Time for your weekly blogging recap!
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No earth shattering news this week, which, considering the past few months, we'll happily accept. 

Today, we're bringing things back to basics, and focusing on SEO best practice.

SEO Should Be On Everyone's Mind

However you feel personally about SEO, it's very difficult to find success these days as a blogger without a comprehensive understanding of it. 

To steal a phrase from our interviewees today (Gemma and Laura from Make Traffic Happen), search engine optimization is "speaking Google's language." 

Of course, most bloggers will know, that the "language" is ever changing, and is often up for interpretation depending on who you're talking to. As such, it's important that we're constantly refreshing what we know about SEO, testing what works and doesn't work, all with the goal of growing our sites. 

Gemma and Laura have made it their mission to aid bloggers in that process, and the result is a collection of very popular products including (*):

They've also created bundles at a discount for bloggers who are really looking to take things to the next level. 

But as today's feature dives into their thoughts on all things SEO best practices, we're going to take a step away from our own broadcasting and let them take it away with this great interview!

Inside the Mainframe

...because we need to know, to grow. 

What's one thing, or a few things, that a blogger could do in under an hour that would make a big difference for their site or brand?

"The absolutely number one thing you could be doing for your site is keyword research. You shouldn’t be writing what there is no demand for, as we always say - stop writing posts that no one sees!

If I’d been told that from the start, I would have wasted a lot less time trying to drum up traffic through social media shares and threads.

Keyword research takes time to learn, but once you get good at it, it will help you create a content plan that actually works, and it will ensure that people are there to read your content.

Most content creators who enjoy SEO success see around at least 70% of their traffic coming from organic traffic (Google). Imagine we didn’t have that traffic?

Once you start ranking on Google you will see your traffic increase and once you hit around 50K sessions can start to make decent ad revenue on your site.

Another way to monetize your brand is through affiliate marketing. Guess what strategy allows you target money-making keywords, SEO!

SEO is life changing for content creators who are willing to take time to learn and implement it." - Laura and Gemma, Make Traffic Happen

For more actionable SEO tips and knowledge, read the full interview on SEO best practices. 

A Slow Week With Unnecessary Changes

What's it Take to Make a Six Figure Blog?

While we all have different end games in mind for how we want to run our blogs, for many it has to do with money.

The benchmark on what you have to make from your blog to be a success is personal to your own situation, but one question that comes up time and time again is what it takes to make $100,000 per year blogging.

We thought this one could be a fun topic to look into more, and in our latest article we break down what it takes to hit that milestone with your blog.

Hint: It requires a lot more work than you may think.
Check Out the Article Here

On the Lookout for Black Friday Deals

For our American readers, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. While Jeremy may be a bit relieved to only have a socially distant feast this year, our attention here at This Week in Blogging comes after the holiday- specifically Black Friday and Cyber Monday when a wealth of deals become available for bloggers.

As it is our goal to share all the best things helpful to bloggers, we're planning on curating the best deals in our upcoming editions plus on our site. While deals are often announced last minute, companies that do offer them tend to repeat specials year after year.

So, we asked a question in our Facebook group we'd like you to help answer: What blogging-focused Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals have you purchased in the past?

We'll scope them out, and if they repeat a deal this year we'd love to feature it!
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That's it for the week! Check your inbox next week for another update from This Week in Blogging.

As always, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback, feel free to reply directly to this email. Jeremy will take a moment from hibernation prep to get back to you right away.

-Chris and Jeremy


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