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Blogging for SEO – Medic Update

I’ve been writing a lot lately, but you may not have seen it. I’ve been writing for a client located in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

I write several posts each month for them. The focus is on improving their website’s search engine optimization (SEO). Their website was already ranking highly for a few select keywords before I began working with them, but their ranking could still be improved. I’m helping increase the number of search terms they rank for, without damaging the high performance of their current rankings.

Blogging For SEO

A lot of people promote blogging for SEO. I’m one of them! And it’s exactly what I’m doing to improve my client’s search rankings. Blogging is a great way to help your site maintain high ranking pages, increase the number of search terms you rank for in search results and provide updates or helpful advice to readers.

…but it comes with risk!

You can’t just know current SEO tactics. You also have to learn the why behind them. You need to understand why search engines, like Google, prioritize rankings and the direction of where they’re heading. If you don’t have a full understanding of why and how search engines are ranking websites, you may be writing content (blog posts) that will dramatically hurt your website and potentially your business. The recent “medic” update is a great example of this can occur.

Google’s Medic Update

In August 2018, Google rolled out the “Medic Update”. A broad core search engine optimization algorithm update. Here’s what Google had to say about it…

A little too broad to understand? They also let us know, “There’s no “fix” for pages that may perform less well other than to remain focused on building great content. Over time, it may be that your content may rise relative to other pages.”

…and sadly that’s the best advice they can really give us.

(yes, the tweet is from March. That’s when Google first announced the update but the results hit most powerfully in August.)

How the Medic Update Impacted Websites

We learned the most about the “Medic Update” by simply watching who was affected most by the update as it rolled out.

We quickly learned that websites that frequently talked about medical, health care and even skincare products and services were greatly impacted – hence the name “Medic Update” began being used by those working in the search engine optimization industry.

While health care related websites were the most impacted, it was a core algorithm update. This means every website, all on topics, are impacted by this update. The industries that saw the largest changes covered life-impacting topics or topics that may be emotionally motivated or decisions that can be changed based on emotion: health, travel, gambling, food and drink, finance, and home goods.

Google’s focus was (and always is) to improve the results users receive.

To me, it appeared as though Google was trying to limit websites that may push very biased or even misleading information to those who may be in the middle of a large decision (physical and mental health help, large purchases, etc).

How the Medic Update impacted my client

My client isn’t in the medical industry (the highest impacted industry). They are a part of the travel industry – another industry highly impacted by the medic update. Here’s the difference we saw in 1 day in early August during the rollout of the medic update.

  • My Client: +4.39% in search rankings
  • Competitor #1: -6.53% in search rankings
  • Competitor #2: -1.95% in search rankings
  • Competitor #3: -8.63% in search rankings

Why We Saw Growth

We saw growth for one reason: we focus on E-A-T. With every page on the website, every additional feature we add, and with every blog post I write – we focus on not only maintaining but growing our E-A-T strategy.

E-A-T: “Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.”

We make sure every form of content on our website helps show we are experts in Clearwater Beach vacations. Clearwater Beach vacation expects with not the ability, but also a history of kindly and accurately answering questions and concerns of website visitors. We operate a trustworthy website, with not only accurate information but a safe website that will help protect your information with SSL certificates and more.

Blogging for SEO Tips – Post Medic Update

It is extremely important to keep the E-A-T strategy in mind when blogging for SEO. You want to make sure you remain focused on helping your website users. This was always important, but the Medic Update made these steps 100% necessary.

Be An Expert of One Thing

Don’t try to be an expert in too many things. For example, my Clearwater Beach client are Clearwater Beach vacation experts. We are focused on answering questions and providing help to those going on vacation in Clearwater Beach. We stay focused on that topic alone. My blog post topics vary from grocery stores and restaurants to hurricanes and stingrays – but all are focused on educating and helping those planning a vacation to (or currently on a vacation in) Clearwater Beach, Florida.

Many of the websites that were highly impacted by the Medic Update struggled with this. I often saw websites that were divided between too many topics.

Become an Authority

It’s important to be viewed as an authority. Write blog posts that answer questions that reads have asked or should ask but don’t. Leave a comment section open on your blog and reply to comments quickly, with more useful information. Find ways to encourage conversation and manage those conversations. Outside of blogs, community and forum boards are great ways to do this.

