Unlock the Power of SEO and Elevate Your Branding Strategy

0:00Crystal WaddellOut of it has, just really emerged this simple idea that SEO is branding.

0:05SEO sounds so technical. It sounds boring, it sounds back end.

0:09It sounds analytical.

0:11It just sounds like no fun.

0:12Because it's like all the stuff that people don't see. It's the foundation of your website.

0:17But when you think about it, if branding is how people describe you when you're out of the room.

0:23Then SEO is how the internet describes you when you're offline.

0:27Rachael SpiewakWhoa,

0:28Crystal WaddellYeah. I was proud of that one

0:29Welcome to the third season of the Simple and Smart SEO Show, the podcast dedicated to empathy driven, brand building SEO.

0:37I'm your host, Crystal Waddell.

0:39I leverage my obsession with user experience to help business owners just like you optimize your website with confidence.

0:45Thank you so much for being here.

0:47Let's jump into another great episode.

0:49Welcome back guys to the Simple and Smart SEO show podcast. I'm back with my friend and now partner, Rachael Spiewak: .

0:57And we are gonna be talking about three day challenges. So Rachael, thank you so much for being here again. Welcome to the podcast.

1:04Rachael Spiewak: Thank you for having me.

1:06Crystal WaddellSo we need to back up here and talk about how this all transpired because.

1:11You were on the podcast, we talked about three day challenges.

1:13And then all of a sudden I'm doing a three day challenge to launch an SEO membership.

1:17Rachael SpiewakYeah, this is funny and totally full circle. A couple of months ago, it wasn't even that long ago, when was it? October. I think? I was on the show. Yeah.

1:27Talking about three day challenges. So I was putting an offer out there into the world. I'm gonna help you do three day challenges, coaches and consultants, course creators as a launch event.

1:39And so I came on the show to talk about the relationship between three day challenges and cultivating your brand and cultivating all of that digital traffic.

1:48And how that relates to SEO. And then you got super excited about it.

1:53Crystal WaddellI was just gonna say, I got super excited about it because this idea of launching something over and over again had always been like a dream.

2:02But I never had felt like the right fit for the type of launch. And so the way you described the three day challenge, I was like, oh my gosh.

2:09I think that's perfect.

2:10Rachael Spiewak: And that's exactly the idea, is to make it so it becomes rinse and repeat.

2:15After you test it and dial it in and check out the stats and analytics.

2:19So that was probably an exciting part of it to talk about. 'cause we love the backend data.

2:24I was planning to do a group coaching course to take a bunch of entrepreneurs through the process of, okay, here's how you create your three day challenge.

2:32And that morphed into a joint venture between us.

2:36Instead of doing this group class, we decided to work together and partner on this project.

2:41Which has turned into launching your membership Crystal, the SEO squad.

2:46So that's been going fabulously. You've already got a group of founders.

2:51Crystal WaddellYeah. It was crazy because as I was thinking about, okay, what should we do in the SEO Squad?

2:56I thought, okay we need to get some people in here.

2:58To tell us what they would like to see in the membership or what would be helpful to them.

3:02You suggested why don't you just do a founder's launch?

3:04And I thought Okay. And I think doing a founder's launch is scary because.

3:08Like it's the same level of scary as doing a three day launch because it's oh my gosh, will anybody really join?

3:13That's just like the fear I think that anybody has when they start up something.

3:16So it's okay lots of listeners, but is this anything anybody would want?

3:20And, a little over 10 people I think.

3:2210 or 12 people joined the squad and we've just been meeting every Wednesday.

3:27And having some great conversations about their websites and just having those aha moments of, oh, this is how ISEO, this is how I optimize my website?

3:36It's been a lot of fun. And now I have a lot more confidence. Because we're actually gonna do the big launch at the end of February.

3:42Now I have a better idea of what, people will need.

3:45Rachael SpiewakOh yeah, and it's become so much more than a one offer kind of thing.

3:49Now we've got tiers and you can sign up as an annual member and save some money on it.

3:54So there's different purchasing options with it now, which is exciting.

3:58Crystal WaddellOne thing I noticed with the founders is that some people are in the startup phase.

4:03Where they're just trying to start and do things correct, on their website.

4:06And then there's other people who are trying to optimize.

4:09So, those two tracks are different. They still need the same principles. But they just are at a different pace and a different place in their journey with their website.

4:17So that was the idea behind the tiers.

4:19And just, okay, how can we help people who are just, in the basic startup phases of their website?

4:25Versus how can we really optimize a website that's already been performing and make it perform even better?

4:31Rachael SpiewakSo we have the beginner level and the optimization level.

