Search Engine Optimization. If you’re a new blogger, you may have heard this term. If you are like I was a few years ago, once someone tried to explain what SEO was, my eyes got wide, my ears shut down, and I’d say, “nope, that’s way over my head!”
Now I realize that if I want to improve my blog, search engine optimization is a necessary part of my growth strategy. Still, there was a learning curve, and it took some determined study on my part to get a minimal grasp on what it takes to incorporate SEO tactics.
Today, I will share what I have learned about search engine optimization and give you some tips that can help you grow your blog too.
First, a definition. What is Search Engine Optimization?
SEO, or search engine optimization is the process of getting your webpage to show up higher in search engine results, therefore bringing more organic, or natural (and free), traffic to your site.
Just a quick note here. I am not an SEO expert. As I mentioned above, it is a very complex topic, and if you choose to study search engine optimization with more depth there are a lot of resources available.
10 Easy Search Engine Optimization Tips
Use Keywords
Keywords are how searchers find you, so you can see that using descriptive, specific keywords can help get more blog readers to your site. Don’t overload your post, one or two keywords or phrases are fine. Use it within your title, your headline, and in your actual post. For example, my keyword is “search engine optimization.” It should also appear in your permalink.
Google Adwords Keyword Planner is a free tool that can help you find what keywords readers use in searches. You need to sign up for Adwords, but the planner is free. Remember that while you want readers to find your post, using a keyword that is too common will return millions of results, likely leaving your post lost in the fray.
Design Your Page Title
You want to create a headline that will stand out amongst all the others about similar topics. Search engines prefer titles between 40 and 70 characters long. Anything longer will be cut off. Your title should give a pretty good idea of what your post is all about, include your keyword, and, ideally, make your topic sound exciting.
The CoSchedule Headline Analyzer is a great (and free) tool that can help you write better titles. While it doesn’t make actual suggestions, it gives you a score based on potential impact, length, grammar, and readability.
Include a Meta Description
The meta description or tag is the little snippet that appears in a search result, so you can see that including an appropriate one is vital. You have 140 characters to make your blog post sound more interesting and important than other articles on the same topic. If you don’t designate a meta description, a search engine will frequently pick out the first sentence of your blog post, which will probably not be helpful.
When writing a meta description that will improve search engine optimization, be sure to use your keyword, write a descriptive and interesting sentence or two, and stay within the 140 character limit (or your words will be cut off).
If you don’t know HTML, the best way to create a meta description for a WordPress blog is to use the free Yoast SEO plugin. It analyzes all of your strategic search engine optimization needs and rates your post. In addition to the meta description, Yoast SEO will advise you regarding the length of your post, use of keywords, and make recommendations based on best practices. There is a paid version as well, but I have been using the free one without problems for a long time.
Edit Your URL
Your page URL, or permalink, should also contain your keyword. It should be relatively short, yet descriptive. It should not be a series of numbers, dates, or something like “p=1115.” This will not help your SEO. Ideally, your permalink will be the name of your post, with or without the date. This can be changed in Settings/Permalinks (WordPress blogs).
You can also change the URL within the post. Directly under the title, you will see your permalink and an edit button. You can use this to edit out any rambling words in your title. Keep it succinct, descriptive, and include your keyword.
Writing for Search Engine Optimization
Content is King
First of all, content is still king. Write good quality blog posts, that are interesting, use good grammar, and beautiful photography is your first step. How does this help your SEO? When a reader finds something that they like, they want to share it. Social media is another organic way to improve your search results.
Use Keywords and Subheadings
Use your keyword within your blog post, but don’t repeat it so many times that it starts ringing in people’s ears. Search engines understand synonyms, so whether you’re saying “search engine optimization,” “SEO,” or “organic search results,” these are words that will find your blog post when people use them to search.
Use subheadings within your post, including at least one with your keyword. This will not only help your SEO ranking, it will make your post easier for your reader to navigate.
Blog Post (and Paragraph) Length
Ideally, your post should be at least 300 words long, and most sources recommend posts of around 700 words for optimal SEO. Basically, write clearly, concisely, use good grammar and spelling, and short paragraphs for easy reading.
Internal and External Links
Your post should contain a few outgoing links, both internal and external. Internal links are ones that point to your own previous posts, which will encourage your readers to stick around longer and read more of what you have to say.
External, or outbound links, help a search engine know your niche, based on the types of sites you’re linking to. It also helps you build relationships with other bloggers (that you link to) and businesses, which increases the trust level of your site. External links should be relative to your niche and your post.
This does not apply to websites to which you’ve been paid to link (sponsored posts). Those could bring down your SEO ranking, and so should be tagged as no-follow (which is a topic for another day).
Optimize Your Photographs
You should also optimize the images within your post. This will help them show up on image searches and provide terms that you choose when they are shared. Avoid generic titles (like sunrise_2). Instead, use a short but descriptive filename for each photo. For this post, I might name my image search-engine-optimization-tips.
Don’t stop there. After you’ve added your image, change the alternative text, which will come pre-populated with the image name, to a brief description of your blog post. This is the text that will show up when the post is shared, so use your keyword, and write what you would like to see on Pinterest or Twitter when the image is shared.
