your niche and stick to it.

3. Not Writing For Their Audience

It is important when writing for your audience that you tailor your content to them. This means understanding who they are, what they want and how they want it delivered. Too often, writers make the mistake of not writing for their audience, resulting in content that falls flat and fails to resonate.

When you write for your audience, you need to consider their needs and wants. What are they looking for? How can you help them? What kind of tone and language will appeal to them? Answering these questions will help you write content that your audience will love.

It’s important to remember that not everyone is your target customer. When you’re writing content, you need to be clear about who your target audience is and what they’re looking for. Once you know that, you can create content that’s tailored to their needs and interests.

If you’re not sure who your target audience is, take some time to research your readers personas. Once you have a clearer picture of who you’re writing for, you’ll be able to create content that’s more likely to resonate with them.

4. Not Being Consistent

We all know the importance of being consistent. It’s one of the most important keys to success in any area of life. But sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we just can’t seem to be consistent.

There are a number of possible reasons for this. Maybe we’re trying to change too many things at once. Or maybe we’re not tracking our progress and so we lose motivation. Or maybe we’re just not being realistic about what we can actually do.

Whatever the reason, if you’re struggling to be consistent, don’t despair. There are a few things you can do to get back on track. First, try breaking your goals down into smaller pieces. This will make it feel more achievable and so will help you stay motivated. Second, make sure you’re tracking your progress. This will help you see how far you have come.

If your goal is to turn blogging into a business then you have to treat it like a business. It’s ok to take your time and write 30 articles before you publish your blog site. I have to admit that since I started using artificial intelligence to help me with my content writing, I have become more consistent than ever. Take a moment and create a free account to help you with writing content at copy.ai This has been a game changer

5. Not Promoting Their Content

It’s a common problem for bloggers – they create all this great content, but they’re not promoting it enough. As a result, their content doesn’t get the reach or engagement it deserves.

There are a few reasons why this might happen. Maybe they’re not sure how to promote their content or they’re overwhelmed by the task. Or maybe they just don’t have the time or resources to do it properly.

There are a number of different ways to promote your content, and the best approach will vary depending on your goals and your audience. But some of the most effective methods include social media, email marketing, and paid advertising.

Whatever the reason, not promoting your content is a mistake. If you want your content to reach its full potential, you need to put in the effort to promote it. Here are a few tips on how to do that:

  • Create a content calendar and stick to it. This will help you plan and schedule your content promotion in advance.
  • Use social media to promote your content. Create shareable images and posts.
  • Use Pinterest and consider using Tailwinds to schedule your pins.

If you’re not promoting your content, you’re doing it wrong.

No matter how good your content is, it won’t matter if nobody knows about it. That’s why promotion is such an important part of the content creation process. You need to make sure that your target audience is aware of your content and that it’s easy for them to find it.

Make sure you’re putting enough effort into promotion and you’ll see your content reach new heights.

6. Not Engaging With Other Bloggers

Interacting with other bloggers is a great way to build relationships, get new ideas, and grow your blog. However, there are some situations where you might not want to interact with other bloggers. For example, if you’re feeling shy or introverted, if you’re busy with other projects, or if you’re just not feeling well, it’s perfectly okay to take a break from interacting with other bloggers.

Of course, if you’re not interacting with other bloggers, you might miss out on some great opportunities. But there’s no need to force yourself to interact if you’re not feeling up to it. Just take a break, relax, and come back to blogger interaction when you’re feeling better.

7. Not Taking Advantage Of Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool for businesses, but many companies fail to take advantage of its potential. A social media strategy can help you boost your brand awareness, connect with customers and leads, and even drive sales. But if you’re not using social media effectively, you’re missing out on all of these benefits.

Here are a few tips on how to use social media effectively for your business:

  • Post interesting and engaging content that will get people talking.
  • Be active on popular platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
  • Engage with your audience and respond to their comments and questions.
  • Monitor your social media activity and track your results.

If you’re not using social media to its full potential, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to grow your blog.

8. Not Defining Why You’re Blogging

If you’re thinking about starting a blog, it’s important to have a clear purpose for why you’re doing it. A lot of people start blogs with the hopes of making money or becoming famous, but those are often not the best reasons to blog. Instead, focus on what you’re passionate about and what you want to share with the world.

Your reason for blogging should be something that will motivate you to keep writing, even when it’s tough. So ask yourself why you want to start a blog and make sure your answer is something that will sustain you through the ups and downs of blogging.

One of the first steps to starting a blog is to figure out why you’re blogging in the first place. What is your purpose? Who is your audience? What do you hope to achieve with your blog? If you don’t have a clear answer to these questions, it will be very difficult to create a successful blog.

It’s important to spend some time upfront thinking about your goals for your blog. What do you want to accomplish? Once you have a good understanding of your purpose, you can start thinking about your target audience and what type of content they would find valuable. If you take the time to figure out your purpose and your audience from the start, you’ll be much more likely to create a successful blog that meets your goals.

9. Not Researching Your Topic Or Keywords

Before you start writing, it’s important to do your research. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people try to wing it and end up with subpar blog content. So before you start putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), take some time to learn about your topic.

Google is your friend. You can find all sorts of articles, videos, and websites that can help you learn more about your topic. Google is a great tool to do simple keyword research. Just remember that Google is going to show you what your readers are searching for.

Once you’ve done your research, you’ll be able to write with confidence and produce a better essay. So don’t skip this step – it’s essential to writing a great blog post. This may mean looking up information on your topic, interviewing experts, and gathering data. Too often, writers try to shortcut the process by skipping the research phase. This is a huge mistake. Not only will it make your article weaker, but it can also lead to inaccurate or false information.

If you’re not sure how to do research for your article, there are plenty of resources out there to help you get started. The most important thing is to take the time to do it right. Your readers will thank you for it.

10. Not Measuring Your Blog’s Performance

If you’re not measuring your blog’s performance, then you’re missing out on valuable data that could help you improve your blog and grow your audience. You can track your page views, unique visitors, and time spent on site. You can also measure the engagement of your readers, such as the number of comments and social shares. Taking the time to measure your blog’s performance will give you valuable insights into what’s working and what’s not. Armed with this knowledge, you can make changes to improve your blog’s reach and impact.

Not measuring the performance of your blog is like driving without looking at the speedometer. You might think you’re going fast, but you have no way of knowing for sure. The same is true for your blog. Without measuring its performance, you can’t be sure that it’s reaching its full potential.

So if you’re not already measuring your blog’s performance, now is the time to start

Not sure where to start? Check out this article on the top 20 metrics to track for your blog.

11. Not Implementing SEO Strategies From Day One.

If you’re not implementing SEO strategies from day one, you’re missing out on a lot of potential traffic and customers. SEO should be an integral part of your marketing plan from the very beginning.

There are a lot of different SEO strategies you can use to help your business, but it’s important to start with the basics. Make sure your website is optimized for search engines, do keyword research to find the right keywords to target, and create high-quality content that will help you rank in the search results.

SEO takes time and effort, but it’s worth it. Implementing SEO strategies from the start will help you get the most out of your marketing efforts and ensure that your business is visible to potential customers.

12. Not Implementing Cornerstone Content

If you’re not implementing Cornerstone Content on your website, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to improve your SEO. Cornerstone Content is a term used to describe content that is essential to your website and business. This type of content is usually longer and more in-depth than your average blog post or article, and it covers topics that are essential to your industry.

Not sure where to start with Cornerstone Content? Here are some ideas to get you started:

– Create an industry glossary

– Write an in-depth guide to your product or service

– Create a buyer’s guide for your industry

– Write an expert roundup post featuring leaders in your field

By creating high-quality, informative content on your website, you can not only improve your SEO but also position yourself as an authority in your industry. When you are viewed as an authority, more individuals will want to link to your content- thus creating more backlinks which in turn improve your rankings and domain authority.

