Blogging for SEO Purposes: 6 Basics to Understand

If you’ve studied up on the best SEO tips, you already know how important it is to have a blog.

A company blog can help your website reach that coveted #1 spot in Google’s search results, which gets an impressive 33% of all traffic.

But how exactly is blogging linked to SEO? What are the basics you need to know about blogging for SEO purposes?

In this post, we’ll discuss six key factors in creating a blog that will boost your SEO. Read on to learn more!

1. Start with Your Own Domain

There are tons of free sites out there to help you set up your blog. Sounds like a great idea, right?

It’s not. In fact, using a free blogging site will actually hurt your SEO. Not only does it make you look like an amateur to visitors, but Google will assume you’re an amateur too.

For your blog (and your business) to be taken seriously, you’ve got to start with your own domain on a self-hosted site. This signals Google that your site is high-quality and trustworthy–which is what you need to improve your SEO.

If you’re not sure where to start, this post will give you some great ideas.

2. Create Original Content

There’s a lot of talk about original content, but what does that mean?

In simple terms, it’s content that can’t be found anywhere else. This means you wouldn’t copy parts of other sites or blogs and repeat it on your blog. Not only is this unethical, but it’s bad for your SEO.

Your blog should include 100% original, well-written content that will “wow” your readers.

But here’s something else to think about. By 2021, an estimated 83% of all internet traffic will be videos. To stay ahead of the game, you should also consider adding videos and/or podcasts to your blog.

3. Optimize Your Theme

Any SEO tips for beginners will mention optimizing your website’s theme. This will help to prove to Google that your site is high-quality and worthy of a higher ranking.

Where should you start? The first item on your checklist is to ensure your site is optimized for mobile use. 51% of all websites are accessed on a mobile device (compared to 44% from a desktop computer).

How does your blog look on a smartphone or tablet? Is it easy to read and navigate across devices of all shapes and sizes?

If not, you’ve got some work to do.

The second important factor in optimizing your site is its loading speed. Our attention spans today are shorter than ever before. Don’t expect visitors to stick around waiting for your slow site to load.

How slow is slow? Well, 47% of people say they’ll leave a site that takes longer than two seconds to load.

Not sure how to go about speeding up your load time or optimizing your site for mobile use? This service addresses those SEO concerns and more.

4. Focus on Social Media

Want to improve your blog ranking and boost your SEO? Social media can be the spark that sets your blog on digital fire.

Google recently started considering social media as a tell-tale sign of a company’s relevance and authority. If people are liking, tweeting, and sharing your social media posts, Google is going to sit up and take notice.

Assuming you’re already set up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, how can you attract more visitors to your blog?

Start by reaching out to influencers and other big players in your niche. Build a rapport with them, like their posts, and share relevant content. As the relationship grows, you can hit them up to do the same with your content.

Another idea is to add content that’s unique to your social media channels. Reel viewers in with a fascinating video or photo that leads them to more original content on your blog.

5. Comment on Other Blogs

Closely related to networking through social media, you also want to network with other authority bloggers.

Not only are you building more relationships in the digital world, but you’re also getting more exposure for your blog. When people read your well-thought-out comments and see the link to your blog, they’re more likely to click on it.

Commenting on a blog and including your website’s link also counts as a backlink. These links back to your site (especially from an authority blog) provide a valuable boost to your SEO.

6. Choose the Right Keywords

No discussion about SEO would be complete without mentioning keywords.

Why are they so important? Consider this: Every second, Google has to provide search results for over 40,000 different queries. That’s a staggering 3.5 billion unique searches every day!

How does Google know to include your blog in the search results? You guessed it: the right keywords.

Stay on top of the latest keywords that are trending in your industry. A keyword that drove a lot of traffic six months ago may not be as productive now. Meanwhile, hot new keywords or phrases could drive countless visitors to your blog.

If you feel unsure, Google’s Keyword Planner can be a valuable tool. Remember that long-tail keywords often drive better results than shorter, generic, or obvious keywords.

Just like it’s important to choose the right keywords, you also have to use them in the right way. Stuffing keywords into your posts as many times as possible won’t work. In fact, it could get your site flagged!

Instead, find natural ways to insert keywords throughout your posts. The best places include the title, subtitles, meta descriptions, and image tags.