SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, enhances your website’s ranking in search engine results, like Google. Using keywords and quality content helps more people discover and visit your site, boosting visibility and promoting business growth.
If you’re not familiar with SEO, this may sound intimidating. But it’s straightforward changes you can apply yourself to improve your site’s SEO. I’ll show you how easy it is to implement and highlight their importance.
According to BrightEdge, a reputable SEO and content performance platform, “93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine.” This statistic underscores the crucial role of SEO in driving traffic and enhancing your online presence.
Many people cut corners here because they don’t understand the value of proper SEO. For the best results in your content marketing campaigns, take the time to implement these SEO strategies with every blog article you post.
Read more on How a Blog Can Transform Your Marketing Strategy
I started building my first website back in 2009. It was a steep learning curve and certainly not what I ever aspired to do. We needed websites for our businesses and I jumped in. This is one of the skills I learned out of necessity that has proved to be extremely valuable. From there it naturally grew into online and social media marketing. Content marketing using blog articles became a crucial part of our businesses.
See my 7 Practical Tips For Writing Blog Articles
Below I show you 9 proven steps that you can take to get the best results.
1. Use Descriptive Titles and Headers
To improve SEO, use descriptive titles and headers on every page of your website. Make sure they accurately reflect the content and incorporate relevant keywords. A compelling title is essential for attracting readers to your blog article:
- Keep it concise, under 60 characters.
- Include your main keyword.
- Make it compelling and intriguing.
- Use power words to evoke emotion.
- Consider using numbers or statistics.
2. Create Quality Content
Focus on producing high-quality, original content that provides value to your readers. Ensure that the content is informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience. It should address their needs, answer their questions, and offer unique insights.
For example, if you run a fitness equipment company, a quality blog post might be ‘5 Home Workouts Using Only a Resistance Band.’ This topic is:
- Relevant to your audience (fitness enthusiasts)
- Original (if you provide unique workout routines)
- Informative (teaches readers new exercises)
- Actionable (readers can immediately use the information)
- Engaging (especially if you include images or videos demonstrating the exercises)
Aim for a minimum of 400 words per blog post, prioritizing depth over length. Incorporate relevant keywords naturally, avoiding keyword stuffing. Use subheadings, bullet points, and images to enhance readability. Regularly update your blog content to keep it fresh and accurate, helping maintain or improve your search engine rankings.
High-quality images enhance your website and communicate your company’s investment in a professional standard. They grab and maintain the reader’s attention.
3. Text Structure
To improve content readability and understandability for both users and search engines, it is crucial to organize it with a proper structure. Utilize paragraphs to break up large blocks of text, ensuring that each section clearly covers a distinct point.
Apply HTML headings (like <h1>, <h2>, and <h3>) to create a logical structure and clear hierarchy. The main title should be an <h1>, while subtopics should use <h2>, and smaller subheadings should be <h3>. This not only improves readability but also helps search engines understand the main topics and subtopics, enhancing your SEO.
HTML picker for headings.
Use the HTML picker for headings, not the font size in your editor. Your admin panel editor may look different, but they have the same basic features.
Do not use the font size picker.
4. Internal and External Links
Include internal and external links to enhance credibility and improve your readers’ experience by providing additional, valuable resources.
Internal links
Internal linking refers to creating links within the same domain. Internal links are essential for improving the usability and SEO of your website. They help visitors navigate your site more effectively and can significantly boost your search engine rankings by enabling search engines to crawl the site more efficiently. By linking related content within your own domain, you not only enhance user engagement but also increase the overall authority of your site, which is crucial for SEO success.
You have full control over internal links, but incoming external links depend on other site owners. Use internal linking to your advantage by linking to relevant pages within your site and use your anchor text wisely.
Using relevant keywords in anchor text.
Anchor text is the clickable words in a hyperlink. Use relevant keywords instead of non-descriptive words. Instead of “click here,” use a descriptive phrase like “learn more about SEO techniques.” This helps users and search engines understand the context of the linked content.
Using non-descriptive words for anchor text.
External Linking
External links are links to other websites. While it may seem counterintuitive to link to other sites, doing so can enhance your SEO strategy. Linking to reputable sources demonstrates to search engines that your content is well-researched and credible. It also provides value to your readers by offering access to more information. However, be selective with your external links. Choose authoritative, relevant sites and avoid linking to competitors or low-quality websites.