4:35And the optimization level actually comes with access to even more tools.

4:40That you don't necessarily need, in the beginning.

4:42But there are some pretty cool bonuses packed into the optimization level.

4:45By the way, can we just do a quick shout out to all of our SEO squad members? Thank you so much for joining as founders.

4:53Crystal WaddellThank you so much!

4:53It's been a great few weeks.

4:55And again, to see the light bulbs go off.

4:58Oh, this is what I need to do. Or this is what I could put.

5:01Breaking it down into one thing. So that we can accomplish like that one thing. That one day. Or, even sharing an idea.

5:07And then having people think about the concept of SEO from a different perspective. It's just been so much fun. So yes, founders, thank you so much for being in the squad.

5:16And we definitely welcome new members, but founders, you guys will always have a special place in my heart.

5:21Rachael SpiewakAnd your founders, were they people that came from the podcast? Your listeners?

5:27Crystal WaddellIt is been a little bit of everywhere. Honestly. Some were listeners.

5:31I have spoken at events before, and so when I put it out to the email list, they joined.

5:35I had a couple referrals, which was exciting.

5:37That's the power of SEO and branding really. Because that's how it works.

5:41It's a combination of all of these things.

5:44Which leads to the ultimate optimization.

5:47Of people saying, I wanna be a part of that.

5:49Or I wanna buy that thing or that service.

5:52Rachael SpiewakThat's proof of concepts right there.

5:53Proof that you know what you're doing When it comes to SEO.

5:56We were supposed to be talking about the challenge.

5:58we're up to Founders launch. Okay, great. That's rolling along.

6:00We've developed the program. We've got tiers for different, places in your SEO journey.

6:05Yes. So the next thing that's going to happen is at the end of February, the last tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. That Thursday happens to be Leap Day,

6:14Crystal WaddellWoo.

6:14Rachael Spiewakso it's February 27th, 28th, and 29th.

6:18Is our three day challenge.

6:20Which is totally free for everybody.

6:23Everybody sign up.

6:24Three day challenge.com/ SEO.

6:27And three is spelled out, T-H-R-E-E, and sign up for the free challenge.

6:32Let's talk about what people can expect in the challenge.

6:35Crystal WaddellSo it's called Supercharge Your SEO.

6:37And the idea here is that you get some momentum to take into 2024 and beyond.

6:43And just really hone in on that thing. That makes you the most money.

6:48And is the your favorite, most exciting product that you offer and where those two things intersect.

6:55And then how to build a website around that as a foundation.

6:58So I'm super excited. If you have a business website, this challenge is for you.

7:03Rachael SpiewakI am so excited for it.

7:04I don't know how familiar your listenership is with five day challenges, three day challenges, things of this nature.

7:11But it's not a luxury kind of thing.

7:13It's more task oriented and it's community oriented.

7:17So you're gonna meet and get to network with a lot of other business owners who are on a similar mission to you.

7:22Which is great for business for you.

7:24In addition to doing the tasks and learning the new skills.

7:27So you get a task in the morning on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

7:30You get a task to complete. Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to do it has to do with SEO.

7:35So it'll only help you to do it.

7:37And then later on, at noon eastern each day, Crystal's going live in the challenge Facebook group.

7:42You're gonna join a little popup Facebook group for the challenge.

7:45Crystal will go live.

7:46Answer all of your SEO questions.

7:49So you can ask her anything.

7:51So this is a fabulous opportunity to get all of your SEO questions answered for free by the fabulous crystal.

7:59Crystal WaddellOne of the things I'm also excited about is if you are listening right now to the podcast and you join the challenge.

8:05It'll give us a chance to meet.

8:06And so I'm really looking forward to that because I appreciate you as a listener.

8:09And I hope that whether you join the squad or not, I really feel like you're gonna get a lot of value out of those three days.

8:15And just a lot of clarity as you move forward.

8:18Yeah I'm very excited. Little nervous, like usual, but very excited to get started.

8:22Rachael SpiewakIt's gonna be great.

8:23And I wouldn't partner with you like this if I didn't think it was going to be a huge success.

8:28Crystal WaddellI really appreciate that.

8:29It means so much when someone says, Hey, I like what you're doing and I believe in what you're doing.

8:34Because sometimes, especially with podcasting, you're talking into space.

8:37Like you don't get feedback from other people. The only feedback you can get is from the data of listeners or downloads.

8:43But unless someone leaves a review or reaches out specifically after the episode, you kind of wonder. Is this helping?

8:49And so I know that it has been helping people because I've gotten a few messages over, over time.

