5 speedy tips to SEO your blog (takes less than 1 hour!)

SEO has a complex reputation. It’s code. It’s jargon. It’s algorithm. It’s blah. It’s ‘the stuff we don’t understand’. And you know what? That is true to a certain extent. Indeed, there are some complex parts to SEO. But with anything, some parts of SEO are accessible - and with a little practice, you can cover off some important checks for SEO. In this blog post, I want to show you some of the easier aspects of SEO when blog writing (that I promise won’t take up all your time!).

Now, I could write a lengthy blog post about making your blog post better for Google. But you’d likely feel overwhelmed and press that little cross button or swipe off. The time, the energy… no thanks! So, instead, I will give you 5 easy-to-follow SEO tips you can implement every time you write a blog post.

1.Edit your title to include keywords

What are the key search terms you want to be discovered for? Although you never want to sound robotic, think about how you can implement keywords and phrases into your title (do your keyword research first!). If you can create a compelling title for your blog post and include keywords, you’ve achieved the magic formula!

2. Next, make sure your blog title is formatted correctly

Does your blog title have a h1 <H1> tag? The h1 title tag is a critical ranking factor on Google - so Google must understand that your title is indeed your title. Most CMSs (Content Management Systems) will allow you to format this when editing your text. 

You can check if you have H1 tags in the right place by highlighting text and right clicking, pressing ‘inspect’ and viewing the code. It will show us as <h1 class>.

3. Create some headings (and tag them up)

If you haven’t already, it’s time to chunk up your blog post and create clear headings - so your reader can skim read your content and so Google can understand the key topics you cover. Again, you need to use header tags. Start with h2 and use in order of importance. See below for a quick explanation.

4. Using images? Insert alt tags 

Using photos and pictures in your blog post is a great idea - it’s fantastic for usability and helps break down your text. That in itself is a bonus point for SEO (think better user experience, better SEO). However, you can go one step further and tell Google exactly what your image includes (remember Google can’t read an image… yet… but they can read the code you attribute to it). Again, most CMSs will let you do this. 

Do you use Squarespace? If so, it’s super easy to add an ‘alt description’ just like this above.

5. Edit your URL (before pressing publish)

Whether you use Squarespace, Wix, WordPress or something else, chances are they will generate an automatic URL as you upload your blog content. This sounds great, but they often don’t quite get it right for SEO best practice. There is a lot of conversation and discussion about the very best SEO practice for URLs - so much so getting it right can be quite overwhelming. So my (simple) advice is to get these basics right and you can’t go wrong. Pick a URL that 

• is short and sweet (to the point)

• includes keywords

• doesn’t contain too many unnecessary words (and, but, with, in etc.)

• doesn’t contain unnecessary characters or numbers

• looks good when sharing (no one likes sharing big long ugly URLs)

• avoids using dates of blog 

• is all lower case

• uses hyphens to separate words

• is organised i.e /blog/autumn-interiors-guide

Implement these 5 quick tips every time you write a blog post

Ready to press ‘publish’ on your next blog post? Yes! You LOVE the content you’ve created, and you’re sure your audience will too - but how about your SEO? Doing these quick five tasks (which should take you no longer than an hour) will largely improve your blog post’s success with the Google bots. So, my advice is to make it part of your ‘admin’ before you go live.

Gain blogging confidence

Want more help with blogging? Or perhaps you just need a bit of support with the SEO side? I’m an SEO writer (and adore writing blogs that your audience LOVES as much as Google loves) - so get in touch and ask me how I can help. 

About Zoe

Zoe is an SEO copywriter specialising in blogging and website content. She lives in Northwich, Cheshire and supports clients both locally and further afield. Zoe has a strong content marketing background and has been offering freelance copywriting and content services since 2018.