What are the 3 main components of SEO?

To optimize your coaching website for search engines, you need to optimize for the following: content, authority, and technical things on your website.

Component #1 | Content

Why do coaches need content for SEO?

Because content is the bread and butter of any good SEO strategy.

Plus, content is literally the name of the game: the internet is just a giant index of content!

When we create content, it's our goal to make the best page on the web for a certain keyword (no pressure 😉). If you can confidently say that your content is the best thing out there for a certain keyword, eventually, we think that you'll rank on page one for that keyword.

So what is "good" content in Google's and other search engines' eyes?

Write in your own unique voice, too. When in doubt, just be yourself.

We know that sounds cheesy, but Google can sense when an expert vs. a non-expert is writing.

Be informative, but speak your truth--as long as you understand the impact of what you're saying (this is especially important for coaches who work with more fragile populations).

Content that matches search intent

When we do keyword research, there are a lot of keywords out there that sound good to us, but our clients may not actually be using them. That’s why understanding search intent is crucial.

For example, when we enter the keyword “chocolate chip cookie” into Google, we're looking for a recipe, not the culinary history of chocolate chip cookies. A recipe is my search intent.

Write content that potential clients want to see.

Lucky for us, checking for search intent is easy. Enter the keyword into Google and check what’s ranking.

Then ask yourself...

• What kind of content is coming up? If someone is looking for a meme, you don't want to create content for that keyword.

• What questions are being asked? This will help you outline your content.

• Does the searcher want to hear from somebody like me? It's normal to enter a keyword into Google and be surprised by the results. Sometimes, our intution for a keyword is way off--we are not the people that should be writing that content!

Here's an example.

One of our therapist clients specializes in working with ADHD.

When doing keyword research, he thought a great keyword would be "tension and release," which is a grounding tool for people with ADHD.

When we entered the keyword into Google, we found that "tension and release" was a technique in music; people with ADHD weren't using this keyword!

In our opinion, top-notch website content...

• Is unique.

• Matches search intent.

• Is comprehensive.

• Is enriched.

Let's break these categories down.

Unique content

This will likely come naturally to you!

Google likes to rank subject matter experts. The more unique and expert-sounding your content, the better!

Note that expert-sounding does NOT mean jargony. Instead, give advice and inform potential clients in a way that only a therapist could.

Before you write a piece of content, always check search intent on Google first.

Content that's comprehensive

Google likes long-form content. A study by Backlinko found that the average Google first page result contains 1,447 words.

Why?

Because the more comprehensive you are, the better Google thinks that your content is.

For example, let's say there are three blog posts talking about the Kardashians.

Blog post one writes about Kim Kardashian.

Blog post two writes about Kim AND Kourtney Kardashian.

Meanwhile, blog post three writes about Kim AND Kourtney AND Khloe.

Google, therefore, thinks that the third blog post must be the most informative, so it's ranked above blog posts one and two.

Try to aim for at least 1,500 words. This sounds like a lot, but this piece you're reading right now is almost 4,000 words! Once you get started and know what you want to say, it's not that bad :)

Content that's enriched

When writing content, include quotes from experts, link to studies, embed videos, use infographics, maybe add data of your own... you get the point.

It's kind of like citing your source when writing a research paper.

Google can tell when you improve your content in this way, and they LOVE it.

But enriching your content is good for users, too.

If we add more things for potential coaching clients to interact with, we boost what is referred to as user engagement signals.

User engagement signals are signs from users that show Google they're staying on the page and interacting with the content. There are different examples of this, but clicks and the time spent on a page are the primary user engagement signals.

The longer someone spends on and interacts with your piece of content, the more Google thinks that the content is worth ranking.

At the end of the day, Google is a business. They make money by people staying on their platform! If your content keeps users on Google's platform, they'll reward you.

Creating new content vs. updating old content for Google

Keep in mind that we don't always have to create new content for our websites--sometimes updating old content is just as powerful.

But if you're creating new content, here are the main types of website pages.

Blog posts. Blog content is a must for SEO for coaches (and SEO for anyone, for that matter). Blog posts can bring tons of potential coaching clients to your site every month. By building up a library of incredible content on your coaching specialty, you slowly develop your reputation as a subject matter expert. This will boost your domain's authority (which we'll explain soon).

• Service/specialty pages. These pages target keywords like "life coach in San Francisco" or "intimacy coach." They're informational, but there's also a sales pitch aspect to them. Create these pages for any specialty or service that you offer. It's not helpful to simply list all of your services and specialties on the same page. Remember that we want high-quality content for every page that has the potential for bringing in clients from Google.

• Sales pages. If you're a coach, you probably know what these are :) Although SEO-wise they're not as important (as in, they probably won't get you as many clients), sales pages do help us build brand awareness on Google around our offers.

But like I mentioned, you don't always have to create new content for your website. That's when you optimize existing content!

Optimizing existing content: On-page SEO

Optimizing existing content for Google is referred to as on-page SEO.

