My SEO Journey to Ranking #1 - Follow & Learn

by JamesF
34 replies
  • SEO
  • |
Hey Warriors,
So I decided a few weeks ago that I am going to create a transparent blog series & forum thread on my SEO campaign to rank for the keyword 'freelance web designer'. Most people usually don't share work details in their SEO campaigns thinking their competitors will copy their steps and try to rank for them too; but I believe the benefits of people learning off of me and work/progress/results far outweigh the threats of a competitor.

I actually meant to write my first post a couple weeks ago, but finally got around to it today. So the first post is basically catching you up on what has happened in the past 3-4 weeks since I first posted a 1-page splash site up on the domain.

Anyways, here's my first post: Introduction And Current SERP Ranking – Part 1 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

Enjoy, and feel free to leave any questions or comments on the blog or in this thread and I'll be sure to check back often. I'll post any new updates to this thread as well. Coming up next is: my keyword research I did & on-page optimization on the site..

- James F.
#follow #journey #learn #ranking #seo
  • Profile picture of the author owenlee
    Good luck in your journey...all the best...
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  • Profile picture of the author abbypeng
    Good luck. Thank you for share.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    @owenlee & @abbypeng - thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author trishseo
    Originally Posted by JamesF View Post

    Hey Warriors,
    So I decided a few weeks ago that I am going to create a transparent blog series & forum thread on my SEO campaign to rank for the keyword 'freelance web designer'. Most people usually don't share work details in their SEO campaigns thinking their competitors will copy their steps and try to rank for them too; but I believe the benefits of people learning off of me and work/progress/results far outweigh the threats of a competitor.

    I actually meant to write my first post a couple weeks ago, but finally got around to it today. So the first post is basically catching you up on what has happened in the past 3-4 weeks since I first posted a 1-page splash site up on the domain.

    Anyways, here's my first post: Introduction And Current SERP Ranking - Part 1 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

    Enjoy, and feel free to leave any questions or comments on the blog or in this thread and I'll be sure to check back often. I'll post any new updates to this thread as well. Coming up next is: my keyword research I did & on-page optimization on the site..

    - James F.
    Thanks James. I love a good case study. There is far, far too much fodder that passes as firsthand knowledge online. This is how you really learn about what works and what doesn't.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigwillstyle
    I really appreciate the great input. As an up and coming Seo Champ I'm willing to glean a little something from everyone's Seo experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Amenda Jessera
    Good luck James, I just bookmarked your site and I am gonna follow you and learn from your experience.... Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author dannyintampa
    Let us know how your results and good luck my friend!
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    I live is sunny Florida where I sell homes in the Tampa Florida Real Estate market. I also have a general DoFollow Blog where I write about anything and everything.

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  • Profile picture of the author MoBuck$
    Hey make sure you install "Platinum SEO Pack" it's the best one out of the many that are out there
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    thanks guys and gals.. should have the next two updates coming soon. probably about every 7 days..
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    @marcolav - the freelanceful.com or the blog? both seem to load for me.
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    • Profile picture of the author marcolav
      Originally Posted by JamesF View Post

      @marcolav - the freelanceful.com or the blog? both seem to load for me.
      freelanceful.com was not loading, it's fine now though
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  • Profile picture of the author pats311CList
    great stuff apreciate it and cant wait for the results keep em coming sir
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    Hey guys,
    I finally updated a new post to the Part 2 SEO Journey series.

    This new post covers 'keyword research' and more specifically 'keyword relevance'. Keyword research and selecting the best ones to target for SEO breaks down into three main parts: keyword relevance, search volume, and competition for that keyword to rank.

    Anyways, check the link out below for more..

    Coming Up With Your Target Keywords - Part 2 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

    Thanks,
    James F.
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    • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
      Originally Posted by JamesF View Post

      Hey guys,
      I finally updated a new post to the Part 2 SEO Journey series.

      This new post covers 'keyword research' and more specifically 'keyword relevance'. Keyword research and selecting the best ones to target for SEO breaks down into three main parts: keyword relevance, search volume, and competition for that keyword to rank.

      Anyways, check the link out below for more..

      Coming Up With Your Target Keywords - Part 2 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

      Thanks,
      James F.
      Thanks for the update. I always enjoy following case studies.

      Bookmarked your blog and will be checking it from time to time.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    Thanks @JSProjects
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    Hey guys,
    I'm on a roll and got Part 3 up today. Just going over a few tips about estimating the amount of searches certain keywords and phrases it has on Google per month. Definitely helpful if you're still on the fence on which keywords to focus on and spend time to try to rank for, or even coming up with one to target.

    Finding Out How Many Times A Keyword Is Searched Per Month – Part 3 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

    Thanks,
    James F.
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  • Profile picture of the author jimmy69
    It is interesting to learn your success story, thanks for sharing the experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Kage
    Thank you for sharing the experience. Your story will give people great insight.
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  • Profile picture of the author outwest
    I thought this thread was helpful tips, I dont see any tips, or many updates
    Signature
    Tech article writing .Native English Speaker(with Proof)
    specializing in SmartPhones , Internet security, high tech gadgets, search engines, tech shows, digital cameras.

