SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an incredibly powerful tool that every business should be taking advantage of to gain more exposure and increase their client base. This can seem intimidating if you’re unfamiliar with SEO, but there are some simple steps you can take to optimize your blog posts and drive more traffic from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! to your site. Here are 5 SEO tips to boost your rankings and get more eyes on your blog posts.
1) Keyword research
Keyword research is an important part of any SEO strategy. Conducting keyword research helps you determine what keywords will help you reach your audience, but it also informs your blog post headlines and overall content strategy. For example, if you're trying to rank for blog SEO, make sure that word or phrase appears somewhere in your blog post—not just in an image title or description tag. When writing about blog SEO, remember that not all keywords are created equal: Search rankings typically favor longer phrases over single words. So when brainstorming blog SEO keywords, look for long-tail phrases (like blog SEO) instead of head terms (like a blog). This way, you'll be able to use more targeted keywords without sacrificing readability. A good keyword should also describe a problem that's relevant to your blog's target audience. If you want people who hate SEO to read your blog posts on SEO, then don't include SEO in your keyword research; instead, look for other ways of describing what readers hate about SEO (i.e., Why I Hate Blog SEO).
Remember: You want people who hate SEO to click on blog posts about why they hate SEO!
And yes, blog SEO has keywords too...but only if you want people who love SEO to read your blog posts about blog SEO. The same principle applies here: Look for phrases that describe what bloggers love about SEO (i.e., Bloggers Love Blog SEO), and then add those keywords to your blog post title, meta description, and body copy accordingly.
Finally, always keep the context in mind when conducting keyword research. Don't just look at individual keywords: Instead, think about how potential blog visitors might search for blog SEO topics. For example, if you were looking for information on how to write blog SEO titles, would you search for blog SEO or how to write blog SEO titles? It's probably a little bit of both, so consider using both keywords in your keyword research. Do make sure not to go overboard with your keyword usage. Nobody likes reading spammy blog posts with tons of keywords jammed into each sentence like some sort of gibberish machine gun...and nobody likes reading spammy blogs either!
2) URL optimization
URL optimization is a practice that SEOs use to help improve a blog's search rankings. It involves changing URL variables like paths, query strings, and suffixes. By doing so, you can have more control over your blog's indexing on search engines. For example, if you have several URL paths that are almost identical (like /about/our-services versus /about/our-company), SEOs would change one of them to something unique (like /blog/blogging-SEO). You could also add a few keywords into your URL string as well—as long as it makes sense for users who see it in their browser address bar.
Remember: URL optimization isn't an exact science and will depend on your niche and target audience. But by using some simple SEO best practices, you'll be able to optimize your blog URLs without sacrificing usability or aesthetics. And you never know how small changes can impact your blog's SEO!
3) SEO page titles
SEO page titles should ideally contain your primary keyword, but they should also tell a reader what you'll be talking about in that post.
For example, How I Lost 40 Pounds is a strong SEO page title that includes a phrase people might search for (weight loss) and tells readers what they'll learn (how I lost 40 pounds). It's simple, direct, and contains keyword phrases people are likely searching for. Adding numbers can help you rank higher because Google gives more weight to recent content. Title tags should be between 55-60 characters in length; shorter if possible!
Think of it as creating a little headline for each page of your blog where you're telling readers what to expect by reading on. If your page title isn't showing up in search results or ranking well, try changing it to something more descriptive and targeted to what you're writing about. A good SEO page title can make all the difference when it comes to attracting new visitors who will read on and become loyal followers. In addition to SEO page titles, use SEO meta descriptions as well. They appear below links in search engine results pages and give searchers an idea of what your blog post is about before clicking through. Just like SEO page titles, keep them short—under 155 characters—and focused on keywords and phrases that potential readers would use when searching for information related to your blog topic.
To see how these work together in action, let's look at an example: Let's say you're blogging about 5 fitness tips for runners with two children under five years old. You could write a blog post called 5 Fitness Tips for Runners with Two Children Under Five which doesn't include any SEO page titles or meta descriptions. Or, you could write one called How I Gained Strength After Having Two Kids Under Five Years Old which does include SEO page titles and SEO meta descriptions. The second version is much more enticing to click through to, even though both pages share some similar keywords. You want to do everything you can to encourage clicks from search engines so don't leave out SEO page titles and SEO meta descriptions just because they aren't visible on your blog posts directly!
4) Image alt tags
Image alt tags are an overlooked SEO asset. These alt tags sometimes called alt text (in HTML code), describe an image. For example, if a picture on your blog post features your product or logo, consider adding a caption with an informative alt tag such as Company Logo or Product Shot. Additionally, these are great opportunities for keyword targeting—when someone searches for those specific words (your company name and products, for example), you'll appear in search engine results. That's valuable real estate! Use it wisely. The SEO benefits of image alt tags don't stop there: Image content can be a ranking factor for Google image search results. This means that more relevant images might rank higher than others. So if you have time, it's worth experimenting with descriptive and keyword-rich image alt tags for each blog post. You might see some SEO gains by doing so. Image alt tags also improve user experience because they allow users who use screen readers to better understand what images contain. By optimizing image alt tags, you're making your blog posts accessible to everyone.
5) WordPress plugin for keyword optimization
Yoast's SEO plugin for WordPress is one of our favorite ways to optimize blog content for search engines.
One quick tip: don't forget about long-tail keywords!
They might not rank as high on Google, but they're worth targeting because users tend to spend more time on pages with long-tail keywords, and people generally prefer to click through from Google search results that contain longer keyword phrases. Keyword optimization can be a game-changer if you know how and where to implement it, so try Yoast's plugin out if you haven't already. It's free, easy to use, and makes your blog SEO strategy a whole lot easier.
And while we're talking WordPress plugins, don't forget to check out WP Rocket! It'll speed up your blog significantly and help increase user engagement by reducing page load times. Win-win all around.