Step One - Choose up to 2 Keywords

Don't go crazy with keywords. Using too many in a single blog post can actually hurt your search engine ranking because they may assume you are stuffing your page full of irrelevant content. It also hurts your conversion rates as readers won't enjoy your content and might even cause them to lose trust in your brand. It's better to pick one or two long-tail keywords. Long tail means choosing a phrase with 3-5 words. Let's say you sell women's clothing. You could have "clothes" as your keyword, or you could use a long tail keyword like "high end women's clothing" for a more targeted audience. This will help your post target more specific groups of people who are more likely to purchase your company's products or services. 

Step Two - Place Those Keywords in the Best Location

Your next step is to put those keywords in the most desired location for search engines. Be sure to include them at least five times in the following places:

• Meta Description
• Headline
• Headers
• Subheadings
• Body
• URL

Step Three - Optimize Your Blog for Mobile Devices

In 2015 and 2016, Google updated their algorithm to favor websites that were responsive and mobile friendly. Millions of internet users prefer to access the web via smartphone or tablet while on the go. If you want to show up on the front page of search engine results it is essential that your website be updated for people using mobile devices. Be sure that you aren't doing things the old-fashioned way, where your page has two different versions, desktop and mobile. This is an outdated approach that won't improve your rankings and will in fact simply split your SEO traffic between two different URL's. If you haven't updated your site, be sure to find a reputable and trusted designer and developer to modernize your site. 

Step Four - Work on Your Meta Description

Your meta description is the sentence that is displayed beneath the clickable link on the search engine results page. It's important not only for SEO purposes, but also helps internet users decide how helpful or relevant your content will be to them. Be sure that your meta description contains the appropriate keywords that will entice your ideal customer to click over to your page. 

Step Five - Use Alt Text on Your Images

Keep in mind that search engines don't have eyes, instead they interpreted visual information by discovering code and data. If you want your images to be discoverable, and boost your overall SEO, you should always include an image description.

Step Six - Narrow Your Topic Tags

Using multiple tags for your blog posts that are similar can have a negative result. Search engines may suspect that you are duplicating content. Be sure that the same word is only being used once. 

Step Seven - Work on Your Page's URL 

Many blogging platforms will automatically generate a URL for your post with a mixture of numbers and letters that aren't relevant to your post topic at all. You can improve SEO and make it easier for your audience to find your posts by structuring your URL appropriately. For instance, if you have multiple sections of content, organize your URL in a way that reflects which category your post falls under. Here's an example:

Let's say you have a Tree Service company and you have two different focuses on your site's blog, Tree Removal and Tree Pruning. Here's what two different URL's could look like when structured with intent.

www.yourcompany.com/tree-removal-when-to-remove-your-tree

www.yourcompany.com/tree-trimming-seasonal-pruning-tips

Step Eight - Create Internal Links

Help direct readers and web crawlers to other pages on your site by including relevant links to your other content. From time to time, revisit older blog posts and update by including links to pages you've created recently. Keeping the traffic flowing through your site will improve your SEO as well as your user's experience.

Step Nine - Utilize Google's Free Search Console

Google has a free tool called Search Console. Use the Search Analytics Report to find out which keywords people are using to find your site. It can help you narrow your focus on future posts and inspire you to make improvements. 

Need Help with Your Blog's SEO? Contact iBoost Today

If you want help with your websites SEO, call the experts at iBoost. We will be happy to discuss how our services can help you grow your business.