13. Not Writing Blog Articles In Batches

It’s often recommended that when writing blog articles, you should do so in batches. This means writing a group of articles all at once, then spacing them out over time.

There are a few reasons for this. First, it’s more efficient to write several articles at once. When you’re in the zone, you can knock out a bunch of articles in a shorter period of time. Second, it helps to have a buffer of articles. Third, it helps to keep readers on your site longer. If a reader is on your site, reading about how to start a blog, wouldn’t it be beneficial to have additional articles on your site that deal with blogging? As a blogger you want to have other articles on your site that you can link to internally; this tells Google what your blog site is about.

Also if you get busy or take a break from writing, you have a backlog of articles to choose from.

14. Not Being Self Hosted

Self-hosting your blog has a number of advantages over using a free hosting service. When you self-host, you have complete control over your blog and its content. This means you can choose the design, branding, and features of your blog, without being limited by a hosting service. Additionally, self-hosting allows you to monetize your blog more easily, as most free hosting services do not allow ads or other forms of revenue generation.

If you’re a serious blogger who is looking to grow your audience and monetize your blog, self-hosting is the way to go. With a self-hosted blog, you can have complete control over your blog and its content, giving you the freedom to grow your blog in any direction you choose.

15. Not Using A Premium Template

As a blogger, you want your site to look professional and stand out from the rest. A premium template can help you achieve this goal and make your site look more polished and sophisticated. Premium templates often come with more features and options than free templates, so you can really customize your site to match your unique style. They can also be more reliable and better coded, which can give your site a boost in search engine rankings.

Most free templates do not provide any type of support. If WordPress makes an update, your free template may no longer work. If your goal is to make money blogging, then I highly suggest that you use a premium template. The template for this website is a premium template from 17th Ave Designs.

If you’re serious about blogging, investing in a premium template is a smart choice. It can help you attract more readers and make your site more successful.

Recap

New bloggers often make a lot of mistakes. I was once a new blogger, and trust me I made a ton of mistakes. My undergrad was in web development and I still made mistakes. However, when you know better you can do better. The most common mistake is not having a clear understanding of what blogging is and how to actually blog. Not knowing your audience, not being consistent, and not promoting your blog. If you’re a new blogger, make sure you know who you’re writing for and be consistent with your postings. And don’t forget to promote your blog on social media and other platforms. Follow and comment for more tips on blogging.

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If you found this post helpful and useful, please consider sharing it with others! Thank you!

The Best Cornerstone Content Strategy: Why It’s Critical To Your Blogging Success

If you are a blogger and you don’t have a clue as to what cornerstone content is; or better yet, you have never heard of cornerstone content, I am here to bring you up to speed on the best cornerstone content strategy and why it is so important when it comes to blogging and improving your on-page SEO.

a picture of notepad with content strategy on it - cornerstone content

At the end of the day, most of us are blogging because we understand the financial rewards that come along with having a successful blog site. I don’t know about you, but I teach my blogging students that the goal is to earn passive income while sipping a drink on a beach with our toes in the sand. It doesn’t matter if you are a lifestyle, mommy, home decor, financial blogger, or something in between. Whatever type of blogger, a great deal of what you are working on is increasing your organic traffic with Google and other search engines; establishing brand authority, and getting to 100,000+ page views per month. One of the most effective ways to accomplish all of this is via Cornerstone Content. Let’s dig in and get you started on creating it.

What Is Cornerstone Content

In content strategy, cornerstone content is the mainstay of your website. Often created for the sole purpose of creating interest and traffic, cornerstone content has the ability to engage readers and serve as an entry point for further exploration. Cornerstone content often brings in goals such as awareness or brand development. It is a high-value, foundational piece of content! It is the piece of content that you bookmark so that you can find it later on.

In order to have a successful blog, you need to have great content. But what exactly is a cornerstone blog post? A cornerstone blog post is a high-quality, well-researched article that serves as a foundational topic on your blog that is related to your niche and speaks to your target audience or avatars. It is a pillar part of your blog that other content builds upon. Some people may even refer to cornerstone posts as pillar posts. Ideally, your cornerstone blog should be published as soon as your website goes live.

Cornerstone pieces give your readers something to come back to again and again, and it will also help search engines index your site more quickly. But if you don’t have a blog post ready to go on launch day, don’t worry – you can always add one later.

A cornerstone blog post is one that establishes the key principles or foundation for a blog. It is typically published as the first post on a blog and is intended to introduce the blog’s purpose, scope, and tone to its readers. A cornerstone blog post should be well-written, informative, and engaging, in order to encourage readers to stick around and explore the rest of the blog.

If you’re not sure where to start with your blog, then try creating a cornerstone blog post. This will help you get started on the right foot, and it will give you a solid foundation to build your blog around.

What Are The Benefits Of A Cornerstone Blog Article?

Cornerstone Content has several benefits for your blog site, here are some key characteristics:

  • It is well-researched and well-written
  • It covers a topic that is relevant to your niche
  • It brings the type of site visitors that you need and want
  • Establishes authority and trust in your niche
  • It enables you to create internal links (that Google looks for) as well as solid backlinks from other relevant sites.
  • It can be used as a funnel to help you build your mailing list.
  • It shows the reader that you are an expert on the topic and that you know your stuff.

Cornerstone Content Examples

If you were an SEO Expert like Neil Patel or Backlinko, then your cornerstone blog article would be on SEO, which both of these websites boast. Backlinko has The Definitive Guide To SEO in 2022 and Neil Patel has What is SEO? (Learn How To Do It In 5 Minutes). Think of it this way. If you had a blog site that was geared to Virtual Assistants, your cornerstone post (pillar post) might be the Ultimate Guide to Being a Virtual Assistant. It would be long (over 3,000+ words). It would be in-depth and cover all the ins and outs of what it takes to be a virtual assistant. You would use this as the main topic that additional articles would fall underneath. This is a topic that sets the stage for additional blog topics. You would give them all the ins and outs as well as links to various resources- in essence, your cornerstone post should equate to one-stop shopping for everything on the topic.

Cornerstone content may also be the top blog post in a blog series. I recommend to my blogging students that they write their blog posts in a set of three, five, seven, or ten in a series. Let me break this down and explain exactly what I mean. Let’s say that you are blogging about home decor and you write an article on the top cool gray paint colors from Sherwin Williams (oh, by the way, I’ve done this and I rank in the top 5 searches for cool gray paints on Google) This post could be my pillar post as it discusses not only the top cool gray paints but also provides you with an in-depth overview on paint. I will write a minimum of two other articles that I can link to this main cornerstone article.

Cornerstone content is usually evergreen, meaning it’s relevant no matter when someone reads it. It’s also usually comprehensive, covering all the key points on a given topic. And finally, it’s usually high-quality, offering readers valuable insights and information.

What Goes Into Cornerstone Blog Posts

Here are the main elements of Cornerstone Blog Posts

  • Directly tied into your overall niche. Think of one of the main categories on your blog site
  • Write on a topic that you are either
  • Length matters- on average it should be over 3,000+ words. Make it in-depth
  • Answer a pain point for your reader – what does the reader need an answer to? Provide the most comprehensive answer
  • Include all the keywords that you would like the article to rank for. Do not engage in keyword stuffing. Use keywords in a natural way. Make sure that you use keywords that people are searching for.
  • Internal linking – make sure that your article interlinks to other blog content; this provides Google and other search engines a roadmap to what your blog site is all about (don’t overthink it, just do it.)
  • External linking- your cornerstone post should also link to authoritative external links. This lets Google know that you aren’t a spam website and it adds value to your content.

How To Create Cornerstone Content That Scores

  1. Identify your audience. -Who are you writing for? Who is your target audience? Once you know who you’re writing for, you can create content that appeals to them.
  2. Know your niche. -What makes your blog unique? What are you an expert on? Use your niche to your advantage
  3. Choose Your Topic Carefully – Identify the problem that you are trying to solve. Ensure that your article addresses the topic in depth. You want your cornerstone blog post to be the go-to resource on the web. Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. What is something that you search for, that you never seem to get quite the answer you are looking for?
  4. Make your cornerstone article linkable from your home page. The ideal situation would be for it to have its own link in your menu. You can also have a link from your sidebar, thus your cornerstone content is present on every blog post page.

