In today’s episode, we sit down with SEO expert Tanja Aelbrecht from Chunky Squirrel (best business name EVER!) to unravel the mysteries of search engine optimisation and how creative businesses don’t need to fear it.
From keyword research to content optimisation and the longevity of blog posts, we delve into the world of SEO, where Tanja shares a ton of insights, practical tips, and even some great examples along the way.
Join us as we demystify the art of SEO and discover how it can revitalise and elevate your creative endeavours.
Yup, we figured we’d dive in for our first interview this season with one of those topics that seems to scare almost everyone – you’re welcome!
Meet Tanja
Our fab guest Tanja Aelbrecht, originally from Belgium, started her career as a wedding photographer, honing her creative skills for over 12 years. After moving to Vancouver, she found herself needing to market her work in a new city.
While doing this Tanja discovered SEO – search engine optimization – and found success in using SEO to promote her photography business in a totally new place. This led her to shift her career focus to full-time SEO work, also using her creative background to excel in her new field.
And she makes it sound so approachable, even though it’s one of those tasks that always ends up at the bottom of the list.
What we talk about
What SEO is and why it’s so important. Overwhelm (because doesn’t that just sneak in everywhere?) and not knowing where to start.
Tips & tricks including revising old posts, which tools to use for keyword insights, and tactics for adapting to new algorithms.
The influence your business name has, having clear & searchable package or service names, targeting niches for searchability, and finding sweet spots for search volumes when you have that data.
Content creation before & after keyword research, optimising your content without keyword stuffing, and thinking about SEO as early on in your business process as possible, to avoid issues like your own pages competing with each other.
Balancing your use of keywords, when to work with a professional for SEO, being a woman in SEO (they do exist!!). The need for transparency in SEO business and the unfortunate prevalance of scam practices, as in so many other tech-based services.
And of course, Tanja’s glorious business moment, because that’s always our favourite question!
We finished this episode feeling genuinely inspired by Tanja’s words – and we never thought we’d be inspired by SEO of all topics!
Links mentioned in this episode, by Tanja
Google Keyword Planner: a free tool that shares info on monthly search volumes (and it’s a good brainstorm tool to find new keywords too):
To get to it, first go to https://ads.google.com/ (you can set up a free profile) and next you find the keyword planner under “tools” or use the search function at the top. (Remember it only shows how competitive a keyword is for paid ads!)
Semrush is my favourite paid tool for keyword research. It shares information on organic keyword competitiveness. You can sign up for free for 2 weeks. (affiliate link)
And don’t forget to try Chunky Squirrel’s free Google Chrome plugin!
Get more Tanja in your life
Find Tanja and her brilliantly named business at her website, chunkysquirrel.com
And also on Instagram @chunkysquirrelservices