The Best SEO Practices for Blogging
Search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO, is no longer an alien concept when it comes to building a website and starting a blog. Yet, even though most people understand the general concept of SEO and why it’s important, those same people will overlook its usefulness when working on their own content.
If you want to have a blog that rises to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs), then you need to start utilizing SEO immediately. That’s why it’s time to learn the best SEO practices for blogging.
Let’s begin.
Quantity Matters
Everyone is always talking about how you should prioritise quality, but what most forget is that, even with quality content, too few blogs could damage your ranking. The more focused you are within your niche, and the more quality content you put out, the quicker you will accumulate an audience.
In other words, quantity is just as important as quality (which we’ll get into in a moment).
Some bloggers get away with 2-3 posts a month while others need way more. Fresh content is important—just as much as solid content. You shouldn’t saturate your blog, but you should make sure that you are writing enough—and making enough content—to be found across all your targeted platforms.
So, maybe instead of “quantity,” you want to emphasize consistency instead. If you have trouble remaining consistent, find guest bloggers to contribute to your website.
Content is Still King
Ah, yes, the age-old adage: “Content is king.” The thinking is that quality should trump quantity, not the other way around. That said, if you post 1 quality article a month and your competitor is churning out 5 fantastic articles all related to the same subject, who do you think is going to rise above?
Your content needs to be compelling and educational to a degree. Avoid sounding like the whole thing is a sales pitch. Give information, even if it doesn’t lead to people converting or purchasing a product or service from you. The more trustworthy your information is, the more people are going to continue coming back—until they do reach out.
Keep Those URLs Sweet and Succinct
Ever notice how some URLs seem to be interminable? It can be annoying when you want to share that link with someone. One way to make your URLs more SEO-friendly is to, again, emphasize the quality of the words, not the quantity.
A great URL has a very short structure that contains the brand’s name (or domain name), categories, and keywords.
Make the Most Out of Meta Tags
SEO focuses a lot on the little things—alt text, keywords, and also, meta tags. A meta tag tells search engines what the content is about. Therefore, strong SEO practices begin with meta tags.
There are four kinds of meta tags that you never want to forget: title tags, meta descriptions, alt tags, and header tags.
The title tag has the most weight. It can be up to 70 characters in length and is where the most important keywords in the article are placed.
Meanwhile, meta descriptions help describe your title. They may not have much SEO value, but they do help attract more readers.
Alt tags are undervalued—critically. These explain the purpose of your blog’s images to search engines. By adding alt tags enriched with keywords, you give your blog an SEO boost.
Lastly, header tags. Using H1, H2, and H3 help search engines understand the order of your information and help the user pick out key points. For instance, if you have a section that describes the main keyword in the title, you may use H1 tags to highlight that section and then H3 tags for points or subsections within that area. You can use as many H2, H3, and H4 tags as you want, but try to use H1 tags only once.
Keywords, Please
Content cannot be content without a foundation or a theme. Keywords can be that foundation of everything your blog (and site) are built upon. If you want to be an online presence, you need to choose which keywords are going to be the most useful to you. Even within monetization, keywords are necessary.
When you type something into the search bar on Google or another search engine, that query becomes a keyword or longtail keyword phrase. Choose the keywords you want wisely. “Dog biscuits” is much less precise than “how to make dog biscuits.” But you can use both to generate exceptional content.
When you first get started with your blog, use tools to figure out which keywords to select. Google Keyword Planner, for instance, is excellent.
Final Thoughts
SEO is always evolving, but the points in this blog have remained unchanging since the beginning. Although you utilize keywords and content much differently now by upgrading the user experience, you still need to see consistent, quality content as the most important piece of any SEO strategy.
By implementing the steps laid out in this article, you will be able to make leaps and bounds with your ranking. It may take a little bit of time to see a difference, but in the end, you will be farther along than those who overlooked the importance of such steps.
