First of all, I absolutely LOVE doing SEO!
Everyday is an adventure – as in… you never know what mood Google is going to be in. (LOL a little SEO joke there)
– Jen Ruhman
Content is King but… SEO is your Queen!
-Jen Ruhman
It really brings joy into my life helping business owners rank higher in Google and YouTube.
I’ve been doing SEO for years since 2004, but now it’s been my focus – especially during these past six years. (because SEO is very challenging and competitive nowadays)
SEO is not a luxury service, but a must for all small business owners to remain competitive in Google’s search engine.
Now that 1 in 7 people have a website of some kind, you’re in good company with 1 billion website owners that want to rank on the first page.
BTW… Are YOU a small business owner? Please read: SEO facts small biz owners need to know
This blog post is going to be rather unique because it’s all about myself and how I really work as an SEO expert here in San Diego, CA.
Yes, sometimes I explain SEO as living a double life in the Matrix…
It’s pretty interesting explaining what SEO is and how I do it. The easy answer… Oh I help websites rank higher in Google search results…
Next, they’re like “but how do you do that?” And I say…
I write content that helps people and at the same time optimize it to make google bots understand I want to rank for certain keywords. Yes, there’s a lot going on in the background you would never dream possible. LOL.
– Jen Ruhman
Let’s dive in and talk about my life as an SEO expert!
Here are my typical work schedule tasks: (everything happens after my cup of coffee)
- Providing quotes
- Getting great backlinks/networking with other SEO experts
- Working on making YouTube videos for SEO
- Blogging / optimizing blog posts
- Adding internal links throughout your content
- Corresponding with clients
- Creating / editing service pages
- Optimizing new / old content
- Making your site faster
- Updating content as the client’s request
- Updating google my business
- Sharing your blogs on social media
- Writing guest posts to gain you a backlink
- Updating the client about progress/direction
- Checking the competition
- Learning new skills
- Adding/implementing new technologies and strategies
- Making a list of items to work on for your website
- Reports / invoicing / book keeping
- Cleaning the house
- Walking my dog
- Getting dinner on the table! mMMMm.
Mornings
Yes, I get to wake up on my own schedule and it’s AWESOME of course! I think this is a BIG reason why I’m so happy!
Every morning I check my emails to see if there’s anything newsworthy from my clients or if there’s any problems I need to immediately address. If there’s anything urgent, I make a list of things to do ASAP!
The dorkiest thing I do, is usually checking to see how my well cared for keywords are ranking! Really, I will google my target keywords and get excited to see jumps in search results! 😁 I will do my happy dance and grab a sweet treat and reward myself! Woo hoo! First page!
Next, I like to check out some of my favorite fellow SEO experts on Youtube and see how their tested strategies are doing. I love listening to them while I’m getting ready in the morning. It’s exciting when someone has a new strategy I want to test on one of my own sites and later on use for a client’s site.
Which SEO experts do I enjoy?
I used to really used to enjoy Neil Patel but now I like Ruan Marinho, Chris Palmer, and Brian Dean.
Next, I go into my garden and nurture my plants and sit back and enjoy my morning water or coffee. It’s really important that I do something nice for myself every morning before I start work and that is usually taking my dog for a walk at the park or just tidying up the house nice and neat to feel grounded for day.
Mid-Morning
I’m ready to get started doing SEO! Watch out world!
- Crank up my SEO programs
- Get out my iPad, MacBook Pro, HP laptop, and my iPhone (because I like testing on all my devices)
- Review my work order schedule
My work schedule for the month is blocked in such a way that I pick one client for the day to work on their site. Depending on hours, I may work for one client three days in a row. It’s really important to have a plan of action and strategy for each unique client. Three-hour blocks and a 30 minute break time works best for me, heck I work from home – it’s fantastic!
Afternoon
Time for more coffee!
The question is… will I brew it myself or take a trip to get a McCafe (current guilty pleasure – caramel frappe!)
Phone calls
This is when I usually schedule times for phone meetings / zoom / onsite meetings
It’s important to me that clients don’t “feel like a number” I really enjoy talking to my clients and genuinely helping them. Attentively listening and taking notes, brainstorming, Some of my clients are so awesome, we will have our meetings at the Cheesecake factory! How cool is that?!
Rankings
Yes, I like to check my Google Analytics and Goole search console for all my clients’ data
Spy on Your Competitors
My clients have competition and I like to see what they’re working on and what’s beneficial for them that I can emulate and do better!
I will see which blog posts they’re promoting or which pages are their most popular and see how I can steal that traffic! (like a bandit)
Breaktime!
I will get far away from my computer and go run errands or spend time with my family, most of all go outside an enjoy the gorgeous weather in San Diego!
Yes, I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about your website!
Yes, I will SEO your website to the top and Yes again, I will pray your website to the top too!
– Jen Ruhman
Sometimes I will wake up in the middle of the night and think about other strategies I can utilize for your website! My mind will “experiment” where to make the changes and run through the process since no two websites are the same. Sometimes I will meditate to see if the universe wants to talk to me and give me insights. Last night I woke up and wrote down a note for myself in the morning. “make sure you do not cache this contact form page – its code is breaking when I minify it. Make a new rule in CloudFlare…”
Sometimes I will even pray for miracles and guidance. I know it sounds strange, but this morning my prayers were answered.
I’m thankful for the SEO clients God has placed into my life and it’s my pleasure to serve them.
Thank you for reading my life as an SEO expert!
Jen Ruhman
