Write SEO-friendly blog posts like an expert
You may have your blog all set and your putting to use your awesome blog-writing skill but are getting the desired traffic? If you want more and you know that you deserve more recognition, you need to make your blog SEO-friendly. If you don’t optimize the posts correctly, you won’t be able to drive traffic to your posts.
Optimization is a skill. As a skill, it is something that you need to work on and perfect if you want to see some results. You don’t need to hire experts, but you do need to learn and apply useful SEO tips until you can optimize like an expert.
In the sea of different pieces of advice and explanations, there are a few most important tips and tricks that you need to know about. And, here they are.
SEO-friendly vs. User-friendly content
There is one common misconception that we need to clarify from the very start. Some find that if you optimize the blog it won’t be as user-friendly as it was before. That is false.
This might be the case when someone solely focuses all the efforts on optimization, forgetting about the users. However, that doesn’t need to happen.
The most successful blog is the one that is both user-friendly and SEO-friendly. Achieving just one will never be as effective as when you write content that is valuable to both search engines and your users.
Now that we have cleared that up, let’s get to actionable tips that will help you write SEO-friendly blog posts.
Do the research
Good research plays a major part in the optimization process. If you know a thing or two about optimization, the first thing that probably popped in your mind is keywords research. But that is not the only aspect you need to cover.
What you need is a detailed analysis of:
- Readers’ interests
- Topics to cover
- Valuable keywords
It all starts with your readers’ interests because that aspect will determine everything else. Use your social media, competitors’ blogs, Quora for asking direct questions, and your current blog readers to determine who makes your target audience and what their interests are.
The same sources can be used to research which topics you can write about. Use Google Trends to find out what is trending in the world.
When it comes to keywords, you need to look out for the most commonly mentioned keywords in Google search. Just type in your idea and pay attention to which keywords are included in top-ranked posts.
Also, the Keyword Planner can be a great addition to the keyword research process.
Structure the posts
Search engines value structured posts because users prefer such content. It is readable and more useful to the readers. Increase your optimization level by having a clear structure that contains:
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
As you may notice, it is the same structure the essays have. Neightan White, a writer at WritingJudge and a blogger explains why this structure is recommended, “The reason why this is favorable in the eyes of search engines is that it gives readers a clear indication of what they can expect, valuable information, and lastly why that information is important.”
The body of the posts should have paragraphs and headings that organize your thoughts and make the content easier to follow.
Add links
Links play an important role in optimization because they add value to your posts. Not to mention that they can drive traffic from your posts to your website.
However, when it comes to linking during the writing process, many make the mistake of including irrelevant links just to score some points with search engines.
Search engines do appreciate when you have links within the post because they find that in that case, you are providing additional information to the readers. But don’t think that you can fool them with just any link. The links you include need to be related to the topic.
Make sure that you add links to relevant and corresponding keywords so that readers know what to expect when they click on it.
Content quality is as important as SEO
Always provide valuable and high-quality content. Keep this thought in the back of your mind at all times because you can get carried away with optimization efforts and lose the quality.
What quality stands for is that you provide your readers with error-free, well-written content that gives them a valuable insight into a relevant topic.
For example, if you run a fishing blog, you shouldn’t write about the Knicks game just because it is the number one topic on Google Trends. Your users expect what they signed up for.
Those who need some help with editing and polishing up their writing to improve the quality of the posts can use the following tools:
- Best Essay Education and Grammarly – If you want grammatically accurate posts, these writing and editing tools can help you bring your posts to perfection. Editing is an essential step for any professional.
- Studicus and Hemingway Editor – Having your posts proofread is a crucial process for achieving high-quality. You can pick out a service that you want from Studicus to find an expert that can help you out. Or, you can do quick proofreading with the Hemingway App.
- Supreme Dissertations and Trust My Paper – Whenever you are having trouble with adding keywords and links, you can turn to these writing services for an extra hand. Their talented writers will give you fresh ideas that can inspire you to bring the quality of your posts to the next level.
Maintain a natural flow
Whether you are embedding links or adding keywords, you must keep in mind that they need to fit in your content naturally.
Overstuffing the post with keywords and links that stick out will hurt your optimization process. Search engines spot such posts and find them irrelevant to users.
It may seem difficult when you first think about it, but there is a trick that will help you. The thing is to do the research of keywords and links first and then start with the writing.
If you write the post and then try to add links and keywords, you will just end up with a big sloppy mess.
Some final thoughts
The way you will surely succeed in optimization and see results is by showing persistence and absorbing knowledge. As useful as these tips are, they can’t do the job by themselves.
You need to carefully implement them in your process, do your research, and dedicate yourself to writing optimized posts. Give time to search engines to recognize your efforts and don’t stop with optimization even when you get to be the number one on the list.
Diana Nadim @diana_nadim
Writer and editor at WOWGrade and Supreme Dissertations
Master degree in Marketing, She combines her passion for writing with her interest in research and creates thought-provoking content in various fields. Now she works as a freelance writer at. What inspires her the most in her writing is traveling and meeting new people.
