How to write a good blog post for SEO benefits
As a leading digital marketing agency, we understand the importance of an SEO-friendly blog post.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a key component of our clients’ strategy to be visible and accessible to their target audience, and ultimately boost conversions.
In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the benefits of regular online articles before sharing some of our tips on how to write SEO-friendly blog posts.
First up: what is an SEO-friendly blog article?
An SEO-friendly blog post is an article that has been written to be found by search engine users.
Successful SEO blogs should:
- Feature relevant ‘keywords’ - phrases that users commonly search for. This ensures that the written content matches what people are looking for and links them to your product or service
- Provide valuable and informative content
- Ideally, address a question or pain point and solve a problem that the user has searched
- Be structured and formatted so that search engines can easily process them (we’ll share more on how to structure a blog for SEO later!)
- Include internal and external links to additional relevant information
The aim of an SEO blog is to rank as high as possible on search engine results pages (SERPs). Ranking high helps visibility, driving relevant traffic to your website which should lead to more conversions as well as brand recognition and authority.
What are the benefits of SEO-friendly blog posts?
SEO blog articles offer a number of benefits:
Increased organic traffic
SEO blog posts aim to rank high on SERPs because users tend to click-through more from the first
pages of the search result.
Enhanced search engine ranking
Using relevant keywords should enable your blog to rank higher in search results. When you rank
higher your website will gain visibility, credibility and better click-through rates.
Improved brand visibility and authority
Ranking higher in search results will make your brand more visible to more users. In addition,
informative blog articles showcase your expertise and help to build trust with your audience.
Increased user engagement
Quality blogs encourage readers to spend more dwell time on your website. This can lead to more
conversions.
The right audience
SEO-friendly blog posts target certain relevant keywords, linking your brand, service or product
to the target audience. The traffic they generate is valuable because visitors are already ‘warm’,
which increases the chance of a conversion.
Inexpensive and long-lasting results
PPC marketing can be incredibly beneficial but your visibility will wane when you stop paying. By
contrast, high-quality SEO blog posts will continue to drive consistent organic traffic to your
website and maintain its ranking.
Integration with other marketing activities
SEO blog posts work well with other digital marketing activities, e.g. you can share them on
social media and via e-newsletters.
Boosted trust and engagement
SEO blog posts add value to your website which can be used to engage with your target audience.
Offering valuable insights enables you to build a relationship with your clients and prospects.
Now that we’ve highlighted the benefits, here’s how to optimise a blog for SEO.
How to structure a blog for SEO success
A clear and well-structured blog is essential, both for your users’ experience and for search engines. Here’s how to structure a blog for SEO:
Choose SEO-friendly blog titles
Compelling titles will help to gain the attention of your target audience. It is important to
incorporate your primary keywords here.
Headings
Within the formatting of your website, you can assign different heading hierarchies, e.g. H1, H2,
H3. You should use H1 for the main title and H2-H3 for subheadings. As well as being easier to
read, these headings also play a role in how search engines ‘read’ your website.
Formatting
Using bullet points or numbered lists can help to deliver information in a more digestible way.
Structure
Keep sentences concise to make your post more readable. An SEO-friendly blog post should be
well-structured and include an introduction, content broken down beneath subheadings, a conclusion
and a call-to-action that makes it clear how readers should act, e.g. call us today! You should
incorporate your keywords naturally throughout.
Blog length
Reader engagement is key. Here at Vooba, we usually aim for a minimum of 900 words but it is
important to avoid padding and unnecessary waffle. Keep it valuable and relevant, informative and
engaging.
Images and media
Illustrating your blog with some copyright-free images will help to visually break up the page.
Compress images to help the page loading speed and benefit user experience. Image files should be
named and alt text used to add context (this is for screen reading applications and aids SEO). Any
video-type media should be hosted on a platform like YouTube.
Internal and external links
Adding internal links to related pages will improve website navigation and also benefit user
experience. Incorporating credible external links adds value and relevance.
Mobile-friendly
For SEO and user experience, your website should be responsive for mobile devices.
Tone of voice
While it’s not critical to how your blog performs on a search engine, your tone of voice and
language should reflect your brand values and align with your target audience.
Meta title and meta description
Search engines use meta titles to understand the page content and gauge relevance. Your meta title
should include the primary keyword and be around 60-70 characters long. A compelling meta
description should summarise the content, ideally include a keyword and fit to approximately 156
characters.
URL structure
Use the primary keyword in the URL and try to keep it concise yet descriptive.
By following these guidelines, you should be well on your way to crafting a strong SEO-friendly blog post that ranks well on SERPs, engaging your audience and driving traffic to your website.
Sounds too much like hard work? If your time is under pressure - and you need to focus on your core business operation - we can help.
Call on us - we know how to write SEO-friendly blog posts
Our team of creative content writers know how to write a good blog post for SEO. We offer the benefit of blog-writing services to clients from a broad range of sectors, from dentists to dog-friendly hotels.
Whether we’re writing about iris recognition technology, through-the-letterbox brownies or specialised crane hire, we deliver and upload compelling articles that are strategically written to captivate your target audience.
To find out how we can help you with SEO-friendly blog posts and optimised web copy, contact Kim, our Head of Content, on 01798 667167.