Do this for all the images on the page (just copy and paste from the first), whether or not you intend them to be shared. This text will also show up in circumstances when the photo can’t be displayed for some reason. Finally, the image title and alt text will help image search engines better understand your photo, which will help it rank better in image searches.
Check Your Mobility
More and more people are reading blogs from their phone or tablet, so it makes sense for a blogger to make sure that their site is optimized for mobile devices. Not only that, but Google recently made it even more important by making mobile optimization a key factor for searches performed on mobile devices.
Fortunately, beginning bloggers do not have to figure out how to do this themselves. Most WordPress themes will do this for you, and if not, plugins are available to make sure that your site looks good and works properly on a mobile device.
Not sure if your site is optimized to Google’s satisfaction? Use their handy Mobility Friendly Test and find out.
Following these 10 tips will get you started on improving your search engine optimization and help your blog show up higher in search results. If you have questions, or if you are an expert and would like to add (or correct!) something, please do so in the comments.
Do you have an SEO tip I didn’t mention?
Other posts for beginner bloggers that might interest you:
12 Answers to Beginner Blogger’s Questions
So You Want to be a Blogger? 6 Things to Know First
Starting a Blog: 11 Tips to Get More Readers
Starting a Blog: Make Money Blogging
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Sunday Blog Hop with Jenn
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Anything Goes with Marilyn
Bonnie, the Pin Junkie
Tip Tuesday with Debbie in Shape
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Michelle, Sarah, and Angelena Marie
Wednesday Wisdom with Nanna’s Wisdom
The Blogger’s Pit Stop with Kathleen
Let’s Get Real with Karen.
Friday Fitness with Jill
I am still semi clueless about SEO. I’m thankful Yoast SEO plug in otherwise I’d be really, really clueless.
I love the Yoast plug in. That green light makes my day!
ahhhh the HARD PART explained so succinctly.
and yes.
THANK GOODNESS for Yoast plug in–I too much learn toward “I just wanna write” and it helps.
My tendency is to just want to write it too, but I decided if I want people to read what I write I’d better pay a little attention to SEO.
These are AWESOME tips! I admit, my brain shuts down every time I try to understand it but I am working to improve my SEO. I am loving CoSchedule’s headline analyzer- it’s been very helpful!
I love it too, though I sometimes find myself spending too much time trying to find the perfect headline (without it sounding over the top).
Haha- yeah…my headline for tomorrow borders over the top…scored me an A+ 😉 It’s kinda funny but I am interested to see if it helps at all.
Ha! I look forward to seeing it. I’ve only scored an A+ once! I usually am happy with a B+ 🙂
Thanks for this! I try to understand but ultimately I’m in Carla’a “I just wanna write” camp. Not a great place to be but it is what it is. The headline analyzer is cool!
I understand that “just wanna write” feeling. Still, I want people to read too :-).
Google Adwords Keyword Planner has been so helpful for me. I’m trying to up my game, and I hope it makes a difference!
I think it really does. It helps me from using overused keywords (though I admit I sometimes ignore it and use the keywords that sound right to me 🙂 ).
Yeast SEO has been my life line. I have to admit that since they did a recent plugin update, I’ve been getting a strange error on my posts saying there is no meta tag defined in my photos even though I’ve done everything you’ve stated above. Frustrating!!!
That’s weird. I’ve never had that problem. You should probably contact Yoast and ask about it. It’s about your photos and not the general meta tag? I get a reminder to change my meta description, but never the photos.
This is a much needed post for me. I recently have decided to put more effort into this SEO business.
Great! I’m glad you find it helpful.
This is great! I’ve been trying to work on my SEO info to improve my searches. It’s all a little overwhelming at times. I could probably work on changing the url too thanks!
Sometimes those URLs get a little out of hand if you have a long title. I try to keep mine fairly brief, and take out things that date them.
Great tips! That Yoast plug in makes life SO much easier.
Truth! That green light is my most favorite thing!
Also thankful for your posts!!! 🙂 I am clueless!
Thanks Jody. Now if I were really good I could figure out why all of your comments go to moderation every single time. You’re the only one that happens to!
i think I have a mental block when it comes to SEO Debbie! Thank you so much for an easy to understand guide it is really helpful. Have a great week! #Pitstop
Thanks Sue. I did too for the longest time. It just sounded too complex. But there are some simple things we can do without actually understanding what we’re doing – lol
This is a great pinnable for me. It’s one of those things I’ll find myself coming back to, from time to time.
Great! I’m so glad you find it helpful.
Great list and reminders. So many have helpful and wonderful content but if it is not found in a search . . . It is a something I need to pay more attention to!
So true. A couple people above commented that they just want to write, which I understand, but presumably we all want someone to read too, right?
I just started using Yoast SEO and I finally feel like I am getting the hang of it. This is the stuff that makes blogging more work than people imagined!
Yoast is so helpful. A lot of this stuff is simple once you get used to it, but I do agree that blogging takes way more time than anyone imagines.
