Do's and don'ts of blogging for SEO
5 key points to remember
Although blogging for SEO is a basic for most small business owners and solopreneurs today, it's really important to make sure that you're doing search engine optimisation the right way. Far too many people take the wrong advice or simply don't realise everything that's involved in getting started, meaning that they make small and big mistakes along the way. Since every piece of content that goes out should reflect your brand and have SEO best practices in mind, here are some of the dos and don'ts to keep in mind when building your brand whilst blogging for SEO.
1# Not posting enough
Posting a blog every other month simply isn't going to get you any traction with search engine optimisation. Search engines like Google reward sites that post quality content on a regular basis. You'll hear numbers of all kinds when asking people what is most recommended for posting on your blog. A minimum of two times per week is a good starting point. If you could only commit to one blog a week, that's a good place to get started but once you get the swing of the habit, increase it to at least two times per week. Many companies are posting 3 to 5 times per week in order to get the most out of SEO.
2# Don't use too many keywords in your article
Recommended keyword density is around 1%, that means that for every 100 words you write, the keyword you're targeting should only appear once. Having it appear two or three times more than that can be overwhelming and can lead to the article looking spammy, even in the event that you are providing quality information. Using keywords can be very difficult but it is worth the time to hire somebody to come up with a list of the keywords in the right way. You can try to avoid any awkward keywords that don't make sense grammatically and stick to things that actually serve your audience and provide value.
3# Do focus on quality
The most important thing you can do in blogging for SEO purposes is to focus on a quality product. It's much better to spend the time to write one 1000-word post every single week rather than 3 or 4 200-word posts. Those shorter posts don't get as much traction and it's hard to really relay quality information in that timeframe. Coming up with one great post that you share on Wednesday of every week will also get your readers in the habit of checking back and develop a following habit.
4# Don't fail to take advantage of linking opportunities
It's a good idea to link other blogs or pages on your site within each blog that you post but you should also be linking to outside establishments. Anything that is viewed as a quality website is a great place to link to. Well-established newspapers like the Washington Post or the New York Times and any government website or school site that has a web address ending in .edu are great places to share. When blogging for SEO don't rely on highly subjective blogs as your only opportunity to link. Of course, you can link to anything, but make sure it’s an accurate source! Getting the most traction out of a link is important.
5# Do think outside the box
If you are blogging as a personal trainer, for example, or on behalf of a personal trainer, you're not only limited to talking about exercise tips. You might also include nutritional tips and mindset practices that help people feel positive and effective and talk about recovering from injuries in the event that you get hurt. Always think outside the box and think about materials that your ideal readers might already be searching for anyways. This is a great way to get started with the SEO practice and to deliver quality meaningful content that accomplishes the multiple purposes of establishing you as a thought leader, meeting SEO best practices, and getting your readers to click open your blogs.
About the author
Laura Pennington is a freelance SEO writer and founder of www.sixfigurewritingsecrets.com. She now teaches other freelancers how to build sustainable and rewarding businesses from home.