Showcase your knowledge as an expert, but make sure it’s accurate and trustworthy. If someone takes the time to comment, reply with more than a thank you.

Be Trustworthy

You need to be a trusted expert. This doesn’t stop with accurate content. Show trust to your audience, and search engines, by maintaining a website that uses SSL. This is especially important for eCommerce websites where you may be entering credit card information or any login information.

Structure Your Content for Users and Search Engines

Write your content focused on accurately answering your audience’s questions. Encourage the audience to ask more or leave their thoughts in the comments below. And structure your content appropriate for search engines to be able to understand as well. You can do this by…

  • Using the keyword in the post title
  • Using the keyword in the post permalink
  • Using the keyword in the first paragraph
  • Using bold, italics or underline for emphasis on keywords when appropriate
  • Using the keyword in anchor text when appropriate
  • Using the keyword in Heading 1, 2, or 3 (H1, H2, H3)
  • Using common and appropriate variations of the keyword

Have Questions about Blogging for SEO?

Feel free to ask any questions about blogging with SEO by leaving a comment below, or email me directly at brad@bradwester.com.

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Florida Has Been On My Mind

The last few weeks have been a lot of fun. One of the new things I’m doing is I’m writing content on Clearwater Beach, Florida for B&W Management, Inc.’s blog!

In the last few weeks, Clearwater Beach has been rated 2018’s Best Beach in the United States and the 7th Best Beach in the World!

My Latest Clearwater Beach Blog Posts:

Clearwater Beach Spring Break 2018

Best Clearwater Beach Sunset Locations

Clearwater Beach Weather & Events – March 2018

Music: Congrats to Ryan Oakes & Sugar Hollows (client) for the song “2am” featured in this week’s video. “2am” is now being played on rotation on the radio in Miami!

 

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2017 in Under 1 Minute!

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Why You Should Thank Unfollowers

So you’re trying to grow your social media following. You’re posting great content each day. You’re putting in a lot of effort. Your number of followers is growing, slowly but growing. Then one day your follower count drops. Not a lot, but your number of followers is lower. Someone unfollowed you.

Ideally, you shouldn’t even let this bother you. People will unfollow you. It’s going to happen. It doesn’t mean they hate you. Don’t take it personally. But it is frustrating. You’re working so hard to grow your followers, and instead, you just lost one (or more.) So what should do?

You should thank unfollowers.

Yes, you should thank unfollowers. I don’t mean you should look up who unfollowed you (yes, there are ways) and send them a thank you note. Don’t do that. Just take a moment to realize that their “unlike” or “unfollow” is a good thing. Seriously, the unfollow is a good thing. It doesn’t seem like it at first, but it is.

Think about why you want people to follow or like your page. So they can see the content you share. And why are you creating all this content? To help promote your business/organization and reach your goals. (Usually to sell your product/services.) So if someone unfollows you, say thank you. Their unfollow tells you that they’re not interested – at least not now. Their unfollow is telling you that they are not a good fit for your product/services. Don’t try to convert the un-convertable. Don’t waste your time. Say thank you for their unfollow – their “no”.

But what if they simply didn’t understand your offering? They didn’t understand your product/service. They didn’t see how much you can help them. Well, again, thank unfollowers. They are telling you that you may need to adjust your messaging and better explain the benefits of your product/service.

Thank you unfollowers.

If you were able to get your audience to your website but failed to convert, try remarketing. Remarketing, especially remarketing using Facebook’s Custom Audiences, gives you a second chance.

 

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Cadet Pest Control’s Website

1 week of work in 1 minute! Another week that went by way too quickly.

Highlights

Work: “Like” Cadet Pest Control, check out their website: http://cadetpc.com/, and call and schedule an appointment today! They will help you prepare your house for fall/winter and keep the unwanted guests out (the bugs – I’m not sure if they can help with people, call ADT-Secure24 Alarm Systems for that).

Personal: I’m working on getting my energy and strength back. The rare disease I have (primary angiitis of the central nervous system) and the treatments for it have lowered my energy/strength … and contributed to me being even more overweight than I was. It’s time to fix those issues. I started going to the gym again this week. It was my first time working out in over 11 months. I’ll try to add a few seconds of the gym into each weekly video. If you stop seeing those, please yell at me — Thank you.

