On-Page SEO Checklist: Blogging

Search engine optimization takes time and effort. However, the process can yield impressive results with a focus on great content and some patience.

On-Page SEO is the action of optimizing each individual page of your site to improve its overall ranking in search engines and to boost traffic to your site as a whole. Most On-Page SEO focuses on utilizing one or more specific target keywords for a single page to allow that page to rank higher.

Blogging has the power to increase your site ranking immensely.  Luckily, it’s not only easy to begin writing a blog, it’s also something you can work on a little at a time so it fits into your schedule over the long haul, since that long term investment is what is needed to see results.

While going over the various pages of your site, you may need a checklist to guide you to the top:

Keywords

Finding the top keywords for a specific topic are essential when targeting an audience for your blogs. You’ll want to focus on phrases and keywords that are consistently searched by your intended demographic, are in line with your site’s authority level, and are relevant to that particular subject. Keywords are an important necessity in blogging, and if you haven’t already, utilizing them at least once in each individual blog on your site and in future blogs, may help your search rankings greatly.

Keyword research isn’t always as straightforward as you may think. If you find yourself in need of help finding the top keywords for a blog topic, here are some great ways tools to help you with your search:

• Google Trends (free)
• MOZ Keyword Explorer (free up to 10 Queries a month)
• Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

Primary Target Keyword

Your primary target keyword (PTK) will be essential in optimizing a specific page of your site. Researching the most used or competitive keywords for each subject of every page you wish to update will allow you to have a direct and targeted approach. All primary keywords should be used on their designated page, and very minimally (if at all) on other pages.

Make sure that the PTKs for your existing blogs are being used in each blog title and spend some time researching new words or phrases for future blogs. Making URLs for your page or specific content by using your primary target keyword in the URL itself is also helpful. For example, if you write a blog about building a computer, using the words “building” and “computer” in the URL itself may positively impact your SEO. 

Related Keywords

Terms and keywords that are related to your PTK are also very helpful while performing on-page SEO. You should have roughly 4 or 5 other related keywords for each of your primaries. Integrating these into your blogs will also benefit your optimization and may improve your site’s overall results.

Blogging Content Plan (how often, topics, etc.) 

Creating a content plan for your blogs and for your entire site page can improve its performance. With consistent production, scheduling, and posting of blogs, your page will be crawled and indexed by Google more frequently which may result in higher domain authority as well.

Content-Length

Your written content should be at least 400 words in length, however, 600 or more is suggested. Long-form content generally has a better impact on the success of your blogging page over time. Going through your blogs, articles, or other written content and expanding its length while following other SEO requirements may help your pages rank higher and gain authority.

Original Content 

Posting original content is a must. Original blogs that are published to your page on a consistent basis will be crawled by Google, and if created properly, may increase your page’s ranking through the ranking of the individual pieces.

High-Quality Content

High-quality content is new, engaging, and offers different perspectives on subjects that readers may not already know about. It utilizes keywords to inform the general public about specific topics and allows your blogging page and website as a whole to gain authority, which increases SEO collectively. Focusing on the readers of your page allows for more quality content to be created, which in turn produces a better outcome in terms of performance for your site as a whole. 

Use Internal Links and Quality External Links

 Make sure that some, if not all, of your blogs, utilize links to previous blogs you’ve published and/or other pages on your website. Using external links that are provided by quality sources in your blogs may also bring about some positive SEO results.

Draw Blog Readers in with Images

Make sure your blogs have images! Those images should be relevant to the subject and engage your target audience. The addition of eye-catching, imagery to your individual blogs and to your blogging page itself can help its reception immensely.

Share Blogs and Blog Pages on Social Media

Sharing your blogs and blogging page on social media is another way to utilize those links. It’s a collective effort that genuinely promotes your published blogs and pages in a way that reaches your target audience directly.

Promoting your blogs on social media not only gives your blog a chance to be seen by followers, but it also allows the opportunity to be shared by others expanding the reach exponentially, while also providing backlinks.

Another great way to utilize social media is by promoting your blog through paid ads. Backing the blog with some money allows you to target what type of user will see your blog. The more clicks and views you get, the better your SEO results will be.

Review Content Frequently

 A blog page takes time and effort and is not something you can just “set and forget”, it should be reviewed frequently and updated as needed. If you’re not sure what needs to be updated, the information in this blog can help, as well as getting in contact with SEO experts like those at SEO Tuners.

We provide a number of search engine optimization services for websites such as branding, e-commerce, Google Local, organic SEO, and Link Building. If you’re interested in improving your website’s search traffic, get in touch with us today. SEO Tuners can offer an affordable solution for your business to increase exposure and SERP rankings with organic SEO strategies like keywords. We are confident that we have a solution for all your business marketing needs.