29 Tips on Writing SEO-Friendly Blog Posts That Rank on Google

Imagine a big digital world with lots of websites and information. It’s like a busy online place, and you want your blog to be noticed. But how can you do that? This is where SEO-friendly blog posts help. Whether you write an article on Blogger or WordPress, SEO-friendly blog posts have the power to grab the attention of both people and search engines like Google and Bing.

Think of it this way: You write a great blog post with helpful ideas. Now, by using a smart strategy called SEO, your blog post appears near the top of Google’s search results. It’s like a magnet, pulling in lots of readers who want to read what you wrote.

In the next parts, we’ll learn about SEO-friendly blog posts that rank on Google and Bing. We’ll find out how to pick the right strategy, how to make our writing easy to read, and how to write SEO-friendly blog posts when stuck. No matter if you’re already good at writing or are just starting out, these 29 tips will help you get better at making your blog posts appear on the first page of Google.

So, get ready! We’re going to a place where creativity meets clever planning, where words have special power, and where SEO is like a smart dance with search engines. Are you excited to learn how to make your blog famous on Google? Let’s start learning how to make great SEO-friendly blog posts that Google will be happy to share!

1. Brainstorming and Picking a Niche

When you’re starting to create blog posts that people will like and that show up well on Google, it begins with an important step called brainstorming and picking a niche. In this initial phase, take the time to identify a subject area that aligns with your expertise, interests, and the needs of your target audience.

Choosing a niche allows you to establish yourself as an authoritative voice in a particular field, making your content more relevant and valuable to your readers. Whether it’s cooking, travel, technology, sports, news, or health, the key is to find a niche that resonates with both your passion and what people are searching for online.

This focused approach not only streamlines your content creation process but also helps Google’s algorithms recognize the relevance of your blog to specific search queries. So, take a moment to brainstorm and pick a niche that will serve as the foundation for your journey toward crafting SEO-friendly blog posts that shine in Google’s search results.

2. Keyword Research

Once you’ve decided what your blog will focus on, the next big step in making SEO-friendly blog posts is finding the right words. It means looking for the specific words that people type when they search on Google. This step is called keyword research.

There are free keyword tools like Google Keyword Planner, Wordtracker, or Ahrefs that can help you find keywords. If you are a beginner, research keywords that have high global search volume but low keyword difficulty.

When you use these keywords in your writing, it helps your blog post become more visible and catch Google’s attention. So, keyword research is like a guide that helps you know what words to use in your blog post to match what people are looking for online.

3. Write Good Title of Your Blog Post

Keyword research is a lot of work. Now that you know about keywords, let’s focus on another crucial aspect: crafting an attention-grabbing title for your blog post. The title is like a sneak peek into what your blog post is all about.

A well-crafted title not only accurately reflects the content but also incorporates your main keyword, helping both readers and search engines understand what your post is discussing. It’s important to keep the title concise and clear, making sure it captures the essence of your blog post while sparking curiosity.

Additionally, make use of power words or action verbs to create a sense of excitement and engagement. Remember, the title is the first thing people see, so making it compelling can greatly influence whether they read your blog post or not. As we journey through the realm of SEO-friendly blog posts, consider the title as the doorway through which readers enter your world of valuable content.

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Use it wisely to make a lasting impression, and use the h1 tag for your title only once. Your headlines have a lot to do with whether or not you’re going to get a high click-through rate.

4. Create a Good Outline

Creating an outline is the most important part of a SEO-friendly blog post. You make an outline that lists all the important things you found during your research. Outlining helps you plan your blog post before you start writing. Make sure the blog post outline you create matches the title of your blog post.

Start by writing down the main points you want to include in your blog post. Under each point, write down the important things you want to include. This helps you not forget anything, keeps your writing on track, and starts building your paragraphs.

You can use bullet points, numbers, or headings to make your outline clear. A good outline is like a plan that shapes your blog post. It makes your writing smooth and easy to understand. Google also likes organized content, so a good outline can help your blog post show up better in searches.

5. Write an Engaging Introduction

Writing an engaging introduction to your blog post is really important. You want to get people curious about what’s coming up, but you don’t want to give everything away. In just a few sentences, you can make people interested in the main topic and excited to read more.

The introduction should be short because people come to your site after seeing your blog title. They want to quickly find the answer they’re looking for. Remember, keeping it short can actually make people more curious and want to read the entire article.

Don’t forget to add your main keyword in the introduction. You can also use questions that people often ask and that you found during your research.

