Optimizing Your Blog Posts For SEO
April 21, 2016
It should come as no surprise that websites rely heavily on search engine optimization (SEO) to drive traffic and business. What few people know is that SEO is equally important in your business blog. Blogging promotes traffic to your website and adds valuable content for search engines to crawl. The world of SEO is complex and if you want to make the most of your business’s blog, here are a few tips to consider before you begin writing:
Pick Your Target Audience And Message
Your business likely has many different products or services and may also serve various geographic areas. In order for Google and other search engines to rank you for what you do and return useful results to users, they need to be able to “read” your content. This is why it is so important before you write to determine who you are writing for and what you hope to achieve with your message. Choose keywords that are specific to the topic and purpose of the blog post and go from there.
Choose The Right Keywords And Use Them Strategically
Keywords are important, but must be used properly. Your blog post likely does not need to reference every service that you offer. Choose what product or service you are hoping to target with the blog, and make sure you utilize those keywords in the proper fashion to bring in the traffic you need.
Engaging customers is difficult – on-page time and click through rates have an impact on your website rankings and therefore your website’s success. Pick a topic for your blog post that is related to you and your business, but that is also unique, interesting, and engaging to readers.
Add An Image
Not only do images break up big chunks of text in a blog post to provide for a better overall aesthetic, but they are useful for other very practical reasons. If you are selling a certain product or service it makes sense to feature an image or two of the product in your post. If you are selling an idea, a relevant image will help to bolster your message. When including an image in your blog, make sure to give it an appropriate alt tag. Alt tags are used by screen readers for those who are blind or are visually disabled and they serve to describe what is on the image. Though the initial purpose of the alt tag was to be used by screen readers, Google has also relayed that it uses alt tags to help determine not only what is on the image but also the subject matter of the surrounding text. Your alt tag should be concise in describing the image itself, and also relate to the topic of the text. You can learn more about Google’s image publishing guidelines for other tips on using images in your posts.
Include Internal & External Links
Links are hugely important for SEO purposes, and your blog is a great opportunity to link back to specific pages on your own site and to link off to other authority sites that contain relevant information on your topic. Links should be used carefully – if an external link goes somewhere unrelated to your topic, it adds no value. If the external link covers essentially the same subject matter as your blog post, it adds little value. The external link should be used to help provide the reader with additional information on your topic.
Length Is Strength
It is easy to say a little about nearly anything, but it is much more difficult to dig deep into a topic. Google wants you to show them that you are an expert in your field and that they can rely on you as an authority source for your industry. One way to do this is through your business blog, and generally speaking, the longer the better. Google appreciates length in blog articles because it is one indicator that the subject matter is valuable and is not the same old, generic information that anyone could throw together. Be careful to avoid using useless, flowery language just to increase your word count as this will not add any overall value to the post. While post length is important, relevancy is more important.
Check Your Grammar And Spelling
Of course you want to check your business blog for any spelling or grammatical mistakes prior to posting. Your online and social media presence is often the face of your company and you want to come across as professional and polished, not careless and rushed.
Use Social Media To Promote
Having a blog page on your website is a great way to continuously add fresh content to your site, but if you are taking the time to publish great content, you want to maximize your audience! Use social media to promote your blog and your website. DWD’s marketing platform includes a push marketing feature so that when you publish a blog on your website, it automatically sends it to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social platforms. One click and you are done!
We know SEO is tricky, and it is very easy to botch content by either making it too difficult to index or too saturated with badly incorporated keywords that will be labeled as spam. If you are new to the world of SEO and are starting to think about a website for your business, we strongly suggest hiring a professional. The team at Denver Website Designs is expert in creating SEO strategies and crafting effective content for websites and blogs. We assist businesses of all kinds and will approach the website holistically to maximize traffic and boost your business. Learn more about our process and see for yourself how we can help you take your website from average to phenomenal!
Go Back Pick Your Target Audience And Message
Your business likely has many different products or services and may also serve various geographic areas. In order for Google and other search engines to rank you for what you do and return useful results to users, they need to be able to “read” your content. This is why it is so important before you write to determine who you are writing for and what you hope to achieve with your message. Choose keywords that are specific to the topic and purpose of the blog post and go from there.
