Whether you’re looking to start a hobby blog that you eventually want to monetize or a blog for your company’s website, understanding SEO is important. While SEO might feel intimidating to those who aren’t well-versed in its strategies, there are simple things that you can do to create a blog that drives traffic to your website for clicks and sales. Keep reading for seven SEO tips for beginner bloggers.
1. Write Quality Blog Posts
Blog posts are a big part of SEO because well-written blogs can help you rank in search results. What exactly does a well-written blog post consist of? They answer questions. You can directly respond to questions that your customers and readers are asking with blog posts. This will help you to show up in search results as your customer base searches for industry-related information.
2. Use Targeted Search Terms
According to Detroit Internet Marketing, “You can create the perfect piece of content, but without a sound content marketing strategy it will not get you results.”
While quality blog posts answer questions, they also contain key search terms. It’s important to understand the phrases and terminology that your customers will be using to find the information they’re looking for. This sometimes means that you have to use slang compared to technical terms. For example, if a photographer is writing a blog about how to get adjust the depth of field on a picture, most people who are just starting out in the world of photography probably don’t know the term depth of field. They would be much better off with a blog titled “How to get a blurry background in a photo” than explaining within the blog post that this is called depth of field.
3. Write Long Blog Posts
We get it. Writing blog posts is hard enough, but long-form blogs can feel flat-out intimidating. However, the effort put into writing longer blog posts will pay out in spades. Search engines view favorably long-form content that provides in-depth information for those who are seeking it. With blogs that are 2,000 words or more, you’re able to educate your readers with descriptive blog posts as well as touch on a variety of search terms within the subject matter.
If you don’t feel like this is something you or someone within your company can do well, you can always outsource blog posts. Marketing agencies will write 100% original copy that’s meant to help your website rank well in search results.
4. Use Descriptive Titles
Catch the attention of readers with descriptive titles that use the search terms you’re targeting. Most people who are looking for information on Google will scan titles down the page looking for a specific search word or phrase. The title of your blog post is the first thing your potential customers will see. If it fits what they’re looking for, they’ll click the link and enter your sales funnel.
Keep in mind, however, that click-bait titles that have nothing to do with the blog post itself can be harmful. If customers click your blog then continually click away because they can see the material has nothing to do with the title, Google and other search engines will deem your material as not useful information and drop you in search engine results.
5. Write Evergreen Content
Trending and seasonal content make for good blog posts because they will get a high volume of searches in a short period of time. Additionally, seasonal content is great because it will continue to drive readers to your website for a period year over year. Although, evergreen content drives sustainable content over months and years. Find evergreen topics that apply to your industry and write informational blogs that your customer base will seek out. These will drive traffic to your website and you’ve only had to put the work in once.
6. Build Links Within Your Website
Blogs are an excellent way to build out a link web within your website. You can refer to pages that are specific to geographic areas that you serve, services you provide, or simply give information about your company. The more you build links within your website, the more users will stay engaged and click through your website. Google will reward you with higher search rankings as your click-through rates and time spent on your site increase.
7. Add Images With Descriptive Alt Text
Images and infographics are hard to resist when reading a blog post. They’re an easy and effective way to help readers scan blog posts without having to read thousands of words. You can give images descriptive alt text that includes your targeted keywords so search engines can more easily find your blog posts. If you’ve ever searched for an image of something specific, this is how they are tagged to show in Google’s image results.
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