21Dec

SEO Blogging Tips For Experts

Relevant Content

Content should be original, but it should also be useful, helpful, relevant. Search engines are engineered to provide users with relevant and helpful information. Originality and polish are important, but neither are as fundamental to a blog’s SEO as usefulness and relevancy.

Consider these 3 key questions before creating content:

• Who benefits from this post?
• What search terms do those people use?
• How do I incorporate those search terms into my blog post?

Not Just Filler Text

When it comes to blogging, the word “content” brings to mind one thing: Text. The reality of the constantly changing digital media landscape is that a blog cannot survive on text alone. To be a successful blog, your definition of content must expand beyond the realm of text.

There are numerous ways to branch out into other realms of content:

• Visuals (photos, graphs, etc.) – Visuals are not only great for conveying information and breaking up text, they also serve as great SEO boosters.
• Videos – Informative videos and video posts will help build links and increase traffic from sites like YouTube. They also do well on mobile devices.
• Podcasts – As people spend more time plugged in while going on road trips or working out, they want audio information as well as visual. A podcast has the potential to bring traffic and revenue from distributors like iTunes.
• Tools – Developing an original tool and installing it on your website is a surefire way to stay at the top of search results, as Google loves connecting its users to helpful tools and plugins.

Naturally Build Backlinks

When another website links to your site, it creates a backlink. A backlink from the right site will do wonders for your website.
A few things to keep in mind about backlinks:

• Don’t pay for them. Search engine algorithms are designed to weed out the blogs and websites that pay for backlinks from larger domains, so don’t even try it.
• The source of the backlink matters. Sure, you can have hundreds of backlinks from a handful of obscure sites, but they won’t be anywhere near as effective as a single backlink from a particular site. Backlinks from authoritative sources (.edu and .gov) are also incredibly useful.
• Anchor text is always important. “Anchor text” refers to the words used in the link itself. You always want this text to be relevant to your keywords. If you’re selling scented body oils, the phrase “hot sauce” with a backlink will do very little for you.
• Remember to include backlinks to your own content. Blogs are obviously great for SEO because they allow you to make hundreds of posts, which improve your SEO score. By including backlinks to your own content, you’re further improving your SEO while also keeping your readers from visiting competing blogs.

Content creation is complex, but when you answer the first 3 questions of who benefits, how they search and how to incorporate those terms into your posts, you will be on your way to building a solid audience for your blog. Don’t waste your time on simply creating filler text – be creative. And lastly, build friendships and true connections in the online community by naturally creating backlinks.

SEO is a friend, after all, and it’s a good one to have on your side.