Writing a blog article for your site? Here’s how to make it SEO-friendly.

Blog posts are not only informative, but they’re a great way to reel in potential clients and customers to your website. So long as your content has been optimized for SEO purposes, blog articles are a great ‘evergreen’ approach to bringing in new visitors, regardless of how long the content has been on your site. 

Thinking about adding a blog post to your website? Here’s a comprehensive SEO checklist for blog articles to help optimize them for search engines. We’ll do a breakdown of the major steps to help optimize your content in the best way possible.

Content Research

Keyword Research:

• Identify primary and secondary keywords relevant to your topic.
• Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMrush for keyword research.

Title Tag:

• Include your primary keyword naturally.
• Keep it under 60 characters for full visibility in SERPs.
• Make it compelling to increase click-through rates.

Meta Description:

• Write a unique, compelling meta description including keywords.
• Aim for 155-160 characters to ensure it's not cut off in search results.

Headings (H1, H2, H3):

• Use your primary keyword in the H1.
• Utilize secondary keywords in H2 and H3 for structure and SEO.

Content Quality:

• Ensure content is original, valuable, and exceeds 300 words (preferably 800+ for more in-depth topics).
• Use keywords naturally throughout the text (keyword density around 0.5-2%).
• Answer user intent thoroughly.

Keyword Usage:

• Place keywords in the first 100 words.
• Use long-tail keywords where relevant.

Internal Linking:

• Link to other relevant articles on your site to keep users engaged.
• Use descriptive anchor text for internal links.

External Linking:

• Link out to authoritative sources to add credibility.

URL Structure:

• Use clean, descriptive URLs with keywords.
• Keep them short and relevant.

Mobile Optimization:

• Ensure the site is responsive or has a mobile version.
• Check for mobile usability issues.

Page Speed:

• Optimize images (compress them, use correct formats like JPEG for photographs, PNG for graphics with transparency).
• Minimize CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.

Schema Markup:

• Implement schema markup for better rich snippets (e.g., article, FAQ, How-to).

User Experience (UX)

Ease of navigation is crucial to the success of your efforts. Here are some of the best tips to keep in mind when optimizing UX:

Readability:

• Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and subheadings.
• Employ a clear font and sufficient contrast between text and background.

Engagement:

• Include calls-to-action (CTAs).
• Encourage comments or social sharing to increase engagement.

Visuals:

• Use high-quality images, infographics, or videos.
• Optimize image file names and alt texts with keywords.

SEO Maintenance

Analytics:

• Set up Google Analytics and Search Console to track performance.

Backlinks:

• Work on earning backlinks through quality content or outreach.

Content Freshness:

• Update content periodically to keep it relevant.
• Refresh dates or add new sections if necessary.

Social Signals:

• Share your blog post on social media to potentially increase visibility and backlinks.

Post-Publication

Monitor Rankings:

• Keep an eye on keyword rankings post-publication.
• Adjust strategies based on performance.

Content Audit:

• Regularly audit your content for outdated information, broken links, or optimization opportunities.

SEO Tools:

• Use tools like Yoast SEO, Moz, or Ahrefs to check SEO health.

By following this checklist, you can create blog articles that are not only optimized for search engines but also provide value to your readers, which in turn can help improve your site's SEO performance. Remember, SEO is an ongoing process, so continuous monitoring and tweaking are crucial for success. If you need expert guidance to optimize your content and connect effectively with your audience, contact us today to get started!