Comments on: 4 reasons to blog about Stephen King’s Kindle Single and other trending topics

By: Sandra Beckwith

Sandra Beckwith — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:37:17 +0000

In reply to Vivian Kirkfield. How cool! Since Google is king, I have to think that posting to Google+ gave it the boost it needed. That's a very competitive topic, so good for you! Sandy

By: Vivian Kirkfield

Vivian Kirkfield — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:02:11 +0000

Hi Sandy,
I thought I would share this with you…I followed your advice and did a post on Super Bowl Sunday and how parents can use picture book stories and having kids help make the snacks for the celebration to involve the kids so they don’t feel ignored. Posted it on my wordpress blog…did not get picked up there…but did when I posted it to my Google+ page…and it is on page one of google when you search for Super Bowl Sunday…pretty cool.:)
https://plus.google.com/100063135693050941418/posts/YWn6kFqoL7r
This is the original post:http://viviankirkfield.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/super-bowl-sunday-including-the-kids-with-snacks-and-stories/
So, is it because I put it on Google+? If yes, I will have to make sure I remember to always do that.:)

By: Sandra Beckwith

Sandra Beckwith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 22:04:26 +0000

Thanks for stopping by to chat, Tina!

Sandy

By: Tina Gilbertson

Tina Gilbertson — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:22:20 +0000

In reply to Sandra Beckwith.

So glad your sister got excellent care!

I’m sure the traffic was just a cherry on top for you.

Thanks for all the great material you share.

By: Sandra Beckwith

Sandra Beckwith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:53:31 +0000

In reply to Tina Gilbertson.

I asked because one of my most popular blog posts is totally off-topic for me but it was one I really wanted/needed to write. It was about my sister’s excellent cancer care. For my title, I used what I knew people would type into search engines: “Is CTCA too good to be true?”

It didn’t get a lot of comments, but geez, did it get traffic! And I’m glad it did….

Sandy

By: Tina Gilbertson

Tina Gilbertson — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:49:13 +0000

In reply to Sandra Beckwith.

Hi Sandy. No, I’ve never done any of that. (I know: “Bad, bad Tina!”)

It’s just called “How to Deal with Estrangement,” and most people who find the page through a search engine don’t even use that word, according to my site stats.

I’m guessing the page has a relatively high ranking because I included a feedback form at the bottom that gets a lot of use.

That kind of engagement probably ratchets up the ranking, just as it does when people comment on your business page on Facebook.

I never thought about that before now, but I wonder if that’s it.

Hm. Maybe I don’t have to write that book after all…

By: Sandra Beckwith

Sandra Beckwith — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:49:07 +0000

In reply to Tina Gilbertson. Tina, is there any chance that it's your headline? Did you write what people are typing into search engines to find info on the subject? Sandy

By: Tina Gilbertson

Tina Gilbertson — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:31:30 +0000

I’m not sure if this is an example of writing about a trending topic, but it is a story of stumbling on an apparent traffic magnet.

I too have one page on my website that gets more traffic than any other page, even without any intentional SEO.

It’s an article about estrangement, and I get feedback on it from readers literally every day.

The interesting thing is that, although I’m a therapist, I don’t specialize in estrangement. It’s weird to me that so much of my traffic is because of that topic. It’s so random.

Either estrangement is a huge issue or there’s not enough information available on it. Or both.

… which makes me think I should write my next book on the subject!

By: Sandra Beckwith

Sandra Beckwith — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:25:31 +0000

In reply to Lia Joy.

Thanks, Lia! It’s interesting to see what happens, isn’t it? It’s OK to go off topic once in awhile when you have something important to say or share, as you’ve shown. (And I hope your friend is OK.)

Sandy

By: Lia Joy

Lia Joy — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:43:51 +0000

I did a couple of blog posts about a friend who went missing in Alaska a few months ago with the simple intention of sharing my feelings and gathering support/prayers for the search. Though they are far from my most-viewed posts because they are outside my usual subject matter, I was surprised to find that those 2 posts are consistently getting at least a few hits every day from google search.