Tracey Wallace is a author turned content material marketer turned web optimization professional. She was the pinnacle of BigCommerce’s content material group and now serves an analogous function for MarketerHire, a market for freelance entrepreneurs, which launched in 2019.

In our current dialog, she addressed the post-Covid workforce, the advantages of hiring freelancers, and, sure, drive visitors with content material advertising and marketing.

Our total audio interview is embedded beneath. The transcript is edited for readability and size.

Eric Bandholz: MarketerHire has grown dramatically.

Tracey Wallace: Sure, we’ve grown an insane quantity. I’ve been there for a couple of yr and a half. I used to be the one full-time advertising and marketing workers initially.

MarketerHire is a market for freelance entrepreneurs. Once I joined, the first advertising and marketing tactic was advertisements; they’re nonetheless necessary for us. However I used to be introduced in to construct natural search visitors, which is my background. I’ve carried out it for a number of different B2B corporations.

We’re making an attempt to develop our advertising and marketing group of 5 workers and 7 freelancers. We use freelancers from our community. However we nonetheless want in-house expertise, so we’re hiring product entrepreneurs, copywriters.

Bandholz: Everyone seems to be on the lookout for advertising and marketing assist now.

Wallace: Proper. So many individuals have stop their jobs. In August, the variety of folks within the U.S. who stop their jobs was the very best in 20 years.

It’s scary for enterprise homeowners. Bigger corporations can throw more cash, extra advantages. Nevertheless it’s costly for the small guys. We just lately interviewed over 600 advertising and marketing leaders and located that many are hiring freelancers. They nonetheless want work carried out.

There are a number of freelancers; many have extra credentials than inside workers.

Hiring freelancers might be cheaper, too. Nevertheless it requires cautious onboarding and mission scoping. Even advertising and marketing leaders that rent freelancers don’t all the time know the dimensions of a mission.

Bandholz: We’ve shifted loads to freelancers at Beardbrand. The fantastic thing about hiring freelancers is getting somebody someday per week who’s specialised, equivalent to social media, video modifying, or copywriting. That’s all they do, they usually find it irresistible. Whereas one individual in-house could love social media however hate running a blog or video work.

Wallace: Proper. That’s the problem typically with early full-time hires. Early on, you want of us to do a number of issues. However because it scales, the enterprise requires specialised experience.

Bandholz: Let’s revisit natural search. What are the methods to execute that efficiently?

Wallace: We may do a two-hour-long podcast on natural search methods. Folks typically ignore it as a result of it takes time. Entrepreneurs aren’t sometimes affected person. We will put cash behind a Fb advert and see fast outcomes. Natural search takes six months to a yr.

That’s some huge cash for companies to speculate with out seeing an instantaneous return. I labored at BigCommerce for 4 and a half years. I used to be the one content material marketer for 3 and a half of these years. That’s nuts. Shopify, alternatively, had a bunch of individuals engaged on it. HubSpot invested in it very early.

The most effective recommendation I may give to any small enterprise all in favour of rising natural search visitors is to publish one article per week — even as soon as a month. And write about your individual experience associated to your enterprise.

Do a fast Google search in your matter. There’s a ton of search-engine-optimization instruments to assist. However Google itself will present data simply by looking. There’ll be 10 articles on web page 1. Have a look at these, particularly the highest 5. Learn them.

On the backside, Google has “Associated searches.” Copy these solutions and drop them in a Google Doc. Google additionally consists of related questions in search outcomes, referred to as “Folks additionally ask.”

Click on on these questions, and extra pop up. You solely want three or 4 questions. Drop these in a Doc, too.

Then take a look at what you’ve simply collected. Begin to formulate the sort of inquiries to reply and what persons are on the lookout for. These questions must be headers in your article — HTML headers equivalent to an H2.

Then write the reply in your individual voice beneath the header. You would even use CopyAI or Jarvis.

Bandholz: What are CopyAI and Jarvis?

Wallace: These are new copywriting instruments. I’m unsure how a lot they value. I’ve tried them and some others.

I’m a author. It’s not difficult for me to supply content material. I’m not a fan of the copy the instruments produce.

However for those who aren’t a author, these instruments might help. Insert a subject equivalent to construct a motorbike. Then select your tone, voice, different variables. You would insert total outlines, and the instruments will write articles for you.

It’s all based mostly on synthetic intelligence, not human writers. However you possibly can edit it and duplicate and paste it.

So if you’re struggling to publish one month-to-month article, strive an AI device.

Bandholz: So the technique for web optimization is creating content material across the merchandise you’re promoting.

Wallace: Sure. I take advantage of an web optimization platform referred to as Ahrefs. I want it over Semrush. Lots of people want Semrush. I’ve used Ahrefs my total profession.

Go to Ahrefs and enter your private home web page URL on the high. It’ll present the variety of key phrases your website already ranks for. For every key phrase, Ahrefs lists the search quantity.

Ahrefs additionally supplies a key phrase issue rating — 1 to 100, with 100 being essentially the most troublesome. When you’re new to content material advertising and marketing, ignore the upper scores and concentrate on the decrease ones.

Search for key phrases with a excessive quantity that you simply’re already rating for, even just a bit bit, and with low key phrase issue. Then go to that web page in your website and enhance it — add content material or enhance what’s there. You possibly can fairly rapidly begin shifting up.

Google rewards websites that replace pages.

Bandholz: Beardbrand has round 1,000 articles. Plenty of them haven’t been touched in years. How will we replace them?

Wallace: You’re in a great place with 1,000 older articles. Once more drop every article URL right into a device equivalent to Ahrefs. What key phrases are they rating for? Most likely aren’t rating for a lot of.

Then determine which URLs are the strongest — rating for one of the best key phrase or getting essentially the most visitors. Then rewrite that article and mix all associated weblog posts into one utilizing 301 redirects. Google likes long-form content material.

Attempt to replace the highest articles every year, if not each six months. You don’t all the time want an enormous replace.

And embrace footage by all means. Put the key phrase within the picture title. It’s tremendous necessary. You possibly can even conceal key phrases again there. Instruments equivalent to Clearscope will let you know what key phrases have to be in your article for it to rank the very best. I extremely suggest it.

Generally you possibly can’t match all of the key phrases in an article. I embrace these in my image names.

Bandholz: Let’s tackle electronic mail assortment? Do you suggest popups?

Wallace: Properly, I hate popups as a shopper. I’ve all the time hated popups. However they work so properly.

If you wish to gather extra electronic mail addresses, a popup is smart. Simply know that some folks will despise the web site due to it.

I like what some manufacturers are doing with SMS, the place they solicit textual content messages on their Twitter profiles or their web site and even packaging. Customers textual content the manufacturers. As a consumer, that doesn’t really feel prefer it’s in my face. It doesn’t really feel determined.

Bandholz: At Beardbrand, we encourage of us to textual content “Fashion” to a cellphone quantity, and we’ll present fashion recommendation.

Wallace: I find it irresistible. I believe it’s genius. I’ve seen cooking manufacturers say, “Textual content ‘Recipe’ to this quantity, and we’ll ship you recipes.”

It’s genius. The model didn’t spam me. I requested to obtain the information. I’m not aggravated. Plus it’s simple to opt-out.

I ought to add that I don’t know the way it’s working for manufacturers. However as a shopper, I prefer it.

Bandholz: SMS is killing it for everyone now. Retailers have to get on that practice earlier than it will get crowded, like electronic mail.

How can listeners attain out to you?

Wallace: I’m on Twitter — @TraceWall. I’m energetic there. It’s my principal place. MarketerHire is on Twitter, too —  @MarketerHire. The web site is MarketerHire.com.