SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Being introduced to search engine optimization in grad school and then using it in real life are two very different things! Hopefully this post sheds some light on the subject and helps you in your blogging + business efforts. 

Search Engine Optimization or "SEO" is the process of getting traffic from free or organic listings on search engines. Web pages and other content like videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what a particular search engine identifies as most relevant to users. Major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing have these results. When used as an internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for and more. Optimizing a website may involve website editing including content, HTML and related coding. However, SEO may not be appropriate for every website. As a marketing tactic, SEO may deliver adequate ROI, but it is important to keep in mind that because SEO is organic, there is no guarantee of continued referrals. 

Moz provides a free SEO beginners guide that gives some great tips for implementing SEO. The best tip for SEO success in my opinion, is to create high quality content. Content Marketing, which was discussed in this post is a great way to get high rankings for your website. This presentation also provides some insight on SEO implementation. And finally, here is an infographic from seoinfographic.org. 

via seoinfographic.org

Another great source for learning SEO is through lynda.com. They have video + exercises so that you can practice what you've learned. A key thing to remember as you get started is to title your content by the keywords people are using to search, include your post title within the first paragraph of your content, and link your images as well to make sure they are indexed as well. With practice, you'll get the hang of it in no time. Good luck! 

OF MERCER

I was just talking to Aaron about how I feel frumpy + I need to go shopping. While we were planning for our wedding, I didn’t go shopping unless there was somewhere I needed to go. At that point I’d rush out to buy something for the occasion and that would be that. Everything has been in rotation since we got engaged with the few emergency pieces added in here + there. It’s not that my wardrobe is TERRIBLE…it’s just that I’m bored. And my style is evolving so a lot of the items are no longer me.

The first thing I want to address is my work wardrobe. Have you heard about Of Mercer? If you haven’t heard of them, they provide quality professional workwear at a modest price. The Stanton dress caught my eye. Probably because I have a habit of purchasing items that I can wear both at work and outside of work. I like the workwear from Of Mercer because you can wear very subtle pieces with it and statement pieces as well. 

The Stanton dress is $175. I usually don’t spend this much on one item, but I’ve also found that quality fabric at a higher price point will last me a lot longer + result in less money being spent on my part, so I may need to change my ways. I would style the Stanton dress like this:

1. Shay // 2.  Crystal Knot Stud // 3.  Miri // 4. Leather Plated Wrap Bracelet

What do you think about Of Mercer? What would be your first purchase? 

WEEKLY WISHES 14

LAST WEEK'S WISHES

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// Go back to personal training + Pure Barre. Adding Pure Barre this week + I'm sure I will be in pain! But, it will be worth it, I'll feel good by the time the weekend gets here!

// Get back on track with blogging. This week I want to focus on engaging. I was able to do this a little bit last week, but I really want to focus on reading and commenting on blogs this week. I've missed it to be honest.

// Start skillshare course. Continue working on Photoshop course. 

// Thank you cards. Aaron is off this week, so ideally we'll be able to get quite a bit of this done. I really want to have all the thank you's sent out by no later than mid June. 

// Start working on the household budget. This is my job because I'm good at it. Aaron will pay the bills and I'll keep track of the spreadsheet. This is the first time we'll be doing this together so it will be interesting!

// Come up with a date idea. So Aaron has told me that I can pick whatever I want and we will do it this weekend. Yay!! Do you have any suggestions? 

Personal Training, check! Pure Barre...not a check! I had a busy week, but hoping to get to class this Wednesday. Personal Training was pretty intense, I'm still in pain. I did get some commenting done this week on blogs. I tried to plan in advance. I found that if I couldn't comment right away (i.e. I'm at work), I would go ahead and formulate my comment so that I could make sure the commenting did get done later in the day. I did get to play around with Photoshop a bit. I'm thinking I'm going to go ahead and start Illustrator though. These thank you cards are killing me. Nothing got done. Life was hectic this week. But, I'm off this Friday, so no excuses. I did start working on the budget, yay! I'm aiming to get it done by the end of this week. No "date" for us. It stormed, I got lazy and wanted to stay indoors. 

THIS WEEK'S WISHES

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// Go back to personal training + Pure Barre. Adding Pure Barre this week. That's it. I need to get back there. 

// Get back on track with blogging. Still focused on engaging. Also exploring the new blogs I've found + being more active on social media. 

// Thank you cards. I must start. That's all. 

// Finish June Household Budget. Goal is for this to be completed by Saturday night. 

// Finish grad school! It's the final countdown!!♩♬ ♪ I'm in the LAST 10 DAYS OF GRAD SCHOOL. It feels like I just started and kicking myself because I'd waited 4 years to start. I'm so glad to be done you just don't know! More time to focus on my other interests.

Best of luck accomplishing all of your goals this week! And, if you're anything like me, you should consider linking up with Melyssa for Weekly Wishes. They don't have to be weekly-they can fit your schedule however you see fit!

BETWEEN ME + YOU

I usually post "Inspiration Sunday" posts on well, Sunday. In the past, they've consisted of bible verses or quotes that I really liked. Towards the end of that series/topic, I started to publish more detailed posts expressing my thoughts about various topics. I haven't posted on Sunday's in a while because I felt like something was missing. I didn't necessarily want to get rid of the Sunday post because I do like sharing bible verses or my feelings - true feelings about certain things. So it came to me (that's been happening a lot lately!) that I wanted to create a space on Sunday that felt like I was talking to my dearest friend. This will be a little space where I can be completely honest if I want to or as vague as I need to be or simply + completely blunt. So from now on, you'll be seeing "Between Me + You" posts on Sunday's. Because that's what we tell our friends when we share something personal + close to our hearts right? 

My little token of appreciation here on the blog to Dr. Maya Angelou for all she's done to inspire a generation. This illustration was created by Katie Rodgers of Paper Fashion.

In other news, I read an article on The Boss Mag (website currently being updated) about the many benefits of waking up earlier. I dread the mornings to be quite honest. Mostly because I'm sitting in traffic to go to a job that's not very fulfilling. So I thought that this month I would try to wake up earlier to at the very least have some quiet moments to myself. The author of that article said that there's something miraculous about being the only one up in the wee hours of the morning - that it's the only time you can be in complete quietness. While I was visiting The Everygirl, I saw that they are doing another 30 day challenge and guess what? It's a 30 Days of Motivated Mornings challenge!  The challenge is to wake up at least 30 minutes earlier each day this month. Keep them in the loop by sharing what you're doing during your mornings with the hashtag #TEG30DayChallenge. Although my plans for my early mornings are centered around something else, I definitely will check in from time to time to see what others are doing with their mornings. 

// THE WEEKEND //

image via hola para siempre

Oh THANK YOU! Even with a shorter work week, I thought today would never get here! The cons of being in the cubicle all day while your head is in the clouds I guess! This week was filled with awesomeness on the creative front. I was inspired by so many things and I've started to work on doing more of what I love. I'm finding my way remember? 

Let's get all up into that awesomeness shall we!

// By Regina + Vale Design offer up some great tips for launching your freelance biz.

// Looking for tips on finding your signature style? Betty Red can show you how!

// Just do you. Follow your own unique path.

// Ah, I love it when in-person programs are offered online so everyone can partake in the awesomeness! Blogcademy now has a home school program!

// Chasing Happy is now Hello Neverland! Kenzie is just awesome - I'm loving watching her blog grow! And guess what? She's now offering blog + brand audits!

// With so much to do + so little time, it's important to remember to work smarter, not harder.

// Why investing in your business means investing in yourself.

It's very evident where my mind was this week huh?

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