Blogging is a skill. It is often time-consuming and hard. It is important to choose and write good topics so as to engage the readers of your site.
The process of writing an article requires a lot more than just focusing on small details.
An ideally optimized post has higher potential to be seen on Google which boosts organic traffic to your website or blog and establishes your authority.
Creating sustainable channels for organic traffic is important especially if you don't have, or don't want to, invest money in paid advertising.
SEO friendly blog posts do the work for you, and when written correctly a simple blog post can attract the eyes of your target customer.
If you're feeling a bit stuck, make sure to check out this article on the best SEO Practices.
Once your target audience discovers you via their Google search, you can add relevant internal links to other optimized blog posts, and begin to build your blog post's SEO strategy.
SEO Blog tips:
Create the structure for your blog post
Make your website clear in its format and structure. Splitting blog posts between sections is an effective strategy.
Readability is important not just for SEO, but also for the reader's experience. Large blocks of texts, jam-packed with keywords may seem like a good idea, but think again.
Search engines will see straight through those dated tactics.
An SEO friendly blog post is one that not only ranks well in search results, but also matches search intent, and provides relevant content.
Surfer has a variety of tools which can help you create an impactful SEO strategy for your blog post.
Before you start a new blog post ask yourself the following questions:
- Who am I writing for, and what do they expect from this post (search intent)
- What is my target keyword? Do I understand keyword density so as to avoid accidental keyword stuffing? (keyword research)
- Have I considered any internal and external links to help this one post to be more impactful part of my overall content strategy? (link building strategy)
- Do I have a good and interesting title? Compelling meta descriptions? A user-friendly blog structure? (on-page SEO optimization)
Decide on the title of your blog post:
It's important to create a great name that is interesting for Search Engine Optimization and user- friendly.
No one wants to play a guessing game by clicking on a post with a confusing, boring or straight clickbait title.
Several bloggers adore this step and create the blog structure based around the title, others prefer putting together the names once they know what they want to cover.
Find the easiest way for you.
Whatever one prefers, a title must have one or several characteristics. You can create titles by adding ‘How to' or Adding a ‘A step by step' as a way to increase the relevance and clickability.
Lists also do well because they almost always include the target keyword while also adjusting the reader's expectations for length.
Well-optimized blog posts have engaging and clear titles.
Think before you write:
Give some time before writing a blog post. It saves time later.
We recommend regularly reading several articles about SEO. It's also a good idea to analyze search engine results pages for your primary keyword.
What do you see? Are the results for your main keyword guides, lists, featured snippets, images, shorter blog posts, long-form articles, stores?
Since search engines understand what people are looking for, a great thing to do before you start writing is to have a look.
Use Surfer's Keyword Research Tool to organize your anchor page and subsequent blog posts for internal linking to contribute to your page's authority.
Create a publishing schedule for all the articles on the content calendar not just for when you'll post, but also for when you'll update your content.
Use headings, correctly.
Use headings to structure your entire website, but use them properly.
These are essential for both readability and SEO purposes. Headings help Google learn what your blog posts are about and help improve your rankings.
Subheadings allow visitors to navigate your blog by explaining your post structure. Use keywords in a few of the paragraphs, but never force them into each because this will make for an unnatural text.
Keyword research for blog posts
The best way to increase the traffic is with proper keyword selection and SEO.
Surfer has tools which are designed to help you find the keywords used by search engines when people want to find a specific answer to the question they're asking.
Surfer's free Chrome extension is an invaluable tool to help you find relevant keywords, search volume and related terms.
Setting Content Benchmarks
You've chosen a good keyword with good intent. Now what?
Let's start creating content. How can you create content that is consistent?
Set a benchmark for your content by analyzing your competitors. Search for a specific keyword to find the best results.
Ensure that the content you are writing will be more valuable than any of your competitors. Use Surfer's Audit tool to check your top ranking competitors.
Creating your first draft
Now that the goals are established, you have to create something people can read.
Your job is to make a comprehensive article which can answer more of your audience's questions than your competitors.
You want to provide quality answers in a concise way.
Keep this in mind when creating your first draft. One tool we recommend is Surfer's AI-driven outline builder which can help you organize your ideas.
Understanding search intent
Search intent plays a crucial role in defining your keyword strategy.
Even when a blog post is optimized to rank on Google, if it doesn't match search intent for any of the keywords you use it won't rank as high as it could possibly.
What are the search intents? Navigational, commercial, transactional and informational.
This is Google's way for users to find answers that actually want.
Optimizing Your Content for SEO
Now we can optimize our content with search engine optimization.
In search engine marketing, ensuring your content answers your customers' main questions should be your first step.
Keep your paragraphs short
Make sure that your paragraphs can be easily skimmed on both desktop and mobile devices.
The most common mobile users will read your blog and this will help them understand your site easily.
Conclusion
The best way to approach SEO friendly blog posts is to have a clear understanding of who you're writing for, why you're writing, and where they'll read it.
Know your target keywords, understand your audience's intent, and make the content easy to find, navigate and read.
See also:
- SEO Copywriting Tips: 7 ranking factors to consider in your writing
- 8+ Tips to Win the SERPS with Your Content
- What is SEO Content? How to Write Content that Ranks
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Want to get Surfer Certified?
All you need to do pass the exam with 85% or higher, and complete the practical activation task of writing a blog post of 1500 words within Surfer's Content Editor!
If you're successful, we'll send you an official Surfer Certificate that you can share, and a badge for Linkedin!
