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Keywords are the key (pun intended) to effective blog writing. Finding and sticking to a keyword strategy is a great way to climb the ranks on search engines, and is a cornerstone, if not the foundation, of many SEO strategies. The reason you have a blog is to share your wisdom and get your site to come up in search results when someone searches your niche. Follow these general tips to start working on a basic keyword strategy for your blog. Fine tuning it can come later.
Keywords Should Be Natural
For this example, say you run a service dedicated entirely to selling socks. You should find keywords that fit well with your topic and sound natural when written about. This can be difficult, as what people search for when using a search engine often isn’t how they speak in real life. You wouldn’t want to write a blog post talking about the advantages of “woolen gray ankle sock knit size medium” even though that might be what people type into a search engine. One of the best things about woolen gray ankle sock knit size medium, as my Grandmother always said, is… No. It’s not going to fly.
Instead of trying to fit all of that into a blog post, you should break it up. Write engaging content that focuses on “ankle socks”, and another on “size medium socks” (maybe a sizing guide?) and so forth. Don’t try to shove a whole mouthful into one post, it’s the kind of thing that “blog writing guides blogging for dummies guides bloggers” never recommend.
Pick a Few Top Priorities for Blogging
It’s going to take more than one blog on a topic to get you to the top of the search engine. If you want to be effective, you have to keep some keywords coming back. Likewise, there are some keywords that you’re probably never going to get to. It would be great if your sock shop was the number one result for the word “sock”, but that’s not realistic for most businesses. You have to refine a niche. Maybe you sell the most wool socks, so you want to corner that market more. That’s great! Keep that keyword active even as you give specific posts keywords like “gray wool” and “socks for Christmas”.
Optimize Titles and Subheadings
As a rule of thumb, you should find a way to get your keyword into every blog title and at least one subheading. The more emphasis is placed on keywords in important roles like the title and subheadings, the better off you’ll be. For some keywords, getting close enough can provide a smaller boost to traffic, but you want the exact phrase where possible.
Keywords Alone Won’t Get You To the Top
When people first start to see results with keywords, they tend to go overboard. The key with keywords is knowing what they can and can’t do for you. A keyword will help someone find your blog, but it won’t make them stay. If they click a link just to a find a boring blog post that’s only stuffed with keywords over substance, they’ll leave as quickly as they came. Content is still key.
Keywords are a great way to boost your search engine ranking, but they need to be placed naturally within valuable content. Put keywords into your title and subheading, and don’t try to force it. Blogging is about sharing ideas, not just getting attention. Keep your eyes on the main keyword prize and you’ll be selling more socks before you know it.