Want to get your blog posts in front of more readers? You can’t wave a magic wand, but you can improve your SEO, which may as well be the same thing.
Even the most swoon-worthy sentences and catchy copy won’t get the job done if it isn’t getting it out into the world. This is where search engine optimization, SEO, comes in. While it’s most commonly studied in the marketing realm, SEO is something that every blog writer needs to understand.
At Slam Media Lab, SEO is one of our services so you know we’ve done this for successful clients time and time again. We know SEO and can teach you the best ways to get your message in front of an audience.
In this article, we’ll go over what SEO-friendly writing is, how to understand SEO metrics, and a step-by-step guide to writing the perfect SEO-friendly blog post.
- What is SEO-friendly writing?
- Will an SEO Friendly Blog Reach My Audience?
- How to Write a Blog Post for SEO: Step by Step
- Blog Writing Tips for SEO
Let’s get writing!
What Is SEO-Friendly Writing?
Have you ever asked a librarian to find a book for you? Chances are you gave them the title, the author, the subject, or some identifying information to let them know what you want to find. When you do this on a search engine, like Google or Yahoo, computer codes called algorithms act as the librarians and find what you want.
Now think about how much easier it would be for these digital librarians to find things if they had keywords or descriptions clearly marked. There are ways to write that make it clear and easy, essentially putting the blog topic in big, flashing letters that get the algorithms’ attention.
That’s search engine optimization, SEO.
SEO-friendly blog posts use these tools and include organization, headings, and writing that makes it clear to Google and the reader what the post is about.
Fortunately, many of these tools are easy to master so that you can make your blog posts more visible and impactful. The pen may be mightier than the sword but a pen with a carefully crafted SEO strategy is the mightiest of all.
Understanding SEO Terms
Before you’re ready to write SEO-friendly blog posts, it helps to be able to talk the SEO talk. Here are a few key terms that you’ll need to be familiar with to make the most of your writing.
- Keywords - The words and phrases a user searches on Google. This tells the search engine what you want to find.
- Metadata - The text and images that come up to describe your page on a page of search results. You can let Google choose these for you (not recommended) or optimize them yourself.
- Search Engine Results Page (SERP) - When a user searches a word or term, the page that comes up with links to the best results is called the SERP. It also has suggested related topics and questions that they might want to try.
- Alt Text - Text that describes images and graphics. This makes content more accessible.
- Google Search Console - Google’s platform that allows website managers to index their pages and track how their pages are doing. Get up close and personal with your reader data.
- Call to Action (CTA) - This is what you want your readers to do after they read your blog post, like subscribing to a newsletter or enrolling in a course. You are literally calling on them to take action based on what they read. Onward!
Want more? You can download our SEO Terms, Explained guide to become an expert in SEO lingo.
How Does SEO Work?
Now that you’re getting more familiar with the jargon, what do you need to do to use it?
The ultimate goal and benefit of SEO is to get your blog post in front of readers, so the higher that you are on the SERP, the more likely someone is to click on your link. Keywords, alt text, and metadata all help clarify what your blog is about and let Google find it faster. So adding these things to your blog post is crucial.
It’s also important to know that not all search results are created equal. Organic search, which means searches that respond to user input rather than paid ads or promoted content, get a better response from readers. And a better response often translates to more clicks, more readers, and ultimately better marketing. That means that readers want to find the real, authentic you and not an bot that is just made for an algorithm.
Will an SEO Friendly Blog Reach My Audience?
Once you do all of the work to optimize your blog post, how are you sure it’s going to reach your target audience? Don’t just take our word for it. Slam Media Lab case studies show just how important SEO is to getting the message and marketing out there. Whether it’s ed tech company Kai XR or Greenwood Aerospace in aviation, SEO and website optimization put these companies on the map (and high on the SERP).
Fortunately, SEO is all about data and metrics so we can look at some statistics for 2024 to learn more.
SEO Statistics For 2024
Does SEO work? The numbers don’t lie and they tell a clear story about how often people search for content online.
