Learning SEO for EnergyDrinkRatings.com

A Tale of Traffic, Triumph, and a Guy Named Dave

When I first launched EnergyDrinkRatings.com (EDR), I had big dreams. I imagined energy drink enthusiasts flocking to the site, clicking through my meticulously crafted articles, and saying, “Wow, this is exactly what I needed!”

Spoiler alert: that’s not how it happened.

The content was there, sure. But the traffic? Not so much. It was like throwing a party and forgetting to send out the invites. That’s when I realized I needed a crash course in SEO (Search Engine Optimization)—a term that, at the time, sounded like techy gibberish.

Enter Steph Smith’s Internet Pipes and the magic of asking for help.

The Internet Pipes Moment: Help, Please!

I stumbled into Internet Pipes, a community run by Steph Smith, because I’d heard great things about its mix of knowledge and support. I listen to the Podcast MyFirstMillion, and Steph has been on several times.

After lurking for a bit (as you do), I finally got up the nerve to post a question: “How do I drive traffic to my website?”

I wasn’t expecting much. Maybe a polite reply or two, maybe some links to articles I wouldn’t understand. Instead, I got a good deal of responses—and one of them stood out. A guy named DaveLin replied, offering to help. Little did I know, this was the start of my SEO glow-up.

DaveLin’s SEO Crash Course: Blogging for Humans and Search Engines

Dave wasn’t just helpful; he was patient (a necessity when dealing with me asking “Wait, but what does that mean?” every five seconds). He walked me through the essentials of blogging and SEO, breaking it down into digestible bites—kind of like a low-sugar energy drink for my brain.

Here’s what I learned:

Write for Real People: Sure, keywords are important, but at the end of the day, you’re writing for humans, not robots. For EDR, that meant embracing my conversational tone and diving deep into topics readers actually care about, like hydration, pre-workout comparisons, and the occasional fun fact about caffeine.
Long-Form Content Wins: Apparently, Google loves it when you go big. Long, detailed posts that answer questions comprehensively have a better shot at ranking. Hence the epic articles like “Energy Drinks vs. Pre-Workout Supplements” (because who doesn’t want 2,500 words about taurine and electrolytes?).
Blogging Is a Marathon: Posting consistently and building trust takes time. It’s not about going viral overnight—it’s about showing up, writing well, and letting the magic of SEO do its thing.

Watching EDR Grow: Small Wins, Big Smiles

Thanks to Dave’s advice, our little website started to grow. Slowly but surely, traffic increased. My posts began ranking higher in search results. And for the first time, I felt like I was building something people actually wanted to read.

You can see here the posting I did with blog posts.

I’m planning to include some charts here showing just how much the site has grown (spoiler: I don’t have exact numbers handy right now, but it’s looking good!). The traffic trend? Up. The engagement? Better than I could’ve hoped.

The biggest win? Readers are reaching out with questions, feedback, and the occasional “This site is awesome!” Honestly, it’s the caffeine-free energy boost I didn’t know I needed.

Also, the part that people don’t mention often is that your work compounds. It starts off and you can see growth associated with the times I posted, but you can also see while the growth declines when I am not posting (October I got married and it was my birthday!), it never goes all the way back down to 0.

Your efforts of the past are continuing to build even when you need to take a break. This is HUGE news and something that will be very helpful in the long-term sustainability of this project of ours.

This SEO journey has only been five months in the making, and results are already screaming for themselves. With another year of effort, I cannot imagine where the site will be.

Why This Journey Feels Different

Learning SEO didn’t just improve my website—it made me a better writer. I’m now more focused on crafting content that’s useful, engaging, and fun. I’m also more intentional about connecting with readers (and yes, Google’s algorithm).

And let’s be real: it also gave me a new appreciation for the Internet Pipes community. Without that group—and without Dave—I’d still be scratching my head, wondering why no one was visiting EDR.

Takeaways for Aspiring Bloggers

If you’re starting a website or blog, here’s my advice:

Find Your People: Whether it’s Internet Pipes or another community, surround yourself with folks who’ve been there, done that.
Ask for Help: Posting that question about traffic was one of the smartest things I’ve done.
Be Patient: SEO is a slow burn, but the results are worth it.
Keep Learning: There’s always more to explore, whether it’s new content ideas or tools to optimize your site.

A Final Word (or Two)

EnergyDrinkRatings.com is growing, and I couldn’t be prouder. It’s been a wild ride of trial, error, and a lot of Googling “What is a meta tag?” But the journey has been worth every caffeine-fueled moment.

To Steph Smith, Internet Pipes, and DaveLin: thank you for lighting the way.

And to my readers: thank YOU for joining me on this adventure. Here’s to more energy, more growth, and—of course—more reviews.