You want your blog to be found. You want your posts to be shared and you want to gain an engaged and interested audience. One way of ensuring your blog posts and website are found is to really get stuck in with your SEO. The more effort you put into your SEO, the more attention your blog will attract. Putting more time and effort into the SEO activities which surround your regular blog posts and content schedule will help you gain the attention and engagement you want for your website. Here are five ways you can double your SEO efforts with your blog:
1. Solve a Problem
With social media and many easy ways to connect with your readers there is no excuse not to give them what they want. If you solve a problem for your readers, then you become an indispensable source of information. Whether it’s one bookmarked blog post or your whole site they rely upon, providing workable solutions gains attention and engagement. Readers visit your blog because they want something back from it, whether that’s entertainment, information or support and guidance, so make sure everything you publish provides what they’re looking for. Every time you are about to hit the “publish” button, ask yourself: “Do I answer my readers’ potential question”?
Every time you are about to hit the “publish” button, ask yourself: “Does this article provide an in-depth solution/ information, for a question, my potential readers may ask when searching for the answer?”. Remember, you have to give Google reasons to rank you high!
2. Keep it Evergreen
Evergreen content is what the search engines like to see and even more than that, it’s what your readers want to read. Evergreen content is simply described as SEO content which is continually relevant, ensuring it stays fresh for your readers. This could mean you only publish content with a long term relevance but it can also mean revisiting old posts when there have been changes or updates in the area you’re writing about. Many of the top ranked websites regularly update their most visited pages and posts to ensure they remain relevant and evergreen.
3. Use More Long Tail Keywords
Search engines love a long tail. The more you use natural language and incorporate long tail keywords into your blog posts, the better they will perform. A long tail keyword is basically a key phrase which is more specific and as the name suggests, longer than standard one or two-word keywords.
Long tail keywords won’t get as many hits as shorter, more common phrases but they will bring in readers who are genuinely interested and engaged with the content provided. SEO experts believe and have found that long tail keywords can increase click-through rate and boost conversions. They are very specific to your website and they lead readers to the solution you’re providing for them, when they type your keywords into their search engine.
4. Provide Longer, More in Depth Content
Back in 2012 we were all told that the perfect length for an SEO blog post was around 500 words but this has crept up and up. It is no secret that Google prefers longer, more in-depth content and realistically, so do your readers.
In 2014, 1600 words was touted as the perfect length and this is what most successful sites tend to aim for now, longer when it makes sense to go longer. Research carried out by other company also found that long copy outperformed short copy by 40.54%. Readers and search engines both want content which is thorough and in depth. What’s more, well-structured longer content with well-written headings and subheadings allows your blog posts to be easier to skim read, letting your readers find the sections most relevant for them.
5. Build your Email List
I have talked before about how important your email list can be and it really can help boost your blog and attract valuable readers. Readers who have subscribed to your email list have invested in your blog and so you owe it to them to deliver high quality, interesting and relevant content. Once you being drawing in more and more subscribers and build your email list you can create email marketing campaigns which speak directly to your readers. Don’t forget the importance of a strong call to action and remember to keep delivering fantastic content your readers can’t wait to view.
SEO doesn’t have to be something tricky that you try to avoid. You can work it into all aspects of your blogging life and make it something you enjoy. Challenging yourself to write longer, more in-depth blog posts is a great place to start. Do you have any personal SEO tips and tricks you use on your blog?
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