How to Optimize a Blog Article for SEO

While posting blog articles on your website on a regular basis can help you address common questions users might have about your industry and encourage users to stay on your website for longer periods of time, taking a few extra steps to optimize your blog articles for search engine optimization can make your work go much further.
As a digital marketing agency, we understand the importance of writing blog articles for both people and search engines. That is why we have put together some information on how to optimize a blog article for SEO, so you can get the most out of your blog articles.

How often should you publish blog articles on your website? Find out more.

Take the Time to do Proper Keyword Research

Before starting to write a new blog article, it is important to take the time to conduct proper keyword research. These days, selecting a single keyword and using its exact match several times throughout the article will no longer suffice. Proper keyword research takes time and requires strategic planning. When conducting keyword research, it is important to plan for all types of keywords including the following:

• Primary keyword (exact match and partial matches)
• Keyword variants (semantic keywords or synonyms)
• LSI (latent semantic indexing) keywords
• Sentiment keywords

Incorporating all of the above keyword types throughout a blog article  will help provide search engines with more context and a greater understanding of what the blog article is about. When researching keywords, make sure that the keywords you select are not only relevant to the topic you are writing about but are also only used throughout the article when it makes sense.

When choosing keywords to use in your blog article, consider using a combination of short keywords (one- or two-word phrases) and long-tail keywords (longer phrases or questions) to help rank for more specific search queries in search engine results. It is also a good idea to incorporate LSI keywords throughout the article to help Google better understand how your article is related to other similar search terms.

What are keyword clusters and why should you use them?

Optimize Headings

Properly using headings throughout a blog article (h1s, h2s, h3s, etc.) will not only create a natural flow for readers but it will also help provide search engines with more information on what the blog article is about. Make sure to optimize the headings in your blog article by including keywords in each heading. Headings can also be a great place to include secondary keywords, since it will not necessarily make sense to have the primary keyword in every heading.

Optimize Meta Tags

Another simple step you can take for optimizing your blog article for search engines is to incorporate your chosen keywords in the website meta tags. Creating interesting and relevant meta tags (the title and short description that appear in Google search results) can help encourage users to click on the article link by providing them with more information about the blog article.

Learn how to optimize blog posts for conversions.

Title Tags

The title or title tag of a blog article is the first step a reader and search engine will take in determining the overall relevancy of your content to the reader’s search query. Since titles that are too long (over 592 pixels) will be cut off on the search results page, it is always a good idea to include your main keyword or long-tail keyword near the beginning of your blog article title.

Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions should be written to provide both search engines and readers with more information about the contents of your blog post. When writing a meta description for your blog article, make sure that it is reader friendly and that it incorporates the long-tail keyword you are trying to rank for near the beginning of the description.

Find our which SEO tactics are no longer effective.

Use Image Alt Text

If you like to post images in your blog articles, you can help search engines better understand the context of an image by adding alt text (alternative text) that describes what the image is about. Updating the name of the image and adding in alt text can be another great way to include your primary keyword on the page.
Alternative text can also help provide a better user experience, as the text will be displayed when the image does not display, as well as help improve accessibility for people with poor vision who use screen readers.

Learn more about the benefits of business blogs for marketing.

Add Relevant Links Throughout the Blog Article

One of the most important ranking signals for search engines that you can incorporate into a blog article are internal links. While getting other websites to link to your blog article can be a challenge, adding relevant links to your own website pages in your blog articles can help encourage readers to stay on your website longer, while also making it easier for search engines to crawl.

Every time you write a new blog post, consider linking to other relevant pages on your website where users can go for more information. When linking internally, be strategic with your links and don’t go overboard with it.

Create Easy to Read URL Structures

Before posting a new blog article, it is always a good idea to ensure that the URL for the blog post is structured in a way that makes it easier for website visitors to understand the content on the page. Incorporating the article’s target keyword in the URL can also be a great way to help boost the post’s ranking on search engine result pages (SERP).

Taking the time to properly optimize blog articles for search engines can help you get the most out of your posts. If you would like to learn more about how to optimize a blog article for SEO, get in touch with our digital marketing experts today.

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