Exciting, interesting and captivating blog posts are a big factor in ranking well on Google with the company website. However, writing a short blog without considering the onpage and offpage SEO aspects is not very effective. Users will hardly find it. But how do you get in good with Google so that your blog appears in a good position in the organic search result lists (SERPs)? You'll find out below.
TECHNICAL SEO FOR BLOGS: CREATE THE FRAMEWORK!
From a technical SEO point of view, the blog should meet mobile-first requirements - i.e. be optimally displayed on every device, navigable and, if possible, controllable via voice assistants. Ideally, the page speed should not take more than one second to load. Images and videos should therefore be of high quality, but compressed and not too large.
PROCEED IN A PLANNED AND NETWORKED MANNER
In an editorial plan, the basic topic that the blog should be about is first determined and bundled in the so-called cluster or content hub. Under this rough "folder", the matching individual blog topics are now grouped together and linked to each other. This encourages further exploration of the blog and gives the blog an expertise for the cluster topic from Google's point of view. Clickable content information generated from the subheadings leads the user directly to the paragraph that interests him. This reduces the bounce rate.
KEYWORDS: SEO KEY ROLE FOR BLOGS?
Well-ranking blog articles fulfill an added value, for example, by informing, entertaining and/or encouraging further reading. They also contain the relevant keywords and their synonyms.
Are keywords now obsolete in SEO for blogs?
Not at all, but the days of keyword stuffing, where the main keyword was squeezed into each paragraph as many as three to five times as possible - possibly even grammatically incorrect - are definitely over. Google's artificial intelligence (AI) has long since seen through the fact that text containing countless repeated words is exhausting for the reader without promising any real benefit.
Keywords and long tails as key to success
A comprehensive keyword analysis is also elementary for search engine optimized blogs. However, not everything is relevant. The main keyword should clearly state the content of the blog in one word. Two further keywords indicate the direction of travel. Here the main keyword should appear absolutely and if possible at the beginning:
- URL
- Title Tag
- Meta-Description
- H1 heading, some H2 and H3 headings
- Alt text of images and videos
- GIVE GOOGLE SUMMARIES
The more self-written short summaries Google offers, the less you have to rely on the ones created by AI. Creating short, crisp and meaningful meta descriptions and snippets are firmly part of the SEO measures for blogs. Long-tail keywords that give users concise answers to common questions are also effective. Created as clickable featured snippets, they appear at the top of search results as a drop-down question-and-answer list.
SEO OPTIMIZED BLOGS: REGULAR, UNIQUE AND ACCURATE
Regular new blog content at fixed intervals is the cardinal rule for good Google ranking. If there is a lot of activity, the bots scan the blog more frequently. Older posts become relevant to Google again for the SERPs through updates.
READER-FRIENDLINESS THROUGH PARAGRAPHS, SUBHEADINGS, QUOTES.
A reader-friendly blog post structure starts with a short introduction and concludes with a meaningful conclusion. In addition, small paragraphs, with well-portioned text units (without tapeworm sentences) should be set. Use subheadings (H2 to H4) above the paragraphs to arouse curiosity about the content of the following body text. Relevant quotations as graphic elements to loosen up, also emphasize the originality of the blog. If these criteria are met, you will benefit from a longer stay and will be rewarded with a better ranking.
IMAGES AND VIDEOS SUPPORT WORDS
An image, video, GIF or other visual element should not be missing from any blog, as they not only serve to lighten up the lead desert, but also make it interesting for image and video searches. To rank well here, the media formats should have a clear file name and the alt text should describe what is seen, - if the main keyword matches the image, then it should be included. Files need good quality with compressed size. Pixelated images or huge files that increase loading time will scare users away. Optimally, these are your own, authentic, unique media formats created by professionals.
USE READER-FRIENDLY BULLETED LISTS AND LISTS
Your blog article should be creatively designed - just body text is too tiring for many users. For example, you can use bulleted lists to add creative touches:
- Bullet lists facilitate the flow of reading.
- Bullet lists make for faster reading time.
- Authors are forced by them to compress facts crisply.
- Content can be summarized in a nutshell.
- They can contain entirely new and important information.
Loose rules are: A maximum of a dozen words per bullet point - preferably less, and pay attention to punctuation. If it is a complete sentence, a bullet point is placed at the end. If it's an incomplete sentence. There should be a comma after each bullet point and a closing point after the last bullet points. Since it doesn't look pretty, blogs have allowed themselves the right to do without it, see the examples below:
- Google ranking improves with these 10 SEO tips for blogs. (Correct)
- 10 SEO tips for blogs: better Google ranking. (Incorrect)
- Rank better: 10 SEO tips for blogs, (Correct, but ugly).
- Rank better: 10 SEO tips for blogs, (not quite correct, but pretty).
- Google and readers love lists
If the entertainment factor is to play a bigger role, it's time for listicles. The three best .... 10 tips ..., the top 5 ..., 7 best ... Listicles have been trending for a while. Listicles attract traffic and retain users to the blog.
EDITORS AND PROOFREADERS
If a company can't afford its own proofreading, it's enough to have an experienced person proofread once before the new blog goes online. If it's flawed, you risk scaring away readers and losing reputation in terms of competence. What does this have to do with SEO for blogs? A poorer reputation for the company, low dwell time and a high bounce rate, will have a negative impact on Google rankings.
RESEARCH CLEANLY AND CITE SOURCES
No reader likes regurgitated texts that contain nothing that is not already found in many other blogs in the same or very similar form. A good research should go into depth and is time-consuming. The effort is usually rewarded with a positive ranking. Unique content with added value is perceived as such by the AI. Clear sources, for example of statistics or studies, are also important. Valuable backlinks can also be gained by contacting the originator.
OFFPAGE-SEO FOR THE BLOG: ORGANIZE BACKLINKS
The more often a blog is linked to and thus mentioned by trusted sources, the better for its position in the SERPs. Ranking boosters are subject-specific forum links or third-party blogs on similar topics. Those who are active on social channels can promote their blog there. Reactions such as "like" and "share" have no influence on the ranking themselves, but provide noticeably more traffic.
Conclusion: SEO for blogs
First, the blog must meet the technical SEO factors. After
that, it's all about the content. Here it is important to offer the reader real
added value. In order to make this clear to the Google bots, so that the user
even learns about the blog article, onpage measures such as meta description,
snippets, file names, alt texts and tags are just as important as offpage
measures in the form of backlinks. If you have fulfilled these criteria,
optimal conditions are created to find the blog article far in front in the
Google search results - even without purchased advertising.