6. Write Paragraphs Under 150 Words

Long paragraphs can be hard to read, which makes people lose interest. But with short paragraphs, your writing looks friendly and keeps people interested. This is important today, when people like quick reading.

When you write small paragraphs, focus on one main thing. This makes your writing clear and helps readers understand it better. So, writing paragraphs under 150 words not only makes your blog post easier to read but also helps people read the whole paragraph. As we learn more about making SEO-friendly blogs that Google ranks, remember this trick to keep people reading.

7. Explain Headings and Subheadings Under 300 Words

Let’s delve into the art of explaining headings and subheadings that captivate readers’ attention. When explaining headings and subheadings, aim to keep them under 300 words. That means if you have one heading for three paragraphs, the total words in all three paragraphs should not be more than 300 words.

This helps keep your writing organized and easy to read. If you have too many words under one heading, it might make the content confusing for readers. They also help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your post.

Remember, the heading h1 tag is only used for the title. Use h2 tags for your subheadings multiple times, and where necessary, use h3 and h4 tags for further subheadings. Put keywords in your headings and subheadings to make your writing friendly for SEO.

8. Write Article More Than 1200 Words

There’s no exact answer about how long a blog post should be for Google to like it because different things can influence how Google ranks a post. Things like what the post is about, what people are searching for, how good the content is, the use of keywords, and backlinks can all matter. But some research has said that longer blog posts usually do better for SEO. This is because they can give more detailed and deep information to both readers and search engines.

The ideal blog post length for SEO should be 1200–3000 words. The most important thing is to write high-quality content that meets the needs and expectations of your audience and provides value to them.

When you’re writing longer articles, remember to make them easy to read. Use short paragraphs, headings, and subheadings, like we talked about earlier, to organize your article. This way, your article is neat and easy for people to read and understand.

As we keep learning about making SEO-friendly blog posts that Google ranks, remember that longer articles can show your expertise and give readers really helpful information.

9. How to Write SEO-Friendly Blog Posts When Stuck

When you’re writing articles, especially for beginners, you might get stuck and not have any ideas. But that’s okay! There are AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard that are free to use. They can help you write blog posts that are unique and friendly for SEO. These AI tools can also help you find keywords that are related to your topic.

Write this prompt to find keywords: Give me 10 low-competition keywords with global search volume and keyword difficulty in table format for this topic: (your topic)

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With AI, it’s simple to pick the right words for the beginning, headings, paragraphs, and ending of your article.

Add Your Own Knowledge to AI

You can’t use AI tools to make a lot of articles all at once. It won’t work for that. You can use it as a helper when you write. It can help you make articles that are good for SEO. If you share your own knowledge with the AI instead of relying on it for every piece of information, your writing can become even better. Otherwise, using only AI content might not be good for your blog post.

10. Improve Readability

Google likes content that’s easy for people to read. To enhance the readability of your blog post, consider a few strategies. It also helps your post show up better on search engines.

• Consecutive sentences: Don’t use three sentences in a row that begin with the same word. Change it up and use different words!
• Add Transition Words: Use words like “first,” “next,” and “finally” to connect your ideas. This helps your writing flow smoothly.
• Write short sentences under 20 words: We can discuss using short paragraphs, but also remember to write sentences that are short and have fewer than 20 words. Short sentences are easier to understand. They keep your readers engaged.
• Write in an active voice: Active voice is when the subject of the sentence performs the action. Passive voice is when the subject of the sentence receives the action. Active voice is more direct, clear, and powerful than passive voice. It also makes your content more engaging and personal. Use active voice whenever possible, and avoid passive voice unless necessary.
• Use bullet points and numbered lists. These organize your information neatly. They’re easy to read and understand.
• Use long-tail keywords because they are more specific and less competitive than short-tail keywords. They can help you rank for niche topics and attract traffic.
• Add Keywords, but not Keyword Stuffing: You can research keywords before starting to write. When you write content for a target audience, keywords themselves are created. Popular SEO tools recommend a lot of keywords. Focus on your two to three main keywords. Use your main keyword and related words naturally in your blog post. Don’t forcefully add keywords, as keyword stuffing can hurt your writing.

11. Keep Your Content Consistent

When your content aligns with the topic and maintains a consistent tone, it becomes more credible and valuable. Make all your ideas fit well together. Don’t go off track and talk about something else. Stick to the main topic and make sure that readers get what they want when they click on your post. This, in turn, reduces the bounce rate and enhances your chances of ranking higher in search results.

