How To Write Your Blog Post So That It Has Great SEO

There is only one trick to writing for SEO:  you have to write for SEO. 

No, really! You can write your post and then sit there with a list of keywords, wondering how to squeeze them in. You have to have your keywords ready before you write so you can craft your sentences and headers to seamlessly incorporate them.

How to Write for SEO

Here are the 7 things you should do before writing the blog post:

1. Research your topic and discover your keywords
2. Separate the keywords into primary and secondary lists
3. Create a list of links you want in your blog post—links to other blog posts, your services page, an affiliate link, and any external resources
4. Write the draft title of the post
5. Write the draft meta description of the post
6. Write the first heading that uses the H1 (should be different from the title)
7. Write the draft call to action

Researching Keywords

Researching keywords might sound intimidating, but it’s really quite simple! And you don’t need any fancy tools. I recommend using one of these free SEO keyword research tools to create your list. Google’s Keyword Planner and Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest are very straightforward and easy to use.

All you do is start putting in words and phrases related to your topic, and see what people are searching for. If you need ideas, look at the example below to see what keywords showed up when brainstorming phrases involving designing a living room in a small apartment.

How to Write Your Keywords Into Content

Let’s talk about the next step in the process. You will separate the keywords into two lists:  the most important (primary) and the least important (secondary)

• A primary keyword is a keyword or key phrase that best or specifically describes your content and that you want to rank for
• A secondary keyword is a keyword or phrase that generally describes your content that may be relevant to people searching this generic term

Example

An example: you’re writing a blog post about designing a living room in a small apartment. Here are your keywords:

• Apartment floor plans 
• Furniture layout
• Room design
• Living room layout
• Small apartments
• Small apartment ideas
• Apartment design ideas

Now let’s break this into primary and secondary lists.

Primary (2x):

• Living room layout
• Small apartments
• Small apartment ideas
• Room design

Secondary (1x):

• Apartment floor plans
• Furniture layout
• Apartment design ideas

Everything in the primary category are the keywords that are specific to your blog post. Keywords in the secondary list are relevant keywords that are generally related to your post topic.

Using the Primary Keywords

• Use them at least twice in the total blog post
• Use it the first time somewhere in the first 2-3 sentences
• Use it in the title, meta description, and first heading

Using the Secondary Keywords

• Use them at least once in the body copy

Adding Links

Remember our lesson from earlier? When a blog post does well (aka shows up high up on the search results page), it shares that success with web pages it links to (ie your home page or other posts). This translates to helping the website’s ability to show up near the top of the search results page. So be sure to add relevant links in your blog post!

Writing the Title and Meta Description

When writing the title and meta description, all you need is your list of keywords and one of my favorite SEO tools, SERPsim. 

The SERPsim tool simulates the Search Engine Results Page. It lets you see what your page title and description will look like on Google. Use this tool when you’re crafting your title and meta description.

Writing the First Heading

This first heading is one of the most overlooked SEO opportunities. Don’t miss this easy step!

Now, because this is about SEO for blogging, I have to give a warning:

Most blogs turn your blog title into the first heading. And that results in a duplication of your page title and your header and a lost opportunity to rank for another keyword. Oops. That’s where a plugin like YoastSEO comes in handy: it lets you override your blog theme and send search engines the title you want in search results and keeps the blog title on the site, as your first heading.

Writing the Call to Action

Why do I recommend you write the call to action before you write the main copy? Because the call to action is the whole reason you’re writing this blog post! You’re wanting someone to sign up for your newsletter,  share your recipe, buy your product, etc. The call to action sets the focus of the content.

Start Writing!

You’re now ready to start writing! While you’re writing the first draft of your blog post, make sure it focuses around your call to action and that it incorporates enough of your keywords in an authentic, easy-to-read fashion.

Want to Learn More?

Want to learn more about SEO, marketing, and web design? Check out the Web Design Resource Library and my most popular blog posts.

And keep your eyes out for future blog posts about SEO right here!