Ever hit “Publish” with your right hand with your fingers crossed on your left hand?
I’ve been there.
Hoping, wishing, and praying my blog post goes viral.
But I wrote hundreds of blog posts before any one other than my Mom saw. (Thanks Mom!)
With all of the content being published online every day (every second!) it is harder than it has ever been to get your post noticed.
1. A Solid Plan/Strategy
This goes for coming up with a great blog idea, outline, and overall blog strategy.
2. A Killer Title
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4. Get Your Keywords and SEO In Order
A long-tail keyword with low competition
As soon as I have an idea for a new blog post topic, I head over to Google’s Keyword Planner Tool* to begin researching various long-tail keywords.
A long-tail keyword consists of a few words or a short phrase that someone might search for in Google to help them answer a question.
You never want to choose a single word or a common phrase as your target keyword, because you’ll be competing against huge authoritative sites for that first page of Google results, and that’s a battle most blogs can’t win.
Long-tail keywords have lower competition, meaning you’re more likely to rank well for that particular phrase, even if your site is new or doesn’t have a great DA (domain authority).
Keyword Planner can tell you which phrases have the lowest competition and also give you a rough idea of how many queries are performed each month for each phrase.
What you want is a long-tail keyword with a reasonably high monthly search volume (100-1,000 is decent) and low competition.
Make sure this exact long-tail keyword appears in your post a handful of times, and in a few other key places which I’ll get to down below.
Variations of your keyword and related terms
Having a good keyword is just one small piece of the puzzle. You can’t then just throw it into your blog post over and over again and call it a day.
Keyword stuffing is a thing of the past–Google can see right through you, and your readers will be left thinking WTF IS THIS NONSENSE. It sounds unnatural and it looks tacky. Just don’t do it.
What you should do instead is make sure your post contains variations of that same keyword or phrase, as well as other related words one would expect to find in a post on that topic.
As an example, let’s say my long-tail keyword is ‘how to blog for money.’ I’d also want to include phrases like ‘profitable blog’ or ‘blogging as a business’ or ‘make money blogging’ and so forth.
Additionally, I’d make sure the post contained a few other relevant words like blogger, Internet, online, etc…
You don’t need to overthink this; writing in a way that sounds natural means related words will find their way into your post without you really trying.
That said, it’s always good to read over the post once it’s finished to see if you might be able to add a few more.
SEO title and meta description
Your SEO title (or meta title) and meta description are what show up in Google searches, and these are two more very important places to make sure your long-tail keyword appears.
I edit mine quickly and easily using the Yoast SEO Plugin.
H1, H2, and H3 headings
Having headings placed in relevant places throughout your post helps add structure, gives people’s eyes a break, and can increase your chances of ranking for your keyword.
So, headings are good places to plop that long-tail keyword we talked about earlier.
Categories & tags
This should be common sense, but don’t forget to add a category (or multiple, if applicable) and a handful of tags.
These help readers navigate your site more easily and help Google to know which posts are related (which is, naturally, good for SEO).
Keyword in image alt text
As I just mentioned above, don’t forget to edit your images’ alt text to include your keyword. You’ll be reminded of this when you’re going through your Yoast SEO checklist.
Internal Links
External Links
5. Use This Writing Style
Short Paragraphs
As we all know, people have short attention spans these days.
Not only that, but when most people “read” online, they are actually just scanning for the good stuff.
Short paragraphs will keep people entertained and give them a reason to keep scrolling.
So remember…
Short paragraphs.
Lots of line breaks.
Got it?
Good.
Conversational
Now that I’ve made sure none of you are blogging in monster run-on paragraphs, here’s another tip: Keep it simple.
What do I mean by that, exactly? Basically, I want you to talk to me like I’m an old friend. Make it breezy and conversational, and don’t use big words.
While some readers out there will appreciate fancy jargon and flowery prose, Google doesn’t seem to agree.
Yes, an easy reading level (Grade 7, roughly) is actually something Google takes into consideration. Furthermore, you’re more likely to appeal to the masses.
If I had it my way, this wouldn’t be the case. I like to play wordsmith every now and again and flaunt my poetic prowess.
Long-Form Content
5. High Quality Pinterest Images
6. Email Opt-In Form
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