Category: Marketing Automation

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Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you found the antidote to writers block. Or if you could brainstorm hundreds of ideas in an instant. It sounds like a pretty cool superpower right? It’s one I’ve often wished for, and one thousands of Buffer customers have hoped for. It’s also a dream shared by Buffer’s Senior Product Manager Diego Sanchez. Which is why, Diego was (and still is) so excited about the power of artificial intelligence to not only ease these burdens but also revolutionize your entire approach to social media. Back in February, Diego helped launch Buffer’s AI Assistant. In this blog post, we’ll take you behind the scenes at Buffer, walking through the birth of Buffer’s AI, exploring its development process, its integration with OpenAI, and the vital role user feedback plays in shaping its future.Why AI?Diego, a Product Manager (PM) at Buffer, had been interested in AI for years and has worked in the space for even longer. Previously a PM at Typeform, Diego worked with machine learning engineers on AI applications in 2017. When he joined Buffer in 2019, he was keen to explore AI applications across Buffer’s products, such as what was formerly Reply and Engage, but are now engagement features within Buffer. After realizing the potential of AI in content generation, Diego presented his ideas to Maria, Buffer’s Chief Product Office, and Joel, Buffer’s Founder, and CEO. They gave him the green light to go ahead. Working closely with Dinos (a product engineer on Diego’s team), they started exploring how to get to market quickly. As the market demand for AI solutions grew, Buffer accelerated its efforts, and Buffer’s AI Assistant started to take form.Some of the early designs Diego and Dinos worked onIdentifying key pain pointsDiego’s team worked closely with users in our beta community to identify friction points and opportunities for optimization across the product. They found that small businesses and creators often struggle with coming up with post ideas, finding their brand’s tone and voice, and managing content for multiple social media channels.The challenge of creating a high volume of engaging content was particularly interesting. To help users overcome this challenge, Diego looked to apply AI technology to content generation.Diego started to design new AI applications after speaking customers.Development process and Open AIBuffer’s AI Assistant development process began by fixing key friction points in the product. The team decided to focus on text-to-text applications, aiming to help users write captions, generate post ideas, rewrite content in different tones, and expand on ideas.Diego and Dinos explored potential solutions envisioning concepts such as AI-assisted hashtag suggestions, content idea generators, and more.Buffer’s AI Assistant integrates with OpenAI via its API, allowing it to potentially work with other services in the future. This flexibility enables Buffer to test different services, offer personalized experiences, and possibly develop in-house AI solutions.Diego picked OpenAI due to its powerful APIs, various models, and constant updates. Its cheaper and faster models are ideal for clearly defined problems, while more powerful models like DaVinci or ChatGPT4 can handle open-ended applications.Now with a working prototype and a powerful AI API plugged in, Diego needed more user feedback.Phill kicking off the AI beta group on Discord in January (fun fact: the AI was originally called “Buffer Creator”)User feedback played a crucial role in shaping Buffer AI’s functionality. It helped the team make adjustments and identify new opportunities and use cases. For example, one early adopter suggested an AI-assisted Twitter thread feature, which Buffer is now actively exploring.Other early adopters wanted help with ideas, which led to the development of the ideation widget.Diego also identified that users needed more options when it came to generating copy. So, he and the team built three new AI inputs; Rephrase, Summarize, and Expand. Diego’s the first to share how valuable user feedback has been in creating Buffer’s AI Assistant.“We really cherish it, try our best to always be very open to ideas and suggestions, and act on customer feedback.” Post-launch successThe AI Assistant launched on February 15th, 2023, and was one of the most successful launches in Buffer’s history. Since launching, Buffer’s AI has assisted in creating over 33,300 posts for 8,850 users. That’s 2.8 million AI-generated words created in Buffer.I asked Diego what aspect of the launch he’s proudest of. He said he’s most proud of how it has become an integral part of the workflow for users who were not confident in their writing abilities. “It’s fantastic to see not only Buffer customers, but even my Buffer teammates, use AI to be more active on social media. Several colleagues who weren’t confident writers now use AI as an integral part of their workflow—they’re building an audience because of it.”The AI has been used for everything from brainstorming ideas to refining and polishing captions for social media posts. Buffer team members such as Maria, Amanda, and Mitra have all benefited from the AI Assistant in various ways. While Maria uses it to come up with her personal LinkedIn posts, Mitra uses it to generate new ideas for the Buffer TikTok account.What’s next?I asked Diego what was next for Buffer’s AI Assistant. Personally, I share about a dozen new ideas for Buffer’s AI each week, so I was particularly interested in Diego’s response. Diego shared that he’s very excited for the potential of AI to help creators and small businesses save time on tasks that are less about creativity and more about formatting, editing, and scheduling content. Buffer has already saved countless hours for small businesses around the world, and Diego envisions the AI Assistant will soon be able to help with content creation as well. This would enable businesses to spend more time focusing on their stories and connecting with their audiences.But, Diego acknowledges that there might be concerns about AI-generated content lacking a human touch or becoming spammy. “Powerful tools can always be misused, and I think new AI developments will not be the exception given that this is simply a reflection of human nature.”Regarding upcoming features for Buffer’s AI Assistant, Diego states that the focus will be on improving the user experience to make the technology more accessible to non-technical users. This includes refining the interface, providing a more human language, and optimizing for specific customer needs. As always, you can keep an eye on exactly what’s coming next in Buffer’s transparent roadmap.And finally … what’s Diego’s favorite prompt?So far, users have given Buffer’s AI Assistant over 35,000 different prompts (I listed my top 38 here). But I wanted to know what Diego’s favorite prompt is. Here’s what he said … “Life’s funny isn’t it?” Bit of a weird one, isn’t it!But Diego said he enjoys seeing how the AI responds to open-ended questions and observing its default “temperature” and sense of humor.Out of interest, I plugged that into Buffer’s AI and got this response.Buffer’s AI response is in greenIt’s not something I’d post on LinkedIn, but it’s interesting, nevertheless! Diego would love to know what you think about Buffer’s AI. If you have feedback, please do send us a tweet and let us know.And if you want to try out Buffer’s AI Assistant for yourself, then get started today, it’s free!)