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    • Profile picture of the author scott g
      Good luck with that! Let's analyze a bit... Shall we...?!?!? :rolleyes:





      CHEERS!
      Signature
      scott g
      "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."

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  • Profile picture of the author outwest
    I would rather find someone who is number one and telling how I did this

    instead of following someone who says I WANT TO GET TO NUMBER 1
    follow me
    Signature
    Tech article writing .Native English Speaker(with Proof)
    specializing in SmartPhones , Internet security, high tech gadgets, search engines, tech shows, digital cameras.

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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    @sparda - thanks!

    @outwest - check the links. I labeled this thread as journey, which is more of a progress and not a how to. As far as being number 1, I've ranked several sites before for #1 spots in competitive keywords. Last two: employee scheduling software & twitter backgrounds - both are quite stiff in competition. I cannot name the sites due to privacy clauses after I sold the sites.

    @scott_g - thanks. So far, Freelanceful is at the bottom of page 2, around 23-26ish, depending on what ip location you're doing your Google searches from.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    Hey Warriors,
    Continuing on my roll; I got Part 4 up.

    It's about how to judge the competition for your keywords or keyword phrases. For example; if you found yourself a great keyword that gets lots of search volume per month; but it is over-dominated by big dogs in your industry; it's going to be a total uphill battle. These are just a few tips of mine that I learned to quickly judge which keywords to stay away from and which ones to attack full-head on.

    Judging And Estimating Keyword Competition To Rank Page 1 – Part 4 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

    - James F.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    Put up another post up. This one is about 3 common SEO myths I see a lot of people do when they try to estimate the amount of traffic a keyword gets.

    1. Page rank
    2. Competition bar
    3. Number of search results

    Hope it helps out somebody.. Common SEO Myths In Estimating Keyword Toughness & Competition – Part 5 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

    - James F
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  • Profile picture of the author JamesF
    Made another post today. We are getting into the meat and bones of SEO; and I covered on-page optimization with this post. My opinion on the top 4 and few other things. I laid it out by telling what I did with freelanceful.com and why I did it.

    Like: 1) Meta Title 2) H1 Tag 3) Meta Description 4) Keyword Density

    Top 4 On-Page Optimization Techniques That Works – Part 6 SEO Journey | Freelanceful Blog

    - James F.
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  • Profile picture of the author outwest
    Whats the total monthly EXACT LOCAL searches the main targeted kw is getting?
    thats the one you are trying to rank number 1

    if its low, anyone can do that (100-300 searches per month for example)
    if its 10k 20k per month, then the results will be interesting
    Signature
    Tech article writing .Native English Speaker(with Proof)
    specializing in SmartPhones , Internet security, high tech gadgets, search engines, tech shows, digital cameras.

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  • Profile picture of the author wadezwd
    BRAVO~
    I will follow your journey and learn then apply to my own sites.
    Thanks for your sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author outwest
    This to me is not legit
    The poster has made very few posts on the board, and not really responded much to questions , such as the one I posted above

    What is the exact monthly searches (local) (exact) for the term you want to rank for

    If this is a 500 searches per month term, then a child could rank that number 1 within a month or two with not much SEO background

    Also I would like to see a screenshot of the top 10 competition on market samurai
    Signature
    Tech article writing .Native English Speaker(with Proof)
    specializing in SmartPhones , Internet security, high tech gadgets, search engines, tech shows, digital cameras.

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    • Profile picture of the author Cash0ut
      Originally Posted by outwest View Post

      This to me is not legit
      The poster has made very few posts on the board, and not really responded much to questions , such as the one I posted above

      What is the exact monthly searches (local) (exact) for the term you want to rank for

      If this is a 500 searches per month term, then a child could rank that number 1 within a month or two with not much SEO background

      Also I would like to see a screenshot of the top 10 competition on market samurai
      If you re-read the OP you'll notice that he is trying to rank for "freelance web designer", and if you take a look at post #23 you will see the top 20 for the term plus the exact searches.
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      • Profile picture of the author outwest
        Originally Posted by Cash0ut View Post

        If you re-read the OP you'll notice that he is trying to rank for "freelance web designer", and if you take a look at post #23 you will see the top 20 for the term plus the exact searches.
        LOL
        I will eat my hat if he can get to number 1 in a year
        the number one site has 250,000 backlinks and is a PR5 site

        yes it is not SEO optimized for all the title, url , header , desc, but
        250,000 backlinks? and a PR5 and he is going to try to beat that?

        Seems people are just saying "good luck" without really looking at what this guy is trying to do

        How in the Hell is someone supposed to outrank a 250k backlinks site within a year, a PR5 site?
        I can tell you that sure, if the site was N N N N for the onpage SEO, he may have a chance of going past it assuming the guys backlinks and PR are not that good

        but with that kind of backlinks? no way in heck can he outrank him, even if he got that many backlinks the other guys backlinks are more aged

        LOL

        I would say within 6 mos he can rank #3, possibly one year
        if he can rank #1 on this term in a year he should be on the international news, since that will truly be something amazing
        Signature
        Tech article writing .Native English Speaker(with Proof)
        specializing in SmartPhones , Internet security, high tech gadgets, search engines, tech shows, digital cameras.

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  • Profile picture of the author nicnac03
    Your blog is filled with amazing information. I'm curious what theme you are using.
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