Maricielo Solis, founder of BLENDtw
Courtesy of blendtw
Branding has evolved from an aspect of marketing to an art form. It takes interacting with clients at all levels and designing a strategic SEO plan to increase visibility.
Appearing on page one of Google’s search rankings doesn’t happen overnight. Strategy and consistency are vital to the initial stages of raising awareness. Also, it takes patience to achieve long-term goals in marketing and sales. Google currently hold on 92.58% of total search engine market share and 68% of online experiences start with a search engine.
Maricielo Solis, founder of BLENDtw, studied the inner workings of how SEO works to elevate her platform for college students. BLENDtw is the leader community for Gen Z, covering college life, wellness and culture. Although it took more than a year for his SEO efforts to gain traction, Solis now operates a seven-figure business.
“I had spent all my savings and spent about $10,000 on hiring all these writers and making the most beautiful publication,” he explains. “I didn’t know why we didn’t have the traction we had four months ago with a particular story. I started to realize I was doing something wrong. I was doing everything wrong because I didn’t know how the publishing world worked… Then I realized that I was missing SEO. So in order to create content that ranks in Google, there are specific guidelines that you have to follow… I applied this whole framework to my website. And it took off. We went from from having 10,000 readers a month to having 10,000 readers a day. We started consistently making $10,000 in ad network every month to $100,000 in affiliate marketing. Once we learned how to use it, the website took off.” .
Growing up in Peru, Solís wanted to work in the media. He attended college in the United States and applied for the NBC Page program upon graduation. The program is a rotational learning and development program for students who want to enter the industry. He worked as Lester Holt’s assistant on the Today Show, SNL, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, among others.
From NBC, he moved to CNN as a production assistant. For four years, Solis helped produce CNN’s flagship television program New Day with Alisyn Camerota while supporting the news teams of Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer. During this time, at a Telemundo event, she met a Columbia University journalism professor who invited her to speak to a group of students. This became a regular occurrence.
Maricielo Solis, founder of BLENDtw, backstage at the Today Show.
Courtesy of blendtw
“From these conversations,” says Solis, “I’ve realized two things. First, Gen Z and young people don’t consume mainstream media; they have a very interesting relationship with it. They probably think that YouTuber more than not than an anchor with a name. I realized that there was this mistrust, and at the same time, they felt that their stories weren’t being accurately represented. That’s how BLENDtw, which stands for blend the world, was born. It was just a project foundation we created in 2017.”
Solis published the platform and collected stories around the world ranging from gun control and violence in the United States to immigration and LGBTQ issues. One of her first stories went viral, enough for her to monetize it. After that, she left CNN to freelance and focus on BLEND.
Before he really learned how to optimize his site, he fell into the trap of thinking that one viral article would sustain his vision. Quickly realizing he wasn’t going to make it, he took odd jobs to pay his bills and keep the platform afloat while he delved into the world of SEO.
Solis shares his top three SEO tips for 2023:
Focus on creating EAT content
Google values websites that demonstrate expertise, authority and trust (EAT) because their priority is to provide accurate information and answer the concerns of users searching for a specific query. Google always rewards EAT content with a higher ranking in the algorithm. This type of content includes having clear expertise in the topic you’re writing about, primary research such as data, surveys, charts and case studies, and unique images and videos that add value to the reader.
Write for people, not machines
The number one mistake new publishers make is overusing keywords in their articles. Doing this frequently can hurt your Google rankings, making it look like you’re spamming people. Instead of using the same keyword multiple times in an article, focus on using variations of that keyword.
Also, don’t rely on AI tools to write content. The quality of the content is low and will hurt your ranking. AI tools are good at telling someone how to do something, but they can’t show someone how to do something. Focus on quality content with real-life examples. Experts will be more critical next year.
Don’t ignore basic web issues
Core Web Vitals metrics are more critical than ever with Google’s latest updates, as they are a critical part of the user experience. For example, let’s say you’re trying to leverage SEO to drive organic traffic to your website. In this case, it is essential to monitor Google Search Console periodically to identify issues affecting your website pages. A url with good Core Web Vitals will give you an edge over your competitors.
First conference organized by BLENDtw to address mental health issues in college.
Courtesy of blendtw
Solis now speaks on panels to help others understand SEO and how to build their own platforms. In addition, he has started an SEO marketing company and the platform attracts millions of readers a year.
As BLEND continues to develop, it focuses on the following essential steps:
Be flexible in your pivot and how you get there. Be prepared to work hard, especially if you want to start your own business. Be willing to ask questions and ask for help from others in the industry.
“You have to offer yourself to the opportunities,” concludes Solis. “I really believe you manifest the life you want. It’s a mindset; it says, ‘I’m going to do this.’ It’s going to happen to me. But you have to put yourself out there for the opportunities; they’re not going to come to you.”
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Update: Lester Hall; Lester Holt
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