Alaena Haber started her health food blog, Grazed and Enthused, back in May 2014 and has watched her fan base explode over the past few years. She originally created the Wix website as a place to share healthy recipes, a tad of sarcasm and tips for wholesome living, never imagining that it would become such an unqualified success! Today, the blog has grown into an income-generating business that lets her work from home and spend time with her daughter, Grace.
The SEO Hero Behind the Biz: Alaena Haber
Alaena Haber is a registered occupational therapist, a blogger, a chef and the author of The Healing Kitchen. Since discovering at age 19 that she suffers from Hashimoto’s disease (an autoimmune condition that affects the thyroid), Alaena has learned how to manage her disorder by eating healthy and reducing stress. She created Grazed and Enthused to share what she has learned with others.
The blog is jam-packed with paleo, AIP (“Autoimmune Protocol”) and grain-free recipes, all designed “to offer creative and flavorful dishes for food lovers and health seekers.” Alaena’s goal is to attract tons of reader to her site with compelling, informative content and then, in turn, to encourage them to shop for one of the several products that she markets on her site.
How does Alaena’s Business Work?
Alaena let us know that SEO is the primary source of traffic to her site and as an affiliate marketer - traffic means everything! She earns a small commission for every sale that is made indirectly through her website. Through a combination of fantastic content, delicious recipes and savvy SEO, Alaena has created a hot-spot on the web for her target market. And who are they?
The Grazed and Enthused Audience
Alaena writes on her website about healthy living and wholesome cooking, keeping in mind her loyal readers and their interests. Her typical fans are 18 to 65-year-old females who care about healthy eating and taking care of their bodies. She told us that, like her, many of them suffer from autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto’s. Her tips help give them tools to manage their illnesses with a stress-free lifestyle and smart eating habits.
Why Alaena Chose Wix
When Alaena started her website, she could have used any platform. But she chose Wix and has never looked back! She loves that Wix makes it easy to create and manage a beautiful site. In fact, she thinks that her design is one important way she has been able to set herself apart from similar blogs - by offering a website that “is visually appealing and well-organized.”
SEO Hero Secrets: How Alaena Built a Following With Wix
Alaena built up her blog through smart SEO - and she did it all herself. She hasn’t enlisted any professional SEO support, but instead takes advantage of the many tools offered by Wix, including the SEO Wizard, the Wix SEO Settings and the Site Booster App.
When she started the blog, Alaena researched and selected keywords for her website. She uses them throughout her content, as image alt text, as H1 headers and in her page titles and descriptions. By targeting terms like AIP recipes, AIP diet recipes and Paleo autoimmune recipes, Alaena has tapped into a niche market and earned a large and dedicated following. While her niche is specific, she told us that “my search terms are comprehensive and generalized enough to attract a large audience.”
A big source of Alaena’s traffic is what she describes as her “uber-targeted articles.” She told us that she has articles about histamine intolerance and budget-friendly recipes that bring in a large percentage of her traffic. In fact, up to 50% of her traffic comes organically straight from Google. She says she can’t believe “how quickly my blog grew from unsearchable to the #1 Google rank in my category within a few months of blogging.”
Earning Loyal Readers!
Alaena is also incredibly adept at turning clicks from Google into dedicated fans. That’s because her fun writing style and delicious recipes are perfectly answering the needs of her site visitors! It’s no wonder she is ranking first for many AIP-related terms! It’s because in addition to being an SEO hero, Alaena is also a hero for many people out there looking to combat their autoimmune disease through a healthy diet.
She updates her website constantly with articles that let her personality shine through! She told us that over the years, her “blog readers feel they know me well and can trust my product reviews and opinions.” She has been able to channel her fans readers to her social media profiles as well and has an engaged following on Facebook (11,363 fans!) and on Instagram (21,000 followers!) Clearly, Aleana is doing something very right!
Thrilled With Her SEO Success!
When it comes to SEO, Alaena couldn’t be happier! She told us, “I have grown my business from a blog that brought in absolutely no income to a blog that brings in enough income to allow me be a stay-at-home mom to my daughter. I also received a cookbook contract within 10 months of starting my blog which is incredibly rare.”
Meet Alaena,
a Real Wix SEO Hero and Founder of Grazed and Enthused
