Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an integral part of your digital marketing strategy. When you optimize your web pages (including your blog posts), you make your website more visible to people who are searching for products and services through search engines like Google.
So, where to start? Below is our top 10 SEO tips for your blog (Note, this is not a comprehensive list, but rather on-page optimisation tips)
1. Identify Keywords
Before you even start writing, you should identify keywords related to your topic. Chances are you’ll naturally including keywords without realizing it simply by providing valuable content on your topic. While you want to avoid keyword stuffing (including as many keywords as possible with the sole purpose of ranking higher in organic search), you should aim to include as many of your target keywords and variations in your blog as possible, but only when it comes naturally.
There are several tools that will give you a list of keywords that are closely related to your target keyword. Including these variations can help with ranking (example: you may only search for ‘plus size clothing shop’, but someone else would search for ‘plus size clothing boutique’. By swapping the word ‘shop’ for ’boutique’ in some of the copy, you are increasing your chances of being discovered.) My preferred tools are Google’s Keyword tool and SEMrush. These tools will also give you stats relating to each keyword, including monthly search volume, competitiveness and how relevant it is to the original search term.
So, where should you include keywords?
- In the title of the post
- In the main headings of your post
- Within the content of the post
- In the ‘conclusion.
2. Does Size Matter?
One question I get a lot from my clients is how long a blog should be? While it’s true that the quality of the content is better than the quantity, studies have shown that longer post performs better in search and tend to receive more likes and mentions on social media.
Van de Rakt suggests a minimum length of 300 words and an “ideal” length of 700 words. However, Ionta found that the average blog post length is 1142 words. With this in mind, I always aim for a minimum of 300 words. Remember, the longer your content, the more times you’re keyword is likely to appear. When your text is longer, Google has more clues to determine what it is about.
3. Page Title
The title of your blog is the first thing search engines, and readers see, so it’s important to not only make it eye-catching but also describes the content. A good blog post title makes your article more relevant to the search query. On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.
Here are a few points for an SEO-friendly title:
- Accurately describe the content of the blog post
- Include your primary keyword
- Dress it up with adjective and adverbs
- Keep it under 60 characters
4. Divide into Sections
We’ve all been there – reading a blog or an article that is one large lump of text copied onto a webpage. It’s not pleasant or easy to read, and it sucks for SEO. Remember that most of your readers — and Google — will scan your post, so be as accommodating as possible with how you present your information.
Here’s a few point for a well-optimised blog:
- Use only 1 H1 tag on the page, AKA the tile.
- Label new sections and don’t forget to use heading tags (Title = H1, Main sections = H2, Subsections =H3, etc.)
- Break content into shorter paragraphs
- Breakup content and emphases using bullet points, number, blockquotes, italic and bold fonts
- Including a conclusion/closing statement. This is usually where you would include a call to action like inviting readers to ask questions, subscribe, etc.
5. Include a Call to Action
A call to action (CTA) is a prompt to get your audience to do something specific. CTA’s is a valuable method of increasing customer engagement and potentially drive sales. A call to action can be placed anywhere in your blog but is usually found at the bottom of a blog post.
Examples of CTA’s include:
- Sign Up Now
- Like & Share
- Subscribe
- Call Us Today
- Order Now
6. Add Links
Take a closer look at this post and notice how I added links to other posts, either ones I’ve written myself (an internal link) or related posts on other sites (an external links).
Internal Linking is when you link to another page on your own site. It is a very effective and easy to follow SEO technique. It has several benefits, including reducing bounce rate, increase reader time on your site and help search engines crawl and index your site. Linking to a previous post helps show your authority on the subject and may help readers find other interesting content.
External Linking is linking out to other sites with good domain authority. External Linking is an SEO optimisation best practice and a good way to build relations within your industry and earn backlinks organically. I use external links when referring to other companies, tools or for references on stats/data.
Aim for a minimum of 2-3 links per post, if possible and be sure that all links open in a new window (you don’t want to lose readers to another page or website). Don’t forget to check links periodically, so you’re not linking to content that is no longer there.
7. Check the Slug/Permalink
Usually, once you add your title to a blog post, a URL or permalink will be automatically created. On sites like WordPress, they will automatically insert every word from your title, which is not ideal. For the most SEO-friendly URL, Moz recommends keeping it between 50-80 characters (this should include your target keyword/phrase.). Generally speaking, a shorter URL has higher click-through rates and more easily read and understood by Google bots.
8. Page Meta Description
It is equally important to optimise the meta description by optimising a blog title and URL. A meta description summarises a web page that appears under the page name on search engine results. It should briefly describe the page’s content, include relevant keywords, and be between 50-159 characters (including spaces). While a meta description won’t necessarily help you rank higher on search engines but can increase click-through rates.
9. Add Alt Text
Alt-text is a written description that appears in place of an image if it fails to load or is read by screen-reading tools to describe images to visually impaired readers. Alt Text allows search engines to better crawl and rank your website, turning your images into hyperlinked search results giving your website another way to receive organic visitors.
Things to remember why writing alt text:
- Don’t start with “image of”
- Describe the image
- Be specific in your description
- Keep it under 125 characters
- Use keywords if possible (but avoid keyword stuffing)
10. Categories & Tags
Categories denote a post’s broad grouping within your blog, while tags are used to describe the post and topic further.
- Make sure you select the category or categories most related to your post. Pay special attention to how your category selection affects your URL.
- Add the most appropriate tags. Although meta tags no longer do much for SEO, smart tag usage on your site can be helpful to your readers. Try to keep your tags short with no more than 2-3 words, and they must be relevant to the post content. Remember that a tag page is created for every tag, which is not good for SEO, so try to use one tag for multiple posts.
Use this Blog SEO Checklist to make sure you’re publishing successful blog posts every time. Click here for the downloadable checklist. Or, if you need some extra assistance, we’d love to hear from you!
And don’t forget to promote your blog on your social media channels!
If you don’t know some of the term mentioned in this blog, check out Marketing Slang Defined & let me know if you think I left any out.