As marketers, we understand the importance of SEO in driving traffic and generating leads. But all too often, our efforts are hindered by a lack of resources or time.

That’s why many marketers use automation to streamline their SEO processes and focus on other growth strategies.
In this guide, you’ll explore what SEO tasks can be automated to save at least three hours daily. You’ll also find out which essential SEO tools you should have in your arsenal to create an effective SEO strategy quickly and efficiently.
Let’s get started!
What is SEO automation?
What SEO tasks can be automated?
12 Essential SEO Automation Tools

SEO optimization tools help marketers save time and resources while building an effective SEO strategy.

What SEO tasks can be automated?
Say goodbye to manual labor and hello to efficiency with SEO automation! Here are just a few of the tasks that can be automated with the right toolkit in hand.

Keyword research. Automation helps to quickly identify keywords relevant to your target audience for high-value traffic opportunities.
Content creation. Generate quality blog posts and website content with AI-driven writing services and make sure you’ve sprinkled enough keywords throughout the piece. SurferSEO, for instance, will provide you with these suggestions as you write.
Automated structured data markup. Generate and validate structured data for your site in a heartbeat.
Technical optimization. Save time on page speed optimization and technical audits while avoiding mistakes thanks to automated checks. Tools for an SEO audit will crawl your website and generate a report on any issues they find.
Reporting and analytics. Automatically generate reports to track SEO performance with analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Google Data Studio, and others. Get instant insights into how much traffic you are getting, what content is performing the best, where your visitors are coming from, etc.
Automated rank tracking. Monitor how you rank for target keywords in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Track competition and fluctuations in the SERPs and get alerted when a competitor’s content ranks higher than yours for a keyword.
Automated image optimization. Automatically optimize images for SEO to improve page loading times without losing image quality.
Backlink Analysis and Interlinking. Find backlink opportunities, monitor competitor links, and get suggestions for internal linking to create a natural-looking link profile for your website.

With automation, marketers can create more effective SEO strategies faster and easier than ever. If you are ready to take your SEO efforts to the next level, keep reading and find awesome SEO automation software for different tasks.

12 Essential SEO Automation Tools
We’ve gathered the 12 best SEO automation platforms to help you eliminate painstaking SEO work. Although each tool has many features, we’ll focus on a few of the most notable.
1. HubSpot Marketing Software
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HubSpot’s SEO Marketing Software provides actionable recommendations on optimizing your website for SEO, ranked in order of priority, so you can target the areas that most need improvement.
This tool can help you strategize your content to organize your website by topic, a critical component that search engines consider.
It also offers suggestions for topics your audience is interested in so you can expand your blog and draw those people in.
You can also get detailed reports on what terms and topics people are searching for, clickthrough rates, total impressions, and other vital metrics. See clearly what’s working for your site and where there’s room for improvement.
Best for: HubSpot’s Marketing Hub users.
Pricing: Included with Marketing Hub’s Professional plan.
Alternative: SurferSEO.
2. SurferSEO