- Organic search results get more clicks than paid ads, 45.1% compared to 1.8%
- 99% of users stay on the first page of the search results
- Google accounts for 90% of searches
- Users conduct more than 8.5 billion searches on Google per day
While SEO is important across all search engines, Google has the strongest reputation and following. Google also puts out helpful guides to their search platform that you can use to optimize your SEO. So for our purposes, we’ll stick with Google but know that these strategies are useful no matter what search platform your readers use.
Using SEO to Build Blog Traffic
Once you’re ready to start putting it all together to bake your SEO Cake, it’s helpful to approach your content with a strategy that gets it in front of readers.
Content strategy is one of the most important ways to optimize but everything from link building to user experience makes a positive difference in driving traffic. Think about how your users will experience your blog. Does it make sense? Does it add knowledge, information, or insight? Is it easy to follow and understand? When you use SEO to write your blog posts, the answers to all of these questions will be a resounding YES!
How to Write a Blog Post for SEO: Step by Step
SEO for blog writers is as simple as doing a little planning before you start typing away. Writing an SEO-friendly blog doesn’t have to be complex, but it does help to follow a few steps to make sure that everything is optimized and ready to go. It’s important to remember that readers and search engines both like natural, flowing content. So just write in your authentic voice like you’re talking to or teaching an imaginary reader. Let the optimization follow.
Follow these steps to write SEO-friendly blog posts every time.
- Keyword research
- Understand user intent
- Make an outline
- Write your blog post
- Title your blog post
Step 1: Keyword Research
Before you start writing, it is helpful to do keyword research to find out what search terms are the most common. Keywords are the words and phrases that users input into a search engine that get them the results they want. For example, if a reader wants to know more about dog training in their area, they might search “dog obedience training.”
Start by brainstorming a list of keywords related to your blog topic. Add variations on keywords to include all possibilities. Users searching phrases such as “obedience training for dogs” and “dog obedience school” would also want to get to the same post so adding these to your list of keywords will get a larger reach. Tools like the Google Keyword Planner help you find out what keywords are most searched by users.
You can use a template to organize your keyword research, which can be helpful to making the most of your efforts. Our How To Do SEO Keyword Research guide uses Google sheets to keep track of everything related to your keywords.
Why do you take this step first? Because knowing what keywords to include before you write is key to writing copy that sounds natural and flows well. Choose keywords that fit your overall message and content. It can also help direct everything from your outline to your blog title and get your post in front of more readers.
Step 2: Understand User Intent
Now that you know what keywords should guide your writing, you need to know a little bit more about who will be reading your blog post. What are they searching for when they come across your blog? What do they want to know by the end of reading it?
User intent can be divided into the following categories:
- Navigational - These readers want to find a website. Their searches often take them to specific pages, such as online bill payment platforms or restaurant menus.
- Informational - These readers want to learn more about a topic. Their searches typically begin with “what” or “why.”
- Commercial - These readers want to know more about future purchases. Their searches focus on finding product reviews, user testimonials, or ways to save.
- Transactional - These readers are ready to make a purchase. Their searches can be for a particular product, such as a new backpack, or for services or appointment bookings.
Structure your blog post to meet the user intent. It’s important that your readers get what they came for when they click on your blog post. Not only will it build credibility with your readers but it also works well with search engines to get your post ranking at the top of the SERP.
Step 3: Make an Outline
Once you know your keywords, topics, and user intent, it’s time to start outlining your blog post. This is a helpful step that will organize your writing and let you incorporate those important keywords into headings and subheadings.
Start by creating a few headings that detail the most important parts of your post. These H2s should be formatted to tell readers–and Google–what your blog post is about. H3 subheadings go into more detail with each topic and provide more structure. Use keywords when you can in your H2s and H3s to highlight these for Google and readers.
- H1 - Your blog title
- H2 - Subheadings that organize content by section
- H3 - Subsections that provide another layer of description and organization
Consider adding tables and lists to make your blog post easier for readers to scan through, especially if they are reading it on a mobile device. In today’s world, mobile-friendly posts are key. Short, concise paragraphs also make the reading experience more user-friendly. All of this translates to more readers and more eyes on your post.