Music:
Title: Broken
Artist: Jorm
www.youtube.com/user/BassFutureMusic
www.facebook.com/iamjorm

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Speaking at SWMO PRSA’s Digital Media Power Lunch

1 week of work in 1 minute!

Highlights:

  • Solar Eclipse on Monday.
  • Speaking at the SWMO PRSA event on Tuesday.

The solar eclipse was very beautiful and I’m really glad I had the opportunity to see it, but speaking at SWMO PRSA’s Digital Media Power Lunch was the highlight of the week for me.

The Digital Media Power Lunch was a great event and a lot of fun, but it was especially meaningful to me. It was the first time I spoke at an event in roughly a year. The last time I spoke publicly, I wasn’t even talking about digital marketing. I was talking to a small group of men on a weekend retreat. Speaking publically about personal moments can be stressful, but I was prepared. I didn’t have to memorize anything because it was all about me personally and things I had experienced. I was even able to write it all down and just read it — but it was still one of the most challenging public speaking moments I’ve had. No matter how prepared I am, I am always nervous before speaking publically. Usually, the nervousness dies down after the first few moments. It didn’t. So I looked down at the papers I had with me. I would just read them, word for word. That’s when I first truly noticed I couldn’t read. I was just staring at the paper. It was well-lit and close enough to me that I could see every letter, but I couldn’t put the words together. I was able to fight my way through it all and at the end, I just blamed the tough situation on being nervous. 6 days later I would wake up in the hospital after having a grand mal seizure.

That’s how it all started and here’s more about what happened if you’d like to read more about it:

From the blog post, Why I Film Myself Working…
“I’m always nervous before speaking events, and now I’m scared. […] I’m not going to let my fear stop me from doing what I want to do. I was scared to start speaking, but I gave it a shot and started despite my fear. I didn’t let my fear keep me from starting, I’m not going to let it stop me either.”

Speaking at the SWMO PRSA event was meaningful to me because it represents a win. It went well and I beat my fears.

Music:
Under The Sun by NOWË
www.instagram.com/nowemusic/

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Brad Wester SEO Tips

If you’re looking for some SEO tips you’re in the right spot. Before we get into Brad Wester SEO tips, let me quickly explain why I’m writing this post.

Hi, I’m Brad Wester

…I’m writing this post, Brad Wester SEO Tips, for a few reasons.

My number one goal is to share valuable SEO tips with you. Following the advice from Brad Wester SEO Tips will help the content you create to be seen by more people. The SEO tips I share will improve any content you create; whether it’s a full website, blog post, your LinkedIn profile, or even some of the Pins you are sharing on Pinterest.

I’m also writing this post because I’m speaking at the 2017 Digital Media Power Lunchnext week. I’ll be discussing how you can use search engine optimization (SEO) to grow your business.

When attending conferences, I’ve always disliked taking notes. I’d much rather live in the moment, take in as much as possible and ask questions. So I’m writing my thoughts out now so no one has to take notes. It’s all here on the Brad Wester SEO Tips post, free and open to everyone.

The last reason I’m writing this post — I have some search engine optimization tactics that I want to test. My goal is to get this post to rank highly and quickly!

I’ve started writing this post on Tuesday, August 15, 2017. My plan is to have it finished and published tomorrow, Wednesday, August 16, 2017. Will I be able to get this post, Brad Wester SEO Tips, ranked on the first page of Google? And will it be ranked before my talk at the 2017 Digital Media Power Lunch? That gives me 6 days to get it ranked… I better get to work! 🙂

*UPDATE: “BRAD WESTER SEO TIPS” WAS RANKED #1 ON GOOGLE IN UNDER AN HOUR!*

This even surprised me. I knew this post would rank #1 on Google. I knew it would happen quickly, but I thought it would take a few days. I was nervous that this post wouldn’t rank #1 on Google before the event, I thought it was going to be close.

Here’s what really happened.

  • Post published at 9 PM on Wednesday, August 16, 2017.
  • Ranked #1 on Google by 9:48 PM on Wednesday, August 16, 2017.

Next Steps: continue testing.

I was able to get a great result once, for a very targeted search term (Very Low Competition). That doesn’t make this a proven result. Not even close. Now it’s time to take it a step further. I’ll be doing this again; using a different website, writing about a different topic, and using a more competitive long tail keyword.