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SurferSEO is a content optimization tool that analyzes your page or content outline and compares it to competitors’ pages to find SEO opportunities.
It gives you recommendations on keywords for headings and body text, word count, and the number of images and paragraphs.
SurferSEO auto-suggests keywords to include as you write. You can also create an SEO-optimized outline in a matter of seconds. Altogether, these features save hours when outlining and clustering keywords.
As a matter of fact, ClickUp revealed that SurferSEO has helped them publish 150+ articles and achieve blog traffic growth of 85% in one year.
Best for: Writing SEO-optimized blog posts at scale for B2C and B2B alike.
Pricing: Starts at $59 monthly for the basic plan.
Alternatives: Clearscope, Frase.
3. Looker Studio
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Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) will help you quickly build custom SEO reports and analyze data from Google Analytics, Search Console, SEMrush, and other sources via API.
You can also mine data, combine distinct datasets, and easily audit site performance.
One of Looker’s most outstanding features is its ability to create automated and visually appealing SEO reports. With Looker, you can regularly get insights into key performance metrics and track keyword rankings daily, weekly, or monthly.
Best for: Digital marketing agencies, ecommerce sites, and businesses looking for comprehensive SEO analytics.
Pricing: Free.
Alternatives: Databox, Tableau.
4. Ahrefs
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Ahrefs is an SEO automation platform that helps you identify keyword opportunities, monitor link-building efforts, and analyze competitor visibility in the SERPs.
One of the features we like is Link intersect for a backlink gap analysis. It allows you to compare links between your domain and competitors’ websites to uncover link opportunities that you might have missed otherwise.
Another epic feature is the “best by links” report. With it, you can easily uncover the most linked content on any website. Dig down to see what type of content lands thousands of links to find prospects and inspire link-building tactics.
Finally, use Ahrefs Content Explorer to find unlinked brand mentions and reach out to the website owners to secure a link.
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Best for: SEO professionals who need to monitor, discover, and scale link-building efforts.
Pricing: Starts at $99 monthly for the lite plan.
Alternatives: SEMrush, MajesticSEO.
5. SEMRush
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SEMRush is a suite of automated SEO tools that provide insights into competitor strategies and your domain’s online visibility.
SEMRush also helps you identify keywords to target with its Keyword Magic Tool. This one is especially useful for finding long-tail phrases related to your main topic and organizing them into clusters within a minute.
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We can’t stress enough how time-saving this feature is. Remember when SEO involved working on Excel and Google sheets to group keywords with super complex formulas?
Breathe freely with the SEMRush clustering tool or its alternative Serpstat.
SEMRush also offers a content marketing platform that helps you write SEO-friendly blog posts and optimize them for the SERPs. It even has an SEO writing assistant that suggests content ideas and provides readability scores for your copy.
Best for: SEO professionals who need a comprehensive suite of tools to analyze competitor data, monitor keyword rankings, and optimize content.
Pricing: Starts at $99.95 monthly for the pro plan.
Alternatives: Ahrefs, KeywordTool, Jaaxy, Serpstat.
6. Netpeak Spider
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Netpeak Spider is a technical SEO crawler that audits your website’s structure and finds broken links, duplicate content, and other issues. It also provides insight into the indexability of your pages and can detect malware or malicious code.
Moreover, Netpeak Spider has one of the most advanced filtering systems around. It allows you to customize reports for a more detailed analysis or generate an XML sitemap for submission to Google and other search engines.
Netpeak Spider comes with a convenient integration with Google Analytics and Google Search Console, so you can easily access data within the same dashboard.
On top of that, the tool supports white-label reports, making life easier for SEO agencies and consultants.
Best for: Agencies and SEO professionals who need to audit website structure, detect issues quickly, and generate white-label reports.
Pricing: Starts at $7 monthly for the starter plan, which allows one user.
Alternatives: Screaming Frog, DeepCrawl.
7. Google Search Console
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Of course, we couldn’t pass by the most powerful and free toolkit for website performance analysis and technical audits.
Google Search Console shares insights into how Google interprets your website. It helps you track and measure organic traffic, set up alerts for potential issues, and get data on clicks, impressions, and query positions.
You can also use Search Console to submit a sitemap directly to Google, run URL inspection and parameters tests, and request re-indexing of pages.
With its “Inspect URL” feature, you can check how Googlebot sees the page and troubleshoot potential problems.
Best for: Everyone who wants to monitor their website’s performance and stay informed about potential issues.
Pricing: Free.
Alternatives: Screaming Frog, Netpeak Spider, AgencyAnalytics, Searchmetrics.
8. Jasper
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Jasper AI Writing Assistant is an AI-driven copywriting tool that generates high-converting content in minutes.
Guide this tool with commands or use templates, like AIDA copies, for LinkedIn, blog posts, e-commerce listings, Google and Facebook ads templates, etc.
Thanks to its AI technology, Jasper can adopt and mimic your tone of voice, cutting off hours on writing copies for different content needs.
For SEO, Jasper AI Writing Assistant can generate creative and snappy meta descriptions, titles, etc. Integrated with SurferSEO, Jasper crafts copies enriched with target keywords.
Use these tools combined to maximize your SEO performance with minimal effort.
Best for: Companies and professionals looking for an AI-driven copywriting solution to quickly generate SEO-friendly content.
Pricing: Starts at $49 monthly for 50,000 words generated.
Alternatives: Writer, CopyAI, WriteSonic.
9. AgencyAnalytics
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AgencyAnalytics provides automated analytics for various platforms, including Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.
This tool also integrates with over 40 marketing tools, like MailChimp and HubSpot, to offer a comprehensive view of campaign performance.
The tool’s SEO suite includes rank tracking, backlink analysis, site audits, social media analytics, and much more.
Best for: SEO agencies and consultants looking for an all-in-one tool to manage campaigns, and track analytics.
Pricing: Starts at $29 per month for the pro plan.
Alternatives: Searchmetrics, Kissmetrics.
10. Technical SEO Automation Tools by Merkle
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Merkle’s SEO tools are explicitly designed to automate various technical SEO tasks.
For example, you can test and validate your robots.txt and generate and submit XML sitemaps to search engines. Or query the Knowledge Graph API to find entities, their MREID, and relevance scores.
Merkel’s SEO automation tools also include a schema generator and SERP simulator. The best part? It’s all for free.
Best for: SEO professionals who need to automate complex technical SEO tasks, like robots.txt validation and structured data markup.
Pricing: Free.
Alternative: Schemantra.
11. Compress PNG
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Compress PNG is an online tool that lets you quickly and easily compress PNG images. It’s a great way to speed up page load times and reduce file size, which can help improve SEO performance.
Leverage Compress PNG to convert files from JPEG and GIF formats for better compatibility with browsers. Use this tool in tandem with another to improve your overall SEO strategy.
Best for: Anyone looking for an easy and free way to compress PNG images.
Pricing: Free.
Alternatives: TinyPNG, Compressor.io.
12. AccuRanker

