Do you know why companies optimize blog posts? To understand the why, we must also understand the importance of SEO.
There are only so many top listings on the first page of search results. When potential customer types in a keyword or query about your business’ service offerings, you want your website to be on it. One way to achieve better results on the search engine results page is to bid on keywords and queries through paid search. However, landing a prominent place on the SERP requires more than that. That’s where SEO comes in.
SEO, or search engine optimization, refers to increasing traffic to your website through organic search engine results. When an individual enters a query, search engines like Google or Bing pull from various sites and rank the results based on what they find most relevant to users.
When you consider a successful website, blog content may not be the first thing on your mind. Incorporating a regularly updated blog on your website is one of the best ways to optimize your search engine results. By utilizing keywords and other SEO tactics in your blog posts, you can boost your website’s relevance on the SERP.
Here are five tactics to help you optimize blog posts for SEO:
Do Your Keyword Research To Optimize Blog Posts
First and foremost, you want to utilize the most relevant keywords as you optimize blog posts. To do so, it’s essential to do your research. You may think you know what your audience is searching for, but researching keywords will ensure you use the most popular terms for your industry or service.
If you have an AdWords account, you can use the Keyword Planner to stay on top of keyword trends and find keywords that will drive the most traffic. Don’t have an Adwords account? No problem- you can set one up for free.
Incorporate Your Keyword in the Right Places
Once you’ve chosen a relevant, valuable keyword, you want to incorporate it as you optimize blog posts into where it will have the most impact. The following areas do just that:
- Title
- URL
- The first sentence (or at least the first paragraph)
- Meta description
- Image alt text (rename images to be relevant and descriptive)
When it comes to incorporating your keyword into the content of your post, don’t overdo it. “Keyword stuffing,” or including as many keywords as possible to optimize search, will hurt SEO and reduce readability.
Strategically placing your keyword (and a variation or two of it) in just a few places throughout the post will keep you from being penalized for keyword stuffing as you optimize blog posts.
Install an SEO Plugin
To ensure that you follow best practices to optimize blog posts. Yoast SEO plugins for WordPress make it easy to optimize your posts. The plugin will tell you where your post is succeeding and where it is lacking in SEO and readability, giving you a red, yellow, or green light.
Once you adjust the post based on the plugin’s findings and recommendations, you’ll get the green light. With easy-to-understand suggestions, you can ensure search engine optimization before clicking “schedule.” That means your post is optimized and good to go.
Include Links
Improve SEO by including internal and external links as you optimize blog posts. Internal links help Google find similar subject matter on your website, understand the structure of your site, and establish a hierarchy of the most important pages.
If your blog references or pulls information from another webpage, include an external link to that page. Not only will it show Google you respect your sources, but it could get you a link back to their content.
Share on Social
You’ve written the blog. Now, you just need people to read it. One of the best ways to ensure your blog is seen is to share it on your social platforms! Sharing your latest blog posts on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social pages will give your blog more exposure and broaden its reach.
You’ve learned how to optimize blog posts! While following these steps will get you on the path toward better search engine results, it takes time, dedication, and the right resources to perfect the art of SEO and achieve better results on the SERP. Need a hand with SEO and paid search for your business? TargetMarket is here to help. Check out our website to get in touch with our team today to get started.
