Keeping a blog is a must for any website. It helps you build visibility, drive traffic, and showcase your expertise.
How do you get people to actually read your posts? Solid research and good writing make for an enjoyable read, but first you need to get people there. Whether you’re improving an older post or polishing something new, here are 9 tips to help your posts rank well!
1. Choosing the Right Keywords
Keywords sit at the heart of SEO, and using them well has a big impact on how well your post ranks.
A handful of carefully chosen terms help both search engines and readers understand what your content is about.
Your post will then show up in the matching search results and get surfaced based on the keywords you’re targeting. Choosing them carefully really matters if you want to reach your audience and drive traffic to your site.
Using the right keywords isn’t enough. You also need to place them thoughtfully so search engine algorithms can easily pick up on them. Work them into your headings and metadata, and spread them naturally throughout the different sections of your content.
Just be careful not to overload your text. Repeating the same keywords too forcefully will make it hard to read. The trick with SEO writing is finding the right balance: making your content work for search engines without ruining the reading experience.
Beyond your core keywords, have fun exploring related vocabulary around your topic. It keeps readers engaged and helps search engines pick up on your subject matter. This will strengthen your ranking on the keywords you’re targeting.
Using dedicated keyword research tools will help you figure out which terms to prioritize, based on search volume and competitiveness, while also looking at the type of queries tied to them. For blog posts, you want to target keywords tied to informational searches rather than transactional ones.
2. Create UNIQUE, High-Value Content
The web is full of content on every subject imaginable, and most topics have already been covered from every angle. Even so, you need to find a way to stand out and land on an angle that hasn’t been overdone. Of course, there’s a good chance your content will overlap with something already out there. So what’s the answer? Draw inspiration, but never copy. Otherwise your post will lose its appeal, both to readers and to search engines.
Also make sure it holds up no matter when someone reads it. This is what’s known as evergreen content, named after plants whose leaves stay green through every season. Timeless content stays current long after it’s published. A post that feels dated or outdated risks scaring off visitors, who might assume your site isn’t kept up to date.
To write evergreen content, avoid tying it too closely to a specific time period or mentioning dates directly. For example, if you write about current events or trends, make sure to update the post regularly.
If your title includes a date (like this one!), leave the date out of the URL. That way you can update it year after year, or as often as you like!
3. Structure Your Headings and Answer Questions
Headings help structure your content and break it into sections. They act like a table of contents readers can rely on to find their way around. Studies show it: the average attention span online is very short! People skim pages looking for specific information. You need to hold their attention and let them get to the heart of it at a glance.
Your headings also play a big role in SEO. Each section heading should clearly show what it covers and, ideally, pose a question that the section then answers.
This ties into what’s called user queries. If someone searches for something that matches one of your headings, the search engine may highlight that section in its results. Thanks to the keywords used, it can tell that your post is a good match for what that person is looking for.
4. Use Metadata
Although metadata doesn’t appear directly on the page itself, it’s something you shouldn’t overlook. It includes the title and description of your post, which show up in search engine results.
In a way, metadata is the storefront for your content. It should make people want to click through and read your post. Make sure to include your target keywords here so search engines know to show your post to the right audience. Metadata should describe your page’s content as accurately as possible, so people actually click through to read it.
The meta title often repeats the post’s H1 along with the name of the company. If there’s room, adding the word “blog” or “article” also makes it instantly clear what kind of content it is. The meta description should feel lively and inviting enough to make people want to read the post.
5. Optimize Your URL
Your post’s URL should be chosen carefully. It should reflect the main keyword or keywords in the content.
Besides being picked up by Google’s algorithm, the URL helps describe your content and guides people as they search. Plenty of people actually look at the green URL shown in search results to check that the content matches what they’re looking for.
Be careful not to use special characters or numbers in your post’s URL. Search engines view these negatively, and it hurts your ranking.
6. Use Quick Links and Visuals
As you’ve probably gathered, beyond the technical pieces that go into good search rankings, it also matters a lot to take care of the experience you’re giving readers.
Quick links help increase the time people spend on your post. This could be a table of contents at the top of the page, icons, or short summaries that sum up each section.
Don’t hesitate to use visuals to grab your readers’ attention, like pulled quotes set between paragraphs in a different font size or style. Images are also a great way to break up your text while illustrating its different parts.
7. Build Strong Internal Links and Use External Links
Internal linking means connecting different pages on your site with links.
Beyond showcasing your expertise across your field or industry, your posts can also send readers to other pages on your site. Your blog is really an entry point for bringing qualified visitors to your site and turning them into potential customers.
You can send visitors to your services pages or to a portfolio section to back up what you’re saying. And don’t forget well-placed call-to-action buttons inviting people to get in touch with your team.
The real art of linking lies in choosing your anchor text. The phrase or keywords you use should accurately reflect what the reader will find when they click.
You can also use links to outside sites to strengthen the credibility and legitimacy of your content. Linking to an organization seen as an authority on your topic backs up what you’re saying and points to a solid source.
8. Make It Easy to Share on Social Media
Once you’ve spent time polishing your post, taken care of everything that goes into good SEO, and finally published it, a boost from social media is always welcome!
This means letting readers who enjoyed your content share it on their own platforms. Besides boosting visibility and driving traffic to your site, having someone outside your company share your content adds real value to it. Especially when their audience also matches yours.
So remember to add share buttons to your posts to give your blog more visibility and reach.
9. Let Readers Rate the Post
One last touch for getting the most out of your published posts: let your readers rate the content!
The reviews readers leave help your blog rank well. Besides being something search engines take into account, it’s also a great way to promote your content and highlight its appeal!
