21 SEO Best Practices For Blogs & Writing SEO-Friendly Posts

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Have you ever put significant effort into a blog post only to be disappointed by its lack of performance? You’re not alone. Many business bloggers face this challenge. Creating content without attracting visitors can feel frustrating. Fortunately, following SEO best practices can help your blog attract more traffic from search engines and achieve your goals. This post will cover some of the most effective SEO tips to optimize your blog and individual posts.

One way to optimize your blog is by using Notion, a versatile organizational tool that can be customized for your business blogging needs. Feather’s Notion to blog solution helps structure your blog for SEO from the start. It organizes your content so you can create and optimize your blog posts efficiently. When you’re ready to publish, it generates a fully SEO-optimized blog.

What Is Blog SEO?

SEO Best Practices for Blogs

Blog SEO, or search engine optimization, is about fine-tuning your blog to perform well in search engines like Google. The goal is to make your blog more visible to people searching for:

Information

Products

Services you offer

Technical Aspects of Blog SEO

When we talk about Blog SEO, we're referring to strategies that can include keyword research, where you figure out the exact terms and phrases your audience is searching for. It also involves link building, which is getting other reputable websites to link back to your blog—this signals to search engines that your content is trustworthy.

Image optimization is another piece of the puzzle; it ensures that the images on your blog load quickly and include relevant keywords in their file names and alt texts.

The Importance of Quality Content in Blog SEO

One of the most crucial aspects of Blog SEO is content writing. It’s not just about churning out posts; it’s about creating valuable, engaging content that answers your audience's questions and meets their needs. When your blog posts are optimized with relevant keywords and structured in a way that’s easy for search engines to understand, you’re much more likely to appear in the search results when someone is looking for information on the topics you cover.

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Why Is Blog SEO Important?

SEO Best Practices for Blogs

Blog SEO, or search engine optimization, ensures your content reaches its intended audience. Without proper SEO, your blog posts are less likely to rank well on search engines like Google, significantly impacting your visibility.

Higher Search Rankings Drive Traffic

SEO helps your content climb the search engine results pages (SERPs). A study by First Page Sage in 2024 found that the CTR for websites listed in the top position on the SERP is 39.8%. This rate drops to 18.7% for the second position and plummets to just 1.6% for those in the tenth position.

Once you’re on page two or beyond, the chances of users finding your site organically are even slimmer. This stark drop in CTR highlights why it’s essential to aim for those top spots, being on the first page of Google is crucial for attracting and engaging with your target audience.

Credibility and Authority

Ranking higher not only increases traffic but also enhances your credibility. Users often perceive top-ranked sites as more trustworthy and authoritative. If your content isn’t optimized for search engines, it might appear less credible than higher-ranking competitors, even if it is of high quality.

Cost-Effective Traffic Generation

Investing in SEO is brilliant, especially if you’re on a tight budget. While paid advertising can drive traffic to your site, it requires ongoing investment. Conversely, SEO involves an upfront effort to optimize your content but can yield long-term benefits. Well-optimized blog posts can continue attracting organic traffic long after publication, making it a cost-effective strategy for sustained visibility and engagement.

How Does Blog SEO Work?

SEO Best Practices for Blogs

Search engines like Google employ automated bots that crawl the web, collecting information about pages and indexing them to provide the best results for users' queries. The more relevant links and content a site has, the better. SEO, or search engine optimization, helps blogs get found by improving their visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher a blog or webpage ranks on SERPs, the more likely interested readers will discover it.

On-Page SEO: The Basics

On-page SEO refers to optimizing all the content on your blog, including the written copy, images, videos, and other live media. The goal of on-page SEO is to help search engines understand what your content is about so they can rank it for relevant queries.

Off-Page SEO: The Basics

Off-page SEO refers to the external signals influencing how a blog is ranked on search engine results pages. The most important off-page SEO factor is backlinks or links from other websites to your blog. When an authoritative website links to your blog, it signals to search engines that your content is trustworthy and relevant.

Technical SEO: The Basics

Technical SEO refers to the processes that help search engine crawlers effectively index your blog. The better your blog’s technical SEO, the easier for search engines to discover and rank your content.

