There’s no real right or wrong way to write a blog. Anyone can do it. But the biggest difference between a good blog and a great blog that ranks highly on Google is SEO.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is ever changing and the list of ways in which to enrich your online content is practically never-ending. Sound daunting? Don’t worry, here are 5 simple tips to get you started and help you write a blog post that ranks.
1. Prioritise keyword research
It’s easy to get excited about a topic or product and dive straight into the writing process. But, before you get carried away, it’s important to ensure you’re targeting the best keywords to suit your content.
If you’re new to SEO, keyword research can seem time consuming – but, once you know where to start, we promise it’s worth it!
This step is so much more than simply knowing which keywords to include in your copy. Keyword research done well can help you to understand how to structure your content, as well as how interested people are in your chosen topic.
Look out for:
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Search intent – When choosing a keyword to target, you need to know if the content you’re producing is best suited to what searchers are looking for. For example, you probably won’t have much luck ranking with a blog when current ranking content consists of product listing pages. Make sure a blog is what people are after when searching your keyword.
- Search volume – Put simply, the higher the search volume, the more people are searching for that content. High search volume keywords won’t necessarily help you rank, though, and lower search volumes can still be worth targeting. But search volume can help you gauge if your chosen topic is worth writing about.
2. Be intentional with your subheadings
Headings in blog writing are a terrific way to organise your content. This not only helps the reader navigate the page, but it also helps Google’s crawlers.
Use headings and subheadings to let the reader know immediately what they will get out of your content. To help with ranking, you can also use keywords within your headings.
Top tip: Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ section can be a great source of inspiration when writing subheadings. These should give you a good idea of what type of information searchers want.
3. Use internal linking to establish authority
Google likes to know that what you’re saying is accurate and that you have the authority to speak on the subject. A simple way to demonstrate your expertise is by internally linking to other relevant content within your site.
The more links your page receives, the more authoritative it will appear to search engines and the easier it will be for Google to find your content.
4. Include relevant images and videos
On the surface, relevant images and videos simply make your content more visually interesting to users. However, this can actually really help your chances of ranking highly, too. This is because the time people spend on your page is another important metric Google considers. A good photo or video can keep your readers on the page for longer.
You don’t necessarily need to spend loads of time creating your own images either. Stock photos are a great source of free content that looks good.
5. Don’t neglect your meta tags
They may seem small and insignificant after writing the perfect blog post, but meta tags are vital in ensuring you’ve done everything you can to rank as highly as possible.
Don’t neglect them and avoid these common meta tag mistakes:
- Incorrect length – when writing meta titles and descriptions, character count is key. For meta titles, keep them concise – around 60 characters (including spaces) is ideal. For meta descriptions, expand on the title and summarise the page’s content in no more than 160 characters.
- Incorrect content – make sure each page has its own unique meta tags. Remember, this is your opportunity to tell Google, and your readers, in a nutshell what your blog is all about. Avoid clickbait but keep it appealing.
For more help optimising your website for search engines, why not get in touch? There’s so much you can do with SEO, and how you use it can be tailored specifically to you.
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