12. Install SEO Plugin

When you install an SEO plugin, like Yoast SEO, All in One SEO, or Rank Math SEO, it makes it easier to make your blog posts better for search engines. The great thing is that these top three SEO plugins offer free plans with plenty of features for your WordPress website. SEO plugins help you add important things to the website, like meta titles and descriptions. These plugins follow SEO rules and automatically apply new changes to your blog. Whether your WordPress theme is free or paid, in both situations, you must need an SEO plugin.

13. Meta Description Under 141 Characters

A meta description is like a short summary that shows up below the link in search results. Keeping it under 141 characters means keeping it concise and to the point. This length ensures that the description doesn’t get cut off when people see it on Google or other search engines.

It’s a small but important aspect of optimizing your content for search engines and providing users with valuable information upfront.

14. Check for Grammatical Mistakes and Plagiarism

Checking for grammatical mistakes and plagiarism is like giving your content a final polish before presenting it to your audience. Grammatical errors can detract from the professionalism of your post, making it harder for readers to trust your information.

Moreover, plagiarism, or using someone else’s work without proper credit, can not only damage your reputation but also have negative effects on your search engine rankings. To maintain your blog’s credibility, you need to avoid plagiarism, as search engines highly value original content.

Utilize tools like grammar checkers and plagiarism detectors to check your content before publishing. Correct the grammar errors, if any. If plagiarism is found in your content, then rewrite that line or paragraph again. Make sure your content is 100% unique. Don’t rush to publish; give your blog post the time it deserves.

On the journey to creating SEO-friendly blog posts, this step serves as a final quality check for your writing. It can significantly impact your content’s performance on search engines and the trust you build with your readers. So, as we move forward, consider the importance of ensuring your content is grammatically correct and plagiarism-free for a successful blogging experience.

15. Optimize Your URL

Your URL is like the address of your blog post online. When optimizing your URL, aim to make it simple, descriptive, and relevant to your blog post’s topic. Avoid using numbers or symbols. Match your URL slug with your title, and include keywords that accurately represent the content.

Use hyphens (-) to split words in your web addresses, not underscores (_). Short URLs under 6 words tend to be more user-friendly and can improve the click-through rate when your post appears in search results.

Use lowercase letters and https instead of http in your URLs. Remove stop words from the URL, like “and,” “the,” and “to”. When you publish a post, WordPress automatically generates the URL. You need to make them better by adding keywords. Remember, once the post URL is assigned, it is recommended not to change it. So make sure your URL accurately describes your article.

Avoid using dynamic URLs that contain parameters like ?id=714 or &cate=abc. They are harder to read and index for search engines. Use static URLs that describe the content of the page.

Use canonical tags to let search engines know which version of a post URL you want them to prioritize. This will prevent duplicate content issues and consolidate the ranking signals. If you install the SEO plugin in WordPress, then canonical tags are automatically added to your post.

Make your content timeless by not using dates in the URL. For instance, if you have a best laptop guide for 2023, you can use it again in 2024 by changing the title and updating the content. But if your URL still has 2023, it might not rank well in the new year.

16. Add Category in Permalink Structure

When you add categories to your permalink structure, it’s like giving your post a place to belong. Categories help organize your blog, making it easier for readers to find related topics. Including them in your permalink can make the URL more descriptive and informative.

Search engines also pay attention to categories in your URL. They can understand the topic of your content better, which can improve your chances of showing up in relevant searches. Readers can also find category links in your post’s web address (URL).

You can make categories for your blog, but don’t forget to add them to your web address (URL). Make separate pages for blog categories and connect blog posts to the right category. The sample template for your url is: www.example.com/category/blog-post-title-keyword

17. Internal Links and Calls to Action

Now let’s look at another important part of making blogs that Google ranks. This is about using links inside your content. Incorporating internal links serves a dual purpose: it enhances the user experience by providing additional relevant information, and it also signals to search engines that your website is well-structured and offers valuable resources. This can positively impact your overall website’s SEO.

Furthermore, calls to action (CTAs) are powerful text links, button links, or image links that encourage readers to take specific actions, such as subscribing to your newsletter, downloading a resource, or making a purchase. CTAs add an interactive element to your content and can guide readers towards deeper engagement with your website.

When you add affiliate or external links, it’s a good idea to use a “nofollow” tag. It can help blogs comply with Google’s guidelines on paid links and sponsored content and avoid penalties for unnatural links.

