So, you’re ready to add blog content to your WordPress website? Congratulations! Posts are a great way to improve your website’s search engine ranking and optimization (SEO). Now all you have to do is write one. This article will explain the basics of how to optimize blog posts for SEO.
You also need to make sure all that hard work pays off. You need your posts to be seen and read. That means you need to know how to optimize your blog post’s SEO so that is shows up when people Google your kind of topic or business!And we will show you how to do this with our SEO Steps.
If you also have the Yoast SEO plug-in (which you automatically do if we craft your site), you will also build a post that has a much better SEO score. This means your blog post will show up in the first few search results, which means more readers and more eyes on your website, your brand, and your content.
So, without further ado, here’s how to design the perfect SEO-friendly post…
Step #1: Conduct Your Keyword Research
Keywords count. Why? Because one of the many things your blog posts are ranked on is keywords. Do you use the language that your audience uses? Are your words relevant to the topic? Would people type them into Google if they were looking for your kind of blog? You want to write a post that’s relevant to your business, your products, and your clientele. Anything less will not rank well.
That’s why you should start with keyword research. Google a few topics and blog posts in your industry. See what comes up. Take the top ranked posts and check out the words they use.
Compile them in keyword lists that are related to your business and products, which can serve as a helpful jumping off point for brainstorming blog content.
Don’t skip this step or your blog post won’t rank very well.
Step #2: Set Up the Bones of Your Blog
Blogs aren’t just writing. They’re marketing content. They are meant to have a goal.
You may have a million topics and ideas you’d like to explore. However, before you write, ask yourself: what is my goal with this content? What effect, feeling or action do I want my post to inspire?
Do I want to inspire trust in my brand or persuade them to buy? Do I want to inform people or educate them about my industry or field? Who are the people I am trying to reach with this content? What style of writing do they like?
It becomes much easier to write a blog post if you already know your angle, your intention and preferred writing style.
Then, write down the main points you would like to discuss in your first blog article. Bundle similar ideas together and decide in which order you would like to present them. This will reveal your structure, which are the bones of your blog post.
Good structure is not just the foundation of good writing. It also helps search engines to better grasp the main idea of your post. This means it will rank higher in SEO.
Step #3: Flesh it Out with Words
Now that you’ve got your structure, it’s time to fill in the gaps and take it from bullet points or a few phrases to a real-life fleshed out blog post.
Writing can seem daunting to a beginner, but you’ve already got your points all laid out. Just start writing and keep to the structure you’ve built in. It will keep your thoughts ordered and on track.
Remember, great blogs usually start with an idea or topic that is proposed in your introduction. Then, your supporting paragraphs should do just that, support your idea or further explain your topic in more detail. The conclusion should sum up all your arguments and leave readers with a final “take away”.
Don’t worry about correct spelling or awkward sentences just yet. Just write it all down as it comes to you, and you can clean it up later (that’s where the Yoast SEO tool will come in handy).
Step #4: Make Sure Your Writing is Readable
Every professional writer knows “writing is rewriting”. The same goes for your blog post if you want it to rank high in SEO.
The next step is to refine your first draft. This may mean rewriting some parts of your text.
Read and re-read it. Correct any typos, misspelled words (use a spell checker) etc. Read it aloud a few times to make sure it sounds as good on paper as it does in your head.
Check for flow, ease of reading, and whether your ideas actually come across the way you want. Please leave industry jargon for conferences and industry networking. Blogs should be simple enough that anyone reading at a grade 8 level can understand.
There are tools that can help you check for grammar and readability. Grammarly is one of them, as well as the Hemingway App. They will give you scores on readability, along with helpful suggestions for improvements. The Yoast SEO plugin also includes a tool that will help you refine readability.
Step #5: Use Scanning Tools for SEO
Remember we also talked about Yoast SEO?
One way to ensure a good SEO score is to use a special website plug-in or SEO editing tool. That way, when you’re in the editing stage, you can check your readability and SEO while you’re editing!
If we built your WordPress website, then you already have Yoast SEO installed. A document sidebar gives you feedback on your content by showing you how readable and SEO-friendly your text is. It also points out things that reduce your SEO score like long, awkward sentences or a passive voice. Buttons then let you enhance your SEO by giving suggestions on how to improve your text.
Step #6: Publish that Post – Once It’s Perfect!
Hooray… You’ve finished your first blog post! Ready to hit that “publish” button? We can feel your excitement. After all, you’ve worked so diligently to get it polished and prepped.
However, before you send it out into the world, reassure yourself that your SEO editor plug-in has you covered, so you don’t send out anything sub-par.
After you hit “publish”, most good SEO plug-ins, like Yoast, will let you review your post one more time for SEO and readability. That will give you one last moment to adjust your text before it’s launched online (that’s why we love Yoast and install it in all our WordPress websites).
Some SEO tools will even provide easy sharing capability, so you can share a link to your freshly minted content throughout all your social media channels, like Facebook and Twitter. This will boost your readership even more by drawing attention and traffic to your blog and website. An ideal kickstart!
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How to Optimize Blog Posts for SEO: Final Reminders
Remember, SEO matters if you want your blogs to be read. Visibility is the name of the game and the blog posts that rank the highest get seen more. Google searchers rarely check beyond the first page of search results. To be seen, you need to be on that first page, or even better, among the top 5 search results.
To get there, just stick to the steps we’ve provided. Start with keyword research. Next, plan your topics and your goal for the post, and this will naturally lead you to an outline or structure. Then write and let the muses take you! After, you can polish it up. Simply re-read it, edit your text, and run it through your SEO-optimizing plug-in, or online tool, to improve your writing style, readability score, and SEO ranking.
Then share it with your audience! And write again… The more consistently you blog, the better for your website and overall SEO!
Good luck and happy writing…
Stuck on the kind of content you should invest in? Consult with our expert team of content developers and strategists. We can discuss setting up a keyword plan, a content marketing plan, or any help you need to get your content going.
Is writing not your forte? We also offer website content and blog writing services so you get the benefit of content written by our team of professional writers and content gurus.
