If you have a question to ask, you google it, right? For most people, heading for the search engine is the obvious solution when trying to look up just about anything.
No matter what the search engine is, be it Google, Bing!, Yahoo, etc., the main goal is to point you in the direction of websites that can answer your specific questions.
(To keep this simple, let’s stick with Google as our search engine of choice.)
Google rewards websites that it believes do a good job of answering questions by ranking them higher up the search results for particular queries. There’s a lot of indexing and analytics involved, and the google ranking algorithm is a complicated beast. But at the most basic level, if your website offers a good answer to a common question, Google will nudge it up the list to increase the chances of it being seen and serving its end users.
So, do blogs help your ranking?
Do blogs help SEO in 2023? Absolutely. But having a blog alone is not going to be enough to get your website ranking high in the search results.
Blogs offer a fantastic opportunity to deliver engaging, useful content, along with a number of other ranking factors, including keywords, internal links, and backlinks. Leveraging your website’s blog posts to get your site ranking (on the first page possibly) is certainly a long game, but with the right understanding, know-how, and strategy, you can get there!
If you are unfamiliar with the best SEO practices to date, you might consider using an SEO service. SEO service providers, such as ourselves, can help you deliver an effective SEO strategy through your blog, that will get you closer to that #1 spot.
How to write a blog post for SEO in 2023
We know that blogs can work wonders for your SEO in 2023, but if you want to climb up those ranks to the very top of the search engine results, not any old slapdash article entry is going to cut it.
Delivering well-written, engaging content that captivates your prospecting audience is a great place to start, but you also need to focus on writing for the SEO algorithm. We’re talking keyword-focused content that not only leads to website traffic but the right kind of ‘organic’ traffic – you know, the kind of traffic that will kick your rate of return up a few notches. The kinds of content that drive traffic and provide valuable insights to a particular audience.
Here are 7 tips to help your blog SEO today.
- Identify highly-effective keywords when brainstorming post ideas.
- Naturally integrate those keywords throughout your posts (keyword density).
- Create Links to other authority websites.
- Create longer posts that are easy to follow and keep the reader engaged.
- Create internal links to keep users on your site/blog.
- Use optimized pictures only
Identify highly-effective keywords when brainstorming post ideas.
Keywords are the bread and butter of your blog’s SEO. You can identify popular, trending, and competitive keywords by using The Google Ads Keyword Planner Tool, or by checking out the social platforms where your target audience hangs out. This is where you can pick up on popular questions and trending topics specific to your niche.
It’s important to consider the most obvious keywords that are not always the best keywords. Searchers tend to waffle on a little, and query “long-tail” keywords, which are your phrases and full-length questions.
Long-tail keywords comprise up to 70% of all search traffic, and while they might not deliver as much traffic overall, they will have less competition and target a more specific audience.
E.g., Short-tail keyword – ‘SEO Toronto.’ Long-tail keyword – ‘Where to get great SEO in Toronto?” or ‘Best SEO Toronto service provider.’
Fewer people will be searching for the latter, but those who do want to hear what you have to say if your blog post focuses on that specific topic.
Naturally integrate those keywords throughout your posts (keyword density).
Once you have your list of keywords, you need to start formulating your blog post around them. The best practice is to let them fall into place naturally, as this will give the reader the most enjoyable experience.
Keyword density is all about balance. Too little keyword density and it will be impossible to rank high for those specific terms. Too much keyword density, or keyword stuffing, will compromise your content and turn your readers off from engaging.
Try to implement your main keywords in the title, headings, subheadings, URL, meta description, and image alt text (if applicable). Then dot them throughout your content as they come naturally. There are many online tools that can help you with keyword planning and density, such as SEMRush, which offers a free 7-day trial.
Create links to other high-authority websites.
People are often under the impression that sending your blog readers off to another site is a slippery slope of SEO doom; however, it is far from the truth. Yes, you want your readers to stay on your site and engage with your content, but linking to other influential websites in your niche can strengthen your articles, back up your arguments, and create a better reading experience overall.
Create longer posts that are easy to follow and keep readers engaged.
This is very much a debated subject, but for the most part, long-form content will rank better than not. Short content can be more inviting to read, as it packages all the information a reader needs into a neat little package, but search engines love in-depth explanations, as it gives them more time to figure out what exactly it is you’re writing about. Long-form blogs can scare away some readers, which is why it’s so important to format your text properly and to break it down into bite-sized chunks that are easy to skim over.
Notice how I listed the points that I’m writing about at the top of this section. You can easily see what you’re getting into, and skip to the information that you’re after if you don’t need to digest all of it.
Create internal links(like that one!) to keep users on your site/blog.
As you build up your archive of blog entries, you will be able to start linking to other posts on your page. This is a fantastic way to keep readers on your site, which helps with rankings and also helps search engines create a more accurate sitemap. Internal links in your blog posts can also guide your readers to your points of sale. If you offer a product or a service, tell your readers and give them a link to click through.
Use optimized pictures only.
Pictures can add a whole load of value to your blog posts by setting the tone and delivering information that can be difficult to put into words. But also note that it’s important to remember that they can also hinder your rankings if they’re not properly optimized.
Google hates laggy web pages, so it chooses to reward pages that load fast and penalize those that don’t. Big pictures are a one-way ticket to a slow webpage, so if your pictures are large and high res, compress them as far as they can go before losing quality.
A note to leave with.
Ranking high on search engines is often far easier said than done, but if you implement the right strategy, and provide genuine value, you will start to climb the ranks.
A blog is a fantastic way to help with your website SEO – and following the guidelines above is an excellent place to start.