Ranking with SEO – blog posts optimization 10 Best Practices
Great SEO isn’t really an independent practice anymore. We’re now in an age where quality content creation reigns supreme, and search engines consider social signals to judge the quality and relevance of content.
In fact, search engine optimization is inseparable from social media and content marketing, because these three factors form the pillar of a modern inbound marketing strategy. (seo is of prime importance)
Keyword research and optimization can improve the performance of your SEO blog posts in search, while social media shares send a clear message to Google that your content is quality.
Given the fact that 89 percent of consumers still head straight to Google, Bing, or Yahoo to search for branded product or service solutions, a keyword strategy is a tool to ensure your company is ranking well.
Here is a simple, step-by-step guide to modern SEO blog posts optimization best practices for today’s content marketer
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Do proper keyword research and monitor the trends
There are about a million factors that affect the queries driving the largest volume of search. Terms like “Diwali gifting ” peak in October/November. However, your industry is likely as vulnerable to trends as any other. Google Insights for Search is a free and magical tool for discovering how your keywords are faring over time, and capturing top rankings for the next big thing in your niche.
Researching the right terms to use for your SEO blog posts can allow you to determine the topics and concepts that are driving the highest volume of search in your industry, and help you shape your editorial calendar accordingly.
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Create and maintain an Editorial Calendar
Never fear of creating an editorial calendar. They’re really not that time-consuming to create or maintain. Not only will your professional organization skills soar, they’re an important tool for creating SEO blog posts. You don’t need to create your titles in advance – and some inbound marketers believe headlines should be created last – but create topics around your keywords for the month.
Gather resources, and consider which call-to-actions you’ll include with your articles. Some experts believe you should include both primary and secondary keywords in your calendar for the most SEO optimization benefit possible.
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Avoid overuse of Jargon
Ensure your keyword research includes terms familiar to people of all levels of expertise. Jargon should be there but it shouldn’t reign supreme in your keyword strategy. Just like fashion trends and top 50 hits, buzzwords and jargon peak in popularity, and then quickly disappear into anonymity.
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Keep an eye on Search Volume
Even the most brilliant content marketing strategy can fall short if you’re not targeting keywords that people are actually searching for. For best results, aim for the highest search volume possible, and a difficulty score under 70.
Tracking search volume of keywords through a tool like Google AdWords, HubSpot or Ubersuggest is critical to make sure for good results. If your keyword queries return only a few dozen searches a month, you’ll likely see some pretty limited success.
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Create SEO-Friendly Copy
It’s impossible to discuss the idea of SEO blog posts without bringing Google’s quality guidelines. Create content that’s relevant to your keywords, but ensure it fits the following criteria above all else:
Write for people, not search bots: ensure your copy is natural and compelling.
- Don’t be tricky: if your keyword is “content marketplace,” don’t try and cover conversion optimization.
- Be Unique: Your content should have standalone value that your readers can’t get anywhere else on the web.
- On-page content is just one factor in creating SEO blog posts, but it’s a pretty important one. Write well, incorporate your keywords, and make sure you’ve put in enough effort to create something remarkable.
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Performing Competitive Analysis is absolutely important
Any successful marketing strategy should include an element of competitive analysis, which is regular research on how your company stacks up against other brands in your niche.
That being said, it pays to be cautious on just how you research your competition’s SEO efforts. Google’s terms of service prohibit automated search queries from SEO tools, meaning you can’t rely on a piece of software to generate reports on whether you or your competitor is ranked better.
The most ethical way to discover the information you need is manually. Sign out of your Google account to ensure your results aren’t skewed, and regularly check your competitions’ top rankings for key search terms.
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Create epic headlines
Whatever you do, never skip out on creating an epic and eye-catching title for your SEO blog posts. Incorporate your keyword, but be sure to pack a punch by using powerful or action-oriented words, numbers, questions or other factors that are sure to capture a reader’s eye on social media or in search.
In Blogger, WordPress, HubSpot and many other content management systems, your blog title will do dual duty as your page title. According to Moz, this is the single most-important factor in creating SEO blog posts. More than anything else, your title tag will communicate to Google what your blog is about.
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Using the right images and title correctly
Adding images to your SEO blog posts can significantly improve the stickiness of your content, and lower your bounce rate. To receive the full SEO boost possible from your images, save the file using your keyword as the file name. You’ll receive more benefit from an image called “content marketing services” than file-1090347.
Search engines are not yet smart enough to index images. They rely on Alt Text for determining the intent of your image. Be sure to incorporate keywords into your image tags to avoid confusing search engines about the context of your content.
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Add Metadata but don’t rely on them completely
Meta descriptions are no longer directly considered by search engines in ranking pages, according to Moz. Due to rampant abuse of meta data by marketers in past years, major search engines no longer rely on the information for indexing or ranking. It’s still prudent to include meta tags, because minor search engines use them, but don’t invest too much time and effort into the process.
I hope this helped 🙂
How to BLOG – Series 1
How to Blog – Series – 2
How to BLOG – Tips – Series 3
How to Blog – Series 4
How to BLOG – Series 5