Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of making your website pages more visible to people who use search engines, such as Google, to find a specific product, service, or an answer to their search query. Blogging can be a vital SEO tool and can drive traffic to your site by answering your customers’ questions and guiding consumers toward your products or services. Utilizing on-page SEO marketing tactics throughout your blog can help you rank on Google’s search engine results page (SERP).

First Steps to Optimizing Your Blog

1. Identify your target audience and buyer personas. One of the first steps before creating your blog is determining your target audience. Regardless of your industry, identifying and reaching a specific audience will ensure that your content will be read by an audience that is more inclined to purchase your products or services.
2. Produce and conduct keyword research. Keyword research can be time-consuming and should be approached with a strategy in mind. When conducting keyword research, start with the topics that will be included in your blog and expand from there. Using keyword research tools such as SEMrush will also allow you to view the keywords your competitors are ranking for and help you build a strong blogging strategy.
3. Integrate pictures, visuals, and movement throughout your blog. Google’s algorithm is constantly changing, but search engines like Google value visuals for specific keywords, and images, videos, and other snackable content are the most common movements to appear at the top positions of the SERP. To earn these top visual positions in an image pack or featured video snippet, it’s important to use original photos and videos with descriptive alt-texts attached to each graphic element. Alt-text is a key factor determining the position the visual appears on the SERP. Besides its important SEO value, it is also essential to attach alt-texts so visually impaired readers can have a positive user experience while reading your blog content. Adding movement to your blog will grab your readers’ attention, but it’s crucial to ensure that your visuals don’t affect the page speed. Keeping image files low, around 250 KB, and limiting the number of videos will help the page speed

Next Steps to Optimizing Your Blog

1. Create a catchy title. Creating an eye-catching title for your blog can be what sets you apart and will influence whether a consumer clicks on your link or continues to scroll. Developing a catchy title should incorporate the primary keyword or phrase while piquing curiosity in the reader by using data, asking questions, or enticing the reader by provoking emotion. According to Coscheduler’s Headline Analyzer, the elements of a perfectly curated headline include power, emotion, and both uncommon and common words.
2. Incorporate exciting, and attention-grabbing CTA’s throughout the page. A call-to-action, or CTA, is an essential part of the user decision-making journey and can guide your reader towards purchasing your products or services, subscribing, or consuming more content. You can incorporate CTA’s throughout your copy with hyperlinks to other blogs or your website. Another bolder way to integrate CTA’s is by adding a button so the reader can click to make a purchase or browse your products.
3. Focus on user experience. Creating a positive, comprehensible, and informative user experience is the primary goal when writing an SEO blog post. The blog should have easy readability, formatting, and page speed, allowing the blog to flow clearly and concisely. Organizing the content by headers and subheaders, or H1’s, H2’s, and H3’s enables the reader to quickly find the information they need and add SEO value when including primary keywords.

SEO Blog Tactics

• Use keywords throughout the blog
• Create strong meta descriptions
• Include descriptive image alt texts
• Add hyperlinks to other blogs and your website
• Create evergreen content
• Consistently update existing content

Incorporating SEO best practices in your blog can drive more traffic to your website, products, and services. A strong SEO blogging strategy can help you climb positions on Google’s SERP, ultimately increasing your online visibility and overall sales. To learn more about how you can improve your digital presence and for more digital marketing tips, check out BrandRep’s blog.