Your topic should be something that is relevant to your niche and that will be of interest to your target audience. It should also be something that you are passionate about and that you have extensive knowledge of. If you’re not sure what topic to write about, try brainstorming a list of potential topics with a friend or colleague. Once you have a few ideas, do some research to see which topics are being talked about the most in your industry.

Which Articles Are Your Cornerstones?

You should have several articles that are cornerstone articles. These articles are the most important articles on your website. When I think of our sister website – Brag Differently, we focus on teaching women how to earn, save, invest, live & thrive in a global world, hence it would make sense for me to have four different cornerstone articles that cover these main areas.

I should have an in-depth topic article on how to earn money; how to save money; how to invest and how to live and thrive.

Using the above as an example, if my cornerstone was on “earning money” I would subsequently have different articles that are all about ways to earn money. Thus I might write an article on how to earn money on Etsy, and a different article on how to earn money flipping clearance items. Both articles would then be linked back to the main cornerstone article on earning and vice versa.

In Summary

Cornerstone content is the foundation of your website or blog. It is designed to show that you are an expert on a topic. It is the most important content that you have, and it should be well-written, informative, and engaging. If you have good cornerstone content, your readers will like, follow, and comment on your blog or website.

Related Blogging Posts

If you found this post helpful and useful, please consider sharing it with others! Thank you!

Top 10 SEO Strategies To Get More Traffic

SEO Tips That You Need To Implement

SEO is a complicated topic; it takes time to learn all the best SEO strategies and best practices. That being said, there are plenty of SEO tricks that anyone can master in a relatively short period of time. Here are my top 10 tips for getting more traffic from your website:

digital decluttering
digital decluttering list

Install an SEO plugin.

Install an SEO plugin.

There are several free and premium SEO plugins available that can help you improve your website’s ranking on search engines. Here are some of the best ones:

SEO plugins are there to guide you in ensuring that you follow the most basic on-page SEO requirements. The SEO Plugins do not do the work for you. You have to write great content and implement the SEO Strategies outlined in this article.

Add keywords to your post title and headline.

Your title and headline should be relevant to the content of your post. If it’s about SEO tricks, then “SEO Tricks” would be a good keyword to use in your headline. You can use this same strategy for keywords throughout your content as well.

In addition to placing relevant keywords throughout your post, you can also add them at the beginning of a sentence or paragraph so readers will see that specific word more often when they’re scanning through their browser window or on mobile device screens (where they’re scrolling down).

Use quality images.

Images are a great way to improve your SEO. Images can help with rankings in Google Image Search and Google News. They can also help with rankings on Google Newsstand, which is a new feature that allows publishers to publish their content directly to the app store. The goal of this blog post is to give you some tips on how you can use images more effectively in order to get more traffic.

Find the right keywords for your blog with Google Adwords Keyword Planner.

Google Adwords Keyword Planner is a free tool. To use this tool, you will have to have a Google AdWords account. If you don’t have one, go ahead and sign up for one at https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordPlanner

Once you’ve got your Google Ads account set up and are logged in, click Tools > Keyword Planner:

With the Keyword Planner now open, type in a keyword or phrase you want to research (make sure it’s something that people actually search for), and then click Search:

It will show you how many people search for that keyword every month along with some other important data like how much competition there is (the higher the number of searches divided by 100 displays as more competition). You’ll also see some suggestions from Google based on what they believe might be related terms based on their algorithm (these aren’t always great so keep that in mind). And finally, it gives estimated costs per click (CPC) for each term so if budgeting is an issue for your business this could help guide decisions about what keywords take precedence over others when optimizing content around different topics going forward

Make sure that your website is mobile-friendly.

Make sure that your website is mobile-friendly.

Did you know that Google’s algorithm takes into account the mobile-friendliness of a website when determining search rankings? If your site isn’t easily accessible from mobile devices, it could be hurting your SEO efforts. According to HubSpot, “a single star increase in a site’s rating on Google’s scale of 1-4 stars can increase clicks by 20% and conversions by 26%. In other words: It pays off big time for businesses who prioritize improving their websites’ mobile friendliness.”

Establish relationships with influencers.

Establish relationships with influencers. Influencer marketing is a great way to build your brand and get more traffic by tapping into the power of other people’s audiences. You can find influencers in a variety of ways, but some common ones include social media platforms (look for people who have large followings), industry conferences and events (check out the speakers), and industry publications (find out which reporters write about similar topics). Once you’ve found an influencer, contact them through email or direct message on their social media platform. Introduce yourself and tell them why you’re reaching out—something along the lines of “I love what you’re doing! Can I offer some advice?” is usually enough to start a conversation. Once you’ve established relationships with one person, ask if they know any other influencers who would benefit from working with you too! This will help expand your reach quickly while also building relationships that can be beneficial down the road when launching new products or expanding your business model into new territories.

Make your existing content better and easy to share.

Making your existing content better and easier to share is a quick way to increase traffic and get new people to visit your site.

  • Make sure your content is easy to understand. If you’ve ever tried reading something you didn’t understand, then you know how frustrating that can be! You’ll also notice that most of us skip over things we don’t understand because we’re too busy or don’t have the time. Don’t make it hard for people to navigate through your website by writing confusing sentences or paragraphs (especially with big words). Instead, use simple language and write articles in a way that makes sense for anyone who might come across them.
  • Make sure your content is easy to read. This means having enough white space around the text so it’s not cluttering up the page too much, but also not making it so small that people have problems seeing what’s written on each line! Try using different colors like red or blue so they stand out when compared to black font color which might be harder on someone’s eyesight if they need glasses while reading.

Writing evergreen content is a crucial element of SEO best practices.

As you may know, search engine optimization (SEO) can be a difficult and time-consuming task. The good news is that there are some simple tricks you can use to increase the amount of traffic your website receives without spending countless hours learning SEO best practices.

One of these best practices is writing evergreen content—content that is relevant to a topic but not time-sensitive. For instance, if you want to write about how to get rid of dandruff on your dog, it’s better not to include dates or specific times when that issue was brought up in the past. Instead, focus on giving tips and information related specifically to dealing with dandruff today or tomorrow. This gives readers more value because they don’t have to worry about remembering details from months ago and also ensures that they’ll know exactly what they’re getting as soon as they visit your site!

Generate quality site traffic through social media sharing.

Sharing your content on social media is a great way to get more traffic. Unfortunately, most people only share on one platform. If you want to get the most traffic from your social media efforts, you need to share on multiple platforms and make sure that each post is optimized for the platform it’s being shared on.

First, make sure you’re sharing on all of the major social networks like Facebook and Twitter. You should also be sharing your content in forums related to your niche and using hashtags when appropriate. If possible, run an ad campaign on Facebook or Google Ads so that users who don’t know about you can see what kind of content you produce and potentially follow or subscribe to updates about new posts coming out in the future!

Don’t forget about traditional forms of marketing such as paying for ads through Google AdWords or Bing Ads either—these will help bring some extra traffic onto certain keywords within search engines like “SEO Tricks” or even more specific queries like “how do I rank better in Google?”

Make a coffee, then read this article again to make sure you’re doing everything right!

Don’t be too hard on yourself, though. This article is long and there’s a lot of information in it. The most important thing is to get started because you’re going to want to keep adding these tweaks to your website as you go along! I suggest that you go back in and take a look at your articles every 30 to 90 days. Trust me, you will find something that you overlooked and missed.

As you work through this guide and figure out what works for you, don’t forget that SEO isn’t an exact science. You’ll need to experiment with different techniques and see what works best for your business.

When you do everything right in your SEO things can really pay off.

