Module #5: Blog Post Optimization

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Google likes headings because they’re a great way to organize your blog post.

This is the very first heading in your blog post. You want to make it catchy and you want to use your focus word.

I like to throw my H2 heading in the middle of my intro paragraph. You don’t have to do it this way, but I don’t like the way Heading 2 and Heading 3 look together. Your H2 heading should also have your focus word in it.

Your H3 headings are how your readers will skim your blog post to see if it’s worth reading. If you have topics of interest, they will stop and actually read the article. Your focus word does not need to be in this heading type.

Properly sized paragraphs play an important role in making your text readable and scannable. Paragraphs help break down your text into bite-sized and easy-to-understand chunks, which puts your readers at ease. A good paragraph provides information on one single, well-defined aspect of the topic you’re discussing in your article. Paragraphs shouldn’t be over 200 words.

A Conclusion or Last Words is always a good idea at the end of a blog post. This paragraph will summarize what the problem was, all the ideas you gave to fix it, and what to do next. This is where you want to put your call to action. What do you want them to do after reading this post? Give them an action to take in your conclusion.

Example:

Last Words

For Melinda, the wedding planning process seemed daunting and she felt that time was limited. She suggests to everyone that they should set deadlines well before the intended due date and hire a coordinator to help keep things on track. If you need help planning your wedding, contact us today!

You should have a goal in mind when writing your blog post. What is the next action you want them to take? Here are some suggestions:

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This is usually your featured image. This image will be posted anytime someone shares your blog link, so you want to make sure the image is clear, professional, and speaks to what your blog post is about. This picture works best if it is in the horizontal position. Be sure to use alt tags for this picture.

The focus keyword is the keyword that you want your page to rank for. When people search for that keyword, you want them to find you. You set it in the focus keyword input field. Once you’ve done that, the plugin evaluates the page’s content and provides feedback on how to improve the page for that keyword.

A slug is a URL-friendly version of your post or page title.

The meta description serves the function of advertising copy. It draws readers to a website and is a critical part of search marketing. Its main purpose is to get the visitor from Google to click your link. You want to entice your readers to click on your article. You must use your focus keyword when writing the meta description.

Headlines can make or break your blog post. That is why you want to try to focus on making them as yummy as possible. I highly recommend using title-generator tools to help you create juicy and enticing headlines. In this video I show you just how to do that.

The title element of a web page is meant to be an accurate and concise description of a page’s content. This element is critical to both user experience and search engine optimization. It creates value in three specific areas: relevance, browsing, and in the search engine results in pages.

You should create a specific Pinterest picture for your blog post. This picture should be vertical and should have the title on it. Be sure to add alt tags to this image. I don’t like my Pin image to be too close to my featured image. You should also add a “Pin It” button to your website. A “Pin It” button could encourage readers to save your content to one of their Pinterest boards. In turn, they share your content with their followers and help Pinterest distribute it to other interested readers.

Categories are meant to encompass a broad group of your posts. Think of these as general topics or the table of contents for your site. Categories are there to help identify what your blog is really about. They will assist readers in finding the right type of content on your site.

Tags are meant to describe specific details of your posts. Think of these as your site’s index words. They are the micro-data that you can use to micro-categorize your content.

A great way to establish authority is by using links in your posts. You will need to use both internal and external links. Please try to avoid spammy links, which will only hurt your blog posts.

Internal Links

Internal links connect internal pages of the same domain (like from your website). A high number of internal links pointing to a particular page on your site will provide a signal to Google that the page is important. Just make sure it’s done naturally.

External Links

External links are hyperlinks that point to any domain other than your own website.

Your alt tags are the labels that live in your pictures. If someone did a Google image search for “Chicago Wedding Planner,” your pictures could show up if you tagged them correctly. These tags are also necessary for Pinterest. Make sure you have your focus word in your picture’s alt tags.

The featured image is also known as a post thumbnail. Your featured image will be used in many ways, including Facebook previews and blog excerpt views.