Web + Wins #20 Takeover 4/4: The Strategy That Built My Business (It's Free)
Takeover 4/4 by Jade Pruett, HelloSEO + MetaMonster
This Week's Update
When I started HelloSEO as a side hustle, I couldn't do much marketing. I was working full-time, building in the margins, and didn't have the budget or bandwidth for ads or a big content strategy. What I could do was get on Zoom with people.
So that's what I did.
When I was first getting started, I did 68 coffee chats in a month through the Entreprenista community. Sixty-eight. I made a ton of new friends, and somewhere along the way, those conversations built a referral network that I still rely on today. Now whenever someone in any of my communities mentions needing SEO help, I get tagged in the post… sometimes ten times. It's the best feeling.
Here's the thing about coffee chats: they don't scale the way content or ads do, but the relationships they create do. Every client I've ever signed, I can trace back to a conversation. It’s truly my favorite part of being an entrepreneur.
If you're early in your business and you're not sure where to start with marketing, start there. Get plugged into one or two communities that make sense for your industry, and then say yes to as many conversations as you can. You'll be surprised how quickly the network compounds.
Get a Web Win: On-Page SEO and Why It's the Foundation of Everything
On-page SEO is exactly what it sounds like: the stuff on your actual website pages that tells Google what you do and who you serve.
Most people think of SEO as something that happens off their site (links, reviews, listings). Those things matter. But if your on-page fundamentals aren't right, none of the other work lands the way it should.
Here's what to check on every important page of your site:
Title tag. This is the clickable headline that shows up in search results. It should include your main keyword and be under 60 characters. "Therapist in Columbia SC | [Practice Name]" is good. "Welcome to our website!" is not.
Meta description. The short description under your title tag in search results. It doesn't directly affect rankings, but it affects whether someone clicks. Make it specific and give them a reason to visit.
One H1 per page. Your H1 is your main page heading. Every page should have exactly one, and it should clearly describe what the page is about — with your keyword in it.
Body copy that actually answers something. Google wants pages that serve the person searching. Thin, vague copy ("We're passionate about helping you heal") doesn't give Google much to work with. Specific, useful content does.
Internal links. Link to other relevant pages on your site. It helps Google understand your site structure and keeps visitors moving through your content.
A quick audit of your top five pages against this list will tell you a lot about where you're leaving opportunities on the table.
And yes, this is exactly what MetaMonster was built to make easier. If you're a web designer or marketing agency managing SEO across multiple clients, it's worth a look, it pulls all of this together so you're not auditing page by page in a spreadsheet.
Convo Corner: Roberta Moore
I met Roberta through The Dames in Charleston, and she's been one of the more memorable connections to come out of that community.
Roberta is an EQ (emotional intelligence) coach, and she has one of the coolest tools I've come across in a while: an EQ GPT that you can actually use to explore your own personality. I tried it, and it revealed things about how I think and operate that I found genuinely useful. Not in a vague horoscope way. In a "oh, that explains a lot" way.
If you're into self-awareness and want to understand yourself a little better as a leader or business owner, I'd really recommend giving it a try.
Learn more about Roberta here: https://www.eqicoach.com/
Let's Talk
That's a wrap for my takeover month! Dana will be back next week.
Want more free SEO tips? Submit an SEO Report Card on my website, and I’ll make you a video going over your current SEO and how you can improve it!
Get your free SEO Report Card here and let's connect on LinkedIn!
– Jade
