Writing and publishing blog posts for your business on a regular basis isn’t easy. It takes time, energy, and, sometimes, a ton of willpower.
But there’s a reason why the experts do it: businesses that publish new blog posts on a regular basis get 350% more traffic on their websites. And Google has even said that content (like blog posts) is one of the top 3 factors it considers when it ranks a website for search results.
So if you do it right, blogging for your business can give you a ton of extra traffic from Google and other search engines. And you know what happens when you get more traffic on your website? You have more people you can convert into leads, email subscribers, webinar attendees, and customers. That’s pretty sweet.
But how exactly do you create blog posts that search engines love? In other words, how do you craft the best blog posts for search engine optimization (good ol’ SEO)?
Keep reading below to learn my top 7 tips for creating blog posts that are a hit with Google AND your audience.
Want a blog that gives you traffic, email subscribers, clients, or customers? Learn how to craft blog posts that convert.
Download my free blog post template + example.
1. Identify a target keyword
Keywords aren’t the be-all and end-all of writing the best blog posts for SEO. In fact, if you use keywords in your posts incorrectly, it can end up costing you. (Keyword stuffing, I’m lookin’ at you!)
But keywords are still an important component of an effective blog post. That’s because keywords are the link between your post and your audience.
You see, when you select a keyword for a blog post, you want it to be based on a search term your audience would use to search for something online. If you’re a digital marketer, for example, you might guess that your audience would Google terms like “email campaign tips” and “Facebook ads tips.” You would then use “email campaign tips” and “Facebook ads tips” as keywords for your blog posts.
What would this do? If you create high-quality blog posts on these topics, Google will display your blog post as a search result when people search for “email campaign tips” or “Facebook ads tips.” And this sets you up to get more traffic to your website.
When incorporating keywords into your blog post, it’s usually easier to identify your main keyword before you write your post. This way, you can naturally incorporate it as you draft the post instead of trying to find spots to add it in afterward.
Want to learn more about how to identify the best keywords to use in your blog posts? Check out my post on how to do keyword research for blog posts in 5 simple steps.
Related: How to implement on-page SEO to boost blog post visibility + free blog post SEO ebook
2. Make them readable
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Creating the best blog posts for SEO isn’t about optimizing your posts just for search engines. It’s also about creating content that people love. In fact, it’s essentially about creating great content for people.
Why? Because search engines like Google are in the business of pleasing their users. And because of this, most factors that search engines consider when they decide how to rank your site are actually factors related to user experience. Search engines want to point their users to the best blog posts or webpages for a particular topic. Because when they give their users the best “answers” to searches, they create a good search experience for their users.
What’s one of the most important ways to please your audience (and, therefore, Google) when creating blog posts? Make them readable.
Why is readability important? Because it makes it easier for people to consume your blog post and get the info they want from it. And when they can do this, they’re more likely to stick around for longer on your website.
When people stick around on your site, it doesn’t just boost the likelihood that they’ll sign up for your email list, register for your webinar, or even buy a product. It also tells Google that someone spent lots of time on your site. This signals to Google that you were a good “answer” for a particular search. And as you can guess, this improves your search engine rankings.
So how do you write the best blog posts for SEO by making them readable? Stick to short sentences and paragraphs, use descriptive subheadings, and include lots of white space. In other words, make them scannable.
Related: Scannable copy: How to write for your audience online + free scannable copy checklist
3. Be comprehensive
Making your posts readable is a great first step when you’re trying to write the best blog posts for SEO. How else can you stand out? By writing comprehensive posts that are packed with detail.
Most blog posts out there are short—they’re less than 1000 words. This isn’t surprising because short posts are usually easier and faster to write.
But when a post is short, it usually doesn’t cover a topic comprehensively. In other words, it doesn’t give people most of the info (or a big chunk of the info) they would need on a topic.
That’s why a great way to make your blog posts stand out is to make them long and comprehensive. As long as it’s packed with value instead of fluff, longer blog posts tend to rank better in Google because they better meet the needs of search engines AND users. That’s why the top 10 results for most keywords tend to contain content that’s about 2000 words long.
And because most people don’t want to spend the time writing comprehensive blog posts, if you do it, you can get a massive edge over your competition.
Related: 9 essential characteristics of great blog posts + template and example
Want a blog that gives you traffic, email subscribers, clients, or customers? Learn how to craft blog posts that convert.
Download my free blog post template + example.
4. Include original research
Okay, so you’re writing comprehensive posts and making them readable. How else can you create the best blog posts for SEO? Include original research.
When you include fresh data, stats, or info in your blog posts, you increase the chances that people will want to link to it and share your content. After all, you’re THE source for that info.
Now, I’m not saying that you need to go out there and run a massive study. You can include original research in your blog posts by writing a case study about your business or analyzing your own data. The latter is what I did in my blog post on how Pinterest boosted my email subscribers by 1018%.
5. Create links from other blog posts
When people think about links in the context of SEO, they tend to focus on inbound links. These are links from other websites and blogs to yours.
However, there’s another category of links that matter for SEO. And they’re a whole lot easier to create. What am I talking about? Internal links—links from one of your blog posts to another. They affect SEO because they tell search engines that a website or blog has lots of related content on a topic.
Each time you write a new blog post, identify related blog posts you’ve already written. Once you’ve published the new post, add a link to it in the older posts.
Related: How to use topic clusters to make your blog posts more visible in Google + free blog post SEO ebook
6. Include and optimize images
Text-only posts rarely cut it these days. As humans, we’re wired to pay attention to images. And images break up blocks of text in a post to make it more manageable to read. That’s why audiences and search engines love blog posts with images.
When creating the best blog posts for SEO, be sure to optimize your images by adding the keyword to the file name and including an alt tag.
Related: The 10 best stock photo sites for your blog or website + 15 bonus sites
7. Format them for featured snippets
There’s something that’s even better than being the #1 result for a Google search: being a featured snippet.
Featured snippets are the boxes you see at the top of a Google search results page. They display information from a blog post or webpage right in a box so that users can get more of a preview without having to click through.
Because featured snippets appear at the top of a search results page, they occupy prime real estate. It’s not surprising, then, that they end up stealing traffic from the #1 search result. So having your blog post displayed as a featured snippet is, obviously, highly desirable.
How can you boost your chances of being selected for a featured snippet? Here are some tips:
- Include stats and data
- Provide clear answers to questions
- Use bullets and numbered lists
- Organize your content logically
Related: 5 blog post SEO tips you need to know + free blog SEO ebook
Start creating the best blog posts for SEO
I’m not going to lie to you—creating stellar blog posts isn’t easy. But like most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it. So if you’re willing to invest the time and energy into consistently publishing content your audience and search engines love, you’ll get real results.
So use the tips I’ve shared above to start writing the best blog posts for SEO. They tell you what you need to do to craft posts that boost your traffic and, ultimately, increase your leads, customers, and sales.
Want a blog that gives you traffic, email subscribers, clients, or customers? Learn how to craft blog posts that convert.
Download my free blog post template + example.
Thank you so much, I definitely need this! I just got my blog to the point where I consider it ready for people to see–but I have no idea what to do next! There’s so much to learn about blogging and I appreciate how you’ve broken it down so there’s a roadmap to follow.
I’m glad you found my tips helpful! There definitely is a lot to learn, but if you commit to putting in the time and effort, you’ll get results. You’ve got this!