Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important tool for those who wish to get their blog posts seen by a wide audience. SEO can help you rank higher in search engine results and increase the chances of your content being seen.
However, many bloggers are unsure of how to use SEO effectively when writing blog posts. Here are some tips for using SEO to create content that will get read.
1. Understand Your Audience Before you start writing your post, it is important to know who your target audience is and what they are looking for. Take the time to identify their needs and interests so that you can craft content that will appeal to them. This will also help you determine the right keywords to use in your post.
2. Research Keywords Once you know who your target audience is and what they are looking for, it’s time to research keywords. Keywords are words or phrases that people use when they search for information online. Researching keywords can help you determine which ones are most likely to get your post seen. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Moz’s Keyword Explorer to find the best keywords for your content.
3. Make Your Content SEO-Friendly Once you’ve identified the right keywords for your post, it’s time to make your content SEO-friendly. This means that you should use the keywords in the title and throughout the body of the post. Make sure that the keywords are used in a natural way that flows with the content. You should also use the keywords in the meta description, which is a brief description of your post that appears in search engine results.
4. Optimize Your Images Images can be an effective way to draw readers in, but they can also help your post rank higher in search engine results. When you upload an image, be sure to include a keyword in the file name and in the “alt text”, which is the text that describes the image. This can help search engine crawlers understand what the image is about and improve your post’s ranking.
5. Promote Your Content Once your post is published, it’s important to promote it so that it can reach a wider audience. Promote your post on social media, in forums, and through other channels. This will help increase the chances that your content will be seen by the right people. By following these tips, you can use SEO effectively when creating blog posts. Keep in mind that SEO is an ongoing process and you should continue to monitor your post’s performance and tweak your keywords as needed. With a little effort, you can create content that is both interesting and SEO-friendly.
What About “Key Words?”
If you’ve ever wanted to optimize your website or content for search engines, you’ve probably heard of keywords. But what are keywords, exactly? And how do you find and use them? This blog post will answer those questions and provide a step-by-step guide to finding and using keywords for SEO success.
What Are Keywords? Keywords are words or phrases that describe the content of a website or blog post. They help search engines understand the topic and make it easier for users to find the content they’re looking for. Keywords are a vital component of SEO, as they help websites rank for specific searches.
How to Find Keywords Finding the right keywords for your website or blog post is an important first step in improving your SEO. Here’s a step-by-step guide to finding the best keywords for your content:
1. Brainstorm: Start by brainstorming potential keywords related to your topic. Think of words and phrases that people might use to search for content like yours.
2. Research: Once you’ve come up with a list of potential keywords, do some research to learn more about them. Look at how often they’re searched for, and how competitive they are.
3. Analyze: Analyze your list of keywords to determine which ones are the most relevant to your content and which ones will have the highest potential for ranking.
4. Refine: Refine your list of keywords by adding variations and related keywords. This will help you target a wider range of search queries.
How to Use Keywords: Once you’ve identified the best keywords for your content, it’s time to put them to use. Here are some tips for incorporating keywords into your website or blog post:
1. Include keywords in the page title: Make sure to include your primary keyword in the page title, as this is one of the most important places for SEO.
2. Use keywords in headings: Incorporating keywords in headings and subheadings is a great way to make your content more SEO-friendly.
3. Utilize keyword variations: Use variations of your primary keyword throughout your content. This will help you target a wider range of search queries.
4. Incorporate LSI keywords: LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are related words and phrases that help search engines better understand the content of your page.
5. Optimize images: Optimize your images by including keywords in their file name, alt text, and caption. By following these steps, you can find and use the best keywords to optimize your website or blog post for search engines. Keywords are an essential element of SEO, and using them correctly can help you get the most out of your content
Or you can just chuck all the complicated damned rules and write your post and let the search engines find them and deal with them.
Ha! Until I read that last line I thought your blog had been taken over by scammers pushing phony “optimization services”.
I’m convinced a lot of those readership numbers are just made up anyway. Don’t really care, either. I do it because I enjoy doing it, not to attract readers. Right now I have maybe 375 “subscribers” or whatever they call it, and I doubt if more than 10% of those actually read it. The highest daily visitor count I had over the last week was 80. Usually that runs 10 – 30 per day.
Do it if you like doing it. Write what you enjoy writing about. Do what gives you satisfaction and the heck with Google and all that analytical crap.
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I love your attituide — I totally agree with you .. but if I ever had 80 visitors in a single day I think I would have a stroke.
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My photography stuff seems to get the most views, followed by the occasional product reviews with gardening running up there too. Views peak for a period of about 2 – 3 days after a new post goes up but then drop down to, oh, 5, 10 a day. Curiously for a time a couple of years ago most of my readers seemed to be from India. No idea why.
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At issue for me is that the Google beast has the lions share of this SEO stuff. So security minded people who avoid Google won’t score well. (As if I should care) We’ve talked about this subject, John!
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Ae you suggesting that SEO isn’t as important as the experts are telling us? I wish that were the case. If I found that out to be true I would be beside myself with joy.
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Try this comparison; use an anonymous browser to find their most recommended sites, which when compared to Google’s may be very different. I obtained these results:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=highly+recommended+sites&t=newext&atb=v341-1&ia=web
https://www.google.com/search?q=highly+recommended+sites&ei=hl_hY8OoBcHVkPIPj96WuAY&ved=0ahUKEwjDg8_e2oH9AhXBKkQIHQ-vBWcQ4dUDCA8&oq=highly+recommended+sites&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQDDIICAAQFhAeEA8yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIFCAAQhgM6DggAEOoCELQCENkCEOUCOgwIABDqAhC0AhBDGAE6DQgAEI8BEOoCELQCGAI6DQguEI8BEOoCELQCGAJKBAhBGABKBAhGGAFQtRdYtRdgqSNoAXABeACAAXeIAXeSAQMwLjGYAQCgAQGgAQKwARPAAQHaAQQIARgH2gEGCAIQARgK&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
I don’t know why the google thread is so long; but you can see the bias.
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I am not sure that bias can ever be avoided where human beings are concerned. would love to read an article somewhere that is totally devoid of bias of one kind or another.
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I do not think ‘keywords’ are as important as they were with print…..good tips for the novice….
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So do you use them when you post to your blog?
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Sometimes I try to find a clever title but the rest is just my ranting. LOL chuq
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I get many emails asking me to pay for ‘Professional SEO’. I ignore them, and carry on doing my best from personal experience. To be honest, I wouldn’t have the time to deal with increased engagement on my blog. It is already enough for me. Great tips, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
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