Megan Sharma's Blog: The Savvy Surgeon's Wife

The newbie’s guide to optimizing blog SEO in 10 easy steps

10/27/2017

When I first started this blog in March 2014, frankly, I was completely clueless.

At the time, I was working full time as an IT Corporate Communications Manager and was looking for a creative outlet. I could literally feel the creative juices escaping my brain and being replaced by business jargon (which is another art form, of course).

Funny enough, it was the college intern I hired to help me write corporate intranet articles who inspired me to create my own web site and online writing portfolio.

I was blown away by the fact that she even had a web site, with impressive media clips, to boot – while still in journalism school.

So, I built this web site as my digital portfolio, and launched my blog as part of it.

All I knew was that I wanted the freedom to write about whatever I wanted. The rest came with research, experience, and a knock-your-socks-off blogging course.

I’ve written this blog to help other newbies who may be struggling to get traffic to their blog, or who simply don’t understand blog SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

The following are ten straightforward blog SEO tips to increase traffic and your ranking (essentially, where you fall in Google search results).

The newbie’s guide to optimizing blog SEO in 10 easy steps

1. Determine the best keywords to use. First things first: you need to know what keywords people are using to search on subjects related to yours. Get ideas on Soovle or ubersuggest—plug in potential keywords and observe what word combinations are most popular.

2. Choose the right headline. When selecting your blog headline, incorporate your SEO keywords. You will also want to sprinkle it into your opening paragraph, in a subheading, and within the body content. Try to make it flow naturally.

3. Go for a straightforward title. Don’t go all ‘play on words’ or little-known pop culture reference in your blog title. Your title should be concrete and specific. For example:

Do this: Seattle travel guide: 10 most romantic hotels in the Emerald City
NOT this: Keep the love alive in the Emerald City

4. Images are key. Pair your blog with at least one image, preferably several interspersed throughout the text to keep interest and create white space. The main header image should include the title of the blog to make your content more sharable, and more likely to be seen.

5. Create your own high-quality graphics for free. You can use free tools from Canva and Pablo to design your own graphics, and free stock photos from Visual Hunt and Pexels.

6. Encourage social sharing. Include visible social sharing links to encourage readers to share your blog with others. If your platform doesn’t include automated sharing, create your own free HTML sharing code to embed in your blog here or try the free Sumo plugin.

7. Add categories. Tag at least one category to each of your blogs to help readers find content of interest. Like with blog headlines, this should be down to earth, not ethereal.

8. Leverage your platform’s SEO settings. Find the SEO settings on your blogging platform and add appropriate keywords and descriptions to each blog entry. These will often be located in the advanced settings for each individual blog post.

9. You may also like…Take the guesswork out of related content for your readers. Automate this if you can. Otherwise, copy and paste the most relevant links to your blogs on similar topics.

10. Leave a final impression. If someone makes it to the end of your blog and they like what they read, now is the time to keep their interest. Design a graphic to include at the end of each blog with a succinct call to action, such as subscribing to your blog RSS feed or email list, or connecting on social media. An image with text overlay pointing to a link works well.

See? Now you’re no longer a blog SEO newbie. Best of blogging to you!

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15 Incredible Thanksgiving Hacks that Save Time and Energy

10/20/2017

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Thanksgiving is child’s play, right?

You simply prepare and serve a harvest-themed feast for a massive group of ‘eclectic’ relatives while keeping your home spotless and your children off the America’s Most Wanted list.

You tastefully decorate in shades of burnt sienna and copper. You burn pumpkin spice latte scented candles.

You do NOT burn your house down. I repeat – do not burn your house down. This is not part of the plan. Keep a watchful eye on that oven.

Each of your seven gourmet, scratch-made pies are ready to go before your guests arrive.

You, dear hostess, have already showered and even bothered to put on lipstick and some jewelry. The host donned a pair of pants. You’re ready to rock.

Even though more than half of your guests never officially RSVP’d, you’re prepared.

There is seating for everyone, including the dogs that are apparently coming to dinner. Because…these dogs cannot be left alone. Whatever.

All that is left to do is enjoy lively, non-political conversation and bask in the glow of your own awesomeness?

Ummm…Yeah…If you didn’t detect my overwhelming sarcasm, I’ll let you in on the secret: Thanksgiving only goes like this in your dreams!

Here are 15 awesome Thanksgiving hacks that save time and energy – For REAL people

1. Get thee a bucket.
Visit any home improvement store to purchase a 5-gallon all-purpose bucket, which you can use to brine your turkey for ultimate flavor satisfaction. Just don’t use your bucket for this, for the love of God. And check ahead of time that the bucket fits inside your fridge, or plan to store it in your garage if temperatures are cold enough.

