If you’re blogging for content marketing purposes, then you need to make sure your search engine optimization (SEO) is on point. Without following the right process, you’ll have content that doesn’t rank as high as it should, which can significantly cut down on your traffic. Here are six simple steps to SEO, brought to you by a leading SEO agency.
1. Install an SEO Plugin
There are plenty of plugins available that can help you write posts that are search engine friendly. If you’re running WordPress, Yoast is a common choice. An SEO plugin will rate how readable and SEO-friendly a post is and provide suggestions on what you can improve.
2. Target the Right Keywords
Keyword research is a crucial and often overlooked aspect of blogging. It’s easier to rank high in the search results when you target the right keywords, and choosing keywords your target audience will be searching for ensures you generate the kind of traffic you want.
3. Set Up Your Title and URL
It’s easiest to come up with a title for your post first, and then create a URL based on the title. Make sure your titles are concise and tell the reader exactly what the content of the post is about. Avoid making it too long, because you don’t want it getting cut off on a search results page.
4. Format Posts Properly
When you’re writing your post, try to use your target keyword where you can without any awkward keyword stuffing. Include at least one image or video, as search engines prefer content with multiple forms of media. Make sure you’re writing at least 400 to 500 words or over 1,000 if you’re creating cornerstone content.
5. Write an Effective Meta Description
The meta description is your chance to sell users on why they should visit your page over all their other options. Don’t leave it as the first couple sentences of the post by default. Write a description of the post that’s between 120 and 160 characters, and include the target keyword if you can.
6. Tag Your Post
The final step for an SEO friendly post is attaching some relevant tags to it. Stick to two or three tags with your posts, this isn’t Instagram, and you don’t need to attach every possible tag to a post. It might look silly. An alternative option to tagging your post is assigning it to a category.
Companies that need the best combination of high-quality content and SEO should turn to a leading search engine marketing agency that can provide SEO services to boost online traffic.