Want to know how to write blogs that people read? Then you need to know these 10 SEO blog writing tips so that your blogs start ranking on Google – where most readers can easily find them.
If you’re thinking: “Everybody can write blog posts. So what’s the big deal?“You’re right. Anyone can write. But not every blog gets to Google page #1. And that’s what we want to achieve with SEO.
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As a business owner, you have a great opportunity to start a blog and write from the comfort of your home.
It’s really that easy.
- Have a laptop?
- Have access to internet?
- Have some spare time?
Yes? Then you can start your own blog. Everything else is “Google-able”.
Everyone can write. But writing SEO-friendly blogs that get a lot of traffic and people actually enjoy reading is a VALUABLE skill.
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Here’s a quick glance at one of my recent blog posts:
🚀 10k views in 5 months
🚀 And the growth is only exponential from here onward
You may think this is just luck, but I’m telling you it’s SEO!
So, SEO – is it really that hard?
Hmm… What is SEO anyway? Search Engine Optimization requires you write content that is optimized for search engines. As a blog writer, that means you need to be smart about the following:
- topics & titles
- keywords
- titles & headlines
- language
- visuals
- metadescriptions
- URL
- readability
- formatting
You need to use all the resources and tools you can to keep your readers engaged from the first sentence to the last.
The most challenging part is balancing “valuable content” for the reader with “keyword optimization”. If your post is not valuable enough or stuffed with keywords, your readers won’t read it or share it. Poor SEO and your blog post won’t rank on Google.
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So what I’m trying to say is if you want to write SEO-friendly blogs you need to do it in a manner that feels natural and not forced.
Want to improve your blog writing & SEO skills?
In this post, I’m sharing my top tips for writing SEO-friendly blog posts.
10 Tips for Writing SEO-friendly blog posts from a professional Content Writer
Table of Contents:
- Do keyword research
- Solve real problems/create value for your readers
- Have a clear structure for your post
- Optimize the headline of your blog post
- Use paragraphs and H2, H3 headings
- Optimize the length of your blog post
- Add internal and external links
- Use SEO plug-ins
- Post new content regularly
- Update your old posts
SEO blog writing: 10 Tips To Optimize Your Blog Posts
1. SEO blog writing starts with proper keyword research
A question I get asked on Instagram a lot is this:
“Do you start with a keyword or a topic?”
My answer is a bit of both.
I have a notebook where I draft ideas for blog posts topics based on things I read online.
Then, every once a month, I will look back at those ideas and do keyword research using SEMrush just to see whether there’s enough search volume.
Suggested read: How to choose keywords you can rank for
If the topic is popular, I will go and read the top 3 or 4 articles that show on Google for that search term.
Next, I’ll think about whether I can add my own spin to the topic?
- How can I improve these articles?
- Can I include an inforgraphic?
- Can I write a longer, more valuable post?
- Is there new information worth including?
Most of the time, you can find ways to improve even the best articles!
Tools I use to research blog post topics:
- Ubersuggest – paid plans start at $12.00/mo.
- GoogleTrends
- SEMrush – FREE trial
2. SEO blogs solve real problems for readers
One of the main things that many new writers forget about is creating value for the reader.
I know it’s easy to think that SEO has nothing to do with sharing valuable content – but you’re wrong!
It has everything to do with helping people!
Just to prove this point, let’s search on Google: “business ideas”.
The first link that comes up is a blog post.
Next, you’ll see a list of other things people search that are related to “business ideas”.
That shows that Google prioritizes content that is valuable and helps people find answers to their questions.
Make sure your title matches your content, and your content is written in a way that helps people solve a real problem.
This will increase your chances to show up on Google searches.
3. SEO blogs have a clear structure
A simple structure can help you optimize your blog posts for search engines.
Each blog post should have:
- Introduction (a few sentences to tell the reader what this post is about)
- Body (your main points, numbered)
- Conclusion (a summary of key learnings and a call-to-action)
I usually start writing the main points (body) in a notebook, then I draft a few lines for the introduction and finally, I write a short conclusion. Then, I rewrite the points into WordPress, elaborating on each paragraph as I go.
Tip: Make sure you keep your paragraphs short (3-5 sentences) so they’re easier to read.
You can learn more about the Perfect Structure for a Blog Post in this article.
Download a FREE copy of my blog post template.
4. Learn to write headlines for SEO blog posts
I would go as far as saying that your headline is the most important part of your entire blog / via @SocialAlle
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That’s why it’s important to optimize it.
Some people prefer to write the headline first, I find it easier to write the headline last, once I have all the content ready.
