Please help me with my blog

[Deleted member 336896]

Hi I'm new here and to the world of websites etc. I have started a blog 4 weeks ago. It is about self-development etc. Eventually, I will be expanding to offer a coaching service (next 18 months) but for now, my website is a blog.

I have no knowledge of website building and have done it myself using Wordpress and elementor.

<edit by Ozzy to add URL>
https://thepurposefulmind.co.uk/

Please have a look at my site and let me know if there is anything you would recommend changing and if so to what or if I have missed something.

Thank you in advance

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Are you looking for an SEO/technical reply, usability and general site look feel reply, both, or anything that can help

I've taken a look and it's a nice layout, site speed is slow but that can be fixed to a point. There are quite a few technical 'misuses' or Elementor as the headings text doesn't really fit for SEO.

Let me know what you are looking for and I'll reply fully in whatever detail you are looking for, but Google is indexing the content as you can see by following this link to the Google cached version of your homepage https://webcache.googleusercontent....rposefulmind.co.uk/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

 

[Deleted member 336896]

To be honest anything that can help that I can do myself or read up on how to do. SEO is very new so still trying to get my head around it. The pads indexing by Google is an older version of my page where the SEO was worst!

Speed has been mentioned before so thinking alongside maybe elementor and plug ins being an issue that it could maybe be my host.

Really just gathering all I can so that I can go off and read as much as I can to get the site running well and bring in views thank you again all help appreciated

 

[fisicx]

What is your marketing plan? How are you planning to get people onto the site? This will determine the type of content and how it is presented.

At the top of your homepage you have "Welcome to The Purposeful Mind" without any real indication about what this means. You then introduce yourself but this doesn't really lead anywhere. I then get the 4 steps which are great but what next. How do I pause? What do I need to do?

I looked at a couple of blog posts and got very confused. Even after reading the post I still don't know the answer to: 'Why I start the new year in March'. Why is this in the pause category? It seems to be more about change.

What is the purpose of the website? What do you want to achieve? If you plan to be a coach then write about this. Make the whole focus of the site one thing so that when you start your new career you have a ready made set of articles to refer to.

Get rid of Elementor and move to a UK host. And change the layout so you don't have a sidebar as most of your visitors will be using a phone.

 

[Deleted member 336896]

Thank you for your feedback. As you can see I'm definitely clueless lol you've asked some very good questions.

For now and looking into the future business, I plan to market mainly through Facebook groups which is where my target audience are. I will also sign up with coaching specific websites which have a catalogue of coaches affiliated to various awarding bodies. The rest will be through organic searching. I also direct from Instagram but that tends to be people in the same niche but not necessarily needing services.

This is where I think you've picked up a discrepancy. For now the site is a blog. A resource of articles aimed at solving reader problems e.g goal setting, lack of self care and moving forward with clarity from what ever has been holding the reader back. I guess I did t lean too heavily into adding coaching as I am working on qualifying at the moment before I offer that service.

In essence a long way of saying that I see it as a holding site that may attract people searching for the answer to why they are not moving forward. Gain subscribers fro. The articles and then introduce them to coaching services once that is up and running.

I see the mismatch in the categories and have an idea how to link them better as I should have done that clearer on the home page.

Sidebar, I think you are right, I've never gotten it the way I've wanted.

I'm with Bluehost at the moment as that what is often recommended for bloggers but have since realised that it is all clever marketing. Are there any threads on UK recommended hosts? I tried searching but only a couple recommendations.

When you say get rid of elementor, would that be in favour of something else that I could use as an editor? I have no knowledge of coding or building at all!

Thank you again, this is really helpfull

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

I am useless with blogs and employ my own SEO people as I am also useless at that
You will find all the help you will need on UKBF though

I did take some time to look at your site as I am very interested in the subject .
From a young age I was involved in sport coaching and have always run my own business and it is all in the mind . As a distance runner we have always said it is 90 per cent in the mind .

A positive attitude and a person being able to believe in themselves can make the difference between success and failure . All the more important in today's environment.

So I wish you success with this and Really hope you become one of the usual suspects on this site We need somebody more upbeat that what we have at the moment

 

[mattk]

Can I ask why you set up your own blog rather than using an existing platform like LinkedIn, Medium etc.?

You say you plan to market using Facebook Groups, as that's where your target market is. Who do you see as your target market, as Facebook Groups are largely populated by youngsters and housewives, whereas I'd have thought the people in the market for self-development coaching (both in terms of need and ability to pay) would be professionals?

 

[fisicx]

When you say get rid of elementor, would that be in favour of something else that I could use as an editor? I have no knowledge of coding or building at all!

It's a very simple blog. All you need is one of the free wordpress themes - no need for elementor.

But back to the core of the problem.

If you plan to use social media to promote your blog your visitors will already know who you are and what you do. It follows therefore you don't need to introduce yourself, you can go straight to the blog posts on the homepage.

The actual posts need to be more focused. If X wants help with Y then don't discuss Z. Talk about ways to get to Y, give clear instructions and tell a story.

I practice mindfullness and Tai Chi. They both require focus. The books I've read explain the why and then the how. Write about how people can pause, refresh, refocus and grow. Do this using pages and reinforce with the stories on using posts/

 

[Deleted member 336896]

I am useless with blogs and employ my own SEO people as I am also useless at that
You will find all the help you will need on UKBF though

I did take some time to look at your site as I am very interested in the subject .
From a young age I was involved in sport coaching and have always run my own business and it is all in the mind . As a distance runner we have always said it is 90 per cent in the mind .

