Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a scary world for a blogger or business owner to enter. Especially if you’re fresh out of the gate. You know you need a content marketing system to help grow your following but how can you factor SEO into that plan if you’re a complete newbie? Understanding Google’s algorithm takes some practice but can be achieved with a bit of trial and error and on-page improvements to your posts.
If you’re just starting out, there’s really no need to get crazy with SEO quite yet. We suggest starting slow and mastering the basics before diving in headfirst. Read our suggestions for implementing simple SEO tips and tricks for 2020 that can make a HUGE impact on your Google rankings in as little as a few weeks.
Below are 7 easy search engine optimization techniques to improve your rankings and increase your organic traffic fast
Research In-Demand Keywords: Before pouring your heart and soul out online, head over to Google Keyword Planner and do a search for niche-specific keywords related to your blog. You’re going to want to use keywords that have a high monthly search (10K – 100K) but low to medium competition. This is going to be your best bet for ranking on page 1 for your blog post.
*Note that If you choose to use a high competition keyword you’ll be going up against massive amounts of information that have already been written, published, and ranked on Google. So make things easy for yourself and choose keywords appropriately.*
The best part of Google Keyword Planner is that it offers “ideas” for related keywords that you can tie in and sprinkle around your post. Not only is Google Keyword Planner a powerful keyword research tool but also a fantastic brainstorming tool. Did I happen to mention it’s FREE?
Another fantastic keyword planning tool that lets you find long-tail phrases with their accurate search volume, CPC and competition data is Keywords Everywhere. This tool is a paid service but offers A TON on features and is priced for accessibility to everyone.
Improve Your Website Speed: I can’t stress enough how important this is! Did you know that even 1 second delay in page load time can lead to a WHOPPING 7% loss in conversions, 11% fewer page views, and a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction? Not to mention hurt your SEO rankings with our best pal, Google. Having a speedy website starts with a reliable website host. Do your research and choose a platform that has excellent customer reviews, guaranteed uptime, and fast servers. It’s also a good idea to boost website speed by using a CDN, a caching plugin, and an image optimizer.
To determine if you’re already lacking in the speed department, head to GTMetrix for detailed fix suggestions and issues affecting your website speed. Our suggestions for best WordPress hosting platforms with top-notch speed performance are WP Engine, InMotion Hosting, and SiteGround. For a more in-depth explanation of why we love these platforms, read our post Our Top Picks For WordPress Website Hosting.
Start Writing Captivating Headlines: Writing strong headlines will be your best tool for luring readers. Telling your audience how you’ll solve their problem or answer their questions should be front and center in your post title. Using action or power words alongside your keyword(s) will intrigue your potential customers to read more. A few words to encourage clicks are must-have, hack, complete, ultimate, formula, epic. (i.e 10 Must-Have Plugins For Your WordPress Website or Our Ultimate Home Page Checklist To Convert Website Leads).
If you’re stuck in this department, borrow titles and descriptions from Google AdWord & Facebook Ads. Rember your readers are looking to solve a problem when searching on Google. Telling them how you’re going to do this in 10 words or less is going to be your best bet for getting clicks.
Post Long, Engaging Content (at least 1,800 words): You’re the expert in your field, right? So hunker down and write a solid post complete with all those high searched (with low-medium competition) keywords strategically placed throughout your post. Writing valuable content takes time. You may work well with an outline or you could be a stream-of-conscious writer. Either way, make sure you have a plan to cover all your important pieces to your content puzzle complete with engaging imagery or videos. Of course, you’ll need to make your imagery SEO friendly with descriptive image names and alt text. Read more about SEO friendly imagery here.
Write Guest Posts On Other reputable Blogs: Being a guest blogger can give your website so much street cred through backlinking. A backlink is one of the most valuable pieces of SEO gold because it’s essentially a “vote of confidence” from one blog (or website) to another. Receiving a popular backlink is a signal to search engines that your content is valuable and worthy of appearing on a search engine result page (SERP). If you belong to a few Facebook groups with good engagement, you could find bloggers in your niche to cross-promote with. I find that strategy to be the most user-friendly for bloggers who are just starting out as the group is usually a supportive community of people encouraging growth and success for their fellow entrepreneurs and bloggers. When you reach out for a guest post opportunity, make sure to include contextual links in your article, instead of just the author byline.
Establish A Link Building Strategy: Breathe new life into a dying blog post or establish an interlinking system by adding links to other posts (created by you) in your article. This process will establish a site architecture with a crawlable link structure thus helping Google better understand what your content is about. Interlinking also encourages people to spend more time on your blog, which improves bounce rates, allowing Google to see you as a legit resource for your keyword(s). Woah, did you get all of that? Internal linking is really a super-easy way to help your SEO improve with very little effort.