When adding external links, set them to open in a new tab. Your website’s admin panel may look different, but there will be an option like this:
This keeps visitors on your site while allowing them to explore the linked content. Periodically check your external links to ensure they are active and relevant, as broken links can harm your SEO and user experience.
5. Backlinks
Backlinks (or inbound links) are incoming links from other websites to yours. They are crucial for SEO because they signal to search engines that your content is valuable and trustworthy, improving your website’s ranking. Acquiring them can be challenging as it requires others to link to your content. However, several strategies can help you build quality backlinks:
- Create valuable and shareable content.
- Guest posts on reputable websites.
- Engage in industry forums and discussions.
- Collaborate with niche influencers.
- Use social media to promote your content.
- Participate in interviews or podcasts.
- Create infographics or visual content.
Use Google Search Console to check which websites link back to you under the Links section:
The quality of backlinks is more important than quantity. Focus on obtaining links from authoritative, relevant websites in your industry.
6. Optimize Images
Optimize images with Alternate Text, this is a brief description added in your website’s admin panel. Some editors auto-populate the alternate text box with the filename, replacing underscores and dashes with spaces. If you have logical filenames, you can simply let your editor set the correct alt-text.
Adding the alt text for an image in your admin panel.
Resize all images for faster loading times on your website. Large image files can significantly slow down your website, negatively impacting user experience and SEO. Use image editing software or online tools to reduce file sizes without compromising quality. Aim for a balance between visual appeal and fast loading times.
Optimal image sizes for blog articles are typically between 800–1200 pixels wide. For thumbnails, aim for 150–300 pixels. Use appropriate file formats: JPEG for photographs and PNG for graphics with transparency. Check that your image sizes are no more than 200–300 KB for optimal loading speed. Compress images using tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to further reduce file sizes without significant quality loss.
Rename all images with relevant file names to inform search engines of their content. Using proper keywords helps them appear in searches, increasing your blog post’s visibility.
Rename images for improved SEO.
7. Add Browser Page Titles
You enter this title in your site’s admin panel. It should be concise, descriptive, and include relevant keywords. You can only see it in the browser tab when you’re on the site:
Make it compelling, as it’s the first thing seen in search engine results. Keep it under 60 characters to ensure full display.
Enter the browser page title in your website admin panel.
A well-crafted page title can improve click-through rates and help search engines understand your content’s topic. To avoid duplicate content issues and maximize your SEO potential, create unique titles for each page.
Here’s how the browser page title shows up in Google search.
8. Add Meta Descriptions
Incorporate meta descriptions for each blog article in the admin panel. These are short snippets that appear beneath the webpage title in search engine results.
Meta descriptions provide a brief summary of the page’s content, helping users decide whether to click the link. This description should be well thought out and no more than 160 characters to avoid being cut off in search results. Make sure each page on your site has a unique and compelling meta description that accurately reflects its content. Include relevant keywords naturally, but avoid keyword stuffing. A well-crafted meta description can significantly improve your click-through rates from search results pages.
Avoid duplicate meta descriptions. It’s better to leave it empty than have duplicates. If you don’t enter one, Google will take a snippet from your text. Control it yourself to improve your click-through rate (CTR).
9. Optimize for Mobile
With the increasing use of smartphones for web browsing, mobile optimization is crucial for SEO success. Ensure your website is responsive and loads quickly on mobile devices. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in its search rankings, so a mobile-optimized site can give you a competitive edge. Test your site’s mobile-friendliness using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool and make necessary adjustments.
Conclusion
SEO has deeper levels, and if you’re not clued up, get someone to do it for you. However, following these straightforward steps for each blog article will significantly improve your website’s visibility and search engine rankings. Consistency is key in SEO, so make it a habit to implement these techniques with every new post.
Remember that SEO is an ongoing process, and results take time to manifest. Stay patient and continue to create high-quality, relevant content for your audience. As you master basic SEO practices, you can explore more advanced SEO techniques to enhance your website’s performance and attract more organic traffic.
Need help optimizing your blog for SEO? Let me write engaging, well-researched articles for you that follow SEO best practices. Reach out today, and let’s boost your website’s visibility together!
