Related Posts
Podcasts
Have you ever felt the sting of crafting a meticulous, well-thought-out blog, only to find it unnoticed in the vast sea of online content? If you’re nodding along, murmuring a silent ‘yes’, this guide is cut out just for you, a dedicated content manager or an avid writer, seeking the SEO strategies that’ll help your content rank without plunging into the technical abyss.
The angst that comes from seeing your hard work disregarded, the frustration born from lacklustre visibility, or even that simmering anxiety that builds as your brand wavers in the shadows is a more common feeling among Content Managers and Writers than you’d think.
Here’s the thing… while your words might be woven with finesse, they need the wings of SEO to soar through the ranks of search engines, reaching the eyes of those who seek them.
Imagine the empowerment and sheer relief of watching your blog climb its way through the rankings, emerging triumphant and visible, all while you, yes you, lead its growth. Now, get ready to accept this possibility as reality because the journey you’re about to embark upon will elevate your content from the unseen depths, lighting it up on the screens of your desired audience.
We at RedPandas Digital have optimised over 140+ blogs for our own Learning Centre, resulting in traffic growth of almost 6x over one year alone.
In this article, you will learn how to use the same strategies we used to grow our organic traffic (and our many clients). Don’t worry if you’re new to SEO, you’ll walk away with all the tools you need to optimise your blogs for SEO.
Together, let’s navigate through the simplified steps below to optimise your blogs for SEO, ensuring your words don’t merely linger but vividly resonate in the digital world.
Step 1. Understanding SEO and Its Importance
Let’s talk about SEO without entangling ourselves in the web of technicality.
Imagine you’re in a big library. Each book is a webpage or a blog, and SEO? Well, think of it as the librarian. When someone asks for books on a specific topic, the librarian doesn’t randomly pick them. They choose those that are most relevant, credible, and valuable to the seeker’s query.
In the digital world, SEO acts as this discerning librarian, helping search engines, like Google, pick out your blog amidst the boundless digital content when someone seeks information you’ve talked about.
“I’ve created quality content, why am I not visible?”
Crafting compelling content is pivotal, but without SEO, it’s like having a treasure trove hidden away in a vast desert. SEO ensures your valuable words are discoverable, reaching the eyes and ears craving that precise knowledge. In saying this, creating valuable content triumphs technical SEO strategies, so you need to make sure you get that right before you worry about optimising your blog for SEO.
Imagine crafting a valuable article that answers all your buyers’ questions on “Healthy Vegan Recipes.” Without SEO, your article, despite its quality, maybe buried under millions of similar content.
But, with effective SEO, when someone types “Healthy Vegan Recipes” into the search bar, your article could be the one they’re led to, the one they read, engage with, and perhaps, even share across their social media.
So, how exactly can you optimise your blog for SEO? Let’s delve into it.
Step 2: Keyword Research for Writers
Going back to the idea of the digital library analogy, if SEO is the librarian, keywords are the catalogue entries that guide it. Simply put, keywords are words or phrases that users type into search engines when looking for information.
Keywords are important because they help Google show your blog article to your buyers when they search for the relevant keyword. It’s like the librarian (SEO) is looking for a specific book in a specific aisle, and the visitor’s query (or in this case keyword search) is what tells the librarian which aisle and which shelf to look on.
As such, it’s essential to create blog articles that are based on keywords that users are searching for and that incorporate those keywords into the article effectively. Let’s take a look at how you can do just that.
Tools & Strategies to Identify Keywords
Keyword research is about finding keywords that have search volume (as in, users are searching for it), and that have a lower competition level. You want to make sure that people are searching for that term, but that you also have somewhat of a chance to compete for that term.
This can take quite a bit of skill to master because there are more factors that go into this than just search volume and competition, making it a little more complex than it might seem at first sight. For example, keyword relevancy is another important factor (more important than competition) which you have to consider.
Once you find your keyword/s, you can use that information to create articles around that phrase. For example, if you discover that ‘What is HubSpot?” is a high-volume keyword with medium competition, you may produce an article answering that question. Then, it’s just about using that keyword appropriately in your article (which we will cover shortly).
Here are some strategies to identify keyword opportunities:
Leveraging Tools
Leveraging tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggest can provide insight into the popular keywords related to your blog topic. They offer data on search volume (how often a term is searched), keyword difficulty (competition to rank for that keyword), and more
Using Google Search
Ask yourself, if I were looking for information on this topic, what would I type? Type that out in Google and have a look at the “people also ask” section. These are the keywords you want to focus on
Then, look at the articles that show up on the first page of Google. Look out specifically for what content these articles include.
These are some of the articles you would look at if you were searching ‘What is HubSpot?’
You’ll want to model your piece of content to match the overall theme that fits in with the articles that show up on the first page of Google. This is because Google is showing these articles as it thinks they are relevant to the search term that has been inputted.
So, you want to also tell Google you’re relevant and should show up for this keyword, which you can do by producing content that matches the overall themes of these articles. It’s important to note that you can achieve this while still making your content unique. It isn’t about copying the content, but rather, copying the topic.
Using SEMRush for Keyword Research
Here’s what you can do with SEMRush:
Keyword Magic Tool
Enter your keyword and explore a multitude of related keywords, questions, and variants that people are searching for. This can help you discover topics to write about as well as distinguish which keywords are best to rank for based on search volume and competition levels.
