Blogging for SEO: The How and Why of It

Committing to writing a blog is the most DIY-friendly way to give your SEO a boost. But blogging for SEO still requires some understanding of search engine optimization best practices. Today, we’ll dive into the why and how of using blogging to advance your SEO goals. 

Becoming an expert at blogging for SEO can take years, but you’ll never get there if you don’t get started. If you’re looking to get started, then you’re in the right place! 

Why Blog for SEO?

Regular blogging takes hard work and dedication. So, before we dive into the how we should talk about the why of blogging for SEO.  

Blogging is probably the easiest way for a business to boost their SEO without the need for in-depth technical knowledge. For that reason alone, blogging is something that should be on your radar. But the reasons don’t stop there. 

  1. Blogging will increase the number of pages on your site. And this increases your potential real estate on the search engine results page. For less competitive markets, this means you can own several entries on page one of Google!  
  1. Blogging, when done well, will improve your authority in the industry and increase your chances of earning backlinks. And backlinks are the lifeblood of the SEO industry.  
  1. Blogging allows you to target niche, long-tail keywords that have less competition.  

How to Blog for SEO

Now that we have a (very basic) understanding of why blogging is good for SEO, we’ll shift our focus to how to blog for SEO. The basic principle of SEO blogging is this: Write content that answers specific questions your (existing or ideal) customers have.  

You should keep that goal in mind through the entire blogging process. Customers always come first, and SEO comes second. 

Step 1: Select Keywords

The first step in writing blog posts for SEO is to determine your targeted keywords. These keywords should be long-tail and focused on your customers’ questions and pain points.  

Blogging is the perfect way to target those keywords that don’t have a place on your main pages – but are still valuable to your business.  

Step 2: Write Answers

This is when you’ll do the actual writing in the process. Sit down and answer the questions that you developed in step one. Don’t focus too much on your keywords, just be natural and write for real people. 

Once you have finished writing, you can work back through your content and make sure you are using your keywords about once every 200 words. 

Step 3: Add Meta Data

Here is where you will really get to work with your keywords. Your metadata includes title tags, meta description, header tags (H1, H2, etc.), URL, and image alt tags. Don’t keyword stuff, but also don’t be afraid of heavier keyword usage here. 

You targeted keyword should appear, at least, in your H1 tag, title tag, and meta description. Then you can include semantically related phrases in your remaining header tags and image alt tags. Just keep the first rule in mind: write for humans, not search engines. 

Step 4: Include Links

Links are critical in the world of SEO – and your blog posts should include both internal and external links. Internal linking will help to get more exposure to your existing content among both your readers and the search engine bots.  

External links are also valuable to your content. By linking to trusted industry experts, you will help Google to understand your content’s context within the larger conversation. So don’t be afraid to link to other authoritative sources – it will help you in the long run! 

Step 5: Promote, Promote, Promote

If you’re anything like me, the writing is the fun part but then comes the real work: promoting your content. But if you are not promoting your content, then you are just yelling into the void of the internet.  

Promoting your content can take many forms, but you can get started with the easy ones: sharing on social media and emailing to your list. Once you get comfortable there, you can start expanding your outreach and earning your own backlinks. 

Something is Better than Nothing 

Trying to understand the entire extent of blogging for SEO is a daunting task, but there’s good news: you can get started blogging before you’re an expert.  

A well-written blog will start boosting your SEO strategy right away – even if you won’t see those results for several months. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start blogging! 

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