SEO is a long-term strategy. SEO isn’t something you do once, then forget about it. It’s a constant process that requires patience and persistence over time. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.

When you do everything right in your SEO things can really pay off!

Conclusion

SEO is a great way to get more traffic to your website and social media pages. The tips in this blog post can help you take your SEO game up a few notches. It’s never too late to start implementing these practices into your day-to-day work and see where they lead you!

How To Set Blogging Goals (Using The SMART Method)

This post may contain Affiliate links, ie., I earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase and sometimes if you just click on a clink at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more info.

Summary: You will learn how to set blog goals using the smart method in a few simple steps. Read to the end to learn a few hacks that have increased my productivity tenfold!

I can remember then I decided to start a blog and in my mind turn it into a business. I had grand ideas of how I was going to hit the ground running and make tons of money. It started off great and before I knew it I was sidetracked sitting on the side of the road completely out of gas. Does this sound like you? Just imagine yourself sitting on the side of the road with a gas can in hand with only a few drops of gas and a road map in the other hand. You are probably completely flustered and plum exhausted from not knowing what to do next.

This blog article promises to help you achieve a direction that is SMART, thus you will achieve your blogging goals without the need to pull out your hair or snatch off your wig. I always ask my students and readers if they are blogging for money or blogging for fun? If you are blogging for fun then this post isn’t going to be very important to you. It is key to those that see their blog as a business.

Many companies and individuals use the SMART System to establish business goals. If you have ever applied for a job you may have run across Key Performance Indicators – KPI’s, it’s a simple way for any business or individual to establish yearly goals, objectives and tactics, and measurements. Don’t let these words scare you, we all use them on a daily basis in our everyday lives without thinking twice about them.

If you are looking to make money with your blog, then you need
SMART Goals
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely

I’m highly suggesting that you implement SMART Goals from day one as a new blogger. If you have been blogging for a minute, then creating SMART goals will only take you further.

What Are SMART Goals

  • Specific: Well defined, clear, and unambiguous
  • Measurable: With specific criteria that measure your progress toward the accomplishment of the goal
  • Achievable: Attainable and not impossible to achieve
  • Relevant: Your goals should align with your values and long-term objectives. They should be reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based
  • Timely: With a clearly defined timeline, including a starting date and a target date. The purpose is to create urgency.

Specific SMART Goals

Goals that are specific in nature are more likely to be accomplished. Just ask yourself the following: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Don’t overcomplicate this step.

An example, a general goal might be “I want to lose a few pounds” (as I do). A more specific goal would be: I want to walk my neighborhood 5 times per week and achieve 3 miles daily.

An example of a general blogging goal might be ” I want to grow my mailing list.” “Grow my mailing list by 50 people in one month” is very specific. I want to grow my blog, vs. I want to grow my blog traffic by 300% in one month is very specific.

Measurable SMART Goals

SMART goals must be measurable. You have to create criteria for determining your progress and ensure that you are on track to reach your goals. To ensure that your goal is measurable, ask yourself:

  1. How much/many?
  2. How will you know that you have reached your goal
  3. What is your progress indicator?

Piggybacking off the specific goal examples above: I will lose two pounds every week. I will grow my list by 10 people weekly. You have to have a baseline to start with. Your baseline as a new blogger may be zero and that is ok. If you are just starting out today, then you may not have any newsletter members, blog articles, or traffic. This is another reason why it’s important from day one to create SMART Goals. You will also want to implement your KPI tools – In blogging these are more than likely going to be Google Analytics and Google Search Console- where you can track your numbers, In convertkit, your numbers will be tracked in your dashboard.

Achievable SMART Goals

A SMART goal must be attainable and achievable. This will ensure that you can implement ways to realize the goal and put practices in place that work towards you achieving it. This step needs to be well defined in order to accomplish the goal. Ask yourself the following:

  1. Do I have the necessary resources and abilities to achieve the goal? If you don’t then ask yourself what are you missing? Using the examples above – ask yourself are you missing walking shoes, workout equipment, fitbit watch? and a water bottle? Have you signed up for convertkit or mail chimp? Do you have either app installed on your blog site?
  2. Have others been able to achieve the goal successfully?

You need to be realistic. As a new blogger, you are not walking out the gate and getting 10,000 people to sign up for your newsletter, or follow you on Pinterest or Instagram. Of course, you can achieve all of this over time. If your goal is to have 50,000 page views per month, I highly suggest that you break this goal into smaller goals that are achievable. Thus it makes more sense to set a goal of 1000 page views per month and grow from there.

Take a look at the guys over at the income school for a simple solution on how to grow your blog income to $4000 per month in the first year. I’m currently following this path of action as well for this blog.

Relevant SMART Goals

All SMART goals need to be relevant Your goals should align with your values and long-term objectives. Ask yourself:

  1. Is the goal tied into what you are seeking to achieve?
  2. Is the goal attainable, given the resources provided and time?
  3. Are YOU able to commit yourself to achieve the goal?

All of your goals should tie back to why you are blogging, to begin with. Most of us are blogging because we want to earn MONEY. Therefore the things that we do should impact this goal.

We want to grow our blog traffic so that we can in fact make money from advertisers, and people clicking on affiliate links and buying our products. The more traffic you have the more money you make from advertisers and the more likely someone will click on an affiliate link and make a purchase. Let’s take this one step further. If you are sending out newsletters on a weekly basis, then you should also be including affiliate links and products in your newsletter. If you are not, then what is the point in sending out a newsletter? It’s great to send out a newsletter and inform your list of your latest blog article, but don’t miss the opportunity to share an affiliate link or two.

Timely SMART Goals

A SMART goal must have a beginning and end that is time-bound. It has to have a start and finish date. If the goal has no time constraints then all sense of urgency goes out the door (this is why I love the Centered App- we will discuss later)

  1. Does your goal have a deadline?
  2. Establish a date by which you want to achieve the goal.

In the example, building on the goal above: On June 1, I will go out and purchase new walking shoes, a water bottle, a Fitbit watch, and an outfit. In order to lose weight, I will walk my neighborhood 5 days a week, 3 miles each time. I will strive to lose 2 pounds per week. I will have achieved my goal if I lose 8lbs by the end of June (this is an active goal of mine, hence why I used it as an example)

In blogging terms: On June 1, I will create a convertkit account and add it to my blog site. I will create a landing page and a freebie to gain new followers. I will send out a weekly newsletter and ask for members to share the newsletter with their friends.

You need to give yourself a deadline to achieve your goals. Not only do I create a monthly goal, I break my goals down into weekly and daily goals. I use the Centered App to help me achieve this. I will include further details in the resource section of this blog article.

The Importance of SMART Goal Setting

Often times as bloggers, we set ourselves up for failure by simply setting generic and unrealistic goals such as I want to earn $3000 per month. What does that mean? It’s vague and doesn’t provide directions on how to achieve the goal. SMART goals help you to achieve success by ensuring that all your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

Creating Touchpoints In Your Blogging Goals

When you create your blogging goals you need to ensure that you have the tools in place to measure them. There are several key areas that you will want to measure as they impact the overall growth of your blog site.

Don’t get overwhelmed and make this more complicated than it is. Just log into the various tools and see how you are doing. Ubersuggest is the only paid service that I use. I check it on a weekly basis to see how I’m improving in Google’s SERP (search engine results page) The goal is to show up on page one of Google.

List of Blog Goals For New Bloggers

So you finally launched your blog and you want to know what you need to do next. I highly suggest that you create 4 main goals out the gate and break them down into smaller chunks. There is so much to learn as you start this blogging journey.

I’m here to tell you that magically earning $10,000 per month as a new blogger is not realistic, but we have all seen folks promoting a course or widget that will help you to achieve this. I’m not saying that it can’t be achieved, but you had better be working this blog full time and be willing to burn the midnight oil. Life still happens while you are blogging if you catch my drift.

