Before I understood the rules of SEO, I simply chose to write—sharing the honest rigors of setting up this digital space from the ground up.
This post circles around this question— ”Why did I even start a blog”? Good question, right?
The truth is, just days after "Blogging with Emilie" went live, I spent a good amount of time reflecting on this.
But first, to put the readers’ at the center of this blog, as the original post was long, I find it best to break it up into two parts
Part 1 would talk about the technical side of my journey into blogging,
Part 2 will cover the emotional struggle dealt.
This way, I could share the rigors of setting up a blog site at full length, that from my experience.
I’ve seen the advice that says I need 2000 to 4,000 words to matter to a search engine. But I’m not writing for an engine; I’m writing for you. I believe a few sincere, heart-led words are worth more than a mountain of filler.
Navigating the Maze of Site Builders
So here is PART 1:
Blogging has been a “thing” for some time. Not at all a new concept but for a long time, it felt like a far-off world to me, or I would have tested the waters the soonest chance I got.
It's integral to the blog structure to have a central theme, a "niche" or the content will bounce off the wall and land all over the place. This is why bloggers carry a premise and stay on that same premise.
Some bloggers write about fashion, photography, dieting, or just about anything under the sun.
Some bloggers write about a slew of things but are interrelated, so it doesn't hurt the concept for which they created theirs. As for me, I didn’t have a clue at all about what I should be writing about. So, why would I even bother, right?
And then blogging came into the picture when I was in real estate...
Finding My Voice in a Saturated World
I recall wishing that I could also dip my toes in. Believe me when I say that it was plain wishful thinking.
I decided to put the idea to rest. The industry was already saturated with real estate blogs, and I didn't think there was room for one more. But looking back, I think I was just afraid my voice wouldn't be loud enough.
As a newcomer to the industry, I felt I should leave the blogging to the seasoned veterans—the ones who seemed to know every fiber of the business. I told myself it was better to sit back and learn than to try and find my own voice in such a crowded space.
And now, looking back, I realized that my own perspective was just as professional, just different.
Also, with all the demands of blogging, it was not enough that I love to write and decide that blogging is right up my alley, only taking into account that writing is my thing.
The Spark of Curiosity
However, that has changed recently...
September 10th, this year, the idea sprouted back under the confines of curiosity, so I looked up which web-building sites authors use for their blogs.
I was standing when I typed it up on my laptop. I had to mention that I was standing because if I were serious about it, I would be seated in my most comfortable position, ready to dive right in.
I Googled it. A bunch of sites came up. Pages upon pages of them that I found it a challenge to decide which one I should go with though I was just going for a trial run.
It was hard to resist the free trial offer. Some were a free trial for 14 days. Others were more generous to try it free for 30 days.
I said, “What do I have to lose?” I could cancel and get a full refund if the site builder was not a good match for me. Or, let's say I'd later decide that I don't want to commit to blogging, but that is, of course, as long as I cancel within the free trial period.
So there, I took the bait...
For the content, I said I could try to share the stories in my journal. I convinced myself that that is a good place to start.
So, I tried this one site. To proceed, first, I had to give the site builder a little background on the nature of the blog in mind. It was necessary to provide this information so the site could make relevant suggestions moving forward, with my best interests at the very top.
The next step was the site-building itself. Whoa, it was a tedious process!
I'm speaking for myself here, as it was difficult to follow! I was hoping it would just be switching back and forth from Google docs to the blog site to add text to the pages.
More Than Just Aesthetics
I thought it was just about the site’s esthetics:
- Fonts to use, font size to consider for the title, heading, and main body where the text goes,
- deciding on the theme as there are several to choose from,
- the accent colors, images to use, form/s I wanted to use—the whole nine yards!
I was wrong.
I tried another site. I thought it was easier to do it there. In fairness, in the beginning, I could follow along until I ran into some difficulty, so I abandoned that one, too.
