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How To Optimize Your Content For Better Search Ranking

Search engine optimization(SEO) can be an intimidating word for new bloggers and small businesses. Sometimes it feels like there is so much you have to be looking at to improve your search rankings.

Here’s what you should know, SEO isn’t that hard, you just need to know how to use it. If you understand a few basics, you can improve your search results with good and informative content. Here are a few ways to optimize your content and improve your position in Google’s search results.

How To Optimize Your Content For Better Search Ranking?

Research Your Keywords

Before you start writing your posts, start with a plan. What are you going to write on? Niche down to a specific topic. Now do some research.

Here comes the tricky part.

What is your audience in that specific niche looking for? Look at what other bloggers in your niche are writing. What topics are they writing that you can write better?

Find out if these topics are trending with your target audience. Go to keyword research tools like keywords.io, uber suggest, keyword shitter. Other places you can do some research is Google search and Pinterest.

Create an excel sheet listing out the most common topics. Start with a broad topic. For instance, if you have chosen the finance niche, some topics could be banking, investing, credit, loans, debts, etc. List the broad topics, and niche down further within these topics. For instance, with finance, you can go further with cryptocurrency, credit score, angel investors, etc. These can be your long-tail keywords.

Create a list of at least 50 keywords (both focus and long-tail). That’s your post planning sorted.

Using That Keyword

Using your keyword in the right way can help you with your SEO. One mistake many writers make is overstuffing the content with their focus keyword. Don’t do that.

Here are some places you should be using your keywords:

Headings: Use your keyword in H1, H2, and at least one H3.
Introduction: Use your keyword at least once in the first 150 words of your blog post
SEO Title: Opt to have the focus keyword at the beginning of the title
Meta-description: That’s the summary of your post that your readers will see when they see your post on Google search.
Alt Tags: Alt tags is a short description of the photos in your post. When you upload a picture on your media library in WordPress, you will see the option of entering the alt tag. Include your keyword in the alt tag.
URL: That is your blog’s web address.

Create a Catchy Headline

That’s the first thing your readers will see when they come across your blog post. Bring them in with a good headline. Most good headlines have one of these common themes:

They answer a big question: How to _____
They ask a question: Are you still using linktree?
Case Studies: How I made $XXX in one month by making this simple change
Ultimate Guides: The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest Growth
List Posts: 51 Business Ideas for Stay at home parents

Create your headline around these themes. Offer a personal connection. Be specific. Once you are done writing your headline, analyze the website using a headline analyzer.

Bonus Tip: Write your headline to include both a focus and the long tail keyword.

Write Great Content

Blog posts have multiplied at a great extent in the last few years. They are posts on all kinds of topics. If you want to rank high with your content, then write content people will want to read. A few tips on writing SEO friendly content:

Aim for at least 1000 words with your content. 600-750 words are also good, but I would suggest writing more than 1000 words.
Do your research. Google doesn’t like copied content and will penalize you for doing so. Write original well-research content.
Install a readability checker on your website to make sure your blog reads well. I personally love Grammarly.
Inserts your keywords throughout your content. Do not overdo, but your keyword density should be around 0.5%.

Install Plugins

Plugins have made life so much easier for writing posts. You can find plugins for everything nowadays. Some plugins to consider installing to improve your blog’s search ranking are:

Yoast. This is one of the best plugins out there. Every good blog has one. It not just shows you how to improve your SEO score, but also your readability score so that your blog reads well.
Smush Image Compression. You shouldn’t be installing high-resolution images on your website. They slow down your website’s speed and Google doesn’t like slow websites. This plugin will automatically decrease the size of all images on your website, thus improving site speed.
W3 Total Cache. This plugin also increases your website’s speed by reducing the load time.
Broken Link Checker. Broken links could result in poor user experience and increase your website’s bounce rate. This website checks and identifies broken links on your website.
Askimet. All the spam comments that you get on your blog posts aren’t good for your website. This plugin detects and deletes spam comments.

Though there are many ways to improve your rankings, these are the best tips to help you optimize your content for better organic search rankings.

Why Small Businesses Need A Blog

Business

When it comes to adding a blog to your website, small businesses are often reluctant. Many wonder whether blogs would really benefit their business, or add an unnecessary task. Though hiring a writer might add to the initial cost, it often covers for itself through other avenues. Here are just a few reasons small businesses need a blog.

Why Small Business Need A Blog

Some reasons to consider starting a blog for your business are:

Adds SEO value

Big brands usually have a lot of money budgeted towards advertising. They can afford to advertise and put their website at the top of Google within months without being burdened by the additional cost. However, small businesses tend to rely on a much smaller budget and organic exposure.