1. Create Incredible Content -Content Is King

I can not stress enough that your blog is nothing without great content. Keep in mind that you are not writing for yourself, you are writing for your audience, for your readers. Great content is the key to a successful blog. You want well-written content that solves a pain point for the reader. Depending on the topic, it could take you several days to organize and put together a blog post.

It normally takes me about 8 hours from start to finish to create a blog article. This includes writing the article, creating the images, keyword research, and Pinterest pins, ( I schedule my Pinterest pins through tailwinds) sending out a newsletter, I also engage with the various Facebook Groups to share blog posts. Make sure you leverage the assets that you already have available.

As a new blogger, I suggest you use the centered app to help you to establish a routine. (If possible, try to have 10 to 20 articles already done when you start your blog)

  • Two blog posts per week – make sure that your first blog post is a cornerstone article (this is for a moderate blogger who is skipping along
  • 30 blog posts per month if you’re looking to grow your blog post and earn an average of $4000 per month within your first year.
  • Don’t re-invent the wheel (look at your competition to see what they are writing, use it as a guide)
  • Set your marketing and promoting on auto-pilot. One of the best tools to use is Tailwinds when it comes to sharing and posting your Pinterest pins.
  • Use a Blogger Planner Template, You can find one on Etsy
  • Use A blog Checklist For SEO
  • Rinse and repeat

I do blogging full-time- thus I typically will spend several days at a time writing content in batches. In other words, I may work on one specific category. Let’s say the category is Paint, I may write 4 articles that are all paint-related so that I don’t have orphaned articles. It also helps me in terms of longevity on my site (how long a reader stays on your site before they leave) and increasing organic search results as your articles can piggyback off of keywords. Here is an example – Opulence Manor You’ll even see throughout this blog article that there are other articles that are tied into this article that serve to resolve a pain point and keep you on the site longer.

2. Grow Your Email Newsletter List -As Though Your Life Depends On It.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, I am sure that you have witnessed several times when Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter all were on the fritz and you couldn’t access your messages, posts, pins etc. People acted as though their entire world was about to end, For some of these individuals who have their entire business tied into their 100,000 followers on social media with no mailing list that they own, this was a reality.

What would you do if your business model is tied into a platform that you don’t own. I will tell you what you should do and that is to make sure that you have a mailing list that you own. When these platforms when down, I could still send out emails to my followers on my mailing list. I did not miss a beat.

A Newsletter List Helps You With The Following:

  • Stay connected and engaged
  • Monetize your blog, you can share affiliate links and promotions in your newsletter
  • Establish and build a community around your blog
  • Promote all your services including digital products, courses, and freebies to name a few
  • Blog Traffic – always send a quick newsletter to let your readers know of new blog articles

Create Your Opt-In Freebie

One of the easiest things that you can do to grow your mailing list is to create an opt-in offer that your readers need and want. It’s a simple way to grow your mailing list. Make sure that it solves a simple pain point. For example, I have Simplistic SEO that enables my readers to understand the basics of SEO. I also have 30 Free Pinterest Templates For Canva that allow my readers to create stunning Pinterest pins with ease.

Make sure that your opt-ins make sense. Hence you wouldn’t want to share an opt-in for a product that really has nothing to do with your blog. Don’t overthink this process, you can find an opt-in that has commercial rights that will allow you to modify it and put it on your blog site for your audience.

Opt-ins will help to grow your mailing list on a consistent basis!

3. Grow Your Blog Traffic

Growing your blog traffic is intricately tied into the soul of your blog. If you don’t work on growing the traffic to your blog, then what is the point. Growing blog traffic is one of your top goals. I suggest that you start with 90 days, six months, nine months, and the one-year mark. Using the SMART Goals format will make all of this achievable. A realistic approach to growing your blog traffic is to increase your blog traffic in increments of 100-200 page views monthly.

Of course, we hope that your blog traffic grows beyond your wildest dreams and that you exceed the goals that you have set for your blog. The one thing that I know for sure is that you have to remain consistent in what you are doing. Do not write one blog article and then you don’t write another article for 2 months. Google knows it and your readers will know it too. If you remain consistent with writing new blog articles and sharing them on various social media platforms, your page views will increase over time.

Keep the following in mind, blogging isn’t just about blogging. You will also need to take the time to learn blogging along the way.

4. Create Your Income

Keep the following in mind. Your blog is a conduit to earning money unless you are blogging for fun. The goal is to earn money from your blog, thus you need to use your blog to connect your readers to your revenue streams

Blogs typically earn money through the following:

  • Affiliate links
  • Digital downloads
  • E-Books
  • Courses
  • Memberships
  • Advertisements
  • Coaching/consultations
  • Physical products

Modify And Tweek Your Goals On A Regular Basis

I suggest that you take a look at your goals around the 6 month period. If you are a new blogger, It may take 6 months before you begin to see any real organic traffic coming in from Google. Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.

Work on perfecting your processes such as ensuring that all your blog articles are SEO correctly. Make sure that your keywords make sense and are achievable in terms of ranking for them.

What is SEO

What Is SEO – Part 1 SEO Series

You may be wondering, what is SEO? In a nutshell, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of making your website visible on a search engine results page (SERP). The pandemic has taught us all that we absolutely have to learn how to navigate in a digital world. If you were a small business with a website, you were just happy to have the dang website done and up.  Not once did you consider the elusive SEO; what SEO means, Why do you need SEO and how to find SEO bliss.    We all remember the iconic line from the movie Field of Dreams.  “If you build it, they will come” Many men and women have lived by this little catchphrase.  I’m here to tell you that it’s not applicable when it comes to SEO.

The single most crucial aspect of why one must spend time on SEO is quite simple.  You want to reach the first page of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).  You want to be on page one of Google when someone searches for your keywords. There is no magical button, but there is a solid foundation and formula for increasing your chances of landing on the first page.  It’s achievable.  When you take all the clutter away of what SEO is and what it isn’t- understanding how and why you implement it is half the battle. 

What Is SEO

If you are a blogger, new or old, then chances are you have heard the term SEO. If you have not heard of SEO, then we have some catching up to do. A successful SEO campaign can result in more traffic to your website, better leads, and increased sales. SEO can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be.

The overall goal of SEO is to improve the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in search engine results pages (SERPs). You ultimately want to show up on page one of a google search.

There are a number of factors that can influence SEO, including site architecture, content, link popularity, and keywords. SEO is a complex and ever-changing field, but there are a few basic principles that any website can follow to improve their visibility in search results.

In this blog post, we will explore what SEO is, some of the core principles that can help improve your website’s ranking in search results, why it’s important, and some basic tips on how to get started with SEO for your website.

The Benefits of SEO

SEO can be a valuable tool for any business that is looking to reach a wider audience online. By optimizing your website for search engines, you can improve your visibility and attract more visitors. This, in turn, can lead to more customers and sales.

SEO can be used to achieve a variety of marketing goals, such as increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, and improving conversion rates. And because SEO is a long-term strategy, it can provide ongoing benefits for your business.

There are many benefits to SEO, but some of the most notable ones include:

-Improved visibility and traffic

-Increased brand awareness

-More leads and sales

-Improved ROI

If you are looking for ways to improve your online presence, SEO is a great option to consider. As a matter of fact, it is the top option.

How To Optimize Your Site For SEO

If you want your site to rank high in search engine results, you need to optimize it for SEO. Search engine optimization is the process of making your site more visible and relevant to search engines. The better your SEO, the higher your site will rank in search results.

There are a number of things you can do to optimize your site for SEO. Here are a few tips:

– Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions

– Use relevant keywords throughout your site

– Create quality content that is informative and engaging

– Build links to your site from other high-quality websites

By following these tips, you can improve your site’s SEO and increase your chances of ranking high in search engine results.

The Different Types Of SEO

seo tips for new bloggers

There are many different types of SEO (search engine optimization), and each one is important in its own way. Here are some of the most common types of SEO:

– On-page SEO: This type of SEO focuses on optimizing the content and structure of your website to make it more visible to search engines.