3 Types of SEO

SEO Best Practices for Blogs

1. Technical SEO: The Foundation for a Healthy Website

Optimizing the technical elements of a website is crucial for SEO success. It starts with architecture – creating a website that search engines can crawl and index. You want to make it easy for search engines to discover and access all of the content on your pages, such as:

Text

Images

Videos

What technical elements matter here? URL structure, navigation, internal linking, and more.

Technical SEO for Website Optimization

Experience is also a critical element of technical optimization. Search engines stress the importance of pages that load quickly and provide a good user experience. Elements like:

Core Web Vitals

Mobile-friendliness and usability

HTTPS

Avoiding intrusive interstitials

Structured Data in Improving Search Engine Visibility

Another area of technical optimization is structured data (a.k.a. schema). Adding this code to your website can help search engines better understand your content and enhance your appearance in the search results.

Web hosting services, CMS (content management system), and site security also play roles in SEO.

2. Content Optimization: What You Need to Know

In SEO, your content needs to be optimized for two primary audiences: people and search engines. This means optimizing the content your audience will see what’s actually on the page and what search engines will see the code.

The goal is always to publish helpful, high-quality content. You can do this by combining understanding your audience’s wants and needs with data and guidance provided by Google.

When optimizing content for people, you should make sure it:

Covers relevant topics with which you have experience or expertise.

Includes keywords people would use to find the content.

Is it unique or original?

It is well-written and free of grammatical and spelling errors.

It is up-to-date and contains accurate information.

Includes multimedia (e.g., images, videos).

It is better than your SERP competitors.

Is readable

All of this should be structured to make it easy for people to understand the information you’re sharing:

Use subheadings to break up sanctions

Keep paragraphs concise

Use bolding and italics to highlight key points

Utilize ordered and unordered lists for clarity

Adjust the reading level to suit your audience

For search engines, some key content elements to optimize for are:

Title tags

Meta description

Header tags (H1-H6)

Image alt text

Open graph and Twitter Cards metadata

3. Off-Site Optimization: What You Need to Know

Several activities may not be “SEO” in the strictest sense, but nonetheless can align with and indirectly contribute to SEO success.

Link building (the process of acquiring links to a website) is the activity most associated with off-site SEO. Getting a diverse number of links pointing at your website from relevant, authoritative, trusted websites can have great benefits (e.g., rankings traffic). Link quality beats link quantity, and the goal is to have a large quantity of quality links.

And how do you get those links? There are a variety of website promotion methods that synergize with SEO efforts. These include:

Brand Building and Brand Marketing: Techniques designed to boost recognition and reputation.

PR: Public relations techniques designed to earn editorially-given links.

Content Marketing: Some popular forms include creating videos, ebooks, research studies, podcasts (or being a guest on other podcasts), and guest posting (or guest blogging).

Social Media Marketing and Optimization: Claim your brand’s handle on any relevant platforms, optimize it thoroughly, and share relevant content.

Listing management: Claiming, verifying, and optimizing the information on any platforms where information about your company or website may be listed and found by searchers (e.g., directories, review sites, wikis).

Ratings and Reviews: Getting, monitoring, and responding to them.

How To SEO Optimize a Blog? 12 Best SEO Best Practices For Blogs

SEO Best Practices for Blogs

1. Find One Main Keyword for Each Post

Every blog post should be centered around a single, well-researched keyword. By optimizing your content around multiple keywords, you risk confusing search engines like Google, which may need help determining your post's primary focus. This confusion can dilute your search engine rankings, making it harder for your target audience to find your content.

Primary Keyword

Focusing on one primary keyword helps Google clearly understand the topic of your post. This practice enhances your post's relevance for that specific keyword, making ranking higher in search results more accessible.

Long-tail Keywords

For new blogs, targeting long-tail keywords is particularly beneficial. These particular phrases typically have a lower search volume but less competition, increasing your chances of ranking well.

You can use Google’s autocomplete feature to find long-tail keywords by typing a base term into the search bar and examining the suggestions. Another excellent tool is Answer The Public, which provides a wide array of question-based keywords that can inspire both content topics and keyword focus.

2. Optimize Your Blog Post

Once you’ve identified a strong keyword, optimizing your blog post around that term is next. Keyword optimization should be done thoughtfully to avoid the pitfalls of keyword stuffing, which can lead to penalties from Google. Instead, the goal is to strategically place your keyword in critical areas of your content to enhance on-page SEO.