On-page SEO is going through existing content and making sure that the content is up to Google's standards. The most common things to optimize for are...

• Word count (remember: 1,500+ words!)

• Image use

• Title tag and meta description optimization

• Linking to other sites and linking within yours

• Frequency and placement of keywords

... and more.

When it comes to an SEO content strategy, the first thing we do is check for existing content's potential.

This can save you a lot of time and hassle!

Component #2 | Link building

Building authority with SEO for coaches is primarily done through link building.

Establishing your reputation as a coach online is crucial to your SEO strategy.

Why?

Because people lie on the internet all the time.

There's a burden of proof that we must establish with Google for them to trust us and rank our coaching website higher in the search engine rankings.

The fastest way to establish trust with Google is through link building.

There are two types of links to think about when it comes to SEO.

External links

For ranking higher on search engines, external links are the most important.

These are called backlinks, and they're links from other websites back to ours.

You can think of links as endorsements from other sites saying that a) yes, this person is a coach and b) they're really good at being a coach.

Since Google can't actually ask your clients and peers what they think of you, they use backlinks to ascertain that information as best they can.

In our experience, content is the most important component of SEO, but links expedite your progress. We think of them as caffeine you sprinkle on your website to kick things up a notch.

But in some cases, link building is absolutely necessary for getting clients for your coaching services. If you are in a particularly competitive niche or location, you need backlinks to outrank your competitors.

There are two types of links you should know about.

1. Dofollow links.

2. Nofollow links.

When either of these tags are added to the code of a link block in HTML, that tells search engines whether or not to follow that link to the website that it's linked to.

You can think of dofollow and nofollow links like an open or closed door, respectively.

If the link is a dofollow link, the door is open to the linked website. That means the authority that is passed between the two websites via the link can pass through the doorway.

If the link is a nofollow link, that means the door to the linked website is closed. So, unfortunately, the authority that flows between the two websites cannot pass through.

When link buidling, try to get dofollow links. These will help your search engine rankings more than nofollow links.

There are tons of other link-building strategies out there, but we keep these secret so only our clients can benefit from them 🤫

Internal links

Another form of linking is internal linking. This is linking to pages within your own website, for example, linking to your contact page from a button on your homepage.

You can think of links as a series of roads and highways within your website.

The combination of many links that point to a certain page form a highway. When Google detects a highway, they assume that the destination page is more important than other pages on your website.

If a website page only gets one or two internal links, Google detects a dusty backroad, so they assume that the destination page isn't as important compared to your "highway" pages.

Link to important pages many times. And when linking, make sure you use keyword-rich anchor text. Anchor text is the highlighted text that houses a link. Keywords provide context for Google, which also helps with search engine rankings!

When linking within your website, be intentional about the pages you link to. They tell Google more than you think.

Component #3 | Technical SEO

You can't compete in a NASCAR race with a 1999 Toyota Camry. So why would you try to compete on Google with a slow website jam-packed with errors?

That's why your website's technical SEO is so important.

Technical SEO is the process of optimizing your website for technical elements. There are many things that go into this, but we'll explain the top common concerns for most coaching websites.

Site speed

If your site loads too slowly, potential clients will leave your coaching website.

But not only is a slow website bad for losing clients, it's also bad for the Google algorithm.

Remember user engagement signals? Some of the newer and very important ranking signals are related to user experience, or UX. Based on certain behavior metrics, like the average time spent on website pages by a visitor, Google ascertains whether or not users find that your website matches their search intent.

Remember that at the end of the day, Google is a business. Whichever website helps users maximize their time spent on Google also helps Google make more money.

Another of these behavior metrics is bounce rate. Bounce rate is the percentage of people who land on a website and immediately leave (or "bounce") back to the main search engine results page.

A high bounce rate tells Google that your website isn't helping users, so your rankings will tank.

If you're curious about your bounce rate, you can test your site speed on one of my favorite SEO tools GT Metrix. We recommend that our clients land in the B range or higher.

Broken links

Have you ever landed on a website and seen a big 404 flash across the screen?

That's a broken link.

It's a pretty bad experience, right?

404 errors happen when a page accidentally gets deleted. Luckily, they're an easy fix!

All you have to do is set up a 301 redirect. That's a little snippet of code that tells search engines to move on to another page (that you define) if a user lands on the broken page.

To check if you have any 404 errors, you can use another one of my favorite SEO tools--Ahrefs' free broken link checker tool.

Domains

Picking a domain is a bit of an art and a science.

Although your domain should match your branding first and foremost, you can also optimize your domain name for SEO.

First, we recommend using a domain that includes a keyword in it, like "coaching" or "mindset."

Next, select a domain with a trusted and accurate top-level domain. This is the extension at the end of your domain name like ".com" or ".net." You can browse a whole list of top levels domains to get inspired!

Finally, make sure that your domain protocol is secure. A domain protocol is the "http" before the rest of the domain. Make sure to use "https"--this is a secure version. Most domain hosts will offer this automatically, but always check just in case!