Want to Write an SEO Friendly Blog Post? Here’s Where to Start
When attempting to attract an audience with your online content, it can be difficult to determine what will capture the reader’s attention, engage them to want to know more, and then share it with others. These tactics will help you not only drive traffic to your site by helping you create an SEO friendly blog post, but also provide the reader with content they will truly enjoy.
Who and Why?
This may seem obvious but determining your topic and target audience is the first and most important step to consider before you write your first word. What do you want the reader to learn? Who is your target audience? Picture the post through the reader’s eyes. Is it helpful? Useful? Unique?
Keywords – An SEO Friendly Blog Post Must-Have
Once you’ve landed your topic and audience, you need to identify the keywords to use in your blog post that will score you the most traffic. This step cannot be skipped, as it maximizes your content’s visibility, and you need to use these keywords throughout your blog post. There are two types of keywords to consider – specific and related.
Specific: These are keywords that are the most specific to your topic, and what you will use to get the most traffic to your blog. There are several different tools that can help you explore which keywords gain the most interest. Among them is Google Trends, which is free to use.
Related: These are the keywords that are related to and synonymous with your specific keywords. They help your reader find an alternate way to your blog even if they are not searching for your exact topic.
By utilizing both specific and related keywords, you create an SEO friendly blog post, increasing the chances of readership. That being said, don’t overdo it! Overusing keywords in your content can have a negative effect on search results as well as readability. After all, your audience is the reader, not Google.
Be Strategic with Structure
Speaking of readability, let’s talk next about the structure of your content. The structure is important to the overall appeal and making sure your post is digestible. The content should flow easily from one section to another, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Before you start writing your post, you may find it helpful to write down your ideas of what you want the reader to learn in each of your sections to develop your structure design.
Using header and sub-header formatting is a great way to break up the information and create flow naturally. The headlines should be clear but also interesting enough to grab the reader’s attention. Using paragraphs to separate your subjects creates a natural transition of information, as well as avoids reading fatigue.
Consider the Right Length
We have all been there when we’ve found an article that sounded interesting, or someone sent us something to read, we opened it, and it was so long that we closed it immediately without looking at a single word. It’s just too overwhelming. On the flip side, an article that is too short can miss important content or leave a reader unsatisfied. While the length of your blog post is ultimately up to you, here are some things to consider:
• Your blog post should be a minimum of 300 words. Anything less is considered ‘thin content’.
• The more content you provide, the more words search engines can use to identify what your post is about.
• Get a second set of eyes. Give a draft of your post to someone and ask them to provide feedback on what you hoped to achieve through it. This will help you decide if you need to add more or trim it down.
Remember, the whole goal of your content is to engage and inform the reader while adding in those keywords to ensure your finished product is an amazing and SEO friendly blog post.
Utilize Linking
Using links to connect content for the reader is a great way to increase the visibility of additional content on your internal site. These are referred to as internal links. They can also provide the user with information on external sites that they may find useful and that compliment your content, or external links. In addition, the connectivity between links boosts your content’s SEO optimization.
Like your keywords, use links sparingly and only in cases where they enhance your content, not draw the reader away from it.
To Comment Section or Not to Comment Section
While the debate around the benefits (or lack thereof) of comment sections rages on, there are pros and cons you should consider prior to deciding whether to add one to your blog post.
Adding a comment section to your post can provide elements of authenticity and personal touch. Many readers desire not only communication but a community. If you do decide to allow comments, be prepared to dedicate the time to respond.
On the flip side, there is no evidence that suggests comment sections increase traffic. In addition, comment spamming can be annoying and detract from your content. You may decide that comments are more trouble than they’re worth and turn them off.
Stay Active!
Now that you have followed all these helpful tips, completed writing your content, and posted your blog to your website, it’s time to sit back and relax, right? Wrong! Monitoring the efforts of your hard work to learn how readers are interacting with your post is a vital part of the process.
Free services such as Google Analytics provide valuable insights into the performance of your website. Through these insights, you can make decisions on changes you would like to make to interact with your readers and attract new ones.
Last but not least, get sharing! You’ve just written a powerful, informative, and SEO friendly blog post. It’s time to show it off to the world. Promoting your work through social media is a great way to use your existing network to grow your future audience.