I was exhausted. I stayed up till past midnight and ended up with nothing! I told God, “Lord, what a waste of the time You have given me today! I am so sorry. What was I even thinking?”
I went to bed disappointed, feeling rather inadequate...
A Prayerful Reset and a Fresh Start
Morning came. September 11th. We went to the 8:45 AM Mass, and when we got home, I said, “Okay, Lord, I will try it again. If still, I don’t succeed, at least You know that I tried.”
So there I was in front of my laptop. I tried another site builder, and oh my, I loved it! I was so engaged that if I hadn't already prepared lunch, we would have been ordering Chinese food just to keep me at the desk.
I've finally found one that is user-friendly for someone like myself who isn't tech-savvy. That rhymes!
What happened next, I was too excited to publish my blog and go live! The blog was up and running on the same day I created it! I did not care if it required further polishing, I was just happy I did something by myself.
Navigating the "Mathematics" of SEO
Immediately, I shared it with friends and family back home. The next day, I went back in to admire my hard work. So there, I went over it with another set of eyes. I realized it could use a lot of work. No big deal, so I modified it, tweaked it, moved things around, etc.
Decoding Google Analytics—
The funny thing is, day after day, I find reasons—and notice that it’s in its plural form— to update and improve the overall feel but also to incorporate tips to improve the site's SEO and all the other stuff.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Quite a mouthful, right?
It is like learning higher mathematics, and mathematics is not my strongest suit.
I don't have all the answers yet, but I'm learning that I don't need to be an expert to understand the pulse of my own blog.
There are a ton of things I only understand in part about the language Google uses.
For someone like myself who relies on my hubby for all things technology, and put up a website by myself thinking all I have done was the bare minimum because there was more to it than I realized was like assembling furniture and the instruction manual was written in another language I don't speak.
And the Internet, although it bridges continents and people from anywhere closer together, is so huge to search through. It is like going through mounds of haystacks to search for a needle because website building covers a lot of territories.
My head was fairly bursting. I felt too old for this...
But then, even when they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but here I am, proving that even an old dog can learn to navigate new digital waters—and though it was an information overload for me.
The videos alone on SEO and everything SEO are a lot to digest. It is like navigating through uncharted waters.
The Internet has nearly endless videos to watch on YouTube on this topic—all of which were to help the site owner have a good grip on what role Google has in the world wide web.
I can’t watch them all, or much of the time spent was mainly on watching the videos and very little on my blog to build it up. And if I were to listen to what everyone suggests I should do, I would end up more confused. I say this because these experts have varying ideas, sometimes opposing ideas.
For now, I am thankful I could employ some of these experts' tips without involving my hubby. I'm capable!
And then there is this Google Console and Google Analytics to consider. When I thought that SEO and everything SEO- related are already a lot to digest, understanding Google Analytics and Console, is like an iceberg, and I only touched the tip of it.
There is more to explore—
Google Analytics is not another fancy word. The way I see it, it acts like a website’s dashboard that tells a stack of data about the site.
It gives a snapshot of the users and user behavior while on the site, the pages they visited the most, and the top-ranking posts. It also shows how many are returning users and new users.
It's so humbling to see other continents and countries I’ve never been to showing up on the report!
These are just a few of what the data gives...
To me, to go to Google Analytics site to check on the blog’s performance is like going to the doctor’s office and you end up in the laboratory for a blood draw to analyze your overall health.
Where frustration lies is that I do not have the know-how and the means to fix the errors on my own. In the meantime, hard as it is to figure things out on my own, I did not say that I am not going to at least try the things I could do.
As someone has said, everything was difficult before it was easy. It is a learning experience.
And remember, wherever you are in the world reading this, thank you for being part of this journey. Thank you for reading! If these stories speak to your heart, I’d love to connect with you on Facebook.
Many blessings, Emilie
A Note from my Heart
I’m Emilie, a seeker of faith who finds God in the quiet pews and the divine surprises of everyday life. I write these reflections to invite you into a slower, more soulful way of seeing the world.