SEO Tips to on Writing Blog Posts
The process of SEO writing material to rank on the first page of search engines such as Google is known as SEO writing. This includes keyword research, crafting high-quality content that aligns with user intent, and optimizing headers for easy page crawling.
According to a study published in the Search Engine Journal in 2020, the clickthrough rate for websites in the first place on the search engine results page (SERP) is 25%. This percentage reduces dramatically to 15% for websites in position two, then to 2.5 percent for websites in position ten. That number drops even further on Google’s second page.
This means that if your website isn’t on the first page, shoppers have a slim chance of finding it organically. Less traffic to your website means fewer opportunity to produce leads and, eventually, income.
Investing in advertising to bring those users to your site is your next best alternative. But that costs money, and if you’re short on cash, why not put your time into SEO writing instead? It’s free and will almost certainly bring you more visitors than a campaign would.
1. Make the most of headings.
Headers aid Google’s web spiders in comprehending your blog content and its divisions.
Consider the crawlers to be readers skimming your content. Your H1 should provide them an idea of what your article will discuss. Then your H2s, H3s, and H4s break down the piece’s subtopics.
Subheaders should therefore mirror the substance of the body and contain high-intent keywords. You have a far better chance of ranking on the SERP if you employ the proper keywords, which are the ones your target audience uses.
2. Make your material suitable for featured snippets.
Google’s featured snippets are the most immediate responses to search searches. For example, if I googled “How do you compose a blog post?” A highlighted snippet could be used by Google to display the best response.
To get a featured snippet on Google, you must thoroughly and succinctly answer the question.
If the search keyword is “how to screenshot on mac,” for example, your H1 or H2 may be “How to Take a Screenshot on a MacBook Computer,” followed by the steps in a numbered or bulleted list.
After then, make sure to incorporate a portion of the question in your response. Using the above example, you would begin the paragraph with: “Here are the methods to snap a screenshot on your MacBook…”
Start each sentence with a verb that may be executed, such as “click” or “select.”
If a definition is required for the term for which you want to capture the featured snippet, enter a no.
3. Not for search engines, but for humans.
With all of these SEO rules, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that when someone searches on Google, they’re looking for an answer. Writing high-quality blog content is the best method to boost your ranking prospects.
So, how does that look? Visual aids, thorough replies, scannable parts, ordered subheaders
Keep in mind the motives, difficulties, and interests of your buyer personas. It’s also crucial to pick topics that will appeal to your potential clients and answer their problems.
4. In your meta description, include keywords.
Do you use meta descriptions in your blog posts? If you answered “no,” your post is probably not getting the attention it deserves. Let’s look at why they’re significant.
We’ve already discussed subheaders, keywords, and snippets as ways for a blog article to connect with Google. That is not, however, an exhaustive list.
Google examines meta descriptions as well to calculate search ranks. Meta descriptions are one- to three-sentence summaries that appear beneath a result’s title.
Use meta descriptions to summarise the content of your post, and remember to:
Keep it brief.
One to two keywords are sufficient.
Make it interesting. After all, there will be other postings that are identical to yours, so you want your description to stand out.
Meta description boxes are built-in to most content management systems (CMS), so you won’t have to look far to find one.
5. Images should include alternative text.
You should provide alt text to any image you include in your post, whether it’s a featured image or a body image.
The alt text defines what’s going on in the photo and helps Google (as well as others who are blind) understand why it’s in your post.
Let’s imagine you’re writing an essay about virtual events and you want to incorporate the following image:
“Businessman attending a virtual event sits at a workstation while holding a pen,” the alt text should read.
This is a descriptive statement with the primary keyword “virtual event” in it. Even if this is a stock photo, you can use it to build a narrative that corresponds to your blog post.
6. Begin by conducting keyword research.
Google is said to process around 70,000 search inquiries each second. Isn’t it incredible?
You must target the particular keywords and phrases that your potential clients are searching for in order to cut through the SERP congestion and outrank your competition. How will they find your content and website otherwise?
Begin by using a keyword research tool (SEO). Ahrefs and Google Keyword Planner, for example, provide information on what users are looking for and how popular certain searches are.
Check out our case study and exclusive interview for an inside look at how Ahrefs can help you with SEO keyword research and more.
Google Trends may also tell you what keywords are trending at any particular time. If you notice that searches for a given term are steadily diminishing over time, you know it’s probably not the best keyword to target for your marketing. Rising tendencies are the polar opposite.
If you’re ever stuck for keyword ideas, look to your competitors for inspiration. See what keywords their domains now rank for using competitive intelligence tools. Consider utilizing these keywords as well if they are relevant to your business.
Keep in mind, however, that the most obvious terms may not always correspond to your plan. Additionally, if trends change, language changes, or your product/service line expands, your focus keywords will alter.
Make sure you’re still focusing on the proper keywords for your target audience and not missing out on important ranking possibilities by conducting keyword research on a regular basis.
7. Refrain from keyword stuffing.
The idea is to make your page highly optimised while being unobtrusive. Find natural keyword placements, but don’t overdo it to the point of making your material unreadable.
Avoid meta descriptions like “Sales for account-based marketing startups” if your keywords are “account-based marketing,” “startups,” and “sales.”
To make the description more natural, concentrate on one or two keywords: “Are you looking for ways to improve your account-based marketing strategy? This article explains our research-based methodologies.”
You’re still employing keywords, but you’re not oversaturating the content with them. Remember, your purpose is to help your audience solve problems. If your users have a bad reading experience, Google will think your piece isn’t worth reading.
8. Link to authoritative websites.
Don’t be hesitant to use external links when writing your blog content.
Linking to reliable websites not only provides additional reading material for blog visitors, but it also demonstrates to search engines that you’ve done your homework.
Nothing strengthens a blog post like statistics from authoritative websites backed by study. Stats that are compelling assist you develop a more convincing and concrete case that will help you acquire readers’ trust.
9. Aim for shorter, scannable posts.
You’d think that in this day and age of short attention spans, shorter blog postings are the way to go. However, search engines like Google prefer longer, more detailed blog content.
Consider this: the more information on a page, the more clues search engines have about the topic of your site. The ideal length, according to HubSpot, is between 2,100 and 2,400 words.
Longer blogs have the disadvantage of overwhelming your readers. Breaking down your material into bite-size, scannable portions is one method to combat this.
Reduce big sentences to two sentences and keep paragraphs to three phrases or less.
Bullet points are wonderful attention grabbers and are easily digested, especially on mobile devices.
10. Include links to other articles on your website.
Search engines generate an accurate sitemap by linking to other pages or blog posts on your website. It also aids your readers in discovering more of your material and getting to know you as a reliable and trustworthy source of information.
Internal links to additional valuable content keep visitors on your site longer, lowering bounce rates and increasing conversion opportunities. Isn’t that the whole point?
Use natural language for your anchor text when linking to any pages on your website or even other sources. Use generic or spammy calls to action like “top-rated inexpensive laptops” or “click here.”
Instead, use descriptive keywords like “Download your SEO guide” to offer visitors a feel of what they will find when they click on the hyperlink.
Never jam links to your top webpages, featured products, or discounted stuff down your customers’ throats. Include links that support the ideas stated in your writings and are naturally related to the topic.