Title and Title Tag

Your blog post’s title should include the main keyword. This is crucial because Google assigns significant weight to terms in the title tag when determining a page’s relevance. While many content management systems (CMS) automatically use the blog title as the title tag, it's important to double-check your HTML to ensure the keyword appears in the title tag.

Intro and Conclusion

Mention your keyword within the introduction and conclusion of your blog post. This reinforces the content’s relevance to the keyword, helping search engines and readers quickly understand the topic.

Subheadings (H1, H2, H3)

Your keyword should appear in at least one subheading, ideally an H1, H2, or H3. This not only aids SEO but also improves readability by breaking up the text into manageable sections. By following these practices, you create a clear signal to Google about the content’s focus, improving its chances of ranking well for the target keyword.

3. Setup SEO Plugins

Adding an SEO plugin or extension can greatly enhance your blog's search engine performance regardless of your platform. Popular choices include:

Yoast SEO

All In One SEO

RankMath

These offer a range of features to optimize your blog. Key functionalities to look for in an SEO plugin include:

Title and Description Tag Optimization: This allows you to craft SEO-friendly titles

Meta Descriptions: Crucial for improving click-through rates from search results

XML Sitemap Creation: A sitemap lists all of your blog’s pages and posts, making it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content.

Site Structure Management: SEO plugins can help you manage your blog’s site structure by making it easy to no-index pages that search engines shouldn’t index.

Image Compression for Speed: Fast-loading pages are essential for user experience and can contribute to better rankings.

SEO plugins often include tools to compress images, which helps reduce page load times. These plugins are vital for ensuring that your blog is optimized for SEO and performs well in speed and user experience.

4. Place Your Blog in a Subfolder

Where the blog resides on the site is essential for businesses that use a blog as part of a larger website (such as a SaaS company or service provider). Historically, blogs were often placed on subdomains (e.g., blog.example.com), but this approach is less practical for SEO. Instead, placing your blog in a subfolder (e.g., example.com/blog) is recommended.

This structure has been shown to improve organic traffic because Google treats subfolders as part of the main domain, whereas subdomains are often seen as separate entities. A notable example of this practice is from John Doherty, who moved a client’s blog from a subdomain to a subfolder, resulting in a 98% increase in organic traffic.

5. Use Evergreen URLs

The structure of your blog post URLs plays a significant role in SEO. Google prefers short, clean URLs which have been correlated with higher rankings. Instead of using long, autogenerated URLs that include dates or other extraneous information, create custom URLs that are concise and include the main keyword.

For example, rather than having a URL like example.com/2024/08/10/blog-post-title, simplify it to example.com/blog-title. This approach improves SEO and makes your URLs more user-friendly, which can positively impact click-through rates.

6. Write Unique Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions are the brief snippets that appear under the title of your page in search results. Although Google doesn’t use meta descriptions as a ranking factor, a well-written description can significantly increase your organic CTR.

To ensure the best performance, write a unique meta description for each blog post that effectively summarizes the content and entices users to click. If you don’t provide a meta description, Google automatically generates one by pulling text from your page, which may not always align with your messaging or intent.

7. Internal Linking Between Posts

Internal linking is a powerful SEO technique that helps distribute page authority throughout your site and improves user navigation. Whenever you publish a new blog post, follow these steps:

Link to Older Posts: Include 5-10 internal links within your new post that point to relevant older content on your site.

Update Older Posts: Add links from older posts to your new content. This helps search engines discover your new content faster and refreshes the older posts, improving their SEO performance. Use descriptive anchor text that accurately reflects the linked page's content to enhance the user experience and SEO benefits.

8. Noindex Category and Tag Pages

Category and tag pages often contain duplicate content, harming your site’s SEO. It’s advisable to add a “noindex” tag to prevent these pages from being indexed by search engines. The only exception is if these pages generate significant traffic; in that case, you might want to keep them indexed. Otherwise, applying the noindex tag helps maintain the quality of your site’s indexed content.

9. Create a Blog Sitemap

A sitemap is a crucial SEO tool, particularly for blogs that regularly publish new content. It’s a map that links to all your posts and pages, making it easier for search engines to find and index your content. Most SEO plugins can automatically generate a sitemap, which you can submit to Google through Search Console. Including a sitemap ensures that even pages buried deep within your site structure get noticed by search engines, improving their chances of ranking.

