How to Write an SEO Blog Post in 10 Easy Steps
SEO, oh SEO. What on Earth is SEO?!
Welcome to the blogging world, friends. If you’re on this page, we’re guessing that you’ve just found out about one very important thing to keep in mind while blogging: SEO.
SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimisation”, and though it sounds scary and technical at first, don’t worry. It’s not as scary as it sounds. And anyway, we’re here to help you!
The reason why everyone talks about SEO so much is because it’s really important for bringing new visitors to your blog.
When you want to learn something, where do you go?
Google. Right?
Well just like you, your potential readers also use Google. Just imagine how great it would be if you could get those people from Google onto your blog! While it may seem like this is all up to chance, the fact of the matter is that it requires a certain level of strategy.
Google has a specific way of ranking content that appears online. The higher the ranking, the higher up in search results a website is.
While there is a lot that goes into this algorithm, there are things you can do to try and use it in your favour.
Though nobody can say for certain how Google determines the quality of a web page, certain factors do come into play to tell Google how legit (or not legit) your blog post is.
If you take these factors into account while writing, congrats: You’re now in the business of SEO.
Of course, these are just the barebones basics. It gets a lot more complicated, the more you dive into it. But these 10 easy steps will at least get you part of the way there.
Admittedly, we have an advantage: we’ve worked in the digital marketing world for awhile now. We know more about SEO than the average blogger, but our strategy is honestly pretty basic.
We are speaking from experience when we say that these seemingly simple factors can make a huge difference in how your content ranks on search engines. Using these strategies, we’ve been able to land multiple blog posts in the #1 spot on Google and many more on the first page.
Enough about us, though. Let’s get into it!
10 Easy Steps for Writing an SEO Blog Post
Choose a Keyword
Incorporate the Keyword into Your Title
Use the Keyword in the First Sentence
Write the Right Amount (300- 24000 words)
Make the Keyword Obvious (2-3 Times)
Break Your Writing Up With Headings (With Keywords)
Be Smart With Your Images
Don’t Forget A List
Include Links (inbound & outbound)
Write Catchy Metadata
Get a free, downloadable version of this checklist here!
1. Choose a Keyword
The first — and most important — step in writing an SEO blog post is to write with a specific keyword in mind.
Your keyword (or keyphrase if more than one word) should be something that is directly related to what your blog post is about. It should also be something that people search for. For example, if you wanted to write a blog post teaching people how to compost their leftover food scraps, you could start with a keyword like “how to compost”.
If you’re having trouble coming up with a good keyword, you can play around on Google to get a few ideas.
Open your browser, and search for the thing you’re planning to write about. Sticking with the compost example, you might search “compost food scraps”. As you start scrolling, you’ll see a section called “People also ask”.
Who are those people? Potential readers!
Example “People also ask”
Looking at this list, you might see a question that fits with the blog post you have in mind. For this example, “How do you compost for beginners?” is most similar to the goal of the blogger.
Knowing that that’s a popular question, you could now move ahead with a keyword that directly answers that question. In this example, the keyword will be “how to compost for beginners.”
Initial keyword idea: how to compost
Popular question on Google: How do you compost for beginners?
Amended keyword: how to compost for beginners
See what we did there? We made the keyword more direct.
Though this strategy isn’t perfect, it’s a great place to start. Not to mention, it’s easy enough for beginners to use, even if you still don’t fully get what SEO is all about.
2. Incorporate the Keyword Into Your Title
Now that you have your keyword, you can start incorporating it into your content.
First things first: The title.
You should try to always include the keyword in your title, preferably in the first few words if you can manage it. If the keyword sounds unnatural in the title, you might want to re-think the keyword or use synonyms that sound more normal. A title like “Best Bikes 2021 You Want Now” sounds like someone trying very hard to have good SEO, would you click on that?
We wouldn't.
Though a title like “The 10 Best Bikes to Buy in 2021” may not be as true to the keyword, it is more likely to bring visitors to your page because it seems more natural and interesting.
This is a balancing act, but the more you practice, the better you’ll get. Do use keywords in your title, but don’t force something unnatural — it’s obvious to readers.
3. Use the Keyword in the First Sentence
By now, you probably get the idea: We are trying to make it VERY CLEAR to Google what your blog post is about. Using the keyword in the first sentence of your post will highlight immediately to both the algorithm and your readers what information you’re trying to share.
Let’s go back to the composting example. Remember, your new and improved keyword is “how to compost for beginners.”
To incorporate that into your first sentence, you could say something like: “Today, I’m going to guide you through how to compost for beginners.”
It’s not hard, but it may not be the way you’d naturally start a post. With a little practice, though, it’ll become second nature.