Here are some “rules” I follow for writing SEO headlines:
- Write 55 – 70 characters (too long and your title will get trucated)
- Place your target keyword at the beginning of your title
- Accurately describe the content within your blog post
- It needs to be intriguing enough to make users click
- Include numbers eg: “Blog writing technique that gets 75% more clicks”
- Add “How to” in front of your target keyword
Tip: You can test your headlines using CoSchedule’s Free Headline Analyzer (FREE) tool.
5. Add keywords in H2 & H3 headings
Headings help Google understand your content and how it’s relevant to your main topic.
- H1 formatting is used for your title
- H2, H3 and H4 are your sub-headings that support your main title
Example:
H1: “How to write a blog post for business”
H2: “Step 1: Start by researching a topic for your blog post”
H3: “Here are 3 websites to find ideas for blog posts”
When you add relevant keywords that are related to the main topic in your subheads, you have a much higher chance of ranking for the main keyword.
6. Optimize the length of your blog post
According to Hubspot research, the optimum blog post length is 2,000 – 2,400 words.
But if you’re a beginner, or starting a new blog writing such long posts may not work for you.
Not to mention writing long blog posts it’s time-consuming.
Instead, I would recommend writing shorter blog posts (300 – 600 words) focused on targeting long-tail keywords more frequently.
Shorter blog posts, focused on a long-tail keyword, are easier to rank for beginners. But they must be fully-optimized. @SocialAlle
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Once you have at least 20 short articles published you can write a longer pillar post (eg, guide, tutorial) of 2000 words or more. Then, link all your shorter blogs to the longer post.
This blog content strategy will help you drive traffic to your longer blog post, helping it rank.
7. Add internal & external links
Link building is another method to increase the ranking score of your blog posts.
Each optimized blog post should have:
- 2 internal links (eg. links to your previous blog posts)
- 4 – 6 external links (eg. links to higher authority blogs, aka your competition)
Tip: After you’ve added a link to an external post, you can email the author telling them you’ve linked to their blog post and you’d appreciate them linking to one of your blog posts in return.
Blog writing tip: The more links direct traffic to your post, the higher your domain authority. @SocialAlle
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It’s common practice that new bloggers will offer to pay other reputable bloggers to link to their posts – so if you have the budget you can consider this too.
If you don’t have the budget, you can write guest posts for other blogs in your industry.
8. Use SEO Plug-ins in WordPress to optimze your blog posts
Let’s face it: we all love free tools that help us save time. When I switched to WordPress Business plan I started using Yoast SEO to improve my posts SEO ranking and readability score.
Yoast is an SEO checklist that highlights the area your blog posts need to improve for better SEO ranking.
It will show you suggestions for titles, headlines, meta descriptions & more.
PS: If you’re using WordPress.com, you’ll need to upgrade your FREE plan to a business plan in order to install plugins. However, I find it worth it.
9. Post new content to your blog frequently
It goes without saying that writing more content helps bring new traffic.
When it comes to blogging, the more frequent you post, the faster you grow! @SocialAlle
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When I started, I used to post 4-5 600-word blog articles a week. That went on for at least 4 months before I started getting reasonable traffic.
Goes without saying that you need to expect growth to be slow in the beginning. But trust me, you need to keep publishing as much as you can.
Years later, I still continue to get increased traffic from my older blogs so now I don’t have to post as often.
How often should you post for SEO growth?
If you go strictly by the numbers, publishing 4 posts each week (16+ posts per month) generates the highest traffic according to HubSpot.
But it all depends on the time and commitment you’re willing to put in.
If you can, go for a minimum of one post per week (4 posts per month)
And remember to promote each blog post on your social media to ensure people are actually reading it.
10. WordPress is the best platform to write SEO blogs
WordPress is the leading blogging platform because it allows you to fully optimize your blog posts for SEO. With 42% of websites running on WordPress, it’s a great tool to build an optimized blog.
With loads of SEO plug-ins, it’s perfect for beginners and seasoned writers alike.
Read: 7 Reasons Why WordPress is the Best Platform for SEO
Read: List of the Best WordPress SEO Plugins
How to write SEO blogs: Mistakes I made that you can avoid
- The biggest mistake I made as a new blogger is that I didn’t research topics before writing – huge mistake! I got so excited writing about things that were important to “ME” not realising that my experience was not relevant to others. And you guessed it — nobody read them. Instead, I’d avice you to research the most common problems people face and write about that!
- My first blogs were using language with an increased readability score. That restricted the target audience to MBA-level readers. Instead, make your sentences short, and use simple vocabulary (readability grade 6 – 7) so more people can access the information.
These are my top 10 Tips to help you write better SEO blogs.
As you well know, writing success doesn’t happen overnight.
But with these tips, I hope you can avoid some of the mistakes many new bloggers make and start seeing your blog grow!
Happy SEO Blog Writing!
If you want to learn more about blogging and writing content, I am hosting a live workshop soon!
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