18. Write an Author Bio

Beginners often forget to write an author bio, and this is a big mistake when starting a blog. Having an author bio helps readers feel connected to the writer. The author bio should be shown either at the beginning or end of the blog post. Also, in the author bio, you can put links to the website or social media accounts.

From an SEO perspective, having author bios shows that real people are creating your content. This can make your website look more trustworthy and important to search engines.

19. Feature Image with Alt Text

Feature images play a crucial role in making your blog posts visually appealing and engaging. You can add feature images from external sources to reduce the load on your hosting server. This can help maintain smooth website performance.

In WordPress, you can only add feature images to your blog posts from their own gallery. However, if you want to use images from external sources, you can do so by installing the free FIFU plugin. It’s a light plugin that gives you the option to insert an external url for featured images in your blog posts.

It is important to know that you can add images to your blog post using an external URL. When it comes to the feature image, you’ll need a plugin to enable the addition of external URLs.

Moreover, when you add images to your blog, it’s important to provide alt text. These are descriptions that help search engines understand what the image is about. It makes your content more accessible, improving your website’s SEO. To further optimize your images, include relevant keywords in the alt text. This can enhance your chances of ranking higher in image searches related to your content.

20. Compress Images

Images are key to making your content visually appealing, but they can also slow down your website if not managed wisely.

Image compression involves making image files smaller without sacrificing their quality. This is important because websites that load faster often rank higher on search engines and provide a better experience for users. When you compress images, they take up less space, leading to quicker loading times and improved website performance overall.

Thankfully, there are numerous free online tools available for compressing images, such as Tinypng, iLoveimg, and Compressjpeg. Additionally, there are free WordPress plugins that offer image compression. However, I don’t recommend installing plugins for this purpose, as plugins can consume resources from your hosting server. Instead, it’s better to manually compress images when you write your blog post.

21. Host and Embed Images from Canva

Another helpful tip for increasing your blog’s speed is to host images using Canva and then embed them for free on your website. This method allows you to create eye-catching designs and have them automatically updated on your Blogger or WordPress website.

For Canva, after designing your image, click the “Share” button and choose “More”. Then, select the “Embed” option. This generates an embed code that you can paste into your blog post.

By utilizing this technique, you can add visually appealing content to your blog posts and keep them up-to-date effortlessly.

22. Use Caching Plugin and CDN

A caching plugin is like a memory aid for your website. It stores and remembers certain elements of your web pages so that when users visit your site, it can load faster. By creating saved copies of your pages, the plugin reduces the need to fetch information from your server every time someone visits. This leads to quicker loading times, which is essential for retaining visitors and improving SEO rankings.

In addition, a content delivery network (CDN) takes your website’s content and distributes it across various servers located in different geographic locations. When a user accesses your website, the content is delivered from the server nearest to their location. This reduces the distance the data needs to travel, resulting in faster loading times and a smoother user experience.

By integrating a caching plugin and a CDN, you optimize your website’s speed and performance, factors that significantly impact SEO rankings. This enhanced user experience can lead to longer time spent on your site and lower bounce rates. Both of which positively affect your overall search engine visibility.

If you can’t afford CDN, then you can also use Google Drive. If you divide your hosting burden and run some files like images, css files, Java scripts, and PHP scripts from external storage, then your website will load fast and never run out of memory.

23. Responsive Design

Mobile views boost your SEO ranking. Make sure the images, videos, and Java scripts in your blog look and function well on different devices, including smartphones and tablets. Responsive website design ensures that readers can access your content regardless of their preferred device.

24. Limit Ads or Pop-Ups

While monetizing your blog through advertisements is common, it’s essential to create a balance between earning revenue and providing a positive user experience. When you have too many banner ads or intrusive pop-ups on your blog, it can be annoying for readers. This can lead to a high bounce rate, where people quickly leave your site without exploring further.

When you’re just starting your blog, it’s usually best not to put ads on it right away. It’s a good idea to wait until your website gets at least 200 visitors each day. This is because if your website doesn’t have many visitors, you won’t earn much money from the ads. Also, having ads on your website can make it load slower, so it’s better to wait until you have enough visitors to convert views into money.

When your website starts getting more than 10,000 visitors a month, it’s important not to have too many ads on your site. I’ve seen many websites with good articles, but the ads on their posts make things load slowly. Sometimes, people can’t figure out how to close the ads. Video ads and pop-up banner ads can make things even slower. To give your visitors a better experience, it’s a good idea to display only two or three ads on your blog post. This way, your site will load faster, and people will be happier reading your content.