8:54But to have a fellow business owner who said, wow, you know what you're teaching is really great.

8:59It's really helpful. I see a future with that. And I wanna be a part of it. I was, that I was blown away. And I told you, even when we started, if you hadn't said this, if you hadn't said you'd come alongside me, I'm not sure that I would've done it.

9:11Because it is a lot of work. It's a lot of thinking about what to do.

9:15And you provided a plan.

9:17You provided a posting plan and a schedule and reminders and all those type of things.

9:23Which is so helpful because it's easy to get caught up in the day to day of running a business, and then it's oh, I gotta launch.

9:29So it's just been so helpful to have you there.

9:31Rachael SpiewakGood, I'm glad. And it's working.

9:34We've got members already without really advertising the thing.

9:38So imagine what's gonna happen when we pour on the sauce at the end of February.

9:42Crystal WaddellWhich is awesome.

9:43And also out of it has, just really emerged this simple idea that SEO is branding.

9:49SEO sounds so technical. It sounds boring, it sounds back end.

9:54It sounds analytical.

9:55It just sounds like no fun.

9:56Because it's all stuff that people don't see. The foundation of your website.

10:00But when you think about it, if branding is how people describe you when you're out of the room.

10:06Then SEO is how the internet describes you when you're offline.

10:11Rachael SpiewakWhoa,

10:11Crystal WaddellI know.

10:12Rachael Spiewakput that on a

10:13Crystal WaddellYeah.

10:13I was proud of that one!

10:14Because when I made that connection, I was like, oh my gosh, that's why I enjoy SEO so much!

10:19Because what's hard to get across is that, yes, while there's technical SEO and different things that you can do to improve the website.

10:27That's not actually what moves the needle in your business.

10:30What moves the needle in your business is where that. Knowledge of keywords and what your customers want, that user experience.

10:38Intersects with search.

10:41It's like an intersection of what you know. Plus creativity.

10:45And that's what I love about SEO because it sounds like such a daunting, overwhelming thing.

10:51But it's just branding under another name.

10:54Rachael SpiewakSo you made a post about this on LinkedIn the other day, and how did that go?

10:58Crystal WaddellYeah, a lot of people really applauded, and made comments. It's been one of the most talked about posts that I've had over on LinkedIn.

11:04It was a great feeling because not only do people who are SEOs follow me, but also people in the SEO industry that I respect.

11:13So to get positive feedback from them made me feel like, okay, we really are on the right track here.

11:19There's so many different types of SEO.

11:21The SEO that gets the most attention, I think is the optimizations of people who are trying to do like affiliate marketing.

11:29And that's just trying to generate traffic for traffic's sake and that's it.

11:33And that is where, you could, let's say you sell perfume, okay?

11:38You could find keywords about horses that you know will get you a lot of traffic. To your website, right? But is that gonna help you sell perfume?

11:48No, it's not. So that's a really extreme example.

11:52But the point is, you can write about horses on a perfume website and get traffic.

11:57But what we really wanna do is drive customers to your website.

12:01And that's where the difference is. SEO for a product-based business, or SEO for a service-based business needs to be rooted in making a connection with people.

12:11And making them feel like they're in the right place when they land on your website.

12:16That reassures them as they read on your website, that you are an authority.

12:20Or that you are an expert and that you're trustworthy.

12:23All of the things that Google talks about with EEAT, it really makes sense because that's how we shop.

12:29And I have an example of this because just yesterday. I had to call a roofing company to come repair our roof.

12:36Got a new roof like three years ago. Shingles blew off last week. Very frustrating. It's not under warranty, of course.

12:42It was only warranteed, like for the work, for two years.

12:44I go on Google.

12:45And I'm looking for roofers near me, and different things popped up.

12:49And I knew from the search results that it was probably going to be like a lead gen site where someone was just, disseminating leads and giving it out to local people.

12:56But it was the best looking search result. So I clicked on it and sure enough.

13:01It took me to this generic landing page. That just had form fields to fill out.

13:06And I didn't feel good about it, but I thought, you know what.

13:08I'm gonna fill it out because, at least I'll have more options to choose from.

13:12So fast forward, I get, no, or emails and texts from different vendors.

13:17And guess what? They want to sell me a new roof. They don't do roofing repair.

13:21And I also thought to myself, what I was really looking for was a family company in my area that was established that I could trust.

13:28That I could call again if there was an issue.

13:31And, again, that lead gen form was just so bare and boring.

13:34And that's the difference.

13:36SEO that is branding and evokes an emotion in the reader or the searcher, that's way more powerful than SEO that's just built on keywords.