4. Write the Right Amount
We’re going to ask for your forgiveness in advance before we get into this tip: It’s a bit vague.
To show Google that your blog post is legit, helpful, and deserves a high ranking, it needs to be the right length.
“Well,” you’re probably wondering, “what is the right length?” We wish we could give you a straight answer, but the fact is that the right length will depend on what you’re writing.
In general, your blog posts should be no less than 300 words, but no more than 2,400.
If you feel like you need a more exact figure, feel free to poke around online. One thing to note: The “perfect number” is always changing. You can’t control what the algorithm is doing, but you can control the quality of your content.
If you ever feel like you’re pushing to make a blog post longer or cutting it off short, you’re thinking about it in the wrong way. Let your post be as long as it needs to be, to do the job it needs to do. If it’s helpful, people will stay on your site longer, and (surprise, surprise!) this can help your ranking on Google too.
5. Make the Keyword Obvious
Remember how we said we’re making the keyword obvious for Google? Well, let’s hit that home again!
So you’ve put the keyword in your title, it appears in the first sentence of your post, but do you really need to use it again?
Based on what we’ve had success with, we’re going to say “yes”. You should absolutely use the keyword again. That doesn’t mean you should make every other word the keyword. Remember, we want people to stick around. We want them to like your content.
We’ve found that 2-3 times is enough to hit it home, without really annoying your readers.
6. Break Your Writing Up With Headings (With Keywords)
Using headings not only makes your writing easier to read, but it’s also great for SEO. When you split your writing into headings, you create ways for Google to understand it. Though it may seem like a stylistic choice, headings are tagged in the code as something separate.
Because headings often summarise the most important points, Google knows to look to these headings to understand what the blog post is about. Remember, Google is not a human, so we have to learn how to express the information in non-human ways. Using headings is one of those ways.
As you can imagine, your headings should include keywords. You don’t want to overdo it, though, or else it may come across as spammy — yes, Google can recognise that too! No matter what headings you decide to use, it’s important that they accurately reflect the content they refer to. Using headings well can ensure that Google sends the right audiences to your site, which is key to securing return visitors.
7. Be Smart With Your Images
Just like headings should reflect your content, so too should the images that you use. It’s important to include at least one image in each blog post, both for SEO and aesthetic purposes. Similar to the way that headings are tagged, Image titles are also flagged to Google.
When you add an image to a blog post, ensure that the alt image text is reflective of what the photo represents so that Google can understand how it operates in your blog post. Remember, Google wants to send people to find the best possible search results. We all like looking at images, and oftentimes, they can reiterate key points. When adding images, imagine what you would want to see if you were the reader, and add alt image text that highlights this usefulness.
8. Don’t Forget a List
We know this may sound like a strange tip, but Google likes bullet-point lists. When you read a large chunk of writing, it can get overwhelming, so having a list in the mix can make a better experience for the reader.
You can include a bulleted list, instructions by steps listed, or even a list guiding readers to other posts on your blog. While it may seem too easy to be true, it’s an easy way to boost your SEO.
9. Include Links (Inbound & Outbound)
If you’re not including links in your blog posts already, now is the time to start. Every blog post should include at least one inbound link (linking to another post on your site) and one outbound link (linking to another site).
Inbound links are great because they help build a network of your content. Linking in this way can show both Google and your readers how your content is connected, guiding readers to other helpful posts you’ve written. Not only does it keep readers on your site longer, but it also makes for a better user experience as you guide them each step of the way.
Outbound links are helpful when you need to make an authoritative statement. It can show prior research, and help guide your readers to more info if they need it. We like to use outbound links when quoting another site, or linking to a specific stat that backs up what we’re writing about.
10. Write Catchy Meta Descriptions
We’re all used to the format of Google, but did you know that you can control the blurb that is generated for your posts?
When someone searches in Google, they are presented with a link and a description.
Example Meta Description
With Squarespace, it’s super easy to change meta descriptions within each blog post to make sure that you present potential readers with an exciting pitch for your site. While it may be easier to simply let the meta description auto-generate, taking the time to write an eye-catching meta description can drive many more viewers to your page.
When writing your meta description, make sure to keep these questions in mind:
Why is this content useful?
What will readers learn here?
Why should they choose your blog post over others?
Keep it succinct but interesting, and you’ll be surprised at how many more people click through to read your posts.
Now that you know how to write an SEO blog post, it’s time to put your skills to use. Start following these tips to see better results from Search Engines, and let me know if you see results. We promise, over time, you will.
Happy blogging!
To download a free 10-step SEO checklist, click here.
Now that you know how to write an SEO blog post, check out the 10 best blogging tools of 2021 for beginners.