How To Write SEO Friendly Blog Posts

Are you a passionate writer wondering how to write SEO friendly blog posts?

That was me, not too long ago. Scurrying around the corners of the web trying to piece together information that would make my blog posts worthy of the coveted SEO attention.

My first handful of blog posts lacked even a nod towards search engine optimization practices. I didn’t realize that hitting “publish” on a blog post that lacked SEO was akin to tossing my words into the depths of the ocean, never to surface again.

I understand what it’s like to love writing, to feel the words flow from your fingers like ink. Blogging allows us to craft articles and easily share them with the world.

That’s why I blog too. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could align our artistic typing with the often confusing technical world of SEO?

The good news is, we can!

But the only way to do that is to make sure your message is coded correctly. You must make sure you are speaking the SEO language, or your words will evaporate in the wide, vast clouds of the internet.

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Making SEO SIMPLE Again

My goal is to make SEO simple again. Approachable for the average day mama who wakes before the sun to scratch out a few thoughts she hopes the world will appreciate.

I am going to give you a few simple tips that will give you a strong foundation. You will be able to write SEO friendly blog posts! I want you to try them, and let me know if things change for you!

Steps To Writing An SEO Friendly Blog post (For Beginners)

Here’s how to write an SEO friendly blog post in just a few steps. I hope this blesses you and helps you on your blogging journey. May your words be seen!

Do Your Keyword Research

You may have heard this a million times, but you gotsta do your keyword research. I have seen too many bloggers create mounds of beautiful content, only to have it buried in competitive searches.

If you can’t catch a break with getting your content to rank, it may NOT be the content that’s the problem. It may be that you are picking topics that are too broad and too competitive.

Choosing The Right Keywords Takes Skill

Let me give you an example here. Say that you inherited the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe from your great grandma. It’s the bee’s knees and you know you have to share this secret recipe with the world.

You can see it now: this ooey gooey cookie will make mouths water and the SEO fairies will smile in your favor. You’ll rank number one for sure.

The only problem is, “chocolate chip cookie” has 715,000 searches per month. There’s a lot of cookie monsters out there! A lot of bloggers and websites are going to try to rank for that #1 cookie spot. I mean, who wouldn’t want to garner all that traffic?

Look For Less Competitive Search Topics

Let me tell you something: as a new blogger with a young site, you’ll never earn the top spot for a hyper competitive search. Cue sad music.

HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean you should throw in towel, eat all the cookies and never open your computer again. It just means you have to get creative.

What other search terms could cookie monsters be looking for that maybe… just maybe…. you could rank for?

This is where you are going to look for VARIATIONS of your main keyword. You’ve got the world’s best recipe, so let’s find a way to get it out there.

But how? Here’s what you do:

• Use a keyword tool like Keyword Finder. I have found Keyword Finder to be accurate and reliable… allowing to cherry pick low competition search terms. I have been able to get traffic for a few terms using this search tool within a month!
• Use the google search bar to help you find other relevant search terms searches (these will propagate if you put in your search term)
• Get creative and think of ways that people may search for variations of your keyword (this takes time, so don’t give up)
• Look for search terms that are less competitive. This means they are going to have LESS search volume but a higher ability for you to rank!

If you want to revive Granny’s cookie recipe from the internet graveyard you’ll have to find a search term with lower volume and lower competition, like Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Now that you’re armed with knowledge on how to find low competition key terms, it’s time to go to work. Become a committed detective to sleuthing out key words relevant to your niche(s).

Create Lengthy Content That Supports Your Keywords

Alright, I know there is controversy over how long your blog post should be. I mean, how much time do we have anyways to devote to one single post?

From all the research I’ve done I’ll boil it down to two words: wax eloquent.

I hope you know what I mean by that, but just in case it’s this: be as thorough as you can! Give examples, tips, anecdotal stories and evidence whenever possible. If you love to write, as I do, now is your time to shine.

Don’t stuff your post full of useless ramblings, however… make it useful and relatable to your reader. Long form content is going to make you an authority on your topics, garner more back links, and be more popular on social media (read this study from Search Engine Land).

How Can You Make Your Blog Posts Longer?

Be as specific as possible. If you are making Grannie’s cookies, let them know what the best chocolate chips are, where you source your flour from, how long to beat that batter, and more. Add in tips and tricks, a buying guide, success stories and frequently asked questions.

On top of lengthy content, make sure to use sub headings to break up your posts into digestible content that support your overall messages.

How To Write SEO Friendly Blog Post Content

There are many ways to go about writing your blogpost content. But in today’s fast paced world people are looking for bite sized information that is easy to digest. So how can you marry long content with short chunks of information?

You can do this by breaking up your paragraphs into chunks of 2-4 sentences. Write in a friendly way that welcomes your reader. Avoid lengthy, complicated “jargon” (a challenge for the more verbose among us!).

If you don’t feel like you are a fabulous writer, practice! If you write every day, you will improve.

Make sure you are using the YOAST plugin to help you navigate your SEO friendly blog post!

Make Sure Your Post Is Well Connected and Attractive to Readers

A well connected, attractive blog post? Are we writing content here or getting ready for a blind date?

Hear me out…

My last tip for creating an SEO friendly blog post is to make sure to give your content connection to other blog posts AND make sure it looks good. Don’t abandon your content at the door stoop on a dark rainy night. Give it a home, a wardrobe and friends! You want your content to look good and be well connected:

• Provide a home for your blog post by putting it in the correct category of your website
• Give your blog post friends by linking to relevant posts both on your website and linking to other relevant sites (Don’t be afraid to link to high authority sites!)
• Go back and link TO your blog post from other relevant posts
• Give your blog post a wardrobe by dressing it up with headings, subheadings, bold fonts, images and graphics
• Make your blog post readable by using short easy sentences and paragraphs and using lists

Don’t Give Up!

It takes time and practice in order to learn to write blog posts that are SEO friendly. Don’t give up. Keep learning, practicing and improving. Go back and rewrite old posts, and keep seeking out knowledge.

I’d love to hear about your blogging journey. Let me know in the comments what your biggest SEO struggle is!

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