13:46Rachael SpiewakSo this kind of ties right back into the challenge.

13:49Because this is something that our tasks are gonna revolve around, is helping our participants figure out that hyper niche.

13:58That the, not just the search terms, but the branding, their little branding bubble that they can dominate.

14:05Crystal WaddellExactly. Yeah. I love that. And that's the other thing that, I think I've said it before.

14:10But when you think about your optimization for your website and like who you're trying to reach, you don't need to be famous like world famous.

14:17You just wanna be niche famous. You just wanna be recognizable in the context of the services that you provide to people.

14:24You want to be available in their mind as an option.

14:28So when someone thinks SEO.

14:30What I've loved is I started getting tagged in SEO posts.

14:33You've done it, other people have done it. Like Pinterest.

14:35People hear someone needs help with a certain thing, and they think Crystal. That's what you want when someone searches for a dog trainer. Or someone searches for a senior photographer. Or someone is searching for Montreal Art.

14:48You want them to think, oh, I know the person for you!

14:50Or oh, this person comes to mind.

14:52Rachael SpiewakNiche, famous.

14:53Crystal WaddellI think sometimes we think that we have to be all things to all people.

14:57And then even when we realize that we don't have to be all things to all people.

15:01We struggle with understanding what we should be to the right people.

15:06Rachael SpiewakYeah, and that's. One of the hardest things about getting your business started, I think.

15:11You might still be throwing spaghetti at the wall. You don't know what your bread and butter product is going to be just yet.

15:20When you're collecting data to figure all of this out in the first place, it's hard to know how to be niche famous.

15:27Like what niche are you being famous for?

15:31But I think that's something that's going to become clearer during the challenge and definitely inside the SEO squad membership. Is that something that you've been talking with members about yet?

15:43Crystal WaddellYes, absolutely. And I have a great a great example for you. One of our members is a dog trainer.

15:48And he does a bunch of different types of dog training.

15:50Like service dogs hyper dogs or, aggressive dogs.

15:54Like all of those type of things.

15:55And there's also a term, as we were searching for him, like as a group, he was the Guinea pig that day.

16:00As we were searching for different terms that people might be looking for, we came across a term dog behaviorist.

16:06And so that is a very niche term.

16:09And a dog behavioralist in Charlotte is even more niche, but the type of person who is looking for the services that he provides.

16:17Would search for a term like dog behavioralist.

16:20And in addition to that, another thing, I'm just so proud of him, I have to shout him out right here because he is just done such a wonderful job.

16:26When I went to his website initially to look at it and I gave him some feedback.

16:29He immediately implemented it.

16:31And so when I went back to look at it again a few weeks later, I thought, oh my gosh, this is amazing.

16:36Because at the top of his page, he has a picture of himself with a client.

16:41And the dog, on the leash.

16:42Just sitting there so cute, smiling at the camera and it says, instead of just saying, something like, business name dog training.

16:50At the top it says the best dog training available in Charlotte.

16:55And then it has little bubbles that say, are these the things that your dog struggles with?

17:00So people can immediately connect and identify.

17:02Yes, my dog pulls on the leash! Or, yes, my dog is aggressive around other dogs! Or whatever.

17:06And so those are the types of things that we've, talked about and explored and modified and improved in the SEO Squad.

17:13Yeah, those are pretty exciting wins.

17:15Because it's like we know now the niche that we're going after. We know the keyword that he wants to show up for.

17:21And if someone's looking for the best dog trainer in Charlotte.

17:24We want to show up as the number one search result. Not only on Google, but the number one result in people's minds. When they think about who they want to refer.

17:32Rachael SpiewakDo we know if there have been more leads and sales on account of the website updates?

17:38Crystal WaddellWe don't.

17:39So yeah, so this has just happened in the last couple of weeks.

17:43And the other thing that's interesting is like SEO and branding are both things that take time.

17:48But the level of communication has been elevated.

17:52I would love to come back and share the results.

17:54As he has time to talk to his customers and really figure out, okay. Are these leads, the leads that I want?

18:02Are they better? How are they better? That type of thing. I really wanna, see these results in a couple of months.

18:07But the conversation that the internet is having about his business while he's not there.

18:13Is so much more powerful than it was before. So I do count that as a win.

18:18Rachael SpiewakYeah, I don't see how he wouldn't uplevel in the sales and leads department.

18:25So let me float this idea out there for you, Crystal. Why don't you have your dog trainer on? In two, three months as a guest on the podcast to talk about the results?

18:37And maybe.

18:38I'm just saying, I'm throwing this out there. Maybe this could be a perk of being a member of the SEO squad? Maybe?