Search engines like Google take user experience into account when ranking websites. So, if your blog is filled with excessive ads or pop-ups, it might negatively impact your SEO ranking.

25. Add Security Plugin

In today’s times, hackers often target new websites because they can be easier to hack. Sometimes, a new site can be hacked without the owner even realizing it. This can be harmful to your site’s SEO efforts. While security plugins may not directly enhance your SEO, they can help protect your site from hackers.

Many new users might not be aware of the security measures needed for WordPress. When you create a WordPress site, it’s important to install a security plugin right away. You should follow the security settings recommended by the plugin. These settings might include changing your username and applying hardening settings.

Some popular free security plugins for WordPress are iThemes security, Wordfence security, and MalCare WordPress security. These plugins are tools that help protect your WordPress site from various threats, such as malware, brute-force attacks, spam, and hackers.

Remember, securing your website isn’t just about protecting your data; it’s also about ensuring the credibility and reliability of your site.

26. Crawl Optimization

Crawl optimization can make your website load faster. The Yoast plugin offers free crawl optimization. To activate this, go to the Yoast SEO plugin’s settings panel. Then, in the advanced section, you’ll find the option for crawl optimization.

WordPress can add many links and content to your site’s technical parts, like in the head tag. Remove any HTML code or metadata that you don’t need.

Remove links such as shortlinks, REST API links, RSD/WLW links, oEmbed links, and global feeds. These links can clutter your content and make it harder for search engine bots to understand what’s important.

WordPress often loads various resources, but not all of them might be necessary for your specific site. Get rid of unnecessary elements like the generator tag, emoji scripts, and the WP-JSON API. These elements can slow down your website’s loading speed and add unnecessary weight to your pages.

If you haven’t removed certain scripts, like:

<link rel="profile" href="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11">
<link rel="pingback" href="https://www.example.com/xmlrpc.php">

It might be because the theme developer included these links in the index file. If this is the case, you can go to the WordPress file manager and locate the “index.php” file. From there, you can manually delete the lines of code containing these scripts.

Just remember to create a backup before making any edits, so you have a safe copy in case anything goes wrong. This way, you can make sure that your crawl optimization efforts are effective and that your website performs optimally.

27. Add Websites to Google Search Console & Bing Webmaster Tools

As we continue our journey toward creating blog posts that shine in the eyes of search engines. It’s time to know how Google and Bing see your sites. These tools, Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, show you how well your website is doing in search engines. They offer data on search queries, clicks, impressions, and even potential issues that might affect your site’s visibility.

Setting up your website on these platforms is quite simple. You’ll need to verify ownership by adding a piece of code under the header tag to your website. Once verified, you’ll have access to a wealth of information that can guide your SEO efforts.

28. Guest Posting and Invest on ADS

You have a really good blog, but it doesn’t get traffic. The reason is that no one knows your blog exists. Let’s talk about two more strategies to make your blog successful on Google. These are guest postings and ads.

Guest posting means writing for other websites in the same field. This helps you reach new readers. When you write for reputable sites, more people can find your blog and become regular readers.

Investing in ads is another option. You can use platforms like Google Ads and social media ads. They let you show your content to a targeted audience based on their interests and demographics. This can bring in readers who are genuinely interested in your blog, and they might stick around as regular readers.

Guest blogging is a free way to tell users about your blog. After guest posting, invest a few dollars in ads. Google ads, Bing ads, and Facebook ads are great platforms to promote your blog. Both strategies help you reach a wider audience for your WordPress blog.

29. Must Renew Hosting & Domain

Getting good themes for your blog is easy and free, but investing money in hosting and a domain is necessary. Many beginners don’t make money from their blogs in the first year, so they might not renew their hosting plans. This is a big mistake. It’s a good idea to start with a basic hosting plan that costs less than $100. As you write more and gain experience, your blog will start getting more visitors. Over time, older blogs tend to rank higher than new ones. So, investing in hosting and starting with a simple plan can help your blog grow and become successful.

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Conclusion

So, after learning all these tips, you’re now ready to make your blog posts shine on Google. From choosing the right keywords to making your content easy to read to crawl optimization, each tip adds to your blog’s success.

Keep in mind that SEO is something you do all the time, not just once. By regularly using these tips, you’re establishing a strong foundation for your blog’s success and gaining attention from a wide audience. This journey might take time, but with these strategies, you’re on your way to having a great blog that both readers and search engines love.