How to write SEO-friendly blog posts even if you’re a beginner

One thing you should always be thinking about is how to write SEO friendly blog posts and how to establish yourself as a reliable authority. A blog is a powerful outlet to leverage, whether you’re an educational organization, a software vendor, or a B2B contractor.

But why is that? And how can it be done?

The answers are simple but, when implemented correctly, the benefits can be huge.

Think about the following when it comes to how to optimize your blog for SEO:

• Knowing what people are looking for
• Creating compelling and relevant content
• Posting consistently
• Fostering relationships
• Crafting a narrative

These are just a few of the many ways that you can drive traffic to your blog, raise its intrinsic value, and strengthen your online reputation.

Now let’s get down to the details of each.

Know What Your Audience is Looking For

Whether your site caters to a mainstream audience or a niche one, you want to know who to target.

But knowing who you target is only half the battle; you need to know what that target audience is looking for, too.

When you’re trying to figure that out, it’s all about relevant keywords and how they drive traffic to your site.

That’s why blogging for SEO purposes needs extensive keyword research using a variety of tools designed for that purpose.

When you know what people are looking for, you can build content around those terms for your readers.

Creating Compelling and Relevant Content

Even if you find the right keywords that bring people to your site, weak content is certain to drive them away once they get there.

It’s said that many people will only scan the content on the page once they arrive, so you need to make sure you grab them right away.

Just like your favorite movie might open with a compelling shot or dialogue, or your favorite book might start with a line that immediately paints a vivid picture in your head, your blog’s content needs to immediately grab the attention of your readers.

When it comes to SEO for blog posts consider the following:

• Asking a question of your reader right off the bat. Make sure the question is framed around your keyword if you decide to go this route.
• Summarize your key points early on, so your readers will know what to expect.
• Show your readers how they will benefit from what they read.
• Don’t just rely solely on words — pictures and even video can go a long way to getting someone to pay attention to what you have to say.

Practicing these frequently will get you in the habit of creating content that stands apart from large walls of text and easily passed articles that many sites have.

Posting Consistently

When figuring out how to write SEO-friendly blog posts, you want to make sure you get into the habit of posting frequently.

Think about your favorite websites.

You visit them often because there is always something new to read about or watch, right?

This not only turns people into regular readers, but can increase site traffic thanks to search engine crawlers placing some degree of priority on sites that have frequently updated, relevant content.

By continually putting fresh content on your site and making sure that it stays up to date, you can build a relationship of trust and familiarity with your readers.

Fostering Relationships

Connecting with your readers is important, but so is establishing ties with the rest of the community in your industry.

When thinking of how to rank your blog on Google, one way to bring traffic to your blog is to work with other bloggers who are popular in your industry. This can be done by either guest blogging on their site or inviting them to do so on yours.

By building relationships with others, you gain access to an audience that might not know you exist otherwise.

When building relationships with current readers, you can often do that by giving your readers a place to allow their voices to be heard. User generated content can enable you to promote your blog as a place where people can ask questions and get answers about the  topics covered on your site.

Not only will this give them a place to interact with like-minded people (while potentially bringing in others), you also will learn a little more about the people who are drawn to your site and that can be leveraged to develop future content.

Crafting a Narrative

Good speakers anchor their message in stories that the audience can relate to. It’s a principal you can apply when thinking about how to make your blog SEO-friendly.

Whether the topic you choose to write about contains an anecdote that applies to the situation, or you craft a story that fits in with the theme, using narrative is a stronger method of delivery than simply hitting your reader with a list of talking points.

A good story can connect people and put them into the situation. If you’ve ever been in a position where your response was “yeah, I’ve been there,” then you know just how effective a strong narrative can be at influencing opinion.

Conclusion

These five areas on how to write SEO-friendly blog posts are effective for traffic generation and transforming readers into fans, but they’re not the only ways of doing it.

If you have any additional tips, I encourage you to sound off in the comment section at the bottom of the page.