2. Chop your chopping time.
Rather than spending hours chopping everything yourself, visit the fanciest grocery store salad bar you can find and load up on pre-chopped goodness: onions, celery, peppers, bacon, whatever you need.

3. Sleep on it.
Set your Thanksgiving table the night before, so you’re not scrambling at the last minute. You can also do this with your Thanksgiving dinner outfit by choosing and then laying it out.

4. Print to prep.
Print all your recipes before T-Day, and arrange them in order of preparation timing. You may even like to secure the printouts to your kitchen cabinets with painter’s tape to keep the flow going while you cook.

5. Got fridge space?
When you’re feeding a crowd, it’s tough to find enough space to stow all that food until meal time. If you don’t have an extra refrigerator to act as a pinch hitter, lug out your summer cooler and fill it with pre-prepped Thanksgiving food or any food currently taking up too much room in your fridge.

6. Put your crockpot(s) to work.
Your slow cooker is a great place to stash those perfectly buttery mashed potatoes or sugary sweet potatoes in a warm and cozy environment without sacrificing a stovetop burner. You could even warm green beans or stuffing in the crockpot on keep warm mode.

7. You’d butter try this.
Oh yeah, I went there. Instead of manually cutting in butter for biscuits and pie crusts, grate that butter stick right into the mix.

8. Roll with it.
My mom taught me this trick (because she is THE GREATEST!). To roll perfect pie or biscuit dough without the mess, grab a piece of parchment paper about the size you’ll eventually want the pie to be, and put it on top of your dough ball. Then roll it out with the parchment between the rolling pin and the dough. It works like a charm.

9. Create your own pie weights.
If you’re baking pie, you will need some sort of pie weight to prevent the shell from puffing up during pre-baking. Pie weights are expensive and rarely used. Instead, line the dough with foil or wax paper and use dried beans, uncooked rice or uncooked pasta to do the job.

10. Get a jump on dessert.
It’s just not realistic to have fresh pies right out of the oven after you’ve already cooked enough for the whole neighborhood. Make your pumpkin or pecan pies a day or two ahead of time and keep refrigerated. You can do the same with cranberry sauce. On the big day, remove from the fridge and let the pies come to room temperature.

11. Make an organic turkey rack.
You don’t need a fancy-schmancy roasting rack for your turkey. Elevate your poultry on a chunky bed of carrots, celery and quartered onions. The flavor addition is a nice bonus.

12. Keep that gravy warm.
This is pure genius: keep that luscious gravy warm in an insulated mug/thermos until serving time, then transfer it to a gravy boat.

13. Save your dry bird.
If you overdid it on the turkey, don’t beat yourself up. Just drizzle it with warm chicken broth to bring back moisture and add flavor.

14. Pretend your guests are your temporary personal assistants. Think of a few easy, out-of-the-way tasks that can be done by guests who (inevitably) ask how they can help. Examples: filling water glasses, opening wine bottles, taking coats and purses to a designated area, passing appetizers, entertaining kids, smuggling vodka to you on the sly. What? Who said that?

15. Get your gourd on.
No official ice bucket for your white or sparkling wine? Carve out the inside of a pumpkin (no, not your spongy Halloween leftovers—a fresh one, dude). Throw a glass or metal bowl in there if it will fit. Add ice. Add alcohol. Voila! Festive pumpkin ice bucket.

Onward, Thanksgiving experts! On this day, ye shall reign supreme.

What Thanksgiving tips and tricks do you swear by? Leave a comment!

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Cruise with kids: 20 secrets to a successful family cruise with toddlers (baby/toddler travel guide series)

9/18/2017

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Dreaming of a family cruise? You’ve come to the right place.

We recently took our first cruise as a family from Seattle to Alaska, and it was spectacular!

Since I love to share family travel tips, I’m spilling all our seafaring secrets on the subject.

First, check out my advice for nabbing a killer deal and for entertaining your toddler on your cruise.

Now, here are 20 more secrets to totally nailing your family cruise experience:

Planning your trip
1. Request a Pack N Play or portable crib for your room, if you need one.

2. Choose open seating for dinner. Some nights you’ll end up at the buffet, some you will make it to the formal dining room (call ahead for reservations). And other nights you may be seasick and order room service (been there, done that!).

3. Splurge on a room with a balcony so that you can sit outside and revel while your toddler naps or sleeps for the night (be sure to bring an audio monitor).