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AccuRanker is an advanced rank-tracking solution for SEOs and marketers. It offers real-time insights into how your website performs in organic search and helps you identify changes in ranking over time.
The tool also provides detailed analytics, including accuracy scores, Share of Voice, and search engine position history. You can even set up automated alerts to stay on top of any changes in rankings or visibility.
With its advanced keyword filtering, you can quickly create tailored reports for specific searches, locations, or devices.
It also includes a drag-and-drop Master Filter, which allows you to group several keywords and track their performance simultaneously.
Best for: Enterprises and SEO agencies; for rank tracking.
Pricing: Starts at $130 monthly and offers 1,000 keywords to track. Get started with a 14-day free trial.
Alternatives: SEMrush, Ahrefs, SERPWoo, Serpstat, SE Ranking.
Making the Most of SEO Automation
SEO automation is a game-changer for businesses looking to optimize their website and increase their online visibility. Companies can focus on higher-level strategy and creativity by streamlining SEO tasks.
With the right tools, SEO automation can lead to more efficient, effective, and successful campaigns.
So why wait? Embrace the power of SEO automation today and supercharge your online presence!

When you’re managing spreadsheets, even a relatively small amount of data can become difficult to manage pretty quickly. But tools like Google Sheets have many functions that help you work with data more efficiently.

A common challenge is figuring out how many instances you have of specific values within a large spreadsheet. That’s where the SumIf function in Google Sheets comes into play. Using this function, you can add up numbers in a spreadsheet based on certain conditions.
Using a SumIf function in Google Sheets effectively can take some practice, especially in more complex situations. So here are step-by-step instructions and examples of using SumIf in Google Sheets to help you on your way.
Table of Contents:

What does SumIf do in Google Sheets?
The Benefits of Using SumIf in Google Sheets
How to Use SumIf in Google Sheets
SumIf in Google Sheets Example
Best Practices for Using SumIf

What does SumIf do in Google Sheets?
In Google Sheets, the SumIf function adds up the values in a range of cells that meet certain criteria. It allows you to add numbers in a specific range based on a given condition, such as values that meet a specified condition, fall within a certain range, or match a particular text string.
The syntax of the SumIf function in Google Sheets is as follows:
=SUMIF(range, criteria, [sum_range])

Range: The range of cells that you want to evaluate.
Criteria: The criteria that you want to use to determine which cells to sum up.
Sum_range: The range of cells that you want to sum up. If this argument is not provided, the cells in the range argument will be used.

Let’s say you have a column of sales data, and you want to sum up a particular person’s sales. You could use the SumIf function.
You would specify the range of cells that contain the sales data, the criteria that specify which salesperson’s sales you want to sum up, and the sum range (which, in this case, would be the same as the range argument).
The function would then calculate the sum of all the sales that match your specified criteria.

The Benefits of Using SumIf in Google Sheets
Sometimes, you may need to sum up values in a range based on specific criteria or conditions. Without the SumIf function, you would need to manually sort, filter, and add up the values that meet your criteria, which can be time-consuming and result in many errors.
You might also need to perform dynamic calculations that update automatically as your data changes. By using the SumIf function, you can create formulas that are linked to your data and update automatically whenever new data is added or existing data is changed.
The SumIf function is also very flexible and easy to customize. It can be as straightforward or as complex as you need it to be. Google Sheets allows you to select a wide range of criteria and conditions for summing up values through the SumIf function.
Plus, it’s compatible with plenty of other functions within Google Sheets if you need to extend your formula or create complex calculations. This includes AverageIf, CountIf, MaxIf, and more.

How to Use SumIf in Google Sheets

Open a new or existing Google Sheets document.
Enter your data into the worksheet. For example, you might have a list of sales transactions with columns for date, product, quantity, and price.
Decide what criteria you want to use to sum up your data. For example, you might want to sum up the sales for a particular product or for a specific date range.
Click on the cell where you want to display the sum of your data.
Type “=SUMIF(” into the cell. This will start the SUMIF formula.
Select the range of cells that you want to search for the criteria. For example, if you want to sum up the sales for a particular product, you would select the column that contains the product names.
Type a comma “,” after the range of cells.
Enter the criteria that you want to use for summing up the data. For example, if you want to sum up the sales for a product named “Boots”, you would enter “Boots” in quotation marks.
Type another comma “,” after the criteria.
Select the range of cells that contains the values that you want to sum up. For example, to sum up the sales for the “Boots” product, you would select the column that contains the sales values.

