Hey, friend!
I love doing challenges, and the topic for the next one wasn’t hard to pick.
I posted about SEO a couple times and I got many questions, and confirmation that most writers are either confused about it, or have no idea why it’s even worth their time.
Here’s the thing.
We’re all obsessing over getting subscribers, but before someone subscribes, they need to actually visit our profile or publication. When it’s an article visit, that metric is called a page view in SEO (search engine optimization).
If we increase our page views, we naturally grow our readership.
There are different ways that traffic can come from - most of it comes from the Substack network. Maybe you share your posts on social media or invite your audience from another platform too.
But with this challenge, I want to help you get more traffic from Google and other search engines, including AI tools.
It has to do with optimization, a few tweaks here and there, some new habits to adopt when it comes to writing and publishing posts, and building authority.
So I invite you to join the Substack SEO Challenge, starting Monday.
It’s free, and it continues for 10 days. Each day (without the weekends), I’ll introduce you to one aspect of SEO or a tactic that can make search engines trust you more and AI tools cite you, which naturally leads to more authority and growth for your publication.
You may already know some of the things I’m about to share, or maybe it’s all new to you if you’ve never researched SEO before.
Some strategies will be quick and easy, others not so much. And while nothing is guaranteed, the overall effect of this can help you with your rankings (even though it will take time to see that in your analytics). But even if not this, it will get you going in the right direction - diversifying your traffic by going beyond just the Substack network, approaching your written work just a bit differently, and doing a few things on your publication to allow search engines to understand and rank it better, and people to have a better experience on it.
All with the goal to get more readers to your posts, and - of course - grow your email and revenue. But also to build authority in your niche, produce better content, and not do anything that search engines will penalize you for.
What to Expect from The Challenge
Dates: 03.08-14.08
Where: Right here. I’ll share a new strategy every weekday for 10 days (no weekend posts).
What: 10 practical Substack SEO strategies you can implement right away to improve your discoverability, attract more readers from search, and grow your publication.
Format: A daily written post. Each day, you’ll get one actionable strategy with steps you can apply immediately.
I won’t be sending all of them via email, as not everyone might be interested in the topic. But you’ll get a few of them, including the first one on Monday.
For the rest, you’ll get notifications from the app, and can always stop by The 2-Hour Blogger or my profile and check out the latest post.
Here are the exact days.
03.08 - day 1
04.08 - day 2
05.08 - day 3
06.08 - day 4
07.08 - day 5
10.08 - day 6
11.08 - day 7
12.08 - day 8
13.08 - day 9
14.08 - day 10
I’m not going to share the exact topic for each day now as it’s a work in progress. I have 9 out of 10 planned, a few more but not sure which one fits best. The content for some is ready, for others not.
That’s part of my creative process. I only know the final version of something while I’m in the middle of it, and it works for me. (If you’re in Human Design, I’m a Manifesting Generator. That explains it all. 😋)
How to Get The Most Out of The Challenge
This challenge is designed to help you take action, not just learn information. The more you participate, the more you’ll get from it.
Show up every day. - Set aside 15-30 minutes to read the new post and complete the action step (or begin implementing the strategy, if it’s a bigger one).
Leave a comment. - Share your thoughts and your progress, ask a question, add your own experiences, or start a conversation with other participants. Any completed action is a win, so feel free to brag about it!
Most importantly: don’t aim for perfection. Focus on making one improvement at a time, and by the end of the challenge, your Substack will be stronger than when you started.
Of course, if that many action steps in a row feel overwhelming to you, no need to do it that fast. Take your time, and do the challenge at your own pace.
Are you joining us?
Let me know in the comments if you’re in, and feel free to share any questions you have before we begin.
I can’t wait to spend the next 2 weeks together, explore practical Substack SEO strategies, and help you make your publication easier to discover.
See you inside the Substack SEO challenge on Monday! 🚀
I am in Australia not sure of your time zone. I had like to participate.
Wow, amazing, definitely joining in.