4. Bring your e-reader so that you can read in the dark while your toddler snoozes.

5. Keep your kiddo’s stuff organized with packing cubes like the ones from Eagle Creek. We use these for every trip for our daughter and for ourselves! Simply throw them in the closet or drawer and you won’t have to worry about piles of clothes forming everywhere.

6. Pack a favorite blanket or stuffed animal to help nap and bed time go more smoothly.

7. Bring a lightweight and compact stroller for excursions and walks around town. We currently use the Chico Liteway stroller and used the Summer Infant 3D Lite stroller when our daughter was younger. The Summer Infant model is perfect for younger, lighter kids but the Chico works better after 18 months or so, and handles better on corners.

Food and milk
8. The easiest way to get your toddler’s milk is to grab a few cartons from the buffet once or twice a day, and then store them in your in-room fridge. On Holland America Line, they keep the milk out at the breakfast buffet, and then at lunch and dinner you can ask for it at the ice cream station.

9. You could also order milk via room service (although this generally takes 30-45 minutes).

10. If you’re grabbing a latte for yourself, you can also get milk from the café.

11. Make peace with the fact that your kid is going to consume a ton of sugar, as will you. Just try to avoid it right before sleeping time.

12. That said, chocolate milk or the chocolates from your nightly turndown service can be your biggest bargaining chips with your toddler!

While on board
13. Take advantage of toddler nap time by getting some reading or work done, or snooze along with them.

14. If your child is not yet potty-trained, beware that Holland America Line has zero changing tables in bathrooms, at least on the Oosterdam ship. When it was time for a diaper change, we went back to our room every time.

15. Don’t expect to catch any of the evening entertainment (8:00 pm or later), unless you have babysitters traveling with you or the cruise line offers babysitting services.

16. Use the on-board laundry services to pack lighter. For $20 on Holland America Line, you get a fully stuffed bag and each piece is promptly washed, dried and ironed to perfection.

17. If the dining room is too crowded or you need a change of scenery, plan to eat by the pool.

18. Your toddler will love the towel animals created by your room stewards. See if they can guess which animal they’ll meet next.

19. Take family photos on board, but expect some your toddler to make silly faces in them.

20. Even if you don’t like to go crazy with shopping, you can look for a special book that your child will treasure for years to come, like “Goodnight Alaska”, and you can always find room in your suitcase and budget for magnets.

All set to go exploring? Me, too! See you on the flip side.

*Author’s note: these opinions are my own based on my personal experiences. I have not been paid to endorse any businesses, products or services in this blog

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Cruise with kids: Entertainment strategies that keep the whole family happy (baby/toddler travel guide series)

9/7/2017

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Keeping a toddler entertained. No easy task, without the help of a tablet.

Fear not, parents everywhere! You CAN find fun for the whole family on your cruise!

Now that you’ve snagged a super deal on your cruise adventure, you’re ready to start planning your itinerary and building your arsenal of things to do.

Ideas and Tips for Entertaining a Toddler on a Cruise

Children’s activities and programs vary significantly by cruise line. Disney cruises, for example, offer character experiences, waterslides, themed deck parties, and more. Most other cruise lines are not as kiddo-centric as Disney.

We recently took a cruise to Alaska on Holland America Line (HAL). Holland America offers Club HAL, a supervised space for children ages 3-17 with age-appropriate activities and toys. Unfortunately, we could not take advantage of this free offering, since our daughter isn’t yet three. We asked the staff if we could allow our daughter to play in the club space while we watched her, but they said it was against corporate policy. Bummer.

Since we couldn’t use the Club HAL space and there was no playground on the ship, we had to get creative to keep our daughter happy and active on board.

A few things we did that worked well

Sought out interesting and varied common spaces
Frequented the observation deck and café (Explorations Café on HAL), which featured an assortment of board games and books (our daughter loved Connect Four and looking through the oversized coffee table photo books)
Walked on deck three (loop around the ship)
Pawned her off on Grandma and Grandpa for a change of scenery (highly recommend this—it kept everyone happy!)
Slowly revealed new small toys, like stickers, coloring books, a Rubik’s Cube, etc.
Read and read and read and read. Our daughter loves books, so we were constantly reading to her on our trip. I bought a few new lightweight paperbacks, which are lighter than board books, and therefore easier to travel with.

What didn’t work

We knew that the children’s pool on board was covered and heated, so we planned to pass the lazy afternoons swimming. That did NOT work out for us—it was simply too cold! We tried one day, and we were shivering in a pool that should have been at least 10 degrees warmer. If we had been in the Caribbean, it would have been a different story. Don’t bother swimming on an Alaskan cruise (of course, adults can hit the hot tub).