 

Close the formula by typing “)” and press Enter. The sum of the values that meet your criteria will be displayed in the cell. In this instance, the SumIf function shows us that 16 pairs of boots have been sold in total.

You can also use the SumIf function to sum up values based on multiple criteria by using the “&” operator to combine the criteria. For example, to sum up the sales for the “Boots” product for 2023 so far, you would use the formula:
“=SUMIF(B2:B11,”Boots”,C2:C11&A2:A11,”>=1/1/23″)”
In this instance, B2:B11 contains the product names, C2:C11 contains the sales values, and A2:A11 contains the dates.

SumIf in Google Sheets Example
To get a sense of how useful SumIf can be with large data sets, let’s take a look at a more in-depth example. In this instance, you need the SumIf statement to use data from multiple sheets.
Suppose you have a list of employees and their corresponding salaries on one sheet and a separate sheet containing each employee’s job title.
In this instance, we’ll use the SumIf function to sum up the overall salary spent on employees with a specific job title.

Select the cell where you want the final value to appear and begin your SumIf formula. First, select the data in Column C (“Job Titles”), as this is the range you want to evaluate.
In this case, we’re trying to find out how many Occupational Therapists are on the payroll. So, “Occupational Therapist” has been entered into the formula as the criteria.
Next, we need to tell the function the range of cells you want to sum up based on the criteria. We want to know about the salaries of occupational therapists, which means selecting the data under Column B (“Annual Salary”).
When the Enter key is hit after closing the formula with “)”, we can see that the company spends $622,435 annually on salaries for Occupational Therapists.

If you wanted to know this information about each job title in the company, you would simply create another table in a separate sheet with one instance of each job title and copy the formula down, replacing the criteria for each row to match the job title you want to reference.

So, in just a couple of steps, you’d be left with a table that sums up all the information in one place rather than manually counting and adding up hundreds of cells.

Best Practices for Using SumIf
The SumIf function is fairly simple and easy to use. But like all spreadsheet functions, it’s easy to get an ERROR result if your formula isn’t formatted correctly or if you don’t stick to some key best practices.
Use descriptive criteria.
Using descriptive criteria can help make your formula more readable and understandable.
For example, if you are summing sales data for a particular region, use the name of the region as your criteria, rather than a generic term like “Region A”.
Use cell references.
Using cell references instead of typing criteria directly into your formula makes it easier to update your criteria if needed.
For example, if you need to change the name of the region you are summing, you can simply update the cell reference instead of editing the formula.
Check your ranges.
Make sure that the range you are summing and the range you are using for criteria are the same size and have the same layout. If the ranges are different, you may get unexpected results or errors.
Use the correct syntax.
The syntax of the SUMIF function is SUMIF(range, criteria, sum_range). Make sure that you are using the correct order of arguments and that each argument is separated by a comma.
Test your formula.
Testing your formula with a small subset of data can help you catch errors or unexpected results before applying it to a larger dataset. This is especially important if you are using more complex criteria or formulas.
Use other functions for more complex criteria.
If you need to sum data based on more complex criteria, consider using other functions such as SUMIFS, which allows you to specify multiple criteria.
For example, you can use SUMIFS to sum sales data for a particular region and time period.
Keep your data organized.
Keeping your data organized and well-formatted can make it easier to use SUMIF and other functions in Google Sheets.
Consider using tables or formatting your data as a named range to make it easier to reference in your formulas. You can also use filters or sorting to quickly find the data you need.
Getting Started
The SumIf function is a simple solution to summing up data based on specific criteria. By using cell references, descriptive criteria, and other best practices, you can make your formulas more readable, accurate, and efficient.
Whether you are summing sales data, tracking expenses, or analyzing survey results, the SumIf function can help you quickly and easily calculate totals based on specific conditions. With a little practice, you’ll soon be using this function with ease.

The world of fundraising for nonprofits is evolving rapidly with the advent of new technologies and tools. In the past, most fundraising was done through direct mail and telephone calls, but now, nonprofits have a wide range of digital tools at their disposal. From digital giving platforms and crowdfunding to peer-to-peer fundraising and email marketing,…
The post The Future of Fundraising for Nonprofits appeared first on Benchmark Email.

