SEO Tips to increase Blog Traffic
I'm sure you've never been pushing a deadline when it comes to writing a blog post.
Or maybe you write your blogs out by hand, days before your deadlines, and this just doesn't resonate with you at all.
No, you've never been there. So you can safely ignore this post.
Really, I'm just writing it for myself.
Because in moments like those, it helps to know the must-do SEO blog tips for my website that will give me the maximum impact for my content in the least amount of time.
What can I say; with 4 kids, sometimes my days are just like that.
I know yours aren't.
But if they were, you'd probably want to know the top SEO blog tips you'd want to do, the bare minimum to get your content maximum traction in the great big world of search engine results pages (SERPS).
So just in case you know anyone this applies to, I'm going to list them here. The SEO blog tips that you really must know if you're crunched for time and need to do something.
The 10 SEO Blog Tips You Must Know Now
1. Set up your Google Authorship
Take the time to connect your blog to your Google Plus profile, and your Google Plus profile back to your blog. It's a tiny investment of time you make once (especially if you use a plugin to put your Google profile information at the end of every post). But the SEO dividends are huge.
2. Use anchor links to other content on your website
If you've been blogging for any length of time, you likely have content that is related to your current article. (If you don't, you might want to ask yourself, Jedi Blogger, if your website is as focused as it needs to be!) Make sure to pick 2 or 3 keywords within your current article as anchor links to other content in your website.
3. Optimize all of your social media profiles for your keywords
This is another do-ahead step that can save you time. Go through each of your social media profiles and make sure they are optimized for the main keywords you want people to find you for. Each one likely has a place to link back to your website – make sure to include those website links in each profile.
4. Write amazing content
I know, it's mean to include this on a list of 10 tips to know if you're pushing a deadline. But in order for your SEO to do anything for you, you need to make sure that your content is share worthy. Make sure to post it on each of your social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, etc., with a great graphic that is Pin-worthy too.
5. Use appropriate keywords in appropriate density
We rarely talk about keyword density, because it's not as important as it was in prior iterations of Google's algorithm in the pre Panda and Penguin days. Well – it sort of is important. As in – it's important not to stuff your content with keywords that make your content unreadable. That's a surefire way to kill your Google rankings, and not in a good way.
6. Use your keywords in your headings, with heading tags
Don't just bold your headings – use header tags like <h2> and <h3>. Again – make sure it makes sense, but it increases the relevancy of your article to Google if your keyword appears in at least one of your headings. It tells Google that your article is about one unified theme, and Google likes that!
7. Write great meta descriptions – and include your keywords
Your meta description is the 150 character snippet that shows up in Google on a search engine result page. Use your keyword in the description – preferably at the beginning of the meta description, especially if it makes sense. (And if it doesn't make sense, rework it until it does!)
8. Create original content
Don't plagiarize yourself or anyone else. It's just slimy, and no one will like you or want to do business with you. And – from an SEO perspective, Google will seriously penalize duplicate content.
9. Use an SEO plugin
One of the easiest ways to optimize your posts on Word Press is to use an SEO plugin that takes much of the guesswork out of the tweaks you need to do to your posts to get maximum SEO benefit. We like Yoast, but your mileage may vary.
10. Write rich content
Here's what we mean. Google doesn't like it when you stuff keywords or repeat anchor text links. Google really prefers when your keywords are rich and related to your topic in much more diverse and meaningful ways. And in terms of getting links – the more different high authority sites that your backlinks come from, the better.
So there you have it – the down and dirty of SEO blog tips you must know. Actually, this is just a beginning list – I'm sure you have items you think I left off, and you think that some of my tips aren't your favorite.
Leave a comment below – what would you change about this list? Can't wait to hear from you!