Another idea for next time

We didn’t take advantage of the basketball courts or ping pong tables on board. There’s always next time!

Planning excursions

Assume you will want to leave the ship. Exploring ports is one of the best parts of the experience.
Check out the descriptions of all available excursions before you set off. See your cruise line web site for details. It’s best to book ahead, especially for popular outings and those with limited capacity.
We were fairly light on excursions on this 7-night Alaska cruise. We specifically avoided scheduling every minute of our time, as you never know when a meltdown or long nap is going to occur.
Generally, we avoided any excursions that were more than two hours in length.
We considered nap and meal times in our planning.
We carefully evaluated the safety of the activities for a toddler. If you have questions, feel free to contact your cruise line’s customer service professionals.
We pinpointed activities that we could easily do on our own at our leisure, like eating at a crab shack in Juneau when we felt like it, rather than booking a crab feast that we would have to be bused to.
Here’s what we actually did in Alaska: the Mount Roberts Tramway in Juneau (suitable for all ages), and the Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan (1 hour 15 mins, enjoyable for everyone). My husband and I also did a sea kayaking trip in Sitka while my parents watched our daughter.

Photo by Megan Sharma. We grabbed some delicious, fresh halibut fish tacos at the Alaska Fish House in Ketchikan while it dumped rain outside

What to do when you’re desperate
We don’t allow screen time for our toddler unless she’s on a plane or train, or if it’s a special occasion like a party.

But if you’re desperate for a way to calm your toddler, HAL has en-suite smart TVs that feature an impressive selection of kids’ movies, including “Moana”, “Sing”, “Finding Dory”, “Pets”, and more. The interface was incredibly easy to use.

You may also want to bring a tablet.

Easy as pie, right?

Photo by Megan Sharma. Tracy's Crab Shack in Juneau. Amazing!!

Next Time: Secrets to a Successful Family Cruise with Toddlers.

In the final installment of this series, I will reveal the remaining de-classified tips for having a blast on your family cruise.

*Author’s note: these opinions are my own based on my personal experiences. I have not been paid to endorse any businesses, products or services in this blog

You may also like these blogs by Megan Sharma:
Cruise with kids: Travel tips for cruising with toddlers (baby/toddler travel guide series)
Baby/toddler travel guide series: going international
Baby/toddler travel guide series: what to pack
Baby/toddler travel guide series: the essentials!
Vacation time! Why I’m actually vacationing on my vacation
Vacation fun: 44 things you only do when you're on vacation or holiday
Travel: Insider’s guide to the best Seattle outdoor activities
Your insider Seattle trip planner: lodging (where to stay) and getting around (rental car or no rental car?)
An insider’s guide to Seattle’s Pike Place Market
60 fun and unique date ideas for the young at heart
Parenting: A no-fuss guide to your toddler’s birthday party for Pinterest-fatigued parents
What I never expected about Midwest living
How to be the perfect friend: a guide for the ladies
One year after my major career change from full-time mom to full-time writer: reflections and lessons learned

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Cruise with kids: Travel tips for cruising with toddlers (baby/toddler travel guide series)

8/31/2017

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Ya’ll! We just returned from the most dazzling family vacation: a cruise from Seattle to Alaska!

We saw dozens of whales throughout the trip (Humpbacks and Orcas), thousands of jellyfish while kayaking a hidden cove in Sitka, and a handful of majestic Bald Eagles in the wild. The massive Hubbard Glacier was breath-taking. It was all pretty drool-worthy, I must admit.

Photo by Megan Sharma. Secret kayaking launch point in Sitka, Alaska.

Photo by Megan Sharma. View of the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska.

As usual, we brought along our toddler, who has already accompanied us to Spain, Ireland and Mexico, but who had yet to board a cruise ship.

In this blog series, I’ll share everything I learned from the experience of cruising with a toddler.

Cruise with kids: Travel tips for cruising with toddlers

Part 1: Get the Best Cruise Deal

IMPORTANT: Before you book anything, check the age requirements of the cruise line you are considering. Most will only accept children six months and older as of the first day of the cruise. For some itineraries, such as transatlantic, transpacific, Hawaii, or otherwise, children must be at least 12 months of age at the start of the cruise.

Also check any passport requirements. If your cruise docks outside of the U.S. or its territories, you and your children will need a passport. See my advice on traveling internationally with your baby or toddler here.

