Want to get your blog posts ranked on Google? Doing so can help you bring in traffic to your website that you wouldn’t normally get. Blogs are generally much more focused than your main landing page is, so you’re able to rank them for more niche topics. However, you still need to put some SEO work into getting these pages ranked. Here are a few tips that can help you increase traffic with your blog posts.
Incorporate Long-Tail Keywords and Phrases
Long-tail keywords typically have less competition on Google, which means if you optimize a blog for them, you’ll likely rank higher. You do want to make certain that these long-tail keywords are relevant to the blog, of course, and that you don’t overuse them. However, you do want to use your main keyword in the blog title, and try to work it in at least one of your headers, too. It should appear within the blog’s first 100 words as well.
Use All of the Available Metadata
Google looks at metadata as one way of determining what your blog is about. If you leave some metadata blank, you lose out on that additional information. While most people do put in summaries, keywords, and other metadata, one area many people don’t make use of is image alt text. Google can’t actually see what your images are, so it relies on this text to determine what the image is. This text is yet another place where you can work in some of your keywords and keyword phrases, too.
Think About Featured Snippets
A somewhat new addition to Google search results is the featured snippet. This snippet, which is normally drawn from the first result on the page, is similar to a preview or a summary of the blog. You will often find featured snippets with blogs that include lists. For example, a blog written about “the top ten SEO tricks for 2021” might include a featured snippet that lists the first four or five of these tricks. You can encourage Google to pick your blog for this featured snippet by creating a blog that is mainly a list and making each item on that list a header.
Need some additional tips for writing great blogs? BlendIM is here to help. Contact us today to talk about blog writing and SEO with our team of experts.
