We all know that without Search Engine Optimization, our content fails to gain traction and our blogs suffer as a result. If you want your blog to be seen, then it needs to be findable. If not, you could be losing thousands of clicks.
The steps listed below will help ensure that your blog posts are optimized for search engines.
1 Make Strong Keywords
The biggest part of optimizing your blog posts for search engines is creating strong and relevant keywords. These allow your blog to show up when people use those keywords in their searches.
Your keywords should be specific to your content and not oversearched. If you choose a keyword for your content that is too widely used, then you will be competing against all the other articles and websites using those keywords. This is an easy game to lose.
To ensure that your keywords are strong enough, do some research and think about what people who are looking for your content will be searching for.
This also means that you should pick your keywords before you start writing in order to disperse them throughout your content for optimization.
Using a keyword phrase is also important. Making this phrase specific enough to be competitive while being relevant to your content is key.
2 Make Sure Your Blog Is Long Enough
The truth about blog posts is the longer and more in-depth the post is, the better its ranking on Google will be. Google prefers to rank posts with 1500-2000 or more words.
Another reason why it is beneficial to have long and in-depth posts is that other blog posters are more likely to link to them in their posts. These backlinks also play in role in how your posts are ranked and can lead to more clicks and views.
3 Work On Your Title
An important part of optimizing your content is optimizing your title. One way to do this is to include a number in your title. If your title has a number in it then Google will prefer it.
It is also important to make sure that your title is not long-winded and that your focus keyword is somewhere near the beginning.
When writing your title, you should format it as H1, while all your subheadings will be H2 or H3.
4 Put Keywords In Your Subheadings
When writing blogs, utilizing subheadings with dedicated content can help your piece to get ranked. When creating your subheadings, it is important to format them as H2 or H3 and include your keywords.
Make sure to only use H3 subheadings when they are part of your content under an H2 subheading. For example, if you make a blog about the Costs and Benefits of a certain product, Your H2 subheadings will be titled either Costs or Benefits, while the H3 subheadings below them will show the individual costs or benefits with normal text under each.
5 Disperse Your Keywords In Your Content
Putting your keywords and keyword phrases in the body of your content will help it get to the top of Google. However, you must be careful not to overdo it. Putting too many repetitions of your keywords in your content will actually harm your ranking and make your SEO worse.
A good distribution of keywords should not stand out to the reader and be integrated into your blog post without seeming forced.
6 SEO Your Images
Including images, in your blog posts can be a good way to bring a little flare to your content. But, any images you include should be optimized to help your ranking.
The first step to optimizing your images is creating a file name. The file name should have dashes instead of spaces and include your focus keyword. If you are placing an image at the top of your page, it should include your blog’s title.
If you are planning on using additional images in your content, create a file name that is relevant, so Google can help you find the right audience.
After creating a file name, it is important to add alt text. Adding alt text allows search engines to properly index your images. This text can be similar to your image title, or it can be a line describing the image.
The next step in SEOing your images is to add a caption. While not as important as the previous two steps, it can still help your content. Your caption can be similar to your alt text if you choose to include it.
A final note on SEOing images is to be mindful of your file size. If an image is too large, it can slow down your page. Try and keep your images below 500 KB at a minimum.
7 Perfect Your Meta Description
When your blog pops up in a search engine, your meta description is the snippet of your content prospective viewers see before they decide to click.
If you decide not to write one, Google will pick a random piece of your content to display. Writing a meta description ensures that the viewer sees what you want them to see.
Creating your own meta description also allows you to tailor how your description ends. Instead of Google cutting off your content with …, you can write something to pull in your reader. For example “Click here to read more!”
When creating your meta description, you should include your focus keyword or keyword phrase. By doing this, you increase your SEO.
8 Add Tags To Your Post
If you are working in WordPress, you have the option to add tags to your post. Think of these as short phrases that are relevant to your post, or that can categorize them. Using tags, you can group similar blogs together on your website.
You should also add these phrases into your content to help further with optimization. You can think of them as additional keyword phrases in this sense.
9 Optimize Your URL
Typically, your URL and your title will be the same. If you optimized your title, then your URL should also be optimized
However, sometimes your title is longer and you may want a more condensed URL. If you decide to do this, it is important to still keep your focus keyword near the beginning. An optimized URL will help your post reach its intended audience.
10 Include Links
Including internal links in your content can help you get more clicks on more blogs. This will keep readers on your website for longer and help give a valuable impression. This increase in time spent on your site will help with your ranking.
To add further credibility to your content, try including third-party links as well. If you have credible backlinks, Google will view your content as more credible. This will have a positive effect on your ranking.
11 Optimize Your Content For Mobile Devices
We all surf the web on our mobile devices. This is something the search engines are very aware of. Creating a more user-friendly mobile experience will lead to more mobile clicks and help your ranking. Be sure that your blog shows up as intended on both mobile and desktop before publishing.
SEOing your content is not overly difficult, but it takes a little time and detail. By going through these steps, you will help your website and your content show up on more searches and reach more viewers.