Start Using Pinterest: Last, but definitely not least, set up a Pinterest account for business and start pinning all of your blog posts. Somehow, in the midst of the social media rise, Pinterest got coupled in with platforms like Facebook and Twitter and became looked at as another social outlet. But it’s really not. The best way I can describe Pinterest is a hybrid between a visual search engine and a social platform. As a visual search engine, your imagery and keywords play together to make magic happen. Millions of people are actively searching for information and solutions on Pinterest. What they receive are results in the form of Pins where you entice your potential reader to click for more information with captivating imagery and headlines. Brilliant, right?
Learning this platform takes a bit of time to master but with determination, you can start seeing MASSIVE traffic to your website even if you’re posts are fresh out of your computer. Already rocking Pinterest for your blog or website? Take it to the next level with promoted pins. We suggest starting with a free course with Monica from Redefining Mom. Click here to enroll.
You don’t have to be an SEO expert to make huge strides in your organic traffic. By starting with the information given above, you can lay a solid foundation to expand on. Being armed with information is always the first step to mastering any skill. And SEO and blogging go hand in hand. So, get looking on Google Keyword Planner and set forth and concur Google. If you’re ready to up your game, the search engine optimization course *SEO Demystified* will knock your socks off and open your eyes to a whole new world of search engine optimization techniques for you to try. Good luck!
Thank you so much, I definitely need this! I just got my blog to the point where I consider it ready for people to see–but I have no idea what to do next! There’s so much to learn about blogging and I appreciate how you’ve broken it down so there’s a roadmap to follow.
You’re very welcome! Yes, there’s SO much to learn and it can become overwhelming. Take it bit by bit and you will start to gain momentum. Good luck with everything and don’t forget to enroll in the Small Business Marketing Game Plan launching in mid-May: **Enroll Here**
Great tips! As of now I’m working on link building strategies.
That is a great strategy to work on. Google Keyword Planner is hot on my list this month! Good luck.
Great article on SEO. Thank you!
You’re very welcome!
Love these tips, trying to learn Pinterest myself…. ahhhhh
Pinterest can grow your blog like crazy!! Here are some good tips for a successful Pinterest keyword strategy: https://www.leannewong.co/pinterest-keyword-strategy/
Such great information. I am just getting started with a new blog and I learned so much from reading this. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
You’re very welcome! SEO doesn’t have to be difficult to master. Here’s a link to a great FREE course from Leanne Wong: https://www.leannewong.co/
Thanks for this great post. I swear, SEO will be the death of me. It’s almost like trying to learn a foreign language. Your post helped clear some of the muddy water for me.
Absolutely! SEO is super overwhelming. If you have the time, enroll in Leanne Wong’s free SEO Bootcamp. She explains Google’s algorithm and how to succeed in your niche by choosing keywords strategically (among other things). It opened my eyes to a whole new world: https://www.leannewong.co/
Thank you for posting! I’ve heard a lot about searching keywords, but I didn’t really understand how to do it effectively. I will definitely use google keyword planner to boost my posts 😊
You will love Google keyword planner!!
going through other blogs with a massive info is overwhelming, yours was smooth and doable for a newbie like me. Thank you!
You’re welcome!!
Hey…Kelly
Thank you so much for great article ..
You’re welcome! Glad you like it.
One of the factors that I want to use to rank higher in google is page or website speed and I’m going to be researching ways of speeding up my site
If you use WordPress, check out our post on how to speed up your website: https://taphousemedia.com/6-easy-ways-to-speed-up-your-wordpress-website/
This post was exactly what I was looking for! I am currently in the process of starting my lifestyle blog and I was all over the place with what to actually write about first. The journey approach definitely helped me reshape my ideas behind my content for each of my categories. This was really helpful!
So glad to hear it was helpful to you. Good SEO can be done easily with a little bit of planning. Good luck to you!
Hell,Kelly
Thank you so much for great article Thanks Again 🙂
You got it!!
Thank you for posting! I’ve heard a lot about searching keywords, but I didn’t really understand how to do it effectively. I will definitely use google keyword planner to boost my posts 😊
It’s such a fantastic tool. Good luck and happy blogging : )
Thank You so much mam
Such insightful information This is a brilliant and easy to follow guide for everything, Thank you for sharing this article ,This post was exactly what I was looking for! thank you once again.
You’re very welcome!
very informative and good post
woww.. thank you so much for this idea… it really helped me lot
Well written article. I’m at the link building point and it’s honestly not easy. Blogs with higher domain authority are not willing to even allow you guest post on their website but are demanding fees. I’m going to take the other steps here and thrive.
Thanks for this article
Great post as per usual, BRO. I’ve been experimenting with design change recently and it seems to be showing positive results so far. I think the structure element of this post will be very helpful for everyone. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you vey much for this guidance, As I am new to this SEO world this will help me a lot.
very nice information thanks for share this post
I really found a great piece of content related to organic traffic.. really this helps me alot
Thanks for a great Informative article, and also thanks for well guide
Good article, Thanks for sharing Informative content