There are a few concepts that are central to content marketing. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and blogging are right at the top of that list. SEO is an important blogging practice, and blogging is likewise important to effective SEO, even in a time of ever-evolving search algorithms and indexing criteria. So how can you make the most of SEO blogging? By knowing what Google looks for, of course! Below, we have broken down the most important content marketing and SEO blogging practices so you can implement a winning SEO strategy.
Update Your Blog (and Everything Else)
Frequent updates tell Google that your site is alive and kicking, and that your business is still around. But it’s not enough to add new blog posts every once in a blue moon.
SEO Blogging
The blog on your website should be updated at least weekly with fresh articles. Likewise, any outdated or irrelevant articles should be updated or pruned to keep your blog healthy and active in the eyes of Google. This could mean updating expired source or attribution links, changing keywords, or culling seasonal content whose time has passed and republishing with a fresh spin when it comes around again.
Website SEO
It’s not just your blog that needs refreshing to remind Google you’re still out there. It’s your pages, your metadata, and your site functionality, too. Google indexes frequently-updated sites more often, which means more traffic, more leads, and more sales. Your copy and static page content have to be optimized in the same way you would optimize a blog post, including monitoring for keyword shifts and any performance issues with Google’s tools (and a professional SEO audit to help you focus your efforts).
KLIQ Up Dust
There are four primary ingredients to creating and maintaining content that will make Google swoon (or, at least, send tons of traffic your way): Keywords, Links, Images, and Quality.
Keywords
Keywords are the bread and butter of SEO blogging. These frequently-searched terms and phrases (a keyword can be – and often is – more than one word) are what search engines like Google look for in your content. They should accurately reflect your target audience’s pain points (like “tips for buying a home” or “Idaho real estate”, for example) and they should be all over your content (title, slug, metadata, headings, image subtext, etc.).
Links
SEO blogging is about more than just making your voice heard. Linking to sources in your text is a surefire way to bolster your credibility with readers, and Google knows it. It also pays attention to how many times your site is linked to, including in your own posts. Linking to relevant blogs and multiple pages in a post is both a subtle (and effective) marketing technique and an SEO blogging staple.
Images
Google’s Image Search isn’t the only thing looking for pictures. It’s search algorithms and indexing crawls are designed to optimize the user experience, and Google knows that people like pictures. Including at least a featured image, and ideally, a couple more, are excellent ways to make your content more appealing to visitors, be it in a blog or on your “About Us” page. Plus, the HTML image subtext is a great place to strategically insert a targeted keyword.
Quality
There is a reason that keyword-rich, but poorly-written, content doesn’t rank very high for very long. Google doesn’t just look for certain words, it looks at all of them. Don’t fall into the trap of sticking in keywords and backlinks where they don’t belong just for the sake of density (or using a generator to spin content into unique, but nonsensical, gibberish). Unique content and keyword density are important, but quality content is what people, and Google, are really looking for.
If this seems like just too much to keep track of on your own, you’re in good company. Many small and medium business owners – from real estate agents to breweries to manufacturing startups – need an experienced SEO blogging guru on their team to turn so-so copy and lackluster blogs into traffic and ranking superstars. That’s why content marketing firms like Little Egg Solutions exist: to leverage our expertise for your financial benefit. Contact us today to find out more about our SEO blogging services!