Choose The Right Keywords And Use Them Strategically
Keywords are important, but must be used properly. Your blog post likely does not need to reference every service that you offer. Choose what product or service you are hoping to target with the blog, and make sure you utilize those keywords in the proper fashion to bring in the traffic you need.
- Include one keyword in your title.
Just as with content elsewhere on your site, in order for search engines to effectively “read” and rank your blog posts, the blog title needs to include a keyword relevant to the topic. Think of your title as a quick snapshot of the great content the article contains – Google and your readers will appreciate a great title. - Do not overload your keywords.
Monitor your keyword density, because if your content uses your keywords too many times, search engines may mark your content as spam. Avoid this by making sure you use the keywords in appropriate numbers relative to the length of your blog post. A good rule of thumb is to use about 3 keywords or phrases per blog post, and to incorporate them naturally into the flow of the content. If keyword placement feels forced in the sentence, omit it. - Use a keyword in your introduction paragraph.
If your keyword isn’t in your introduction paragraph, readers may not keep reading. They need to see that what they are about to read is relevant to their search, or they will likely go where they can get the content they want in more certain terms. Equally as important, Google suggests that a relevant keyword be placed in the first paragraph. - Put a keyword in your conclusion if you have some to spare.
Your conclusion is basically a summary of your blog post, so if you can safely use your keywords once more, put one in your concluding paragraph. Also in the conclusion, make sure that you include a call to action to guide the reader to the next step – call now, fill out this form for more information, etc.
Engaging customers is difficult – on-page time and click through rates have an impact on your website rankings and therefore your website’s success. Pick a topic for your blog post that is related to you and your business, but that is also unique, interesting, and engaging to readers.
Add An Image
Not only do images break up big chunks of text in a blog post to provide for a better overall aesthetic, but they are useful for other very practical reasons. If you are selling a certain product or service it makes sense to feature an image or two of the product in your post. If you are selling an idea, a relevant image will help to bolster your message. When including an image in your blog, make sure to give it an appropriate alt tag. Alt tags are used by screen readers for those who are blind or are visually disabled and they serve to describe what is on the image. Though the initial purpose of the alt tag was to be used by screen readers, Google has also relayed that it uses alt tags to help determine not only what is on the image but also the subject matter of the surrounding text. Your alt tag should be concise in describing the image itself, and also relate to the topic of the text. You can learn more about Google’s image publishing guidelines for other tips on using images in your posts.
Include Internal & External Links
Links are hugely important for SEO purposes, and your blog is a great opportunity to link back to specific pages on your own site and to link off to other authority sites that contain relevant information on your topic. Links should be used carefully – if an external link goes somewhere unrelated to your topic, it adds no value. If the external link covers essentially the same subject matter as your blog post, it adds little value. The external link should be used to help provide the reader with additional information on your topic.
Length Is Strength
It is easy to say a little about nearly anything, but it is much more difficult to dig deep into a topic. Google wants you to show them that you are an expert in your field and that they can rely on you as an authority source for your industry. One way to do this is through your business blog, and generally speaking, the longer the better. Google appreciates length in blog articles because it is one indicator that the subject matter is valuable and is not the same old, generic information that anyone could throw together. Be careful to avoid using useless, flowery language just to increase your word count as this will not add any overall value to the post. While post length is important, relevancy is more important.
Check Your Grammar And Spelling
Of course you want to check your business blog for any spelling or grammatical mistakes prior to posting. Your online and social media presence is often the face of your company and you want to come across as professional and polished, not careless and rushed.
Use Social Media To Promote
Having a blog page on your website is a great way to continuously add fresh content to your site, but if you are taking the time to publish great content, you want to maximize your audience! Use social media to promote your blog and your website. DWD’s marketing platform includes a push marketing feature so that when you publish a blog on your website, it automatically sends it to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social platforms. One click and you are done!
We know SEO is tricky, and it is very easy to botch content by either making it too difficult to index or too saturated with badly incorporated keywords that will be labeled as spam. If you are new to the world of SEO and are starting to think about a website for your business, we strongly suggest hiring a professional. The team at Denver Website Designs is expert in creating SEO strategies and crafting effective content for websites and blogs. We assist businesses of all kinds and will approach the website holistically to maximize traffic and boost your business. Learn more about our process and see for yourself how we can help you take your website from average to phenomenal!