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Blogging is important because it provides your potential customers useful information to inform their buying decisions<\/a>, which helps improve your company\u2019s credibility and thought leadership.<\/p>\n As well, 79% of companies who blog reported a positive ROI in their inbound marketing efforts. Marketers who invest in blogging efforts also see\u00a067% more leads<\/a>\u00a0compared to their peers who do not blog.<\/p>\n Now that you have enough reason to start blogging, what can you do to help your posts stand out from all the noise out there? By making your blogs more SEO-friendly and relevant to search engines, you\u2019ll be able to increase your blog visitors and conversions.<\/p>\n Quick takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n \ud83e\udd2b<\/strong> PS – I put together these 10 tips for optimizing your content marketing. Watch Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of best practices to help improve the ranking of your blog on a search engine\u2019s results page, such as Google.<\/p>\n SEO involves using common keywords that web users search for when using search engines, as well as linking to other websites and social media channels. All these practices increase the relevance of your blog to search engines, which helps your posts climb in the rankings and ultimately drive more traffic to your site.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t prioritize SEO for your blog, why bother with the investment? SEO ensures that your content appears in the right searches so you can reap the benefits of blogging<\/a> like:<\/p>\n How then do you ensure your posts are SEO-friendly? Here are nine simple tips to help you optimize your blogs for SEO.<\/p>\n Search engines rely on keywords to determine what is and isn\u2019t relevant to a web user\u2019s search. A web user typically types in words or a series of words into the search engine related to the topic of their choice. The search engine then lists the top results that it determines to be most relevant to the topic.<\/p>\n To optimize your blog, you should identify and incorporate keywords that are highly relevant to your given topic into your post. Google\u2019s Keyword Tool is one of the many resources out there you can use to look up a keyword\u2019s average monthly searches, relevance, and competitiveness as well as similar keywords.<\/p>\n Make sure the keywords occur organically throughout your post. Don\u2019t try to \u201cforce\u201d keywords into your blog, as this will not help boost your post\u2019s relevance.<\/p>\n 80% of readers don\u2019t actually make it\u00a0past the headline<\/a> so it\u2019s extremely important to create a compelling title. You must pique a reader\u2019s interest and capture the essence or key concept of your blog.<\/p>\n Try to keep your headline under 66 characters if you can, as this allows the entire title to fit on a search page. You\u2019ll also want to incorporate top keyword phrases you\u2019ve used throughout your blog in the headline to increase its relevance.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to create original content that provides useful information to your readers. Google loves original content<\/a> because it helps its algorithms do their job. No one wants to click on three blogs offering the same tips word-for-word when they need nuanced answers. Google knows this.<\/p>\n When writing your blog, use subheadings to help break up your copy and to also help search engines scan and index your post more easily. This will tell Google what your blog is about and help you squeeze the effectiveness out of your original copy.<\/p>\n Where appropriate, include at least three links to other sites, social media channels, or pages on your blog to help drive additional traffic to your post. When you link to other sites, they may also link their content to your site, which helps increase your traffic as well \u2013 but only if it\u2019s original.<\/p>\n \ud83d\ude1c PS – Check out our weekly blog content service<\/a> to grow your website traffic and leads!<\/strong><\/p>\n Longer form content \u2013 posts of over 1,000 words \u2013 tends to rank better on search engines. In fact, the top-performing marketing blogs<\/a> are around 5,700 words. Generally, articles over 3,000 words get:<\/p>\n But if your blog is one large block of text, viewers who initially see it may be discouraged from reading more. Small tricks help you avoid that. For example, you can show a short preview of your blog and use \u201cread more\u201d tags or buttons for readers to click through to continue reading.<\/p>\n Most people also only read about\u00a028% of the words<\/a>\u00a0in a blog post during an average page visit. To make your post more scan-friendly, use short paragraphs, bullet points, number lists, and block quotes to help your readers pick up the key points quickly and find the information they need.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to include call-to-action in your post, such as promoting your social channels or other blogs, as this helps generate more traffic for your site.<\/p>\n Generally speaking, blog posts with images tend to be more popular than those that do not have images. More importantly though, images help break up your copy and can make your blogs more memorable<\/a> as people remember images 6 times easier than text.<\/p>\n Even more importantly, Google wants your images. Apps and search engines are upping the image recognition game with visual search elements and in-SERP snippets. In other words, you should follow their lead and include more images.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to add titles or image captions using your top keywords along with ALT tags and credit your sources.<\/p>\n DataReportal<\/a><\/p>\n Adding a short meta description to your blog makes it easier for search engines to find your post. A meta description should accurately summarize your blog and include your top keywords.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also want to create relevant categories and tags to help organize your blogs, so readers can find specific posts quickly from your homepage or main blog screen. Tags can also organize themselves by popularity or other factors with the right WordPress plugin.<\/p>\n Run a search on Google and you\u2019ll unlock dozens of keyword and topic ideas \u2013 synonymous ideas. Google is providing valuable information here.<\/p>\n The search engine wants to answer every user\u2019s inquiry as quickly as possible. Ergo, if you can answer more relevant questions and synonymous queries, SEO for your blog will improve. See why the long word counts are so beneficial?<\/p>\n As you browse those synonymous keywords and questions, consider them as subtopics for your blog\u2019s subheadings and bulleted lists.<\/p>\n Subheadings are good for more than breaking up your copy \u2013 they also help Google see what\u2019s inside your blog and scan the copy just like a human. Same goes for bulleted lists and numbered lists. Why not give Google what it wants?<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd25 PS – Check out our latest case study<\/a> that shows how we helped one company double their leads!<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t throw links into your blog just because they\u2019re somewhat relevant. Google wants to see links in your blog because it proves you\u2019ve done your research and you\u2019re citing your sources.<\/p>\n But Google doesn\u2019t want you researching and citing any old source. No, Google wants quality. Generally, sites that enjoy a low Alexa score are best for SEO for your blog.<\/p>\n However, lower popularity websites with a high Alexa score might mean high relevancy and high authority in your industry, so don\u2019t count them out if they\u2019re important \u2013 like professional organizations or niche authorities.<\/p>\n Semrush<\/a><\/p>\n Ask yourself why you bother with your blog. What\u2019s it all for?<\/p>\n If you\u2019re like most, you want to reap the benefits of organic traffic instead of paying for ads. You want to earn traffic from Google, engage visitors enough to stay, and eventually convert them into customers.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t do any of that without SEO for your blog \u2013 consistent SEO. SEO isn\u2019t something you do once or every few months. You must integrate SEO into your overall blogging strategy. From your topic selection down to publishing, SEO must play a starring role.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t have the time to devote to SEO on the level you know you need? We\u2019ve got you covered with our customizable <\/em>Content Builder Packages.<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
What is SEO? Why Should You Care?<\/h2>\n
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9 SEO Best Practices for Blog Traffic and Conversions<\/h2>\n
1. Choose the Right Keywords<\/h3>\n
2. Optimize Your Title<\/h3>\n
3. Only Create and Publish Original Content<\/h3>\n
4. Copy Should Be Long but Scannable<\/h3>\n
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5. Always Include Relevant Images<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n6. Consider Your Meta Description and Tags<\/h3>\n
7. Include Autocomplete Synonymous Keywords and Questions<\/h3>\n
8. Pay Attention to Your Subheadings and Bulleted Lists<\/h3>\n
9. Be Picky About Your Links<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nAlways Prioritize SEO for Your Blog If You Want Serious ROI<\/h2>\n