What is SEO?

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a digital marketing strategy.

The goal of search engine optimization is to get your digital content to appear early (or rank highly) in search engine results. SEO is focused on getting traffic to your website organically, or without paying for it.

Why is SEO important?

  • 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
  • 75% of people never scroll past the 1st page of Google Search results.
  • There are over 1 trillion searches every single month.

SEO can help you meet your goals.

Are you trying to grow your business? The proper use or search engine optimization can help you get more sales.

Are you looking for a new job? Apply some SEO tactics on your LinkedIn profile and your profile will appear more often to recruiters and companies searching for new talented employees.

How can I get my website on the first page of Google?

I have some bad news. Getting ranked on the first page of Google can be extremely difficult. It isn’t impossible, but there’s only so many links available on the first page. Competition is high and often tough to beat.

SEO takes hard work. It takes time. — Get creative. Stay positive. Stay focused.

Search engine optimization can be very complex. If you read up on Google’s Algorithm Updates, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. If you’re just getting started with SEO – don’t try to understand it all. It’s so easy to become overwhelmed. Instead, focus on following the SEO tips I leave in this post.

When teaching myself search engine optimization, there were a lot of trial and error moments. I wrote Brad Wester SEO Tips to highlight the beginning steps of search engine optimization. These are the steps I use to start every SEO project. These SEO tips have been the most powerful for me.

Here’s how I get content to rank highly…

Remember who you’re writing for.

How many times have you heard “the customer is always right”, “always keep the customer in mind”, or “the customer is always the focus?”

Well, I disagree – especially when it comes to search engine optimization.

When I’m writing content to improve a website’s search engine optimization, I picture myself physically speaking with the target audience. Right now, I’m typing this post out on a computer in a quiet room – but in my head, I’m picturing myself speaking, not writing, directly to a specific person. In my mind, it’s a one-on-one conversation.

Having this mindset helps me stay focused on what my target audience is interested in, what questions they may have, and what I need to do to truly help them. I want to write content that will truly be useful for them. I want them to enjoy reading my content and find worth in the “conversation” we are having.But it’s not all about them, I’m viewing a conversation, not a speech – so I’m in it too and I’m looking to gain something as well.

But it’s not all about them, I’m viewing a conversation. I’m in it too and I’m looking to gain something as well.

We speak with others to learn more about them, to help them with what they need or sometimes just for entertainment, but there’s a reason we speak with others. In the best conversations, both members gain something by being a part of it.

As a business, your content shouldn’t just be focused on giving a potential client what they want. Yes, you want happy clients – but as a business, you also need to make sure you’re getting what you need.

So before you start writing, set a goal.

Don’t just say my goal is to create content that will rank on search engines. That’s great, but why do you care about ranking high? Having a high ranking page will get more traffic to your website. What do you want that traffic to do? Do you want them to buy a product or service? Schedule an appointment? Click to more pages of your website, reading more content and see more ads (making you more money)?

Your goals always need to be on your mind and a part of the content you’re creating. Sometimes business growth comes with a simple ask, don’t be afraid of the ask.

So keep your audience happy and stay on the topics they are interested in but don’t forget about yourself. There’s two of you in the conversation, but you need to focus on three. Yes, there’s a third person in the conversation you’re having.

  1. Your target audience.
  2. You.
  3. Google. (and other search engines)

You can’t just keep your customer happy, you have to keep Google happy as well.

Google isn’t looking to be your client. Google isn’t looking to be entertained by your writing. Google isn’t at all like your target audience, but Google connects you with your target audience – so you need to keep Google happy as well.

How do you keep Google happy? Well, there are two ways. You can buy ads, but that’s SEM (search engine marketing) or PPC (pay per click advertising). Or you can make sure your content appeals to Google by having the correct structure. There’s a lot that can go into this, but I’ve found the steps listed below in Brad Wester SEO Tips to be the most useful in helping me get pages to rank and at the same time, keep target audiences happy. It’s a win-win.

Choose the right keywords.

Don’t start writing yet. It’s time for research – keyword research. What are the most popular ways your product or service are searched for? What are questions commonly asked by your target audience?

You’ll want to learn as much as you can about how your target audience is searching for you. How are they phrasing their searches? Google’s Keyword Planner can quickly help you learn more about your target audiences’ searching habits.

When it comes to choosing the best keywords, don’t look directly for those with the highest searches per month. Those keywords not only have high monthly searches but usually a high competition – making it more challenging to rank highly for.

Focus on long tail keywords.

Long tail keywords are the search terms that consist of several words placed together to create the searched for phrase. Long tail keywords are more specific to what your target audience is searching for. Long tail keywords are not only less competitive than generic keywords, but they are also more likely to meet your set goals (convert to sales or leads).

Use keywords correctly.

Summary:

  • Use keyword in post title
  • Use keyword in post permalink
  • Use keyword in the first paragraph
  • Use bold, italics or underline for emphasis on keyword once
  • Use keyword in anchor text
  • Use keyword in Heading 1, 2 or 3
  • Exact keyword should be mentioned 2-5 times
  • Use variations of the keyword

Post Title:

Your post title should be written to create interest and entice clicks while using your exact keyword if possible. Your keyword should be placed near the beginning of the title, ideally in the first 5 words. Typically, words appearing before your keyword are similar to “How to…”, “What is…”, “The Best” or “Top 5…”. Placing your keyword at the beginning of your title helps search engines identify the subject.

Post Permalink:

Permalinks are the permanent URLs of your individual blog post or page on your website. Use your keyword in the post’s permalink with each word separated by a hyphen. Leave out any stop words such as, “a”, “and”, “the”, etc.

Example: http://www.stlsocialmediaconsultants.com/seo-template.

Only change these before the post is published. Once the post is published, you’ll want to leave these alone. If you change them after the post is published, you risk having broken links to your post.

First Paragraph:

Using your exact keyword early in the first paragraph helps quickly identify the topic of the blog post.

Bold / Italics / Underline:

In the first paragraph or two of your blog post add emphasis to your exact keyword by using bold, italics or underline. This formatting uses HTML codes which will help search engines identify the important words for your blog post – your keywords. If you use these emphasis tags too frequently, it may cause confusion about which words are important in your post.

Anchor Text:

Anchor Text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. It is often underlined and set as a custom color from the rest of the text. In general, adding links to your content shows you have done research on your topic and search engines like that. Try to add links to other posts/pages of your website as well as a few external links (other websites). Include your exact keyword in anchor text of one of these links, but make sure it is relevant.

Bad Anchor Text: “If you’d like to learn more about anchor text, click here.”

Good Anchor Text: “Learn how to write SEO friendly anchor text.”

Heading 1 – 3:

Using the heading tags are important for both users and search engines. Your website viewers will appreciate the appropriate use of headers so they can quickly scan your blog post. Search engines appreciate them for the same reason; their crawlers will quickly scan over your post and including your exact keyword in H1, H2 or H3 Heading will help define your topic.

Keyword Density / Variations:

It is important to use your exact keyword a handful of times in your blog post. However, over using your keyword can harm your search engine optimization. Overusing your keyword is a common signal for Google and other search engines that you may be simply keyword spamming. Search engines want to ensure they provided value to their users, so blog posts should always be written with the users in mind – but formatted to appeal to both users and search engines.

Thank you for reading Brad Wester SEO Tips!

Thank you so much for reading my post, Brad Wester SEO Tips. By simply reading through some of this post, you’re helping me test some search engine optimization tactics – thank you! I hope that you’ve found some of my search engine optimization tips to be helpful as well. The tips I mentioned above truly are the first steps I take when performing SEO for myself and my clients. I truly believe in the advice that I’ve shared in Brad Wester SEO Tips. Following these tips alone has often been enough to get web pages ranked on the first page of Google!

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Manage Media Interviews Like a Hero! – PRSA St. Louis Event with Dr. Joe Trahan, APR

“Get ready for the moment the cameras start rolling with the media trainer the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines call on for guidance!

Dr. Joe Trahan, APR, Fellow PRSA, will share the secrets of success that he teaches all over the world to organizations both military and civilian. Learn how to prepare yourself, your team and your executives to make the most of any media interview at PRSA St. Louis’ Summer Professional Development Workshop.” …Read More!

