Best Ways To Optimize a Blog Post For SEO

Optimizing a blog post for SEO not only boost website traffic but also improves your site’s ranking on SERP.

As a blogger or website owner, you would want your blog to feature in top-ranking pages. However, with the ever-changing algorithms of Google, this could be a tough job.

According to research, more than 75% of users never go past the top ten to twenty pages on the search engine results. This means that if your blog ranks lower, you will not get the targeted traffic to your website.

You must focus on the essentials of SEO optimization since most SEO experts adhere to these technical strategies and practices for the optimization process.

It will help build the foundation of your website, which will improve visibility and drive traffic. Once you are through with basic SEO practices, you can then move to a higher level of optimization for your blog post.

 

Best Ways to Optimize a Blog Post for SEO

1. Create Content With Search Intent

Search intent is also called 'user intent'. Understanding the intent is Google's top priority. Websites that rank on the first page of Google has passed the test of intent.

There are four main types of search intent you should know about - Informational, Navigational, Commercial, and Transactional.

• Informational intent is when a user is searching for specific information - more in a question form.

• Navigational is when a user is looking for a particular application or a website.

• Commercial intent is when a user is looking for a product but hasn't decided on buying it.

• Transactional is when the user wants to buy a product - the results are more to do with eCommerce stores.

When you create a blog post, you need to keep the search intent in mind. You need to create content that directly aligns with what your audience is looking for.

 

2. Optimize Your Images

Images have a great impact on readers as it helps enhance user experience. A blog post without an image may not attract as many users as a blog with images.

Most bloggers are not aware that Google image search can drive traffic to a web page. But for that, you need to optimize your images.

• Add an alt text to your image; click on your site image and specify the alternative text.

• Add a description in your alternative text.

You need to make sure that your image loads at a faster speed apart from the alt text. You can also use a plugin to compress and optimize your images on the blog.

 

3. Add Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

The two most important Meta tags on your page are - Title tags and Meta descriptions.

Title tags are clickable headlines that appear in SERP. Search engines display 50 to 60 characters of the title in search results. For optimizing the Title tag, you can include your target keyword and add a title that matches search intent.

• Don't stuff added keywords and avoid creating duplicate tags.

• Keep the tag descriptive but clear.

Meta descriptions are a summary that describes your page in SERP. It is displayed below the title tag of the page. It not only impacts the search rankings but also the click-through rates.

Google shortens meta descriptions to up to 150 characters. To optimize Meta descriptions, you need to write a unique one for each page and provide an accurate summary. You need to include target keywords and make your copy action-oriented.

 

4. Use Internal and External Links

The focus should be on link equity once your blog is ready. Links are a major ranking factor for search engines.

• Internal links are directed to pages on your website where your blog is posted.

• External links are directed towards a targeted web page.

Internal and external links can boost your website ranking when used in the right way. Add links as hyperlinks around a particular phrase or words. The links you add should add value to the blog.

For optimization, it is important to add internal links from the top-ranking pages. Use a site audit to generate an audit report on the important website links. Site testing can also help you to fix any broken links, which are one of the reasons for a high bounce rate.

 

5. Utilize the Keywords in the Post

A keyword used in a blog post is an important ranking factor for Google. Once you've researched your target keywords, you need to add them (naturally) in your content.

However, note that overstuffing keywords in the blog post may do more harm than good as Google penalizes websites that stuff keywords. The best practices for including keywords are;

• Start by including keywords in headings, titles, subheadings, intro, and conclusion.

• Include the keyword in the anchor text, it's the text that you will use in hyper-linking.

• Keywords should be included in meta descriptions and title tags. Also, make use of LSI keywords and phrases. 

6. Optimize the Page speed

A website needs to load in three seconds to reduce the bounce rate. Users skip websites that don't load faster, so check your page speed with the help of tools such as GTMetrix.

Google Pagespeed Insights is another free tool that lets you know about your page speed and offers suggestions on how to improve it. Some of the tips to boost website speed includes;

• Using a plugin to optimise and compress images and other media files.

• Enabling browser caching and deleting plugins that are not in use.

• Reducing the number of redirects and server response time. Minifying the JavaScript files and CSS.

 

7.  Improve the User Experience on the Website

Google takes into account the behaviour of users and time spent on your website. User experience is one of the factors for ranking in SERP. To improve user experience, you need to follow the below tips:

• Use subheadings like H1, H2, and H3. When you use these subheadings, Google understands your content better and makes it accessible to the users searching for your content.

• Make your content visually appealing, as people tend to engage more with the content that has visuals. Use relevant videos, screenshots, and images with your content. Most bloggers also use Infographics to make their content more appealing.

• Use the white space feature in your blog post. It makes up for a good aspect of a great design. If you leave white space between the para, left and right margins, it increases comprehension by 20%. Use white space in your blog post to make your content look more interesting; it also increases the user's attention.

• Don't use intrusive pop-ups as they annoy website visitors. Google also penalizes websites that use pop-ups to attract visitors. You can use pop-ups to grow your email list, but ensure you use an exit-intent pop-up. Most importantly, display it to users only when they have spent at least two to five minutes on your website.

 

8. Have User-friendly URLs and Submit a Sitemap to Google

If the URL is not optimized, it won’t provide any context about your blog post and in turn, won't reach your users on the SERP. As such, it is important to optimize the URL strings to make them more user-friendly.

• Make your blog post URLs descriptive and short.

• Also, use the right format. Don't use URLs with special characters or numbers as it will affect the ranking.

Submitting a sitemap helps search engines to understand your blog structure better. It helps Google to crawl your web pages and improve their rankings.

If you use an all-in-one SEO plugin, it can generate a sitemap for you, which you need to submit to Google.

 

9. Share Your Blog Posts on Social Media Platforms

Optimizing a blog post for social media is important. Once you create a blog, you can share your blog post on different social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

When people read posts on social media sites, they not only share the posts but also visit your website. It increases traffic and helps your site to rank better. For optimizing and promoting on social media, use these techniques;

• Add images to your blog posts or make use of videos.

• Publish social posts consistently and at an appropriate time to boost engagement.

• Use hashtags to promote your blog on different social media channels. Two or three hashtags are enough for your marketing. Use hashtags that resonate with your content and is unique to your brand.

Also, remember, you can't reach your potential audience in a single day. So, you'll have to wait for a few days to get the desired results.

 

Final Thoughts,

Optimization does not work in a single day. It may take months, and you'll need to make constant changes and updates to your SEO strategy.

Once your content is in place, you can focus on the technical aspect of your blog. Search ranking is subjected to many factors, so you must measure the performance of your SEO strategy from time to time.

Over time things may improve, but never lose focus on the basics of optimizing a blog post. Also, use different plugins and tools available for site optimization, as it'll save time.

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