Hi I have this new course : Digital Marketer – AI Bootcamp https://www.digitalmarketer.com/lp/ai-powered-marketer/ DM me for more informations https://preview.redd.it/z32tbow94fxa1.png?width=1741&format=png&auto=webp&s=dea673d721056a3db07efd9e53c339bd48f0cb3a submitted by /u/alaemaroc123 [link] [comments]

I taught my first online class on modern calligraphy only about one month after I began learning how to do it myself. It all started when I needed a new creative practice, a habit that I’ve learned is helpful for my mental health. I had seen people practicing modern calligraphy on social media and wanted to learn, so I looked for tutorials online. I struggled to find good resources, so I decided to teach myself by looking at modern calligraphy I liked and figuring out how to emulate it.Around this time, I discovered Skillshare—an online platform offering video courses for creative skills—and saw they were running a challenge to get new teachers on the platform. I already found myself regularly oversharing how I achieved a specific technique when someone complimented my work, so teaching felt like a natural evolution. I decided to give it a shot, spent about a week planning and recording my first class, and published it on the platform.When I got my first monthly payment for $2,200, I thought there was an extra zero on the check. The class was a hit, despite the fact that I still didn’t really consider myself “good” at calligraphy yet. I was shocked, and I was hooked.That first class kicked off the past seven years of my career. Since then I’ve taught over 50 classes on topics from hand lettering to painting to running a creative business, written eight books sharing creative techniques, launched my own line of art materials, and grown my brand, The Pigeon Letters, into a thriving seven-figure business that supports hundreds of thousands of students.I truly believe 80 percent of my success has been thanks to my mindset: how I see the value I have to offer, how I navigate hurdles, and how I build a business in a way that’s exciting to me and my audience. Here are four of the mindsets that have helped me build such a thriving business as a completely self-taught creator.1. I decided I only needed to be one step ahead to provide valueIt would have been so easy to hold myself back from starting my business until I considered myself a true “expert” in calligraphy. Many people feel too self-conscious about their skills to teach as a beginner, waiting months or years to gain more proficiency.Luckily, I’m such a bulldozer that it’s pretty hard to shake my confidence. But I also truly believed that I only needed to be one step ahead of someone else to have something to teach them. In fact, I saw this “weakness” as a strength I could lean into. By teaching as I was learning, I could connect with beginners more easily and encourage them that it’s totally possible to go from zero to creating beautiful art in a short amount of time. So, I showed up with confidence that I had something to offer students, and with full transparency about where I was. I didn’t pretend to be a master of calligraphy: I told my students that it was a new skill to me, but that I’d figured out a structure that could help other people.Students enjoyed coming on the journey with me, and soon, being a beginner became my niche that helped me stand out among more expert creators. When students asked when I was going to teach a watercolor class, I thought, “What makes you think I know how to watercolor?!” Then, I spent a couple of months learning so I could deliver—and it’s since become a huge passion of mine and a core part of my business. When AI came on the scene and all the creatives around me were unsure about it, I dove into ways I could integrate it into my workflow and immediately turned around and taught. It’s so empowering when you flip the switch and take ownership of whatever place you’re in. And if you’re authentic about it, other people will connect with that.2. I thoughtfully built up different revenue streams for stabilityEarly on, I knew that I wanted multiple revenue streams to be part of my business model so that I would feel more secure through economic ups and downs. But I also didn’t want to spread myself too thin, trying so many new things that none of them would become a solid foundation.So, to start, I chose to hyper-focus on teaching Skillshare courses until that felt established as my core. And then, I started thinking about what other branches I wanted to add that could be rooted in the work I was already doing. One by one, I’ve built different revenue streams, giving each one about four months of my focus to see if it gains traction before deciding whether to put it aside or put more energy there.Most of those new revenue streams came directly from listening to what my audience was asking me for and looking for ways to deliver. When students were constantly asking about what brushes, pens, and tools I used, I saw an opportunity to sell my favorites directly and even create my own line of brushes. When they asked for my teaching secrets, I launched my Creative Course Lab training and coaching program; when they wanted support on running a business, I created a membership community for creative entrepreneurs, Flock. I’ve also made money from licensing my art, selling on print-on-demand sites, hosting events and retreats, speaking and running corporate workshops, and teaching classes on other platforms.Some of these are larger branches, some are smaller, but they all contribute to my seven-figure business. As some income streams waned over the years, I was glad to have others to lean on. And they all came about organically from the mindset of looking for opportunities in the needs of my audience, thinking about which of them excited me, and then giving them a try.3. I rooted my marketing in excitement more than strategyIt’s wild to me how much working for yourself turns you into a full-time marketer. So many business owners let this bring them down, because marketing exhausts them or makes them feel slimy. To avoid that feeling, I’ve always kept my marketing organic—both in the sense that I’ve never paid for ads and also in the sense that I’ve always put myself out there in ways that feel authentic to me rather than trying to keep up with the latest trends. When I first started promoting my classes, I was shooting in the dark, impulsively sharing my excitement rather than building any kind of promotional plan. I also did a lot of cross-marketing with other artists to promote each others’ work, mostly because it sounded fun to collaborate with people I admired. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Peggy Dean | For Creatives 🎨 (@thepigeonletters) Eventually I did start to get more strategic, teaching myself about marketing best practices (and then, in true Peggy fashion, turning around and creating classes on those topics). But even then, I tried to make sure I felt enthusiastic about every promotional tactic I was implementing. For instance, when I decided to lean into growing my mailing list, I created lead magnets that provided a lot of value, like a whopping 52-page guide of my favorite supplies. Creating this offering excited me, making it easy for me to push it out to my audience.4. I look at failure as a growth opportunityLike every entrepreneur, I’ve gotten slapped in the face by failure. While some people get beat down and discouraged by that, it excites me because I know it means I’m being given an opportunity to learn and push myself (which, in case you couldn’t tell, is one of my favorite things to do).A great example: I’ve only had one item on my bucket list, ever, which is to write a book. About four months into teaching, I started writing a modern calligraphy how-to book and pitching it to publishers. Every single one of them said no, never responded, or said they already had something similar in the works. Instead of letting that stop me, I decided to self-publish my book—which ended up being a bestseller and landing in bookstores (which is rare for self-published books). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Peggy Dean | For Creatives 🎨 (@thepigeonletters) Nothing that I’ve achieved ever would have happened if I’d let fear of failure stop me. Yes, there’s always room to grow and improve, but that shouldn’t stop you from putting something valuable out in the world. By putting myself out there, no matter how imperfectly, I’ve helped hundreds of thousands of students tap into their creative potential—and helped myself build a thriving business that I love.