Having a blog is one of the best ways to build organic traffic for your small business. Though you may not rank first, with a blog you can start to gain a digital presence within Google’s search results. A blog gives you the option of occupying more space on Google without having to pay for it. You can add as many pages to your website without appearing spammy or giving Google any reason to blacklist you.

Builds Authority

With your blog, you can give your customers useful advice and tips relevant to your industry. Through good and consistent blogging, you can build yourself as an authority in the field. So, when customers need advice regarding the specific topic, they will come to your website and when they do, you can direct them to your products and services.

Sell Yourself Without Being Salesy

Blogs are also a platform where you can display and sell your company’s products and services without appearing too sales-y. For instance, if you sell books, you can give customers a list of 100 best-selling books. Link your products within the post and wah-lah! You can gain a sale without pushing an agenda.

You can also craft articles discussing typical problems your customers face and how your product solves that problem for them. Slowly build hype around your blog and in the end, add a call-to-action where your readers can purchase your product or services.

Grow Your Email List

According to Russell Brunson, every business should focus on building their email list. The bigger your email list the more potential sales for the company. This is the modern equivalent of direct marketing. Instead of sending flyers to your customer’s home, you send them emails.

To be honest, there is a lot of competition out there in most markets. A client may have been window shopping months ago but forgot to save your site even though they loved your brand. When you have their email, however, you can send them regular updates and offers. You can stay fresh in their minds so when they need the product or service, they only have to search their email.

So, how do you grow your email list through blog posts? There are many ways to do this but the most simple way is to always add an opt-in button at the bottom of every post. This way they don’t have to search your site to subscribe, it’s displayed easily for them to see.

Builds Customer Relationships

The average customer nowadays expects brands to be more personal and interact with their customers on a regular basis. It makes the brand appear familiar, and relatable.

When you have a blog, you are opening up another chance to connect with your customers and build a healthy rapport. It gives them a chance to comment and like on your post. Monitoring these comments also gives your business a great opportunity at understanding your clients and offering them better solutions through their products.

Improve Exposure

How many times have you seen people sharing blog posts on social media profiles? If the information is useful or helpful, it gets shared.

Do you know what it does for the business?

It gives you the benefit of free publicity. You are able to reach more people and build your digital authority. There’s a good chance that people who share your blog posts have many people in their friend list who are your target customers.

Remember, you can’t start posting aimlessly for the sake of posting, you will need a strategy or answers to problems your client’s need. Ideally, it should contribute to your digital strategy.

A few things to keep in mind when developing your content strategy:

Keyword research. Look for what your customers are searching for.
Create a content schedule. What days and what timings are you going to post?
The tone of your blog. This should relate with your brand’s voice.
How to bring your sales to your website through your blog? Have a strategy in mind for getting sales through your blog.

If you’re not quite sure how to go about creating a content strategy, feel free to reach out or read more here.

Creative Ways to Not Grow Your Social Following

Social Media

With social media ranking high next to content, it’s no wonder everyone is pushing for more and more followers. Many small businesses and entrepreneurs believe you can measure the success of a social account by the number of followers you can stack. Wrong. Here are some principles you may be following that are not going to grow your social following.

Facebook

Want to not grow your Facebook at all? Great! Keep sharing posts once a month or less and only post your own content. No one wants to see anyone but you, of course, that’s why they liked your page. If you do by some magic gain engagement from friends or family that happen to stumble upon your page, DO NOT respond. These little tidbits will start you on your downward spiral quickly.

Instagram

Let’s get those post hashtags ready! Did you know you can squeeze 60 hashtags into a post? Yep! If you’re not doing it now then you better start. Nothing is more appealing than seeing 60 hashtags on a post, which Instagram loves by the way. Not getting good engagement so someone suggested an auto like and comment bot? GREAT IDEA! Why has no one ever thought of this? Oh, wait.

Twitter

Do you know what users on Twitter like more than anything? Quote tweeting in a long discussion. Why would you need to use the reply function? Make sure you also start retweeting random posts by the hundreds instead of scheduling them out. Everyone loves their feed full of junk they don’t want to see. Another great option to look into is an auto-response thanks for following followed by 10 other messages no one wants to see.

Everyone woman(and some men) love using Pinterest for almost everything in their lives. Want to know the secret for really boosting your brand on Pinterest? Pinning pins that are totally irrelevant to your brand. Let’s say you are a painter, make sure you’re pinning things about pets. Nothing says follow me like step out of your niche.

Though these are just a few quick examples of how not to grow your social following, there are plenty more out there. Do you feel a little sheepish about using some of these tactics? The best way to avoid common mistakes like these is to invest in social media consulting. Signing up for a free 30-minute consultation may be all you need to really boost your brand to the next level. Interested? Snag an appointment with me to get started!