– Off-page SEO: This type of SEO focuses on building links to your website from other websites. This can help improve your website’s visibility on search engine results pages.

– Technical SEO: This type of SEO focuses on optimizing the technical aspects of your website, such as your website’s code and structure.

– Local SEO: This type of SEO focuses on optimizing your website for local search results. This can be especially important for businesses that serve a specific geographic area.

– Ecommerce SEO: This type of SEO focus on an online store. Writing details descriptions with relevant keywords for every product page is a good start.

No matter what type of SEO you’re doing, the goal is always the same: to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).

What to Avoid When Optimizing Your Site for SEO

When you’re trying to optimize your website for SEO, there are a few things you’ll want to avoid. First and foremost, don’t keyword stuff your content. This is when you stuff your content full of keywords in an attempt to game the system. Not only does this not work, but it will actually harm your SEO. Google will punish sites that engage in keyword stuffing, and your rankings will suffer as a result. Another thing to avoid is buying links. This is when you pay for links that point back to your website. This used to be a common practice, but it doesn’t work anymore. In fact, it will actually harm your website. Google has gotten better at detecting paid links, and they will penalize your site if they find them. So avoid buying links at all costs.

Another thing to avoid is using low-quality links. These are links from spammy websites or from websites that are not relevant to your site. Google can penalize you for having these kinds of links, so it’s best to avoid them altogether. Spammy link-building tactics include things like buying links, participating in link schemes, and using exact match anchor text. If you’re using any of these tactics, it’s time to stop. Not only are they against Google’s guidelines, but they won’t do anything to help your website in the long run.

Finally, avoid linking to bad neighborhoods. These are websites that are known for being spammy or for having a lot of low-quality content. If you link to these kinds of sites, it can reflect poorly on your own site.

So what can you do instead? Focus on building high-quality links from relevant and authoritative websites. This will take more time and effort, but it’s worth it if you want to avoid being penalized by Google.

Quick SEO Facts

Did You Know

Google receives over 63,000 searches every second on any given day.

meta descriptions

Meta description – A meta description is a brief description of the content which is shown below the title or URL on the search engine results page. It explains what the webpage is about and why people should click on your page instead of someone else’s.

GOOGLE SEO Title

A Google title link is the title of a search result on Google Search and other properties that link to the web page Your Google title link may be different from the title (H1) heading on your page.

Keywords

Keywords are words, or queries, that people type into search engines to find relevant information. Even though keywords play a crucial role in search engine optimization (SEO), many marketers take them for granted.

SEO Plugins (YOAST)

Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that helps your site perform better in search engines like Google. It also gives you the tools to help with ensuring your site performs better in search engines like Google. It also gives you the tools to bring your content to the highest standards of SEO and overall readability.

Backlinks

Backlinks (links from other websites to your own) help establish your EAT (Expertise,m Authority, and Trustworthiness. Search engines give brownie points to content that is valuable to the end user. You need to work on getting reputable sites to link back to you. HARO – Help a reporter out is a good place to start.

What is Pinterest

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, ie., I earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase and sometimes if you just click on a link at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more info.

Understanding Pinterest

What is Pinterest

Pinterest, Inc. is a social media web and mobile application company that operates a software system designed to discover information on the World Wide Web, mainly using images and, on a smaller scale, GIFs and videos. The site was founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp

How Do Pins Work

Pinterest users create Boards to hold images which are called (pins) that link to posts on your blog. You can also ‘re-pin’ other bloggers‘ images from their boards into yours to provide more helpful content to your followers. Think of the boards as being folders on your computer, the same as when you bookmark a site. This enables other users to follow specific boards to see pins that would be of interest without having to look at all the images you post to your site.

Why Should I Care About Pins As A Blogger

Think Pinterest is just for hairstyles, home improvement, and recipes? Think again. 250 million people now use Pinterest each month. Pinterest is a place where folks come to focus on themselves and find inspiration for just about any and everything you can imagine. Think about it, before you became a blogger, chances are you visit Pinterest. You probably had an acct and even pinned a few ideas to a board. The same things that you do, is exactly what your readers will do.

175 billion Pins, up 75% from last year…. just imagine if a minuscule number of the 175 BILLION Pins were pins of your content.

1. Pinterest Drives Traffic

Did you know that 28% of the adult population in the US is using Pinterest? In fact, 42% of adult American women who are internet users have a Pinterest account. Your top 5 best sports bras, all-natural deodorant recipes, postpartum workouts, and more are perfect for this target audience. What are you waiting for?

85% of women users use Pinterest to plan incredible life moments” This is according to a study Pinterest commissioned to better understand its American women users aged 25-54. 53 percent of those women said they use Facebook to plan these moments, and 44 percent use Instagram.

What are “ incredible life moments,” according to Pinterest? Big ones might include decorating a new home (43 percent), or going on vacation (50 percent). Small ones are more like meals (67 percent), gym routines, and party planning.

Pinterest can dramatically increase your revenue (i.e, the coins you earn) if you learn the magical powers of pins when used correctly. Spending a few hours researching and understanding how Pinterest can help you increase your blog traffic is a win, win for you. I would highly suggest that you include topics/categories on your site that include fitness, wellness, workouts, eating healthy, running, weight loss and recipes, brides, and home improvements as these are heavily searched on Pinterest.

That brings me to this critical juncture. Hence listen up. PINTEREST IS A SEARCH ENGINE JUST LIKE GOOGLE… IT IS NOT SOCIAL MEDIA. Contrary to what we may think. You don’t have to engage 24/7 on Pinterest, but you need to share and post the correct pins that take people back to your blog site. Followers on Pinterest equates to followers of your blog site.

3. This Isn’t about an Instagram Selfie or a Pretty Picture

Women are using Pinterest to get inspired, find information, increase learning and knowledge, or simply as a hobby. What does this really mean? They aren’t just saving your picture for kicks & giggles. They want to save it and return. Something about your image pulled them in… something about your content heading pulled them in. They find immense value in your link.

As a blogger, you will soon discover that Pinterest can become your #1 source for traffic.

Happy Pinning!

Understanding Pinterest

Affiliate Programs For New Bloggers

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, ie., I earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase and sometimes if you just click on a link at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more info.

1. Amazon

At the top of the list is the king & queen of all affiliate links. Not only can you create an affiliate link for Amazon, but you can also take it a step further and build your own amazon store as well.

Amazon has strict rules and requirements that must be adhered to. Do not get caught slipping. You have to have authentic purchases made within 180 days in order to stay active with amazon.

You can create links that are geared to products that are tied directly into your content as well as use banner ads like this one, to simply break up long posts. There are quite a few niche sites that focus on linking to products via their amazon affiliate links that do extremely well.

Please create your Amazon Affiliate link. You may not get rich from your Amazon affiliate link but it will provide you with viable opportunities to link to products that enhance your blog. Amazon will enable you to display highly relevant and dynamic product recommendations in a stylishly designed, responsive, and mobile-optimized ad unit. Click here to get started

Below showcases different types of affiliate links, you can create with Amazon. I know of a blogger that is making over 5k per month in Amazon affiliate earnings

2. Shareasale

ShareASale Is a must-have for any and all bloggers that are looking to monetize their websites. They have been in business for 19 years, exclusively as an Affiliate Marketing Network. Their technology receives accolades for speed, efficiency, and accuracy – and their reputation as a fair and honest business is well known within the industry. I encourage you to browse around their website and learn more, but if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact them. 

Keep in mind that Shareasale has thousands of brands that do their affiliate programs through ShareASale. I have Healthy Wage, Dollar Tree, and Cricut just to name a few.

I’ve established several affiliate links that have already begun to generate income. Learn how Shareasale can increase your sales, develop your brand, and generate interest in your site. Find a sponsor for your website. Get paid for your great content. shareasale.com.