Creating an Instagram SEO strategy is critical for marketers as the platform has become more popular than social media giants Twitter and LinkedIn.

SEO for Instagram is how you can create opportunities for those billions of users to see your content and engage with your brand. Luckily, you can apply the same SEO techniques you use to optimize web page content to drive organic growth to your Instagram account.
Think of Instagram as its own search engine. The platform has built-in search functions that act like its own mini-Google. Here, we’ll share 10 SEO techniques to expand your reach by working with the Instagram algorithm.
Table of Contents

Optimize your Instagram profile.
Have a primary keyword.
Include a secondary keyword.
Treat your hashtags as keywords.
Place your hashtags strategically.
Leverage your image captions.
Take advantage of Instagram alt text.
Track everything with analytics.
Avoid these black hat techniques.
Navigate the weirdly banned hashtags.

Instagram Optimization

1. Optimize your Instagram profile.
The first step you should take toward increasing your Instagram reach is to optimize your Instagram profile. Driving traffic to your Instagram account won’t benefit you in the long run if your profile isn’t optimized for the best user experience.
Here are a few tricks for optimizing your Instagram profile:

Make your profile public.
Choose a colorful, on-brand profile image.
Create a recognizable and searchable @Username.
Create an easily searchable business name.
Register for an Instagram Business account.
Include a trackable link in your bio.

Why it’s so important: These steps might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s critical to lay the groundwork before you make any other SEO changes. Once you’ve covered these basics, you can move on to more technical optimizations.

2. Have a primary keyword.
Your display name and @username are the two most important places to put your primary keyword. When users type their intention into the search bar, you’ll match, bringing you closer to that coveted top-of-search position.
To start, you’ll need to pinpoint your primary keyword. We’ll use a bakery as our example. When an Instagram user is looking to fill their news feed with baked goods, they’ll likely search the keyword “bakery.”
When you have this keyword in your display name and @Username, you’re more likely to appear in the suggested accounts search results.

As you can see here, four of the top five search results for bakery have that keyword in both their display name and @Username. Pro tip: One or the other is simply not as powerful. To get the most out of your Instagram optimization, you should use your primary keyword in both places to increase your chances of being picked up by the algorithm.
This may be heartbreaking if you were excited about what you’d chosen when opening your account, but the change is a smart move toward optimization — and ultimately your own success!

3. Include a secondary keyword.
Now that you’ve taken care of your primary keyword, it’s time to get the most out of your secondary keywords. Secondary keywords are the phrases and topics that orbit your primary keyword.
If your primary keyword is “bakery,” your secondary keywords might be things like “cupcakes,” “wedding cakes,” “baked goods,” etc.
Let’s take a look at Magnolia Bakery, the top result for this keyword — their primary keyword is outlined in red, and their secondary keywords are outlined in orange:

Image Source
Magnolia Bakery has done a great job crafting an informative and fun bio, while still including a few important search-optimized keywords. A person looking for baked goods would likely follow Magnolia if they found them in the search, as the account matches the user’s search intent.
Pro tip: Secondary keywords are like a safety net — they catch the people who might not be searching for your primary keyword but could still be interested in your product.
Language differences cause many people to use different words when looking for the same thing, so be sure to consider synonyms that could also make good secondary keywords.

4. Treat your hashtags like keywords.
Once you’ve optimized your profile, it’s time to optimize your posts. This is an ongoing process that requires special attention. Most users aren’t going to look for you directly. They’ll likely discover you through a hashtag on a specific post.
That’s why each of your Instagram posts should have its own hashtag strategy. You should treat these hashtags like secondary keywords. Check out the example from CorePower Yoga below:

Image Source
They include their own brand name in two of the hashtags — #corepowercommunity and #corepoweryoga. The other two hashtags, however, are specifically for this image.
By including a variety of post-specific hashtags, CorePower increases its chances of attracting a broader, more diverse audience — people who search for terms related to yoga but also people who search #downdog.
This gives users a better chance of finding you than if you used the same five hashtags on every post. Variety and relevance are your keys to success.
Best for: All content types – this hashtag advice holds true for posts, reels, IGTV, and all the other types of content you add to the platform. Make any content you’re crafting as searchable as possible for the best results.

