SEO Optimization – short for “search engine optimization” was developed to increase the likelihood your blog or website will shows up when searched for, especially on Google. Although I am no expert on SEO optimization, I want to pass on a method for easy SEO optimization that I’ve implemented in this blog. I can definitely tell that it’s working – the amount of hits Running Blonde gets due to people searching for me has increased exponentially in the past three months. The method I am describing is specific to self-hosting on WordPress.org
Easy SEO Optimization
1. Install the WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin on your blog.
2. Follow the checklist suggested by the plugin – that’s pretty much it!
Here’s a little more detail:
I’ve optimized this post for the keyword search “easy SEO optimization”. To increase the likelihood that Running Blonde will show up if someone searches “easy SEO optimization”, I’ve done the following:
1. Put “easy SEO optimization” in the post title
2. Put “easy SEO optimization” in the blog URL
3. Looking at the Yoast plugin, you can also see that I used “easy SEO optimization” for the SEO title and in the meta description. This basically determines what your link will look like in a search engine. If you don’t edit your meta description, Google will randomly pick words from your post to display. This way, you can make something catchy/relevant for Google to display:
4. In the above picture, I added “easy SEO optimization to the “Title” and “Alt Text fields”. This can be shown by the fact that “easy SEO optimization” appears when you hover the mouse over the picture.
5. I used an H2 heading with the phrase “easy SEO optimization” in the post. You can find this setting in the paragraph drop down menu at the top left of the post.
6. I used “easy SEO optimization” throughout the post, especially in the first paragraph of the post. In this post, the phrase “easy SEO optimization” appears xx times. Obviously, this is much, much more than in a typical post. I usually try to use the keyword at least two times in a post.
7. Although I didn’t do this in this post, I try to pick a unique search phrase that won’t necessarily pick up big, widely-read blog posts. For example, you are more likely to get hits on the phrase “Olin Park Wedding Reception, Madison, WI” versus “Wedding Madison, WI”. There are so many well written articles by big blogs about SEO optimization that despite my efforts, this post will be unlikely to show up if you do search for “Easy SEO optimization”.
8. All of these things are summarized in the “page analysis” checklist on the WordPress Yoast SEO plugin. Your post then receives a green, yellow or red rating to determine how well your SEO optimization for that keyword is:
Feel free to leave a comment with any questions. Any suggestions on things I could do better? Let me know in the comments.
If the rest of our meals of 2013 are anything like this first one, Pat and I will be quitting our jobs and opening a restaurant. We made this apple, feta and delicata squash pizza because it’s what we had in the house and our nearby grocery store was closed for the holiday. You could pretty much call it kitchen sink pizza, because that pretty much sums it up – it has everything in it but the kitchen sink. In Pat’s words, “It’s sweet, savory, salty and amazing, all in one bite.” Of course, these words are all mumbled with said bite still in one’s mouth…
Apple, Feta, Delicata Squash Pizza (Kitchen Sink Pizza)
By us.
Ingredients
1/4 c. pine nuts
1 delicata squash
1 T. olive oil
Fresh ground pepper
1 T. brown sugar
Pie crust
Cornmeal
1 onion
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. olive oil
8 oz. pizza sauce
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 apple, cored and sliced thinly
1/2 c. feta cheese
1/4 c. fresh or 1 tsp. dried parsley
1. Toast the pine nuts on a baking sheet in your oven at 375F for 7-10 minutes. They should be lightly brown, but keep an eye on them because the distance from toasted to charred is very short. As soon as they are done, slide them off the sheet into a bowl. Turn the oven up to 425F.
2. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven at this time to preheat.
3. Seed and slice up your delicata squash into 1/2 inch crescents. Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil, one tablespoon of brown sugar and a few turns of fresh ground pepper. Spread on the baking sheet from step 1 and roast for 10-15 minutes, until soft.
4. Slice your onion lengthwise into thin slices. Sautee over medium heat with one tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of brown sugar until caramelized, about 15 minutes.
5. Roll/press out your pizza crust on a counter dusted with cornmeal until it is fairly thin. Repair any uneven parts by pinching the surrounding crust together.
6. Spread 8 oz. of pizza sauce over crust.
7. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, then delicata squash, caramelized onions, apple slices, and pine nuts.
8. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese and parsley
9. Bake at 475F for 8-10 minutes, until crust is lightly browned.
Thanks to the holidays, I’m on currently halfway through a two week vacation from medical school. With the wedding only five months away, I’ve taken this opportunity to do as many wedding projects as I can manage. This basically means I have been glittering everything in sight! Despite my best efforts to lay down newspaper, there was a thick layer of glitter on our living room floor this morning and this afternoon I noticed an impressive layer of gold glitter in Pat’s beard! Needless to say, he was not thrilled.
One of my projects was these easy glitter drink swizzle sticks. This cute and easy DIY is a perfect thing to have on hand for your upcoming party or wedding! You can make them in any color or shape.
DIY Glitter Drink Swizzle Sticks
You will need:
- Paper punch in the size and shape or your choice – I used this 1.25 inch scallop circle punch from EK
- Bamboo Skewers
- Wire Cutters (Optional)
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Spray Adhesive
- Newspaper
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Hot Glue Gun
- Cardstock (I used white resume paper)
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Glitter!
1. Punch out your shape of choice, two per skewer
2. If your skewers are longer than your drink glasses, use the wire cutters to snip them to your desired height.
3. Open your newspaper and lightly spray a coat of adhesive on it.
4. Line up your punched shapes onto the newspaper.
5. Spray the shapes with adhesive.
6. Coat with glitter and let dry.
7. Hot glue two cutouts around one skewer
You’re all done! Pour yourself a cocktail and enjoy your drink swizzle stick!
Because I’ve been traveling, I’ve been deprived of time in the kitchen. Pat’s family has a beautiful kitchen and I spent most of Christmas Eve making as many things as I could. I made some delicious Cooks Illustrated banana bread. The secret to this amazing bread is microwaving the bananas before adding them – so good!
Christmas dinner was also almost entirely Cooks Illustrated recipes. I made butternut squash soup, pear and blue cheese salad, balsamic glazed asparagus, cheese biscuits and my favorite blueberry pie!
I also made some Cooks Illustrated cookie dough (are you seeing a theme here?) and decorated them with Pat’s sisters.
Pat got a much-needed haircut and then we worked on finishing up the napkins I’ve been making for the wedding. I think I want to create a stamp to personalize them, but I haven’t come up with a design yet. Any ideas?
This year, my little travel blog grew into a place where I shared more than just photos of my adventures. Given that interviewing for residency took me to Portland, Denver, San Francisco, and Stanford, there were plenty of photos, but I was also able to share some of my favorite recipes and DIY projects. Literally thousands of people from all of the world stopped by to check out my humble ramblings.
2013 will be full of changes and adventures for Pat and I. We are getting married in May, just a week after I graduate from medical school. I’ll be starting my first real job, as a pediatric resident. Hopefully that will mean we’ll be moving to a new city, after almost a decade of being in Madison. I also have two big trips coming up – six weeks working with Tibetan refugees in India and three weeks in Morocco for our honeymoon! All of that in just the first six months of 2013!
Thank you again for reading Running Blonde. Here are the top 10 most visited projects of 2012:
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!
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