Obviously, you’ll want to secure the very best deal for your cruise. I subscribe to Travelzoo, which features Top 20 deals every Wednesday. This is how I found our Alaskan cruise on Holland America for a fantastic price with tons of bonuses, through Prestige Cruises.

To be honest, I was initially nervous about booking through Prestige Cruises, since I hadn’t heard of them and the package almost seemed too good to be true. However, I was assured by Travelzoo that all their deals are verified.

So, we made out like bandits: upgrade from a balcony to a signature suite, two free beverage packages (normally $700/person), free gratuities, third and fourth guest free (this paid for our toddler), and a whopping $350 in on board credits, which can be used for spa treatments, photography, excursions, and more. Normally, you’d be lucky to get $200 in on board credits.

I recommend holding out for that third and fourth guest free promotion, otherwise you will have to pay for your children separately at the same price as an adult.

You can also take advantage of Wave Season deals, which typically run between January and March. Last-minute deals can also add immense value to your experience.

Next Time: Plan Toddler Activities and Entertainment for your Cruise

Watch for Part 2 of this series, which will outline strategies for keeping your toddler happy and busy on board!

Photo by Megan Sharma. Downtown Juneau, Alaska.

*Author’s note: these opinions are my own based on my personal experiences. I have not been paid to endorse any businesses, products or services in this blog

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It's Here! Get My Free E-Book: 100 of Your Toughest Business Emails: Solved on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks and more

8/12/2017

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I am happy to announce that my new e-book, 100 of Your Toughest Business Emails: Solved: Plug and Play Ideas From a Seasoned Corporate Communications Manager, is now available in a number of digital formats!

Here's the skinny on the book:

Even the savviest office workers struggle with awkward, sticky and downright tricky business emails. How do I politely tell a colleague that their request isn’t my job? What do I say when I’m behind schedule or over budget? What if I hate working with that person? 100 of Your Toughest Business Emails: Solved has all these answers, and more, from an experienced Corporate Communications Manager (yours truly).

Cool! Where can I find it?

Grab a FREE copy of my e-book on these platforms:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Apple iBooks
Kobo
Smashwords
Blio

Yup, I'm an Amazon author! Dream come true! Feel free to check out my Amazon author page.

One more quick thing before you go.

If you want the downloadable, printable version of this e-book to stash in your desk (in case of communications emergency), click here. It's exclusively available to my weekly email subscribers.

You may also like these blogs by Megan Sharma:
Business Email Etiquette: 50 Things You Should Never Say in a Work Email
Vacation fun: 44 things you only do when you're on vacation or holiday
On The Write Life: 34 Ways to Stay Busy (and Productive) While You Wait for Your Book Release
On The Write Life: 17 Incredible Possibilities if Writers Ran The World
On The Write Life: Get Inspired! 20 Writers to Follow on Twitter
Article on The Write Life: Think Like a Journalist to Improve Your Writing (Trench Coat Optional!)
How to be the perfect friend: a guide for the ladies
Writing tips: What I want to blog about vs. what I actually blog about
One year after my major career change from full-time mom to full-time writer: reflections and lessons learned
For writers: All your writing fears, squashed!
A real, imperfect day in the life of a writer: me
Your writing conference checklist: how to make it worth every minute and every penny (takeaways from the 2017 San Francisco Writers Conference)
The write stuff: An author’s favorite books and authors
Writing tips: Cutting down on word fat and other newsletter best practices
All about writing: writing 'til it hurts

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The newbie’s guide to optimizing blog SEO in 10 easy steps

15 Incredible Thanksgiving Hacks that Save Time and Energy

Cruise with kids: 20 secrets to a successful family cruise with toddlers (baby/toddler travel guide series)

Cruise with kids: Entertainment strategies that keep the whole family happy (baby/toddler travel guide series)

Cruise with kids: Travel tips for cruising with toddlers (baby/toddler travel guide series)

It's Here! Get My Free E-Book: 100 of Your Toughest Business Emails: Solved on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks and more

The Savvy Surgeon's Wife Blog

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The newbie’s guide to optimizing blog SEO in 10 easy steps

15 Incredible Thanksgiving Hacks that Save Time and Energy

Cruise with kids: 20 secrets to a successful family cruise with toddlers (baby/toddler travel guide series)

Cruise with kids: Entertainment strategies that keep the whole family happy (baby/toddler travel guide series)

Cruise with kids: Travel tips for cruising with toddlers (baby/toddler travel guide series)

It's Here! Get My Free E-Book: 100 of Your Toughest Business Emails: Solved on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks and more

The Savvy Surgeon's Wife Blog

Categories

Archives

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