How to Make Your Blog Posts SEO-Friendly

Learning how to write SEO-friendly blog posts is one of the most beneficial things you can do as a blogger or copywriter.

We live in a digital world where almost everyone relies on the Internet for just about every aspect of their daily lives – research, education, entertainment, services, and shopping! For brands and businesses, blogs are an excellent way to establish your website as a reliable industry resource, but how you write your blog can make all the difference.

Publishing SEO-friendly content is one of the most effective strategies for improving a website’s ROI. It’s arguably the most critical of all web design trends because it does not only engage users and drive traffic to your site but also boosts your authority and brand awareness in a way that benefits your bottom line.

What is an SEO-Friendly Blog?

SEO is the process of optimizing online content for search engines. SEO-friendly blogs, therefore, are blogs written in a way that helps search engines like Google recognize their value to users.

If the search engine finds your blog relevant, it will rank it higher on the search results page. Higher SERP rankings usually translate to more website traffic and a boost in analytics, among other benefits.

8 Tips for Writing SEO-Friendly Blog Posts

There’s an adage in content marketing that says you should write for people first and then think about SEO after. But no matter how good or informative your content is, your efforts won’t amount to much if it has poor SEO.

Considering that 95% of users never look beyond the first page of their Google search results, an unoptimized blog post will likely pass unnoticed. Your search engine ranking is the key to reaching as many of your target audiences as possible and a vital factor in your blog’s success.

Here’s how you can make your blogs more SEO-friendly:

1. Search Intent

Every person on Google is hoping to find something. The first step to landing on Page 1 is understanding the intent or purpose behind user searches.

The terms people use in their search queries can give you an insight into their search intent. They could be looking for information (informational intent), searching for a specific website (navigational intent), browsing the web to find the best deals (transactional intent), or researching a specific product or service (commercial intent). Intent optimization is the key to attracting the right traffic to your website.

2. Long-Tail Keywords

It’s common knowledge that keywords are a fundamental part of SEO, but very few people recognize the value of long-tail keywords. These keywords are often composed of three to four words, making them more distinct than ordinary ones.

Long-tail keywords make up as much as 70% of all search traffic, which means that almost three-quarters of search queries are for something specific. Long-tail keywords also have higher conversion rates because they’re often used by visitors closer to the point of purchase. Incorporating one or two well-researched long-tail keywords in your blog post will improve your SEO.

3. Regular Posts

Statistics show that the increase in site traffic is proportional to the increase in blog posts. Site traffic can increase by as much as 30% after publishing more than 20 blog posts, which shows just how crucial regular blog posts are to the success of your SEO strategy. Moreover, regularly updating your website’s blog also increases credibility, brand awareness, and customer engagement.

Experts recommend publishing 2–4 times a week to maximize organic traffic. But don’t just post for the sake of having something to post. After all, only well-written and relevant blog posts make it to the top of Google’s results page.

4. Content Structure

The bounce rate of your posts and the time readers spend on your page affects your SEO.
But because people have a much shorter attention span nowadays, you must publish well-structured and scannable blog posts.

The following are elements of well-structured content:

● Introduction, body, and conclusion
● Headings
● Sub-headings
● Bold text
● Bulleted or numbered listings
● Short paragraphs

The majority of online users prefer to skim rather than read everything. To encourage visitors to stick around, you must ensure they can easily find the information they need.

5. Shorter Sentences and Paragraphs

Another effective way to make your blog easier to read and digest is by keeping your sentences short. Ideally, your sentences should be less than 25 words, and paragraphs no longer than 150 words.
Short and simple sentences are more suitable for the web and more impactful for SEO. The longer audiences stay on your page, the more your ‘time on page’ increases. You don’t have to make all your sentences short, though. Your content may end up sounding robotic. A good mix of shorter and slightly longer sentences can make reading more interesting.

6. Relevant Links

Adding links to your blog posts will make them more understandable. However, you should only add links to support data, clarify terms, or add information. The practice of linking for SEO is frowned upon by search engines and could end up hurting your optimization efforts.

Two types of links are commonly used in blog posts: internal and external. Internal links lead visitors to another page within your website, while external links direct users to a page outside your website. When linking externally, make sure to link to high-quality and authoritative websites.

Final Thoughts

Creating SEO-friendly content is not an easy task. It’s a skill that requires plenty of practice. And because search engine criteria can change anytime, you’ll also need a robust SEO strategy to keep your posts relevant, optimized, and valuable. But once you grasp the basics of writing SEO-optimized content, you’ll be able to easily write SEO-friendly blogs that search engines will love.

About the Author

Sarah Munn is the Outreach Manager of Phoenix Web Design, a web design company based in Phoenix, Arizona that specializes in creating bespoke and responsive websites that will surely grab people’s attention. When not writing content, she spends time with her grandparents and giving back to the community.