10. Monitor Your SEO with Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) is essential for monitoring and improving your blog’s SEO. It offers a variety of features, but for bloggers, the most important ones are:

Performance Report: This shows the keywords your blog currently ranks for and the corresponding click-through rates.

Coverage Section: This feature lets you see how many of your pages are indexed by Google.

Sitemap Section: Here, you can submit new sitemaps and check the status of your existing ones.

Regularly reviewing these reports helps you track the effectiveness of your SEO strategies and make data-driven adjustments.

11. Optimize Your Posts for Featured Snippets

Featured Snippets are highly coveted spots in Google search results that display a snippet of content directly in the search results, often above the first organic listing.

To increase your chances of capturing a Featured Snippet, optimize your posts for the specific types of snippets Google might display:

Definition Snippets: Include clear and concise definitions within your content if you’re targeting definition-based queries.

List Snippets: Structure your content using numbered or bulleted lists, as Google often pulls these formats for list snippets. By aligning your content with the format that Google favors for Featured Snippets, you can increase the visibility of your posts and drive more traffic.

12. Reduce Your Bounce Rate

Bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. While there’s some debate over whether bounce rate directly affects SEO, a high bounce rate can indicate that your content isn’t meeting user expectations, which can indirectly impact rankings.

To reduce bounce rate:

Match Search Intent: Ensure your content aligns with the intent behind its target keywords. If visitors find exactly what they’re looking for, they will likely stay on your site.

Improve Blog Design: A professional and visually appealing design can make a positive first impression, encouraging users to explore further.

Focusing on these aspects can improve user engagement and potentially boost your SEO rankings.

What Are SEO-friendly Blogs? 9 Tips for Writing SEO Friendly Blog Posts

SEO Best Practices for Blogs

1. Define Clear Goals for Your Blog Post

Establishing clear goals for your blog post will help you understand how to approach best writing it. Before drafting your post, ask yourself: What message am I trying to convey? What's the primary purpose of my article? What action do I want readers to take after reading?

Keyword Research and Search Intent Analysis

Understanding these elements will guide your writing and help you align your content with your readers' search intent. Before writing your blog, glance at search results for your target keywords to understand better what people are looking for. This can offer insights into what information to include in your post to help address readers' needs.

2. Structure Your Blog Post

A well-structured blog post will make it easier to read and more likely to engage your audience. Your post should have:

An introduction that introduces your topic and what readers can expect

A body that presents your main points and information

A conclusion that summarizes crucial takeaways or offers a final thought.

Creating a summary of each section before you start writing will help you maintain focus and coherence throughout your post.

3. Use Headings and Short Paragraphs

Headings and short paragraphs aren’t just about making your post look nice—they’re crucial for readability and SEO. Break your content into manageable chunks, each section covering a single idea. Use clear and descriptive headings to guide readers through your post and make scanning more accessible. Including keywords in your headings can boost your SEO, but be careful not to overdo it. Your headings should still read naturally.

4. Use Transition Words

Transition words help readers follow the flow of your ideas and understand how different parts of your post relate to each other. Words that guide readers through your arguments and help them grasp the structure of your content:

Firstly

However

Finally

This not only enhances readability but also makes your writing more engaging.

Keyword stuffing can hurt your readability and SEO. Instead, focus on using related keywords and synonyms throughout your post. This helps Google understand the context and relevance of your content without making it seem forced. Tools like Yoast SEO can help you effectively find and incorporate these related keywords.

6. Optimize the Length of Your Article

Aim for 300 words to ensure your post is substantial, but balance is key. Google appreciates detailed content, but shorter posts might deter readers. Find a sweet spot that allows you to cover your topic comprehensively without overwhelming your audience. Remember to use your focus keyphrase naturally throughout your post to keep it SEO-friendly.

7. Link to Existing Content

Internal linking strengthens your blog’s SEO by connecting related content. It helps Google understand the structure of your site and keeps readers engaged by directing them to additional relevant posts. Regularly review your old posts and link to them where appropriate to maintain a robust link structure.

8. Let Others Read Your Post

Before publishing, get a second opinion. Ask someone to review your post for:

Clarity

Grammar

Overall quality

Have an expert in the subject matter review it to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. Their feedback can help refine your post and improve its effectiveness.