18:44Crystal WaddellI like that. I like that a lot. Yes. Oh my goodness.

18:49Okay, so that aligns so well with the idea of public relations as a link building tool in 2024 and beyond.

18:57Because again, the days of buying links and just getting links for the sake of links. That's just over.

19:03And people have to come to terms with that.

19:05In the past, people have bought links so that Google would say, oh, if all these websites are linking to a certain website. Then that website must be good.

19:13But guess what? If a whole bunch of really poor quality websites or linking to your website.

19:19That's no longer a vote of confidence for Google to look at and say, oh, that's a great website.

19:23No, in fact, it might be more like the websites that are linking to it. You know what I mean?

19:28So I love that idea because it also helps the squad members get that quality link from the podcast.

19:35So I think that's a wonderful idea.

19:37Rachael SpiewakThat's what I'm here for.

19:38Crystal WaddellYes. Now we just have to figure out which tier to put it in.

19:41Rachael SpiewakWe can talk about that

19:42Crystal WaddellYeah. So any other questions for me about what we've been doing inside the squad?

19:47Rachael SpiewakIt is funny. I've been interviewing you on your own show.

19:49Crystal WaddellI know.

19:50Rachael SpiewakLet's shout out all the things one more time.

19:53Crystal WaddellOkay.

19:53Rachael SpiewakThere's the SEO squad. How so people could sneak in right now as a founder still, or we? Is it still open for

20:01Crystal WaddellYes, it's still open for founders until the 15th of February.

20:05So the day after the heart day. Okay, in February.

20:10You can still join as a founder. The founder's launch is $20.

20:14The price for the SEO squad is going to go up significantly after that. So if this is something that you feel like you wanna be a part of, I would say go ahead and get in now.

20:25And having access to an SEO professional typically costs, anywhere from $5,000 a month up.

20:32My dream is to bring SEO to the average business owner.

20:38Because so many times it feels like those types of services are outside of our reach as small business owners.

20:46When in fact.

20:47The tools are available to you. You just have to know how to use them.

20:50And so that's a big part of the squad too, is just saying, okay, these are the tools that I use. This is how I use them, this is how you could use them.

20:56And then discussing what's best for each business.

20:59Rachael Spiewak$20 a month is an absolute steal.

21:01And every single listener and subscriber of this show should be like, yes, crystal, I'm in!

21:06Obviously.

21:07Where do people go to sign up to be a founder of the SEO squad?

21:11Crystal WaddellLook in the show notes for SEO Squad founder.

21:14And you can click that link and it'll take you to the form where you can fill out your information.

21:19Pay your $20. And then get all of the information to join the SEO squad.

21:22Rachael SpiewakAmazing.

21:23So that's the SEO squad and that is for our starter level.

21:28And we are rolling out the optimization level.

21:31So if you are interested, 'cause we're still building that a little bit.

21:36If you're interested in that optimization level, you should reach out to Crystal directly.

21:41I've decided on your behalf.

21:43Do you have an email address where people can reach out to you about that?

21:46Crystal WaddellOh, absolutely. The easiest one right now is just hello at Simple and smart seo.com. But yeah, that's the easiest way.

21:53You can always find me on all of the socials at Knowledge Vomit. So if you haven't followed me on the YouTube channel or Instagram, just search knowledge, vomit. And there, I will be!

22:02Rachael SpiewakSorry. Knowledge vomit makes me laugh.

22:04Crystal Waddellthat's what it's supposed to do.

22:06Rachael SpiewakOkay, it's working.

22:07So that's the SEO squad.

22:09And then the challenge. It's taking place the last week of February.

22:1327th, 28th, and oh my God, 29th. 'cause it's a leap year.

22:17And you can sign up for that at three day challenge. That's the three spelled out. T-H-R-E-E three day challenge.com/ SEO.

22:26And every single listener and every single subscriber should be like, oh my God.

22:31Yes, Rachael. Obviously I'm going to that website right now to register for the challenge.

22:36I will be there because Crystal is amazing.

22:38Crystal WaddellAnd I always appreciate you guys listening.

22:41Rachael, I appreciate all of the confidence that you've shown in me.

22:43And so I'm super excited to help any small business that wants it.

22:48And yeah, we're just gonna keep pushing forward, so I can't wait to see what 2024 offers.

22:52Rachael SpiewakI am excited.

22:53Crystal WaddellAll right guys. Thanks for listening. We'll see you in the free challenge at the end of the month.

22:59And maybe we'll even see you inside SEO squad. Bye!

23:02Rachael SpiewakThanks guys.