Search engine optimization is incredibly important for marketers. I mean, what website doesn’t want to be at the top of Google?
But optimizing your website means you need to look at your blog posts too. Without proper SEO, your audience is not going to expand with the speed you need to make a profit.
Climbing the Google ranking ladder and reaching page one is within reach of any website, but depending on your current level and your expertise, the time needed to optimize your blog differs.
Having the right tools and knowing the ropes of the trade is definitely going to speed things up and make your path smoother, so here are my SEO tips that all bloggers needs to know…
Think of Your Titles
The first thing we need to look at is your article title. This is one of the most important aspects of your blogging SEO, as Google first reads the titles, then the content, just like how your audience do.
Don’t just put any old jargon in your title.
Think about your title. What keywords can you use in it that people search for? If you’re stuck, try Googling your article topic and see what the top searches are using in their titles.
Also, remember to do this for your entire blog title too. It plays a major part in pushing your website up the search ladder.
The title tag is among the first details “noticed” by the Google crawlers, which makes it very important for your blog.
To split information up, use symbols like “|” just like we do here:
IMAGE
This will keep your title Google friendly as well as nice and easy to ready.
Name Your Images
Images play a significant role in blogging, as they help you to communicate more with the reader, as well as breaking up your article rather than it being one long read.
But the images can’t be “read” by search engine crawlers, unless you actually name them.
Name your images, give them objective descriptions and tags, and ensure they’re relevant to your article.
For example, let’s say you’re creating a blog on fat loss tips. Having an image on your page that is named ‘untitled.jpg’ isn’t going to do anything for your ranking. However, if you rename this image “fat-loss-tips.jpg” the search engines will recognise this and bump your blog up the ranking ladder, as the image name is more relevant.
Ensure your content is easy to read
I always tell people to blog freely. You can and should write long posts, because sometimes – especially in the fitness industry – we tackle detailed topics, which need space to be discussed more intently.
But there is a big difference between long posts that can boost your SEO ranking and those, which lower it: the length of the sentences.
When writing a longer post, try to use short sentences – something that is appreciated by Google.
The best post that is friendly to both readers and search engines is one that has interesting and valuable text, with a few well-named images and a couple of links in the copy.
Connect Your Blog with Social Media
In this day and age, a static website is no longer enough for building an online presence. This is why blogging is something I bang on about a lot, as it attracts the Google crawlers with fresh content on regular basis.
Having a blog linked to your social accounts is going to attract the crawlers, which will notice the high level of activity under your brand or name, lifting you higher on the search ladder. Linking your blog with the social networks is going to make it more noticeable for both the crawlers and your audience, which is beneficial all over.
However, there is a fine line between boosting the ranking and lowering them: if you create profiles on social media and don’t use them, your blog will be penalized for this, so make sure you do use these accounts.
Use H Tags in Your Content
Paragraphs and punctuation are used in articles to make it more pleasant to read – that’s a given. But when it comes to search engine crawlers, they look for your H tags.
When I say H tags, I mean your headline and sub-headline’s. The whole H1 – H5.
Your H1 title is the first element read by the crawlers and therefore the most important. This is why H1 is usually the title of the article. H2 is the second in the hierarchy, so you should use it for subtitles, and so on.
I’d recommend having a number H2s in your article. This will signal to Google that your article is well structured and organised.
Use Plugins
Lastly, make sure you do take advantage of the free SEO plugins for bloggers, such as Yoast and All in One SEO pack, which can elevate your blogging game.
These plugins allow you to adjust your articles with ease, making them ready to impress Google.
