How to Create an SEO-Friendly Blog Post
Sharing regular blog content on your website is a great way to educate your audience and prove to Google your website is a valuable resource it should showcase in its rankings. So what makes successful blog content?
When creating content for SEO purposes, you need to remember that it’s more than just rankings. Instead, you need to ensure you’re sharing valuable and relevant content in an engaging and helpful way.
By producing content that understands the challenges your audience faces and answering the questions you have, you can improve your online visibility and SEO strategy.
So here are 7 ways to create an SEO-friendly blog
Do your keyword research
For the content to help your organic strategy, it must focus on the best keywords for you and your business. This is why, before you put pen to paper or fingers on keyboards, you should carry out keyword research to create your topics and understand the potential reach of each post. Unsure of where to begin with your keyword research? Here are 10 free tools to get you started.
Plan your structure
Now you have your blog topic, you need to be able to give it a structure. This will help your reader and Google to understand what your content is about and that it is easy to follow. Here is what we recommend:
Introduction
Every blog should have an introduction, and it’s within this section that you should address the purpose of the blog and its goal. You should also ensure your target keyword and a link for that keyword is in this section. For long-form content we recommend bullet-pointing what topics the piece will cover, so the reader is prepared.
Headings and paragraphs
Your title should be your H1 and then following that you should have a few H2 titles and then some H3 depending on the length of your blog. Between each heading, you should aim for a couple of paragraphs and ensure your heading text is informative about the content underneath it.
Conclusion and a CTA
At the end of your blog, we recommend a summary or round-up of the content you have shared. Following this you should look to include a call to action (CTA). Essentially, now your audience has read your content what would you like them to do? Remember, making this easy and clear will increase the chances of your audience taking that action.
Write enough content
Once you have your structure, it’s time to start writing. But how much to write? Unfortunately, there isn’t a defined number. Too little and you won’t be improving your SEO, too much and it’s likely your audience will get bored and switch off.
Ideally, a good range to aim for is between 800-1000 words, but this isn’t a definite number. However, what you need to keep in mind, is how much content I need to clearly explain my topic. For example, if your blog post is about a complex industry update you will need more content, than perhaps that for a post on 5 coffee spots in Manchester.
Don’t use AI
We understand, we’ve just told you that you need to write over 800 words, but you’re struggling for time, and there are AI tools available. Don’t do it! AI content is not rewarded by Google and after their latest core update, using AI content could impact your SEO performance and even land you a fine. If you’re struggling with content or ideas, then we recommend doing your own research and asking your audience for suggestions. If you’re writing for a particular audience, then ask them what would they like to read and find useful.
Add in links
A great way to give context to your blog post is by including links to other content. These links can add more detail to your content for your reader to explore and by linking to other pieces shows Google how the content is connected, meaning it’s easier for both Google and your audience to navigate their way. When it comes to adding links to your blog, you should use a mix of internal links (those on your website) and external links (those to other sites across the internet).
Don’t forget about imagery
Images are a great way to help your audience to visualise the point your blog is trying to make. However, just inserting an image isn’t going to help Google or your SEO. Instead, here are some ways to optimise your images.
- They’re not huge, big images that take a while to load are bad for your website performance and core web vitals.
- They are named correctly. Using images that are saved as a bunch of numbers doesn’t explain what it is. Instead, you should name them something which relates to your content.
- They have alt text. This is descriptive text that allows Google to understand the meaning and context of the image. You can usually add this when uploading the image to your blog and again ensuring it is relevant to what the image shows and your content will help the performance of that post.
Use SEO tools to help
Finally, there are SEO tools which can help you analyse your blog and ways to optimise your content further. One such tool is Rank Math, which you can add to your website, and it will assess the SEO performance of your post, based on the target keyword you want to rank for.
So, there you have seven ways to optimise your blog content. Want to know more about creating content that will improve your online performance? Take a look at these other helpful guides and posts:
