The SEO Mistakes Your Blog Is Guilty Of

With the many changes the technological world has faced in recent years, it’s been difficult for marketers to maintain their SEO strength. Website blogs tend to suffer the most, unintentionally neglecting the simplest strategies anyone can employ to give their search results ranking a boost. It’s true that SEO is constantly evolving, but its basics are still relevant. Is your company forgetting about foundational ranking tactics? Read on to find out what they are and how you can use them.

Although keywords aren’t everything, they’ve always been an important part of SEO, and that hasn’t changed. They still need to be included in the right places without being overused, as keyword stuffing can lead to harsh penalties for marketers. Creating blog posts about general topics isn’t enough to show up on the first page of related search results.

Niche-specific keywords must be incorporated into blog content in order for that content to reach its target audience and turn curious readers into useful leads. Blogs contained within websites should include more long-tail keywords and advice-related terminology that members of the audience are likely to look up. It’s also a good idea to optimize tags and headings for keyword searches, as they can increase your ranking and draw in readers who click on your content.

Using multiple synonymous keywords through the use of semantic SEO is a similar way to boost your ranking and avoid the penalties gained from optimizing your content too much. Your organic search reach will naturally grow, as will the number of conversions you make, as long as your keywords are relevant to the blog posts you’re producing. If you know how to use keywords in the most basic way, this tactic should be a breeze.

Some companies are great at keyword optimization in all its forms, but are lacking in the page copy department. Copy with too many technical terms or advanced concepts isn’t appealing to the majority of your readers. When creating content, keep in mind that you’re writing for a generation of people that has grown accustomed to receiving information in the blink of an eye. Long-winded explanations aren’t going to capture the interest of many.

Aim for a good level of simplicity and consistency in your writing as well as your writing process. Follow a formula so you can continuously produce good content without thinking too hard. Write at a reading level that your audience can comprehend, packing value into your title and introduction. When you’re done writing, go to town editing. Cut out parts that don’t work, rewrite parts that could be better, and use grammar tools whenever necessary. The revision process is as much work as the writing process is.

It’s easy to ignore internal linking, and surprisingly, this can really put a damper on your SEO status. Internal links make for easy site navigation, taking your readers to exactly what they’re looking for on your website; they maximize the effects of backlinks, an SEO powerhouse; and they increase the crawl rate on your website.

Evaluate your blog to determine which posts are the most authoritative and put internal links into those posts. If you really want to up the ante, put a few of those posts into a drop down menu on your website. Be sure to make your anchor text appealing and diverse so as to clearly address each consumer’s needs and show up in a wide variety of relevant searches.

Writing is undoubtedly what can take content from good to great. However, it remains extremely important to make your content visually appealing, and that’s best done through the strategic use of images. Images that haven’t been SEO optimized can severely affect a post’s loading time, frustrating readers and causing a significant loss in potential leads for the company. Every image should be in either .jpg or .png format and have its own keyword-dense meta description. If you properly use images in your content, you’ll intrigue readers and show up on the first results page effortlessly.

The final and most fatal SEO mistake bloggers tend to make is failing to promote the content they’ve put out. Unfortunately, amazing content won’t be discovered without its creator promoting it due to the sheer amount of information on the internet. Use influencers on the right social media sites to spread the word about your latest post - you’ll rank higher and drive traffic to your website due to your content marketing efforts.

New tactics are great, but they’re useless if you don’t employ old ones, too. Remember the basics to keep your SEO ranking high.