9. Add Content Regularly

Consistent content updates signal to Google that your site is active, which can positively impact your rankings. Regularly adding high-quality, relevant posts keeps your site fresh and engaging. If maintaining a posting schedule is challenging, consider creating an editorial calendar to organize your content strategy and ensure you stay on track.

Which Blog Is Best for SEO? Where To Learn SEO

SEO Best Practices for Blogs

Feather Blog: A Great Resource for Learning SEO

Feather is an SEO-friendly blog and email newsletter service. It allows you to publish blog content and a newsletter through Notion, requiring no coding or design skills. You can learn SEO best practices for creating an SEO-friendly blog website using Notion and Feather on the Feather blog. You’ll also discover how to write an SEO-friendly blog post in simple terms.

SEMRush SEO Blog: A Trusted Authority on SEO

The SEMRush blog is a favorite for a reason. Their vast collection of SEO articles helps you understand the ins and outs of SEO. You can find helpful information about:

Content strategy

Content marketing

And more

Search Engine Land: The Latest in SEO News

Search Engine Land makes it more accessible. They’re known as the 24/7 news source with the latest trends, feature announcements, and breaking stories related to digital marketing. The editorial news staff provides great ongoing information and news. You’ll also find contributions from the leading names in digital marketing.

Ahrefs Blog: A Go-To for Technical SEO

Known for their comprehensive backlinks index, the Ahrefs blog offers valuable information on technical SEO, like improving page speed. They don’t leave out the front-end aspects of SEO, though. You’ll still find many articles on keyword research and link-building topics.

Moz Blog: An Excellent Source for Learning SEO

Founded by Rand Fishkin and Gillian Muessig in 2004, Moz Blog is a great source of information for multiple aspects of online marketing, but their main focus is SEO. Their blog features news, but their articles focus on how-to’s and resources, like cheat sheets on improving local SEO.

Search Engine Watch: Covering SEO Since Day One

Search Engine Watch has been writing about technical SEO since the earliest web searching software came out. That being said, they still cover other topics related to:

Content marketing

Social media

eCommerce

Their site is organized to make it easy to find the subject you’re looking for, whether you're looking for articles on Google algorithm updates or using social media to improve your SEO.

Search Engine Journal: A Balanced Blend of SEO Articles

With news, guides, and how-tos dedicated to SEO and online marketing, Search Engine Journal has a good blend of in-depth articles geared toward beginners and business owners just starting to make inroads on SEO. They also cover some more advanced topics geared toward digital marketing professionals.

Search Engine Roundtable: Curated SEO Forum Insights

Search Engine Roundtable is a curated source of some of the most exciting and vital threads in search engine marketing forums. If you’re interested in keeping up with the conversation and news behind the scenes, you’ll want to spend some time here.

Yoast Blog: A Great SEO Resource for WordPress Users

If you have a WordPress website, you probably know about Yoast – the free SEO software that makes it easy to optimize your pages. While the software gives you a foundation, their blog helps you build on your SEO by sharing helpful information about both technical and content SEO, plus how to read analytics, optimize your eCommerce site, and make the most out of WordPress. While there’s useful information for everyone, Yoast is specifically geared for beginners or those who may not have a strong SEO foundation.

Backlinko: Advanced Strategies for SEO and Content Marketing

If you’ve got great content, but it’s not turning into excellent search engine results, check out Backlinko. With actionable SEO and content marketing advice, the information is:

Functional

Easy to understand

Implement

Effective

While beginners will find it highly useful, this blog is geared toward people with next-level knowledge of SEO and digital marketing professionals who need more advanced strategies.

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Go From Notion to Blog With Ease Today with Feather

Feather gives you a head start on your blog content with customizable SEO-friendly templates. These templates make creating and publishing blog content optimized for search engines easy. When you write your blog posts on Feather, you can easily find and fill in the blanks for SEO best practices like:

Title tags

Meta descriptions

Header outlines

The templates also help you organize your content for:

Featured snippets

Related links

Other elements

These help your blog rank higher on search engine results pages. Starting your blog with an SEO-friendly template is like starting a race with a head start. You’ll have less work to do to get to the finish line and can focus on what matters: creating great content.

Kickstart your blog with Feather’s Notion to blog—customizable, SEO-friendly templates that simplify content creation and boost your search rankings. Start optimizing your blog today!