Content writing is something that takes a majority of a bloggers work time. This leaves us with little or no time to focus on other the important aspects of maintaining the blog such as SEO. But content writing could also be the most powerful SEO tool available for bloggers. If done right, optimized posts could help you get to the top of searches faster.
Keywords
The first step in optimizing your posts is to find the right keywords. Get this wrong and you waste all your hard work. Big keywords mean stiffer competition. It would definitely be harder to get ranked for the more popular keywords so mixing it up with long tail keywords. In my opinion, long tail keywords are the better option.
If you’re trying to sell footwear then “shoes” would be a high value keyword. But it would certainly take considerable time or investment to compete with well established websites. Make your keywords as targeted as possible by using long tail keywords. Using “running shoes for women” may yield better results than using “shoes” as your keyword.
The next step to consider is how many times your keywords should appear in the post. Longer posts could accommodate more keywords but how many is too much. A popular formula being used is 3 to 5 percent or that’s 3 to 5 keywords per 100 words on your posts. Keyword stuffing is a practice that is highly discouraged. This might get your content being marked as spam or worst blocked by search engines.
Images
This is something that is often overlooked by bloggers. Images are a great addition to any post you make. One common thing people overlook is placing the proper title and Alt Attribute. If you’re searching for pictures for example at Google images these helps search spiders locate them. You would be surprised that it could bring your site some traffic as well.
Meta Title and Post Title
Some people use the same text for their Post Title and Meta Title. We all know what post titles are and how using keywords helps in our SEO. Meta titles on the other hand are not visible to readers. While it takes a little creativity to come up with a catchy title creating Meta Titles should only concentrate on maximizing the use of target keywords. It would be a good idea to create a different Meta and Post Title. This helps you optimize the benefits of your SEO strategy.
Interlinking
Interlinking your posts makes it easier for readers to search for related on content. This helps reduce your bounce rate while helping search spiders crawl through your website. Some of us would use “click here” to direct the readers to similar content but using your target keywords is definitely better. Just like using keywords for your Anchor text for article submissions, these helps you rank higher for keywords.
Headings and Subheadings
If you’re having a hard time inserting keywords to your content then headings and subheading are a good location to place them. Headings and subheadings also provide breaks in your posts making it easier for readers to digest information.
There are a myriad of SEO strategies that could be used for helping your website rank higher in SERP’s. But for bloggers, optimizing your content is the best weapon in their arsenal. If every post written was optimized for SEO, then you end up with hundreds of posts that search engines would definitely notice. Sometimes the most of your SEO campaign is not doing all the techniques all at once. You just have to focus your efforts on those that you do well to get the maximum benefits.
Steve Vanderhoek is a regular contributor for cedarplugonline.com where he helps realtors choose the best WordPress themes for their websites. Some of his recent posts include cedarplugonline.com/real-estate-agent-wordpress-themes a simple review of two of his most favorite WordPress themes for real estate oriented websites.
