Keywords

These can also be understood as the thematic niche or domain of a blog website.

Take Reddit, for instance: it functions as a forum. Or Hacker News: it serves as an information aggregator. Both possess a very distinct and clear theme.

If you want to generate substantial website traffic, you must maintain a high degree of consistency across all elements—from the website title and meta-description to the actual content, and even the domain name itself. The goal is to ensure that, at a single glance, visitors immediately understand what the site is about—whether it’s a tech blog, a pet blog, a medical blog, a personal finance blog, or an SEO blog.

Let’s take SEO as an example: the relevant keywords would include terms such as “search engines,” “SEO,” “GEO,” “AEO,” “paid promotion,” “Google Webmasters,” and so on.

Search Intent

Think back for a moment: what was the last thing you searched for on Google?

For instance, right now I am searching for “open-source AI projects,” “video-to-3D conversion,” and “Gaussian Splatting” (a newly released open-source project), as these are topics that currently interest me.

At the same time, I am also searching for terms like “blog SEO,” “SEO tutorials,” “Google SEO,” and “how to get traffic from Google.”

I also find myself searching for questions such as: “How do I apply for Google AdSense?” “When is the best time to apply for Google AdSense?” “How much can a blog earn per day via Google AdSense?” and “What kind of content should I write for my blog?” If you’ve forgotten what you were interested in, you can check the search bar on your Google homepage; click to view your search history—including your history on YouTube and Reddit.

If you’re unsure what to write about, start with your own personal records—much like I am doing right now as I organize the SEO strategy for my website.

Non-Expert Perspective

I watched a few SEO tutorials today. I picked up a few useful tips, but nothing groundbreaking; they certainly didn’t magically boost my website traffic overnight. In fact, after watching for a little while, I actually fell asleep.

I prefer not to spend my time actively brainstorming keywords and topics. Instead of relying on pure speculation, I believe it’s better to let the data speak for itself—to use data to conduct tests. Specifically, this involves checking the backend data in Google Search Console (which reveals exactly which keywords triggered impressions and how many times they appeared).

As I mentioned in a few of my previous posts, the keywords that have generated the most impressions for my site over the past month are “Raspberry Pi” and “Digital Nomad”—or, to be more precise, the specific intersection of the two: “how digital nomads use Raspberry Pi.”

My current strategy is to update my blog posts whenever the mood strikes me, while simultaneously studying relevant website SEO techniques. I identify the most critical SEO concepts, put them into practice, and document my learning process directly on my blog as I go. This ensures that I never have to worry about my blog running out of fresh content.

Since my long-term plan for this blog involves generating revenue through Google Ads, affiliate commissions, and eventually paid memberships or e-books, mastering Google SEO is an absolute necessity for me. And what better way to learn a skill than to document the entire journey as you go?

I intend to publish content across various topics whenever I feel inspired to do so. Afterward, I’ll check my backend keyword data; whichever topics show the most promising metrics are the ones I’ll focus on updating further. I’m letting the hard data guide every decision.

Furthermore, website SEO is a marketable skill in its own right. If I can successfully grow and manage this blog, it demonstrates that I have the capability to manage other similar websites—whether that means launching a second site of my own, teaching friends and family how to run their own blogs, or offering paid consulting services.

A Quick Side Note

I’ve been working as a frontend web developer for ten years, yet I still haven’t managed to generate any significant independent income from my development work.

I’ve been writing a technical blog for a decade as well, and my current earnings from Google Ads amount to a grand total of just $9.00.

My point is this: frontend web development is a field with relatively low hardware requirements. You can debug and develop directly within your web browser; all you really need is an inexpensive laptop and a power outlet to start building your own web applications. It allows for unlimited trial-and-error, and it offers a vast array of potential commercial applications.

The same applies to running a blog or mastering website SEO. Although we are currently living in the era of short-form videos and live streaming, there remain massive opportunities in areas such as cross-border e-commerce and AI… Websites and blogs remain an indispensable part of the internet ecosystem, as well as a vital component of the business landscape. Moreover, they require nothing more than a simple laptop—allowing you to handle everything using just a keyboard.

Compared to video production, this is a far simpler undertaking.

Both activities are ideally suited for working from home—specifically at night—where you can quietly type away at your keyboard without disturbing anyone else.