If you’re a blogger, you want to create content that not only grabs people’s attention but which also reaches the search engines. Of course, your following should grow organically through word of mouth and shared posts, but to really reach the most people possible, you should try to get on top of the Search Engine Results Pages, as well.
How can you do this? There are several techniques that you should keep in mind that will help you not only draw people in through your content but also give you an edge with your optimization efforts. If you need professional help, the Mellow Promo company is a leading SEO company and can analyze and explain exactly where your site stands and why.
This article will lay out several techniques that you should use to accomplish this.
Table of Contents
Pay attention to your titles
The titles that you use in your blog posts are critical. Not only should they closely reflect the content of your text, but they should be appropriately worded and unique enough to make potential readers think you have something special to offer.
In fact, studies have been done that indicate what types of headlines resonate with potential readers that most. One study analyzed five different headline categories to determine which ones had the highest click-through rates. The categories included straightforward questions, questions, how-to statements, numbers, and commands.
The results indicated that titles containing numbers have by far the highest click-through rates. The titles with the lowest click-through rates were ones that asked questions. What this essentially means is that people like being given concrete, quantifiable ways of solving problems, making improvements, etc. Of course, your titles will partially depend on what you are writing about. If your blog is about home improvements, then naturally your readership will be more inclined to open how-to blogs.
Make your content sufficiently long, but easy to read
Search engine results indicate that longer posts tend to fare better on SERPs. Therefore, try to make your posts 1000 words or longer (but make sure that your content is truly interesting and that you’re not just taking up space with it).
In addition to length, you want to keep your paragraphs relatively short, and include as many subheadings as you can. Also, your text should be easily scannable. Because blogs are not generally considered heavy material that people need for work or study, people tend to read them on-the-go.
Beyond brevity in general, experts recommend using bullet points and numbering whenever possible. Try to vary the number of ways that you can break up your text so that people can scan it more easily.
Talk to people directly
As mentioned above, blog posts are not dissertations. People read them because they want quick and easy tips about lifestyles, entertainment, or other things that they can take away easily and use in their daily lives. For this reason, you shouldn’t be afraid to use commands, particularly – but not only – in your titles.
This should, of course, involve the correct use of keywords. Be sure to do your research in advance and determine what the most SEO-friendly keywords and keyword phrases are in your industry.
Include different types of content
Remember that text is not the only thing that contributes to SEO. And it certainly isn’t the only thing that grabs the attention of readers. Depending on the theme of your blog, you can include a variety of photos, videos, etc. If you are writing a DIY blog, include either a series of pictures that illustrate the steps of completing a task, or short videos in between your text.
When you include this kind of content, be sure that your alt tags and captions are also optimized. Content by itself won’t get you the full credit you deserve for optimizing.
Optimize your meta description, and do it across devices
Your meta description is what will appear on the SERPs. Therefore, you want it to be punchy, relevant, and of a language that is in accordance with the theme and content of your blog. In addition, make sure that your description is optimized for different devices – sometimes Google takes liberties with meta descriptions, and you could find that what appears on an Android is not the same as what appears on an iPhone.
Therefore, you should always cross-check across devices to make sure that everything is consistent.
Look at your results on a regular basis
These are just a few guidelines for bloggers. Of course, you should check your results on a regular basis to see where exactly you stand on the SERPs. In addition, look through Google Analytics or employ a professional tool to see exactly where your strong and weak points are. Staying on top of the SERPs will help you get your name out above the rest!