Step 4: Write Your Blog Post
Now it’s time to actually write your blog post. The important thing to remember when writing is to be yourself. Don’t try to stuff keywords into your writing in unexpected places. Instead, write as if you are talking to an actual person and let your natural voice come through.
It can be helpful to read your blog post out loud to catch phrases or words that don’t flow well or just don’t fit. You can also write a draft and come back to it later with fresh eyes or ask a trusted friend or colleague to read through it.
Make sure your post delivers on what your reader expects to learn. If your user intent is informational, loading your blog post with product reviews or service recommendations is going to confuse readers and likely steer them away from reading to the end. On the other hand, if your post answers their questions, it has done its job. Revisit your user intent throughout the writing process.
It’s a good idea to end each blog post with a Call to Action, or CTA. This can be as simple as directing readers to another blog post that might interest them or providing access to a product or service. Like the name suggests, a CTA inspires your readers to take action and provides the resources they need.
Step 5: Title Your Blog Post
The final step is to go back to the beginning–the title. You can write a title anytime through the process but it’s helpful to revisit it after you’ve put the work into all other SEO-friendly steps to make sure that it all jives. Your title should reflect the content that readers are going to get.
To create a top-ranking blog title for SEO, you’ll need to go back to your keyword research. Use a top-ranking keyword to make your topic very clear. Add action words to excite your readers and make them want to read more. Numbers can also help make an organized list or step-by-step guide more appealing.
The title of your blog post is crucial to getting it found on search engines, so you may want to leave this step for the end. Once you have done your keyword research, understand user intent, and have a fantastic blog post written, craft a title that incorporates all of these elements.
The best titles are between 50 and 60 characters long. Any shorter and your title may not be descriptive enough to give an accurate glimpse into the post. Long titles will get cut off on the SERP and will appear clunky to potential readers.
Blog Writing Tips for SEO
Writing the best blog post can take on a new spin depending on your industry. While the basics are the same across the board, adding a few finishing touches can help your post stand out among others that are very similar.
Look through your blog’s technical issues to make sure that everything is SEO-friendly as well. If you need help, Slam Media Lab has a helpful Technical SEO Audit Template that will walk you through the process to optimization.
SEO for Small Businesses
Small businesses need to get in front of customers so SEO strategies for small business owners focus on a few special aspects of Google searches.
- Increasing visbility - Small business SEO strategy gets your business name and website in front of potential customers. Blog posting is one way to increase traffic but make sure to pay attention to metadata and the customer’s experience navigating your website as well.
- Building credibility - Establish yourself as a trusted expert in the industry. You can do this by posting valuable content, collaborating with other organizations or businesses, and consistently ranking at the top of search results.
- Engaging with the community - Small businesses have a unique advantage when it comes to building community connections. Take advantage of this by being active in person and online in local small business forums and make sure that your website is top notch.
There are also SEO tools made for small businesses to optimize their online presence. Some are provided by search engines like Google while others are third-party platforms that integrate well. Some popular tools include
Travel Blogging SEO
If you dream of traveling the world and sharing your adventures with readers, chances are you have considered starting a travel blog. Maybe you already have one but want to get it in front of more people. SEO-friendly blog posts for travel writers are crucial since even the best adventures can be drowned out in the travel blog world.
There are plenty of travel blog SEO tips but one unique to the industry is optimizing your links. This includes adding internal links to other posts and pages on your own site as well as external links to other experts.
SEO-Friendly Blog Post in Aviation
Technical industries like aviation rely on credibility and reputation to win lucrative contracts. SEO is essential to establishing your company as experts in the field. Links to your website from other sites, backlinks, help to build credibility and position you in the best way for readers.
Some technical SEO tools are especially useful for competitive industries. These provide easy formats and platforms for everything from research to analysis. They can be used across industries as well.
But it requires a specific kind of SEO strategy tailored to meet the needs of this unique audience. The aviation industry has to comply with regulations so SEO-friendly posts must take this into account.
To transform your SEO strategy into a slam dunk, start with a consultation call with Slam Media Lab experts to see what services are right for your blog.
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