Are you trying to figure out how to use SEO to explode your blog traffic? Well, this is a topic tons of bloggers struggle with. Once you figure out the methods and strategies, you’ll see a huge boost.
Since this is a question I hear a lot, I wanted to tackle a post to break down what you need to do.
Getting the search engine giants like Google to rank your page on its 1st search page is an awesome feeling! I like to compare it to marathon racers winning first place.
I don’t know much about racing but I’m pretty sure it’s an awesome feeling to come out on top after all that hard work pays off. The same is true for us bloggers.
Getting ranked in Google has a whole lot to do with SEO which is search engine optimization. Good SEO is what has boosted mediocre blogs that were making just a few dollars a month to explode into money-making powerhouses of six-plus figures a month. I bet you can see why this is important!
SEO is not something that turns your blog into an overnight win but it’s a must-have if you want your blog to win.
Each post with proper search engine optimization will go through the process of climbing the ranks in Google. Better rankings mean more eyes on your posts and the more eyes the more income!
Tips on How to Use SEO to Rank Your Blog
Long Tail Keywords
Short one-word keywords are nice but the long tail goes more in-depth and the more focused your content is the better.
Figuring out which long words to use is based on your blog post topic. An example is traveling the Caribbean with children rather than just traveling the Caribbean. See how adding with children gets a little more specific.
The more specific your posts are, the more targeted your traffic and that’s a win for both you and Google.
Related Posts
Keeping your readers on your site for as long as possible is also good for SEO. Google measures how long someone is on each site and the length of time shows Google that your site is considered worthy if readers hang around. Related Posts intrigue readers and make them want to click through to see what else you have to say.
Many WordPress themes allow you to choose to have related posts show up under your post. I suggest doing this so you don’t miss the valuable opportunity to keep your audience on your blog.
Post Titles
Use long tail keywords in the titles of your post. The title is what people see when they are skimming over Google search results when they type in the keyword they are looking for. If what they are looking for is in the title of your post, the odds are you’ll get a click through.
Meta Descriptions
These short one or two-sentence descriptions for each of your posts are the descriptions that show up in Google search.
Use keywords in these descriptions. Make your language sound natural and don’t overdo it but sprinkle one keyword and an alternate here and there in your descriptions.
Headings
Use headings throughout the posts (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.). Break up paragraphs with heads after no more than 300 or so characters in a paragraph. Some of the headings need to include your keywords.
Images
Be sure to use ALT text in your images. Search engines cannot see your images and understand them however they do read the ALT texts and use it to categorize what your post is about and rank it so this is an important step for sending traffic to your blog.
Internal Linking
Another important tip for how to use SEO is to create internal links between your posts. This shows Google you have more to say about the topic and basically more authority. They like to boost up sites with informative and helpful internal links.
Backlinks
This is when another site links back to your blog. If you write amazing and informative content you will start getting backlinks from reputable sites. People will love what you have to say. Google loves sites with good backlinks.
Anchor Text
Use the right format whenever creating anchor text, either on internal links on your site or on other websites.
Your anchor text should be descriptive of your post, and not a “Click Here” link.
Do this: Find more ways to increase traffic to your blog.
Do not do this: Click here to find more ways to boost traffic to your blog.
Back Links
These are links from other sites that link back to your blog.
Write amazing content and others will link to it from their sites.
WordPress Plugins
Yoast SEO is a great plugin that guides you through optimizing every post for SEO. It even has little lights (red, yellow, green) to let you know how you’re doing!
Permalinks
These are those little descriptions on link addresses. Instead of a string of letters and numbers that we have surely all seen before. You need to have pretty permalinks which are actually easy to achieve.
In WordPress, go to settings and chose Permalinks then make it “Post Name”. This allows your permalinks to be descriptive and timeless. You never want to use the date of the post in your links.
Google Search Console
Set up your site with Google Search Console to make it easier for Google to find you.
I use the WordPress plugin Google Analytics and it makes it so much easier to basically run everything Google has to offer in terms of SEO on autopilot. This is a very important step for optimizing your blog so don’t forget to do it.
Keep Your Readers on Your Blog
The longer a reader sticks around on your blog the higher Google ranks you. You will want your blog to become a hangout.
How-to articles and linking-related posts are great at keeping your readers hanging around. Be sure to list each step in your articles.
I hope these helpful tips have taught you more about how to use SEO for your blog. I can’t wait to see you succeed!