VigLink  is a San Francisco-based, outbound-traffic monetization service for publishers, forums, and bloggers. 
VigLink specializes in in-text advertising and marketing. – In blog terms- show me the money. VigLink monetizes thousands of affiliates with a click. You will want to sign up and begin using it on your website. If you are going to do any type of list blogs, ie., 10 ways to earn $100 bucks, quite a few companies use Viglink as their affiliate manager

4. Activate.Social

In a nutshell, Activate.Social connects influencers, creators, and bloggers with various businesses in order to publish content. This is a must-have partnership. It’s an easy to use platform. I highly suggest that you apply for the various opportunities that are listed on activate.social. Quite a few individuals have indicated that they have not had success with Activate Social, I suggest that you do not give up. Click here for more info on activate.social

5. Mailer Lite

MailerLite provides all the latest email marketing features designed to help you grow subscribers and build stronger relationships. Sign up for a free account to try everything including our Drag & Drop Editor and Automation features.

MailerLite Email Marketing for Small Business

6. ConvertKit

ConvertKit is a blogger’s best friend when it comes to automating email list. 
Too many email marketing automation tools get in your way. ConvertKit’s automation tool is simple but powerful. With their visual automation builder, you can send well-timed, targeted content to the humans in your audience so you can stay focused on what matters most: growing your online business.

7. BlueHost

When you set up an online business, you have a series of files, images, and HTML code that make up your website. These files take up space and need a place to live. Without an online home, your files would just sit on your computer and no one would ever see them. A hosting provider will provide a place on a server to store all of your files and are responsible for delivering the files of your website as soon as a browser makes a request by typing in your domain name.

When you pay for hosting services, you are simply renting storage space on the internet — just like you would rent a physical store for your business.
Click here for more info on bluehost and to set-up your hosting

8.Flex Offers

FlexOffers.com is an award-winning affiliate marketing network that provides comprehensive solutions to both advertisers and publishers. partnerships. They are one of my favorite options for bloggers looking to add affiliate marketing partnerships to their blog sites. They also happen to have partnerships with some of my favorite companies pay well such as StubHub and Credit Sesame

9. Social Warfare

Social Warfare is among the pioneers of customizing how your content is shared, particularly with Pinterest. Social Warfare is essentially the icons that you see at the top of many blog pages that enable you to share blog posts on FB, pin Pinterest Pins etc. The free version will get the job done, but I suggest upgrading to the Pro-version.

10. Send Owl

SendOwl is an online platform where you can inexpensively create a storefront and start selling digital products and services. I personally use SendOwl as a gateway for my Blogging 101 Course and my digital products. It’s easy to set up and easy to use. It’s one of the favorites amongst bloggers. Send Owl also enables you as a blogger to create your own affiliate program and track payments for your affiliates that you empower to sell your products… Take advantage of their 30-day free trial by clicking here!

Related Blogging Posts

How To Start A WordPress Blog On Bluehost

Today is the day that you learn how easy it is to create a blog on your own. Trust me when I tell you that blogging isn’t hard, you simply have to decide if you want to blog for money or you want to blog for fun.

There is some work that needs to be done on the front end, once it’s done it’s done. Blogging continues to change my life on a daily basis. I believe if you follow my lead, you will, in fact, change your life as well. The goal is to get you to a point where you are making thousands of dollars a month.

I will show you how to start a simple WordPress blog. Honestly, it only costs a few pennies, well may a few dollars per month… It cost less than getting a sew-in or gel nails.

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, ie., I earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase and sometimes if you just click on a link at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more info.

Bluehost is the hosting company that I am going to refer you to. Click here to start your blog, then use the tutorial below for easy follow along with directions

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Bluehost, and will receive a commission if you sign up through my referral link. This is at no additional cost to you, and you will get great pricing and a free domain name via my link

Definitions

Bluehost is where your blog is going to reside. Think of Bluehost as a piece of property that you are going to put your trailer on. Your blog site is going to live in the trailer that is on the Bluehost property.

WordPress is a blogging platform. Think of WordPress as the trailer, it’s empty and filled with blank walls for you to decorate.

A WordPress theme is the style of your blog, this is like going to the design center and designing your trailer out from scratch, colors, height, double-wide or single wide

Plugins are like furniture and accessories in your trailer home. They make your blog more useful, and more beautiful The social media icons you see on many websites, are plugins. If you want to add an extra feature then you get a plugin.

Click here to sign up for your hosting, via Bluehost, then come back and review the tutorials listed below. I personally, use Bluehost and my experience has been nothing other than great. Customer service is 24/7 via chat or a simple phone call. I have had the technician remote into my WordPress site and assist me in fixing /correcting items.

Bluehost is affordable and easy to set up

I was able to retire from my federal job at the age of 50 and live my life. Blogging and real estate allow me to spend my time doing what I love to do, helping family and friends, and traveling.

Anyone can make money with a blog, and I was able to make the money back that I paid for blog hosting very quickly. It is well worth it to pay for blog hosting and I’m sure you will be able to make your money back quickly as well.

I may be a blogging unicorn as I made over $2000 in my first thirty days of blogging. You can read more on how I made over $2000 in my first 30 days of blogging by clicking here

Bluehost is one of the top hosting companies that focus on blogging. You can start your own blog with them for as low as $3.95 a month. Included in my link is also a free domain name if you purchase a 12 month hosting plan. 12 months is all you need to get started. However if you can afford it, I would suggest that you do the 36-month plan. I made my hosting fees back within 24 hours when I first started my blog.

If you are thinking that you can start a cheaper blog on wordpress.com, blogger, blog site, Wix etc., then you can but keep in mind you are in essence renting space that you don’t own. There are advertising restrictions associated with these sites. If you just want to blog for fun and not make money, then that may be the way to go. I think it’s a bad idea. I can only share what I’ve done and what has worked for me. All of the top bloggers that I follow are using Bluehost. Some advertisers will not allow you to become an affiliate as they don’t consider these sites to be professional sites.

The truth is that it is very difficult to make money when you are on one of the other platforms. When you self-host via Bluehost, you can run whatever ads you desire on your blog site.

I suggest that you google for some of the top bloggers, you will find that the majority of them use Bluehost. The proof is in the pudding.

There are several reasons to choose Bluehost, here are just a few.

  • Easy to use. You do not need to be a techie guru to use WordPress or Bluehost
  • Bluehost has awesome technical support.
  • Bluehost is affordable.
  • Free domain name
  • Your site will be set up on WordPress.org
  • Professional site and look by using Bluehost
  • if you get stuck, I can help, and or Bluehost can remote into your pc.

First Things First

1. Register your domain name.

You can click here to purchase a domain name and create a blog, then continue to follow the easy steps below.

We need to identify what your domain name will be. Take time to give this some thought You don’t want to start with one domain name and change it halfway through your journey. I was very methodical in picking my domain name. I wanted to focus on helping other Melanin women, hence the Melanin Goddess was born with an emphasis on the Melanin Effect/Affect.

You can get your domain directly through Bluehost and make the whole process very easy. If you do this, you can get a FREE domain for the first year as long as you buy 12 months worth of Bluehost web hosting. I can’t imagine that you would sign up for less than 12 months if you are serious about blogging. The 36-month plan is by far the best in terms of pricing, but you don’t need it to get started.

The “Basic” package is most likely all you will need.

What Bluehost Offers

  • Free domain name (the name of your website – you usually have to pay for this separately).
  • Free email address.
  • Bandwidth is unmetered – this means you don’t have to worry about your blog crashing if it suddenly gets a ton of traffic. Whether you get 25 people or 100,000 people visiting, you will be charged the same amount. That’s huge!
  • Extensive library of training videos (Installing a WordPress theme, setting up mail, how to embed a video, etc…) Their videos make it easy for everyone to successfully build a website.
  • Full refund if you cancel your account within 30 days. Or prorated refund for the remainder of your hosting term if you cancel Bluehost after 30 days.
  • 24-hour technical support via chat, ticket or by phone

Domains

Bluehost domain manager makes it easy to track, update, transfer, purchase, and administer all of your domains in one place. Plus and Business Pro accounts support unlimited add-on and parked domains, subdomains, and even domestic and international domains.