Media Training: Change Everywhere, But the Basics Are the Same

It’s difficult to remember a time when the news media were more “the news” themselves than today. There’s the ongoing fight between the media and the Trump Administration, the ongoing transformation and change from print to digital, and the structural upheavals in the newspaper industry across the United States – to mention only a few of the ways the media has become part of the news it reports.

Click to read the full interview with Dr. Joe Trahan, APR!

 

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Why I Film Myself Working

If you follow me on Facebook (or Snapchat: wester_brad) you may know that I’ve started to film myself working, but you probably don’t really know why.

I am a marketer and it is great for marketing and branding.

Vlogging is great for marketing. It’s easier to document what you’re doing and show people than it is to write full articles explaining what you’re doing, why you are doing it and how they can do the same. Writing that all out takes a lot of time, so if you’re looking to save time – film yourself. Video content is also very powerful on your website and throughout all social networks, but it is especially powerful right now on Facebook.

I wanted to learn how to take and edit video.

I’ve been working with cameras and editing photos and video since high school. I really enjoy it, but I am not that great at it. I used to think because I could do it, I knew what I was doing – at least the basics. …then I met professionals – people who film and edit video for ESPN, marketing agencies, freelancers, etc. I quickly realized I knew NOTHING when compared to them. I learn by doing, so I decided I need to film and edit a lot more video, and I’m always watching and learning from others.

But the real reason I film myself each week is so I can watch myself work.

Sounds weird, right? …well I have a good reason. And no, I’m not trying to be the next Gary Vaynerchuk (Follow him though!)

While filming myself each week does give me an opportunity to improve my filming and editing skills and the videos do help me with marketing – these aren’t the reasons I do it.

I simply get to see myself working – and that’s awesome.

6 months ago (almost to the day) I was walking into the hospital for my second brain biopsy. 6 months ago I was unable to read. 6 months ago I was frequently struggling to carry on normal conversations and was often using the wrong words and didn’t even realize it.

Today, I’m able to read. I’m able to carry on conversations much better than I have been able to in 9+ months. I’m driving myself again. I’m back at work. I’m so much better than I was a few months ago and every video is a reminder of that.

I’m not back to “normal” – to where I was before my neuro issues began. And I won’t ever be exactly back to that same spot. Portions of my brain have been damaged and have “died”. That means it is expected that I won’t ever have 100% of my abilities back – but that won’t stop me from living the life I want to. I just need to make some adjustments.

My most common struggle is simply using the correct words when speaking. I’m getting better with it. I’m paying closer attention to when it happens and trying to identify if there are triggers that commonly cause the issue. I’m also testing myself and seeing what I can do to help myself improve and be able to recover from situations when I begin to struggle with using the correct words.

Filming myself working gives me the opportunity to watch and learn while I go through this process of retraining my brain.

Back in February, I shared an Instagram post mentioning that I was looking forward to speaking at digital marketing events again. Over the past few months, I’ve been honored to have been offered the opportunity to speak at a few different events – some of which would even be paid speaking opportunities. I’ve turned all of them down. I simply don’t feel ready for that yet. I’m always nervous before speaking events, and now I’m scared.

 

I’m scared because I know some of what triggers the neurological issues I have, and let’s just say speaking at an event would hit several of them. Especially triggers that often leave me struggling to use the correct words when speaking. Having an issue speaking, while being a speaker at an event terrifies me – but that won’t stop me.

Fear can feel strong, but I believe we are all stronger.

I’m not going to let my fear stop me from doing what I want to do. I was scared to start speaking, but I gave it a shot and started despite my fear. I didn’t let fear keep me from starting, I’m not going to let it stop me either. So I’m preparing. I’m testing my abilities and getting myself ready. I don’t know when it’ll be or what I’ll be speaking about, but I will be speaking at events again – soon. I don’t plan on letting fear think it’s willing by waiting too long.

So, for now, I’m filming. I’m seeing how I do, how I am improving, identifying my struggles and working on solving them. I don’t need to be perfect, I never will be. I just want to be more prepared than I am today. It’s like athletes watching game film – it helps you learn so you can be better.

Fear won’t win. 

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Want to reach your goals? Put in the effort every day.

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” – Vince Lombardi

(This was my first attempt at filming myself while working. I ran into several issues and made many mistakes, but I learned a lot. Time to start preparing for round 2.)

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