HOW TO OPTI

MIZE A BLOG

POST F

OR GOOGLE

9 ST E P S T

O AT T R A C T T

A R G E T E D VI S

I TO R S

INTRODUCTIONKeys to getting ranked in Google:

Begin with the end in mind (or do your research) Write about what people what to read about People first Spiders Second (but still be sure to please the

spiders!) Longer content ranks more easily Establish your author tag Make sharing your content easy (Digg Digg, Flare, etc.) Search and social are married. If social likes it, Google isn’t

far behind

Key Takeaways: Do your research before you write Have a plan Give Value Make it easy to share Let Google know who you are

STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC & KEYWORDNever blog just to blog, find a good topic. Remember, it’s about

the reader!Where?Here: Your FAQ’s, comparisons, how to’s, best of’s, common

sales questions IRL, pricing, problems, reviews

Write about what people want to read about Keyword Research!

UberSuggest, Google Instant, Keyword Planner, Bottom of SERPs,

Example for this presentationTopic: Business Blogging

Primary keyword: business blog examplesSecondary terms: business blog tips, business blog best practices

Why this post? 2nd page of Google within 24 hours of publish 1st Page within 5 days Reached as high as 3, currently at 7 105 Views in 71 days 2 Leads Achieved this with NO link building

STEP 2: WRITE AN EFFECTIVE HEADLINEWhat makes an effective headline?1. Contains primary keyword2. Contains secondary keywords (optional)3. Entices people to click4. Entices people to share5. Promise something

I included the primary & secondary keywords & promised the searcherthey would get actionable info. This entices them to both click & share

3 THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT HEADLINES1. They become the front of your title tag2. They become your URL3. Both of these things can be changed

Thing to notice:1. No |GoBeyond SEO in title2. URL is probably too long

STEP 3: USE HEADER TAGS EFFECTIVELYInclude variations of the keywordsUse H2-H5 Tags to summarize the intro, open the conclusion,

begin each example or numbered tip.

Our Example has:Blogging Inspiration – H3Business Blogging Best Practices – H3This is what business blogging is all about – H4Business Blogs Tips & Best Practices

STEP 4: DON’T FORGET THE ALT IMAGE TAGSImages improve the value of your post – even if they are just

simple screen shots!People share posts with images more. Having images shows Google you care The essence of on-

page SEO is knowinghow to show Google you care about your content!

Our Example has:Business blog example 1 – river poolsBlog tip example 3 – salesforce

Avoid keyword stuffing. Use non-optimized text like “river pools” and “salesforce”

STEP 5: USE CATEGORIES & TAGS WELLEach post should have 1-2 CategoriesEach post should 5-15 tags

5 Business Blog Examples You Can follow 2 Categories Business Blogging, Inbound Marketing

These are “meta” topics we want to be relevant for

8 Tags blogging best practices, business blog examples, business blog ideas, river pools, salesforce, sewickley academy, tito’s vodka, workshifting Tags are keyword rich (but with variations), use primary & secondary

terms, use non-optimized text like “river pools”

STEP 6: USE THE YOAST PLUG-IN

Title tag edited

All green for primary keyword

Keyword indescription

STEP 6: USE THE YOAST PLUG-IN

Good for a quickreview but don’tStress about any

1 factor here.

STEP 7: META-DESCRIPTION

Primary keyword in first sentence. Use secondary later. SELL THE CLICK! – Goal is to get a click, not explain the article

Make it about them Let’s improve the description aboveLooking for business blog examples you can use as a model? We examine 5 business blogs for examples, ideas & best practices you can use today.

STEP 8: INTERNAL LINKING First link of the post gets the most SEO value

Put it in 1st paragraphLink to your own content

Service pagesLanding pagesOther posts

Use keyword rich anchor text

People are more likely to click a link with longer anchor text 5-12 words

STEP 9: EDIT!We live by the mantra “Don’t get it right, get it written.”

This means we need to edit….a lot!

3 Main things we look for:

Use the Active Voice Look out for ing words

Beware tentative phrases

Google knows how long people stay on the page.It knows how widely it gets shared.It know how many comments were left.

Doing these 3 things, helps these 3 things

And that helps your SEO!

Active voice = “I heard it through the grapevine.” not“It was heard through the grapevine.”

Ing words lead to “to be” verbs which lead to a passive voice Some tentative phrases are: always seems to be, would have been,

is bound to be, in my opinion

CONCLUSIONThe best SEO makes sure your content is optimized for the spiders but isalways directed at your readers first.

Here are 9 SEO Steps to Attract Targeted Visitors:1. Choose your keyword wisely2. Write an awesome headline3. Use H2-H5 Tags4. Effective Alt Image Tags5. Post categories & tags6. Yoast has it right7. Grab attention with your meta-description8. Link to your other stuff9. Edit, edit, edit

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