Resource Protection

Bluehost technology identifies websites using excessive resources and temporarily re-assigns them to isolated systems. This defends your website performance and mitigates the risk normally associated with shared servers.

Scalability

Start with what you need and move to more powerful options as your website grows. Our custom technology lets you upgrade in just a few clicks.

SSL Certificates

Powered by Let’s Encrypt, each SSL Certificate provided helps secure the connection between websites and your visitors. This helps keep personal information, e-commerce transactions, and other sensitive data safeguarded.

Marketing Credits

Receive $100 for Microsoft Advertising and $100 for Google Ads when you spend your first $25 on a new Microsoft Advertising and Google Ads account.

2. Buy hosting for your blog.

Setting up a WordPress blog on Bluehost is very easy.

  • To receive the cheapest price to start a blog, then choosing the “Basic” plan is really all you need. It’s only $3.95 per month through my link, prices may have decreased after the posting of this blog post.
  • The Basic plan is all you really need, skip all the other plans, for now, you can go back and upgrade later on.
  • Domain Privacy hides your contact info, it’s optional, I don’t have it on this website. It’s .99 cents per month on Bluehost
  • You really don’t need all the bells and whistles to get started.
  • P.S you have to sign up for 12 months to get the free domain.
  • It is critical that you do a 12-month plan, you don’t want to forget 6 months into blogging and your site goes down. You do receive a domain name with a 12-month plan.

Blog hosting will most likely cost you around $60 a year on average, or $142 for 3 years, which is a great deal! The best value would be purchasing a 36-month plan, as your monthly rate is much lower over the long run.

You are now ready to create your blog. Go to Bluehost and get started. Use the steps below.

  • Chose the package you are interested in.
  • Enter the domain name you purchased or sign up for a free domain name on Bluehost.
  • Enter your payment info *they are going to charge you upfront for the entire year.
  • Create your password
  • if you run into an issue, contact me at [email protected] or call Bluehost customer service, they are great

Call Bluehost Anytime

They are available 24/7 to help answer questions and solve your problems.

UNITED STATES – 888-401-4678 INTERNATIONAL – +1 801-765-9400

3. Connect your domain and your hosting.

Note: You can skip this section (Section 3) if you buy your domain directly through Bluehost.

If you buy your domain through Go Daddy, then you will need to connect your domain to your hosting account through your DNS servers.

How to modify your DNS Nameservers when you are using Go Daddy for your domain and Bluehost for your hosting:

  1. Log into the GoDaddy.com Account Manager.
  2. Select Manage Domains from the Domain Names drop-down menu or the Manage Your Account list.
  3. Select the domain name you wish to modify using the checkboxes and then click Set Name Servers.
  4. Enter your updated name server information in the spaces provided under the blue Name Servers heading on the right side of your page and click Save Changes at the bottom. Your entries should look like this: ns1.bluehost.com; ns2.bluehost.com.

You will then need to add the domain you bought (such as through GoDaddy) as an addon domain to your Bluehost web hosting. You can do this by clicking on “Domains” when logged into your Bluehost web hosting account and then clicking on “assign.” Follow the steps and it is very easy!

4. Install WordPress on Bluehost.

Get excited you are almost done

Bluehost has done all the work for you and it’s FREE

  • To cut down on steps, Bluehost uses a process that automatically installs WordPress at sign-up. This means you can start writing your first post minutes after joining!
  • Bluehost guides you through exactly what you need to do in order to start a blog.
  • Bluehost will ask you to pick a theme. There are free themes
  • Click on “Start Building”
  • On the next screen, you can choose “Business” or “Personal” – it’s up to you. Or, you can click the “I don’t need help.”

Congrats You now have a WordPress blog. Now the magic starts as you will need to load content. If you select a premium template, you will need to upload your theme. I have themes that I provide to my folks that sign up for hosting via my Bluehost link. email me for more info. [email protected]

Bluehost is pretty straight forward, but if you have any issues, please feel free to reach out to me.

Some general tips for how to navigate WordPress:

  • You can add and create new posts by clicking on “Posts” on the left-hand side when you are logged in.
  • If you want to add an image, click on “Media” on the left-hand side.
  • You can go to “Appearance,” then “Widgets” in order to add items to your sidebar, footer, and so on.
  • The best way to build up your email list is to use ConvertKit, there is a free 14-day trial available by clicking on the link above.
  • Genesis is another popular design service
  • Divi themes are huge as well.

If you already have a blog site and are using Bluehost then share your tips & stories in the comments.

30+ Perfect Winter Hashtags for Instagram

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, ie., I earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase and sometimes if you just click on a link at no additional cost to you. Please read my Disclosure for more info.

As the #winterseason approaches, Instagram is the perfect platform to capture beautiful snow-covered scenery, cozy fireside moments, and festive holiday decorations. To ensure your winter posts reach the widest possible audience, consider using some of the top hashtags of the season. Here is a list of the top winter hashtags for Instagram:

best winter hashtags


Top Winter Hashtags That I Use

#WinterWonderland – Use this hashtag when sharing breathtaking shots of winter landscapes.

#LetsGoSkiing – If you’re heading out to the slopes this winter, use this hashtag to share your ski and snowboarding adventures.

#ChristmasCheer – Celebrate the holiday season with this hashtag.

#SnowDay – Tag your snow-filled days with #SnowDay.

#WinterVibes – Capture the feeling of winter with this hashtag.

#CozyFireplace – Share shots of your cozy winter fireplaces with this hashtag.

#WinterStyle – Show off your winter-inspired style with this hashtag.

#WinterWarmth – Share moments of warmth and comfort during the colder months.

#WinterMagic – Capture the magic of the winter season with this hashtag.

#SnowFlakes – Share pictures of snowflakes and winter snowfall.

We hope this list of top winter hashtags helps you spread your winter cheer on Instagram!

Popular Winter Topics for Hashtag Inspiration

  • Baking
  • Sledding
  • Skiing/snowboarding
  • Winter vacations
  • Warm clothes (sweaters, scarves, hats, boots, etc.)
  • Hot chocolate/hot cocoa bombs
  • Soups/stews
  • Winter Olympics

Winter Holidays

All winter holidays include Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Day, Epiphany, Yule, Boxing Day, St. Stephen’s Day, and Three Kings’ Day. Other winter holidays that may be celebrated in different cultures include the Chinese New Year, Diwali, St. Lucia Day, and the Japanese New Year.

  • Christmas
  • Hanukkah
  • Kwanzaa
  • Diwali
  • Boxing Day
  • Winter Solstice
  • New Year’s Eve
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Day
  • Black History Month
  • Valentine’s Day

Fun Winter Hashtags

 #snowflakekisses #summerdreaming #babyitscoldoutside 
#snowmuchfun  #sweaterweather #winterweekend
 #downwiththethickness #snowselfie #keepitcozy
#bestinsnow #winterfun #minttobe
#bundleup  #hibernationnation #mittenmania
 #hellowinter #hittingtheslopes #winterstyle 
#itsasnowday  #snowlife #frostyfriday

Winter Weather Hashtags

#firstsnow #uptosnowgood #snowday #snowflake
#snowballfight #frosty #winter wonderland #iceskating #hygge #chilly #snowman #instawinter #chillyweather #wintersky #snowhappens #snow #brrr #cold #coldday #coldweather #colderweather #chilly #frozen #freezing #snowyday #snowfall #letitsnow #ice #icy #letitsnow #snowlovers #snowtime #snowcovered #instasnow #snowedin #snowynight #firstsnowfall #itscoldoutside #blizzard #snowy #snowmageddon