How to write search engine friendly blog posts
Content rich blog posts and news articles are a proven way to improve your search engine visibility. But how do you write a search engine friendly blog post?
This blog explores tips and best practice to help maximise the visibility of your blog content.
Relevancy
Gone are the days of keyword stuffing to try and ‘trick’ Google into positioning your website on the first page. The algorithms are highly developed and you may end up doing more harm than good.
When creating a blog post, think first about the overarching subject, making sure it is relevant to your business, and what your visitors may want to read and find useful. For example, for my electrical and lighting contractor client, a blog post on the benefits of LED lighting for a business would be highly relevant to the audience we are looking to attract.
Focus on one or two keywords
It is good practice to focus on just a couple of keywords in a blog. It shows your relevancy and intent. Choose ‘long tail’ keywords (phrases rather than a generic keyword, for example, what are the benefits of LED lighting, rather than LED lights).
You should use these keywords in a way that creates a good reader experience and doesn’t feel forced. Longer tail keywords or phrases keep your blog focused on its topic and will often generate greater engagement.
There are four essential places to include your keywords in a blog post; the title, in the body – preferably in the first paragraph, in the url, and the meta description. The meta description is a summary of your web page content and is shown as part of the search results on search engines. But, use keywords sparingly, and focus on the overall content of your blog post, so that the intent is clear and readers are kept interested.
How do you know what keywords to use?
Google Search Console and Google My Business are great free tools to use as they show you what people have searched for. Use your knowledge of your own business and customer base to identify potential keywords. Read tips on how to engage with existing customers in my blog. Google’s keyword planner tool can also be helpful. There are several paid platforms that can assist with keyword research and positioning monitoring too, so you can benchmark your success.
For assistance with keyword research, please contact me.
Use an engaging title
An engaging title is a must. It’s the first indication to visitors and search engines of the relevancy of your content to the keyword searched. You should also try to keep this to under 60 characters or risk the end being cut off on a search engine results page. If you can’t adjust the length of your title, try to keep the keyword at the start.
URL Structure
This is the URL string of your website and it is very important to keep consistent across your pages. It shows a hierarchy and directory of your site and should make it easy for people to understand the content of your site and categorisation of pages. It also helps with search engine optimisation. For example, a sub navigation page of a specific blog post, should be contained within the /blog section.
Images
Breaking up large areas of text with images is a great way to keep readers interested. By adding alt tag descriptions to your image, along with saving the image file name which includes the keywords, can also help with your SEO. Make sure you have permission to use any images included or that they are copyright free.
Topic Tags
Just like the url categorisation, topic tags help to cluster particular subjects together and signify the intent of the article.
Internal links
There are two major benefits of using internal links in blog posts. You can signpost visitors to other relevant information where they can read more on a subject. It also shows search engines the relevancy of the content to your site and can influence the authority of other pages on your website.
For example, read more about my digital marketing freelance services.
Inbound link building
A great way to gain search engine visibility is to have other websites linking to your content. This shows search engines the content is reputable and relevant (as long as the linking website is also following best practice guidelines).
Share on social media
By sharing your content on social media channels, you are promoting your content and demonstrating your knowledge to followers.
Combine posts with hashtags and perhaps even social advertising, and you’ll soon be reaching new audiences that could engage with your content. They may also share your posts and widen your reach further.
Top tips for creating engaging blog content
Understand your audience
Choose a subject area which is relevant and targeted
Plan the structure and key points
Use an attention-grabbing headline that demonstrates the purpose of the article
Keep paragraphs short
Use images where possible
Link within the article to other resources
