86: Is SEO Dead? Blog Strategies for 2025 with Melissa Brock

Melissa Brock is a college money expert, freelance writer, and full-time financial editor covering higher education, investing, personal finance, mortgages, college savings, insurance and more. She develops SEO plans for companies and has written SEO content for Investopedia, The Balance, HigherEducation, Rocket Mortgage, Breeze, Personal Capital, The Journal of College Admission, UNest, College Ave, College Finance, Niche, Benzinga, The Simple Dollar, Bankrate, Wealthsimple and more. She also developed her website, College Money Tips, to help families navigate the college journey.
In this episode, Melissa shares tips for using blogging and SEO for business growth in 2025. She unpacks her journey from journalism to establishing her SEO-centric blog and business, College Money Tips.
Tune in for insights on keyword research, building domain authority, and leveraging organic content to attract clients. Melissa also covers the importance of having a blogging strategy, the use of AI in content creation, and the role of backlinks.
Whether you’re a beginner or looking to enhance your blogging efforts, this episode provides so many great tips and strategies to help you succeed!
Connect with Melissa Brock:
Key Takeaways:
- (03:05) Melissa’s journey into the world of blogging and SEO
- (04:55) Starting College Money Tips and offering one-on-one services
- (07:35) The purpose of using SEO for blogging success
- (10:10) SEO tools and strategies for beginners
- (14:25) Backlinks and domain authority
- (22:15) Structuring content trees
- (29:25) How Melissa balances blogging and client work
Listen on:
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Transform Your Blog with SEO: Insights from College Money Tips’ Melissa Brock
Starting a blog can be an effective way to attract people to your business, especially if you leverage the power of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Heather sat down with Melissa Brock, founder of College Money Tips, to delve into the ins and outs of blogging and SEO.
If you’re someone who loves to write and is curious about using organic content to find your audience, you’re in the right place.
From Admissions to Blogging: Melissa’s Journey
When Melissa Brock graduated from college, she began her career in journalism, working for Chicagoland Gardening magazine. Although she didn’t have a green thumb, her love for writing propelled her through her early career.
She later pivoted to a role in college admissions, which she stayed in for twelve years, eventually becoming the Senior Associate Director of Admissions. Despite her success, Melissa missed the excitement of writing and started freelancing at night.
Her freelance career took a significant turn when she joined Benzinga, where she was introduced to the mystical world of SEO. Over time, she not only wrote SEO blog posts but also became Benzinga’s Senior Editor.
Melissa’s journey led her to open her website, College Money Tips, where she blogs and offers 1-on-1 counseling for students navigating the college admissions process.
Why SEO Matters in Blogging
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is essential for making your blog posts visible on Google. According to Melissa, the primary goal of SEO is to make sure people can find your content.
For those new to SEO, tools like RankIQ, Semrush, and Ahrefs can be game-changers. They help identify keywords, organize content, and even suggest how to structure blog posts to gain higher rankings.
Keywords are the backbone of SEO.
Melissa emphasizes using long-tail keywords—search phrases that are more specific and usually longer than standard keywords. “For example, you can’t just create a post called ‘sourdough bread’ and expect to rank,” she explains. Instead, using a phrase like “how to bake sourdough bread in the oven at 325 degrees” can yield better results.
The intention is to create content around what people are actually searching for.
Building Domain Authority and Backlinks
Domain Authority (DA) is a metric that indicates the credibility of your website in the eyes of search engines. It considers various factors including the number of backlinks—external links that point to your website.
High-quality backlinks boost your DA, which in turn improves your chances of ranking higher in Google search results.
Melissa suggests building relationships with other websites to exchange backlinks. Some bloggers get backlinks by cold emailing other content creators, while others pay for them.
However, she advises against paying for backlinks unless you’ve done your due diligence.
The Power of Content Trees and Consistency
Melissa also talks about the importance of organizing your content into what she calls “content trees.” This involves structuring your blog posts around a main keyword, which acts as the trunk of the tree, with related sub-topics serving as branches.
For instance, your main topic could be “sourdough bread,” and your branches could cover subtopics like “best flour for sourdough,” “how to store sourdough,” and so forth.
This not only helps Google understand the relationships between your posts but also makes it easier for readers to navigate your content.
Consistency is key. Ideally, you should aim to publish two to three posts a week, though Melissa admits she usually manages only one due to time constraints.
Regular updates and high-quality content can significantly affect your SEO rankings.
Leveraging AI and Time Management
In today’s fast-paced world, leveraging tools like ChatGPT for content creation can save time.
Melissa uses AI to generate draft content which she then edits to align with her unique voice. She assures that Google does not penalize for AI-generated content, as long as it is edited and polished.
Advice for Aspiring Bloggers
Melissa advises new bloggers to have a clear understanding of their objectives and the tools they will use before diving in.
“Understanding all the parts and pieces a little bit first beforehand and having a little bit of a plan” can make a significant difference.
She emphasizes the importance of being adaptable, as your blogging journey might take unexpected turns.
Blogging can be a powerful tool for growing your business, but it requires strategy and consistency. By leveraging SEO, building domain authority, and maintaining a structured content approach, you can ensure your blog stands out from the noise.