Excellent tips! I am a beginner & need all this information! Thanks!!!
You’re welcome. I’m glad you find it helpful.
Debbie this is awesome! I’m new to coschedule and have been wondering. With the the headline analyzer what number am I aiming for. I’m assuming the higher the better. Right. 60s is ok but 70s is better. I have yet to get an analysis of beyond the 70s.
I always figure anything a B+ or above is good. I occasionally get into the 70s, but sometimes those headlines don’t sound natural or like me.
These tips are awesome. I wish I had known this stuff a few years ago. I’m still working on my SEO strategy and getting the right keywords, but it’s getting better! Thanks Debbie!
Thanks Sue. I think most of us just don’t have the energy to worry about it at first, there is so much to think about. Then comes the time you really want to improve your numbers…
Great tips!
Thanks Kelly!
I am trying to soak in info about SEO a lot right now, so these tips are super helpful. Thanks for the tip on how the alt text is what shows up when people share. I’ll definitely have to tackle those.
That is really useful for a lot of things, especially on pinnable images. Plus, no matter what, you don’t want your random file name to show up instead.
Great tips, Debbie? I get so overwhelmed with SEO bit these tools seem great!! Thanks
Thanks Kristin. It can be overwhelming, but fortunately you don’t have to be an SEO whiz to do a few things that can help (thank goodness!).
Great tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Michelle. I’m glad you find it useful.
Excellent advice. I didn’t realize that the title of my images are part of my SEO. I assumed it was all about the alt text. I will need to go back and fix those! #SundayBlogHop
I actually found that out fairly recently too. I’ve changed a lot of image titles recently 🙂
Hi Deb, I previously commented so stumbled, pinned and tweeted for you. Thanks for linking up with us at #overthemoon.
Thanks Sue! I appreciate the shares.
These are awesome tips! I need to get the Keyword Planner ASAP. I also want to do a better job with external links.
Thanks Janelle. That keyword planner is very helpful. Remember that while you have to create an AdSense account, you don’t have to go so far as to pay for it. The keyword planner is free.
These are awesome tips. SEO is so daunting for me. Thank you for the help. I found you on the Sunday Blog Hop. I would love for you to join my linkup party! http://faithfilledparenting.com/faith-filled-parenting-linkup-party-9/
Hi Debbie, congratulations. This post was among the most clicked in the Blogger’s Pit Stop #7. It will be featured in #8. Well done
Kathleen
Hi Debby,
I am always fearful to change the permalink. That’s for the tip about it.
Thanks for bringing this to Pit Stop.
Janice, Pit Stop Crew
Hi Debbie,
Stumbled across your blog yesterday. Thank you for sharing these tips!
Glad I found your blog, it is full of great information. Nice tip about the length of blog. Blogging regularly can be a great boost to the blog’s SEO. Keyword Density is now an old thing.
If you focus more on building readership, writing excellent blog posts that are actually very useful to audience, your blog naturally ranks well.
I will be browsing through your blog to learn more.
All of these are great tips to keep in mind even for seasoned bloggers!
Great tips for beginners.Luckily my Yoast plugin helps me with SEO.But I l like to have some inside knowledge.Reading this helped
Wow! These are some amazing tips!! Thank you so much for sharing, I need all the help I can get. #BloggersPitStop
Awesome Tips on SEO for beginners and Also Struggling bloggers who havent optimized their sites yet. Thanks for sharing at the pit stop!
I am working hard on my SEO. All good suggestsions! Debbie, this would be such a great post for the #overthemoon link party that I co-host. It opens at 5 p.m. CST on Sunday. All posts get comments and pinned!
Haha
If you’re a new blogger you may have heard the term Search Engine Optimization (or SEO), and wondered what how it can help your blog
HI Debbie,
Yay! You won Inspire Me Monday Linky with this post. Congratulations! You will be featured tomorrow.
Janice
very useful information, thank you for your effort.
Awesome post! I have been battling this same thing for years. I keep thinking I need a “niche” because what if I want to write about something other than books?
Last month Google rolled out its second mobile-friendly ranking update. As with the first one in 2015, they said the update was meant to give a boost in their mobile search results to sites that are mobile-friendly.
Thank u so much , Debbie Woodruff
I know I’ve read this before, but I had it pinned and had to revisit. I think I have to stop letting my eyes glaze over when it comes to SEO too. It’s time! Thanks for the tips!
The most important point I like in this article is “Content is king”, If you posting everyday good, unique quality and user friendly content no-one beat you to become viral on the web.
Thanks for the tips, Debbie. Can you tell us how to make a meta description for a Blogger blog?
Hi,
I keep forgetting to shorten my URL lately. Stumbled!
Thanks for bringing your post to the Blogger’s Pit Stop last week.
Janice
Debbie this post is being featured again on the Blogger’s Pit Stop. Congratulations.
Fantastic SEO tips here. So glad I dropped by from Kathleen’s blog. 🙂
Debbie – I am just now getting a handle on SEO. All good reminders. Wish I had read this post when I was getting started!
Thank you for the great tips!