SEO isn’t as simple as writing a good blog post and incorporating keywords. There are several other factors search engines consider when deciding how to rank your content. This SEO checklist for blog posts will take through the less-often-thought of considerations for optimizing content. Although these considerations may not be as well known as some other SEO factors, search engines consider them just as important.
Why SEO is important for blog posts
If your blog posts aren’t optimized for SEO, people won’t discover your content through search engines. Instead, search engines will show them optimized results from competitors, and those competitors will get the traffic.
Role of keywords in SEO: Of course, optimizing your post for search engines means nothing if you don’t have the right keywords. You want to use keywords that people are searching for and are also relevant to your post. Search engines will identify the keyword (or keywords) you’ve chosen and show readers your post when they search for the same phrase. However, you’ll need to place your keywords strategically in order for Google to recognize them in the first place.
Importance of linking: Don’t forget about link placement. Where you place links — and what links you use — also requires some strategy. Here are a few tips for linking to and from your blog posts:
- Link to high-authority websites
- Avoid linking to a competitor’s website
- Use the proper anchor text for internal links
- Link to other blog posts that relate to the topic (other posts in that topic’s content pyramid)
- When you publish a new post, add that link to another already-published post when possible
Optimizing images and video for search engines: The text of your post isn’t the only thing that needs optimizing. Search engines will consider your pictures and videos, too. So, there are a few things you should add to your SEO checklist for blog posts when incorporating this type of media.
- Use high-resolution photos and videos
- Ensure your media matches your topic
- Use the correct metadata (If possible, use your keyword)
- Don’t use videos that lag or take a long time to load
- Be strategic with your alt tags (These should be as descriptive as possible since they help visually impaired people understand your graphic, but try to incorporate your keyword when you can naturally.)
Creating high-quality content
Creating high-quality content goes beyond the main text of your blog post. You must also choose your meta descriptions and title tags carefully. Both should include your keyword, but each plays a different role.
Your meta title is what search engines display in results and may be different from the title of your blog post. Since Google won’t display more than 50-60 characters (including spaces), you’ll want to keep your meta titles fairly short.
The meta description is the text that search engines display under your meta title. This shouldn’t exceed 160 characters (again, including spaces), and it should grab readers’ attention and make them want to learn more.
Understanding user intent: To create high-quality blog posts, you also need to understand user intent. And that’s one reason long-tail keywords tend to rank better on search engines.
For example, if your blog post is about TV repair, you wouldn’t want to simply use ‘TV’ as your keyword. ‘How to fix a broken TV’ would be a better option even though ‘TV’ might have a higher search volume.That’s because when users search ‘TV,’ their intent is typically to shop for new televisions rather than learn how to repair old ones. And search engines can tell the difference.
Technical SEO considerations
Don’t forget about technical SEO considerations when going through your SEO checklist. Problems with technical SEO can sometimes be difficult to identify, but the sooner you address technical issues, the sooner you’ll see more traffic.
First, make sure Google can easily crawl your pages. Check for errors with your server, and make sure all posts link to at least one other page on your website. Keep your content updated, and don’t “cannibalize” your own content. Also, check response times for all your pages. If one is taking a long time to load, find out why, and fix the problem as soon as possible.
Implement schema markup for rich snippets. Your schema markup will help search engines understand your content. When you want search engines to display rich snippets (such as reviews, photos, ratings, etc.), you’ll want to make sure you implement your schema correctly. Always test your page before publishing to make sure it will display as you intended.
Review your domain’s security. No one wants to see the “site not secure message.” Make sure your SSL certificate remains valid and up-to-date to give your readers peace of mind and ensure they have access to your content.
Resolve domain authority issues. If you don’t have a high-authority domain, you might have a difficult time getting your posts to rank on Google. Continuing to publish high-quality and optimized content will help over time, but obtaining backlinks from domains that already have authority can speed up the process (more on that below).
Off-page SEO strategies
When well-known and trusted websites link to yours, your own domain authority can climb. The same is true for when you link to theirs. For example, if you are a healthcare company, you might link to the World Health Organization to cite a statistic. This would be a much better option than linking to a medical blog with few readers.
Inbound and outbound links aren’t the only ways to build off-site SEO. For optimal results, leverage your social media profiles and your Google Business profile. Optimizing your LinkedIn profile can boost SEO results, too.
Finally, make sure you continue to monitor your blog post rankings and metrics. This will help you see what’s working and what isn’t. If a ranking drops or posts aren’t getting traffic, go through your SEO checklist for blog posts again so you can address the problem before it becomes a more significant issue.