5. Place your hashtags strategically.
Now, where do you put those cleverly optimized hashtags? Previously, the common practice was to put them in the comments, but times have changed.
It’s important to adjust your Instagram optimization strategy when you’re given credible advice from, say, the company’s CEO.
According to Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri, the algorithm now likes it when you add your hashtags in captions. He released a video in late 2021 letting us know how to appease the algorithm.
What we like: Videos like that one from the IG CEO are a great resource for honing your Instagram SEO strategy, and there are lots out there that can help, like this one.

6. Leverage your image captions.
In addition to adding hashtags to the end, the image caption itself is another opportunity to optimize.
Keep your content authentic to fit your image, but be sure to fold in some of your brand’s secondary keywords. Craft a compelling, engaging caption to satisfy existing followers, and make it keyword rich to attract new ones.
A robust caption can do more than just catch a user’s attention — it can also help you show up in search. Using secondary keywords in the caption allows the algorithm to determine that you’re what your unique audience is looking for.
The example below shows how DIFF eyewear manages to use keywords in their caption that will bring in the right users.

Image Source
Best for: Leveraging your image captions helps create a complete picture for Instagram’s algorithm and tells it that you should be ranking high in their search for those terms.

7. Take advantage of Instagram alt text.
Instagram’s alt text feature was designed to help visually impaired users enjoy their Instagram experience, but it can also be used for SEO.
Instagram will automatically populate alt text options ifyou skip this step. Still, it’s better to do it yourself to ensure the caption matches what’s actually in the photo and puts it in context with your brand.
To access your alt text options, advance to the screen just before you share your photo and click the “advanced settings” tab at the bottom.

Once you’ve done that, scroll to the bottom to where it says “Accessibility” and select the “Write Alt Text” option. From there, you can craft the perfect image description!

Once you’ve crafted your own alt text, share your photo as normal. The benefits of changing your Instagram alt text are the same as when you use alt text on photos for your website.
What we like: Optimizing your alt text can help your posts rank better in the algorithm, and what’s more, it also adds the possibility of having your results pulled for voice search, too!

8. Track everything with analytics.
If this is your first time using SEO techniques to grow, then you should be tracking how your new Instagram strategy impacts your overall social media goals.
While Instagram does have an in-platform analytics feature, it only allows you to pull data from a certain date. Once that window closes, the data is lost and replaced. While that might be fine for the casual user, it’s not ideal for marketing purposes.
Social media tools like Hootsuite, IconoSquare, or Sprout Social allow you to bypass this with robust data analytic tracking services, automated reports, and more. They allow users to analyze post and campaign performance so you can optimize your content for the future.
Best for: Collecting the hard data behind your content plan. Tracking the success of your new Instagram SEO strategy will help you refine your content as you go, gain buy-in from leadership, and improve the overall success of your strategy.

9. Avoid these black hat SEO techniques.
You might think that Google is the only website sophisticated enough to spot and punish users for using black hat SEO tactics. However, with the expansion of AI to handle the dense computational minutiae, those days are over.
Instagram has been cracking down on accounts that try to cheat the system.
Infamously, they’ve implemented a shadowban for users that break the rules. This makes it so nobody can see your content when they click on a hashtag you’ve used. Even your followers can’t see that content unless they specifically search for your account and visit your profile.

Don’t steal content.
Don’t use bots.
Don’t keyword stuff.
Don’t follow too many accounts too fast.
Don’t buy followers.

Pro tip: SEO is a long-term strategy, and it can be frustrating when you don’t see results immediately. The quick fix can be tempting, but the results can be disastrous if you get caught. If you’re looking to build your Instagram account the right way, avoid these tactics at all costs.

10. Navigate banned hashtags.
There are some strange realities in tech right now: AI art programs crank out nightmarish hands (Google at your own risk), cryptocurrency connects directly to environmental decline, and Instagram has some weirdly banned hashtags.
Some content creators knowingly take advantage of hashtags to promote illicit content. #costumes, for example, could be popular around Halloween.
You can also imagine how that can quickly lead to problematic content in terms of indecent exposure and violating children’s rights.
Additionally, Instagram doesn’t want you to direct traffic away from the platform by using hashtags affiliated with other social media platforms. If you use #snapchat, you tempt the algorithm to flag you for a shadowban or even permanently ban you from the IG platform.
Pro tip: You can check recently compiled lists of banned hashtags, or you can take things into your own hands by searching for the hashtag you’re considering using. If content shows up and flows freely, it’s not banned.
If you get the dreaded “Recent posts from [the hashtag you searched for] are currently hidden”, then you know not to use that hashtag.
Do It For the ‘Gram
SEO may be primarily used for website optimization, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use what you’ve learned for social media, as well.
Take these tips and transform your Instagram presence in a way that puts the user first while also building your reach.