The Keyword Magic Tool also tells you the intent of the user when searching that term. For example, it tells you whether the user is seeking an answer to a question, or whether they’re searching for a brand to work with. This can help you determine what angle to take when writing your article.
Organic Research
Analyse which keywords your competitors are ranking for. Are there any keywords relevant to your blog that you might have overlooked?
Keyword Gap
Compare your domain against competitors to find keywords you’re not ranking for but should consider targeting.
To do this in Semrush, navigate to the Keyword Gap tool, enter your domain and a competitor’s domain. Make sure that you select ‘organic keywords’ as shown in the image below.
Then, click the ‘compare’ button and you should be able to see data that compares your website to your competitors in terms of keyword rankings.
If you scroll down, you’ll also see a more detailed keyword report, which shows you potential keyword opportunities and areas to improve. An example of this can be seen below:
By using this tool, you’re able to find keyword opportunities to outrank your competitors.
Crafting with Keywords in Mind
Once you’ve identified your keywords for a blog article, it’s not just about scattering them randomly. They should be placed where they make the most impact, not just for SEO but for your readers too.
Integrate them into the:
- Title of your article
- Headings & Subheadings
- Introductory Sentence
- Conclusion
- Alt Text of images, only where it makes sense
- Meta Description
- SEO Title Tag
The key is to use keywords throughout the blog article to climb the SEO ladder while still being engaging and valuable to your readers.
Step 3: User Experience and SEO
Search engines like Google prioritise user experience, making it an imperative aspect of your SEO strategy. A great UX not only retains your reader’s attention but also sends positive signals to search engines regarding the relevance and quality of your blog.
Here are the key factors you’ll want to focus on when it comes to creating a positive user experience for users on your website.
Mobile Optimisation
To do this, ensure your blog has a:
- Responsive Design: Adopt a design that adapts to various screen sizes, providing a seamless reading experience across devices
- Legible Font Sise: Ensure text is easily readable on smaller screens without necessitating zooming
- Efficient Navigation: Ensure easy navigability with a clear menu, accessible buttons, and a straightforward layout
Page Load Speed
A speedy website not only satisfies the impatience of web users but is also a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm. You can check your page speed by going to Google Page Speed Insights or GTMetrix. You should aim for a site speed of less than 2 seconds.
When you use these tools to test your site speed, they will tell you what you need to do to improve the speed, which you can then pass on to a developer to complete for you (or do yourself if you’re tech savvy).
Readability and Structure
A well-structured, easy-to-read blog keeps your readers engaged and reduces bounce rate, signalling quality and relevance to search engines.
Here are some ways you can achieve this:
- Short Paragraphs: Craft content in digestible chunks to facilitate easy reading, especially on mobile devices
- Use of Headings and Bullet Points: Organise content with clear headings and bullet points to aid in skimming and scanning
- Simple Language: Employ straightforward language and avoid jargon to ensure your content is accessible to a broad audience
Engaging Visuals
Visual components on your blog can bolster engagement, making your blog more appealing and shareable.
- Use Relevant Images: Implement images that align with and complement your content
- Incorporate Videos: If relevant, include videos to further elaborate points or provide visual demonstrations
Accessibility
Ensure that every user, regardless of ability, can navigate, understand, and interact with your blog. Here’s how you can achieve this:
- Adding Alt Text for Images: Include descriptive alt text for images to enhance accessibility and aid SEO
- Keyboard Navigation: Ensure your blog is navigable via keyboard for those unable to use a mouse
- Legible Colour Contrast: Make sure text is easily readable against background colours
A good user experience elevates your SEO by providing value, retaining visitors, and encouraging interactions and shares.
Ensuring your blog is user-friendly, accessible, and provides value at every click is pivotal for SEO success and reader satisfaction.
Step 4: Content Quality and Relevance
The quality of content trumps any SEO strategy you could use.
In fact, the new Google ‘helpful content algorithm’ update is designed to reward helpful content and penalise unhelpful content.
So, if you focus on helping your reader through your content, Google will reward you. It’s as simple as that.
But how exactly do you do this?
Have an Undying Commitment to Answering Your Buyer’s Questions
The best way to add value to your audience is to answer their questions in the most accurate way possible. Buyers need to make a decision – and to do that, they need their various questions answered.
Your goal is to find out what questions your buyers are asking through a Content Brainstorm and then answer your buyer’s questions effectively and accurately. If you do just that and nothing else on this list, you’ll likely see your traffic soar.
20 Tips to Further Improve Your SEO, Even If Nothing Else is Working
If you’re doing all of the above successfully and still finding it difficult to improve your blog’s SEO, then you might want to consider these 20 tips to improve your SEO, even if nothing else is working.
Embarking on the SEO journey can be both exhilarating and challenging. But your voyage doesn’t conclude here.
SEO is a continuous learning and adaptation process. There will be algorithm updates, evolving trends, and varying audience preferences to navigate through.
Implement the strategies you’ve learnt through this article, but then, always ensure to revisit, revise, and rejuvenate your tactics based on the latest trends. You can always keep up to date with new SEO trends by checking out Search Engine Journal.