A positive attitude and a person being able to believe in themselves can make the difference between success and failure . All the more important in today's environment.

So I wish you success with this and Really hope you become one of the usual suspects on this site We need somebody more upbeat that what we have at the moment

Thank you so much. I strongly believe that we have the power to change our journey by focusing on the messages that we tell ourselves. It's something I really want to get across to others. Take for instance, opening my site up for criticism is a big thing for me but one which needed to be done as we are often blind sighted when we have looked at something for too long; we see the same things.

I will be sticking around as my aim is to develop this into a business and I'm going to need all the help I can get lol

 

[Deleted member 336896]

It's a very simple blog. All you need is one of the free wordpress themes - no need for elementor.

But back to the core of the problem.

If you plan to use social media to promote your blog your visitors will already know who you are and what you do. It follows therefore you don't need to introduce yourself, you can go straight to the blog posts on the homepage.

The actual posts need to be more focused. If X wants help with Y then don't discuss Z. Talk about ways to get to Y, give clear instructions and tell a story.

I practice mindfullness and Tai Chi. They both require focus. The books I've read explain the why and then the how. Write about how people can pause, refresh, refocus and grow. Do this using pages and reinforce with the stories on using posts/

Thank you that makes sense, I definitely need to relook at keeping the structure simple as well as a formula for the content and you have given me some great ideas

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Who, what, when, why, where, and how, Kipling's six honest men.

Those are the questions any form of proportion or information sharing system has to answer.

in your case I'd say 'What' and 'how' and the most important with 'Why' taking over on some search terms.

SEO has never really changed it has just evolved a bit and found better ways to organise data.

The key is and always has been to satisfy search intent, that being whatever the searcher has entered into the search engine.

So many think that the search terms (AKA keywords) are obvious e.g. wellness, mental well being etc BUT a true SEO/Marketer will know that terms like 'Feeling suicidal', 'Unable to cope with my family stress' etc will be a 100% match for content that can explain the process.

A more clear example would be, how many people would like a hole in the wall of their living room? you are probably thinking NONE! Not true because every single day, someone somewhere is drilling a hole in a living room, they then fill the hole with a wall plug, screw a screw in, and hang a heavy mirror of photo on it.

Do people search for 'how do I make a hole in my wall? (probably yes but the less said about those the better) They probably search for 'Best way to hang a heavy mirror at home', and are then told 'you need a hole in the wall'

Successful online SEO/Marketing is about answering questions, fulfilling the need, Delivering the answer to the search intent.

Look at your site not from what you want to say, but from what your potential reader wants to hear.

Hope that helps

 

[Fagin2021]

Do people search for 'how do I make a hole in my wall? (probably yes but the less said about those the better) They probably search for 'Best way to hang a heavy mirror at home', and are then told 'you need a hole in the wall'

Best explanation I've heard in a long time.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Best explanation I've heard in a long time.

Thanks, I like analogies it makes stuff easier to 'get'

 

[Deleted member 336896]

Who, what, when, why, where, and how, Kipling's six honest men.

Those are the questions any form of proportion or information sharing system has to answer.

in your case I'd say 'What' and 'how' and the most important with 'Why' taking over on some search terms.

SEO has never really changed it has just evolved a bit and found better ways to organise data.

The key is and always has been to satisfy search intent, that being whatever the searcher has entered into the search engine.

So many think that the search terms (AKA keywords) are obvious e.g. wellness, mental well being etc BUT a true SEO/Marketer will know that terms like 'Feeling suicidal', 'Unable to cope with my family stress' etc will be a 100% match for content that can explain the process.

A more clear example would be, how many people would like a hole in the wall of their living room? you are probably thinking NONE! Not true because every single day, someone somewhere is drilling a hole in a living room, they then fill the hole with a wall plug, screw a screw in, and hang a heavy mirror of photo on it.

Do people search for 'how do I make a hole in my wall? (probably yes but the less said about those the better) They probably search for 'Best way to hang a heavy mirror at home', and are then told 'you need a hole in the wall'

Successful online SEO/Marketing is about answering questions, fulfilling the need, Delivering the answer to the search intent.

Look at your site not from what you want to say, but from what your potential reader wants to hear.

Hope that helps

Thank you so much for breaking SEO down to me. It make s a lot of sense. I really like the part about searching for the solution to a problem being the words to identify more so than what the post may be about for example. I will definitely use that going forward. I see that SEO will be an ongoing project and at some stage will get someone in to help with that but whilst it is still in it's infancy, I am going to learn as much as I can.

Your post has had me thinking about SEO differently for moving forward. Thank you

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Thank you so much for breaking SEO down to me. It make s a lot of sense. I really like the part about searching for the solution to a problem being the words to identify more so than what the post may be about for example. I will definitely use that going forward. I see that SEO will be an ongoing project and at some stage will get someone in to help with that but whilst it is still in it's infancy, I am going to learn as much as I can.

Your post has had me thinking about SEO differently for moving forward. Thank you

SEO is (in my mind and always has been) just a tool of internet marketing.

Successful people and businesses are the ones who solve problems for customers, once you approach your business from this angle you become customer centric and as a result will have far more likelihood of succeeding and, getting referrals and great reviews.

Feel free to ask any specific questions regarding marketing/SEO, we can all help.