10 Point Crash Course in Blog SEO

49 | Posted In Traffic by David

Getting your blog into the search engines is important. That’s obvious. I think a lot of beginning bloggers tend to over-think it, though. In this post, I’m going to give you a rapid-fire overview of what I think is important for you to think about moving forward when it comes to getting your stuff into the search engines.

First off, I will admit that am I not an expert SEO person. I will also tell you that I don’t need to be. I will ALSO tell you that YOU don’t need to be. My apologies to people who make their money as SEO experts, but I’m just going to say it like I see it.

Before we move on, here is the big, common sense idea behind SEO:

Use keywords which people will actually type into the search engines which will then point to your post.

So, think about what some “joe blow” out there would type into Google if they were looking for your particular post. And then you purposely try to rank your post for those words.

With that in mind, here are the salient points…

1. Use Good Permalinks

WordPress makes this easy. In short, put your post keywords into the URL. Remember that you can edit the “slug” of your post. The slug is the string of characters used in the URL. A lot of blogs don’t put the date of the post into the URL. But, either way, put the “slug” into the URLs.

When you post a post, edit the “slug” to remove all common words like “the” or “a”. Pretty much anything that will not help your SEO can be removed from your slug before you publish. Your slug should contain the keywords most likely to lead a searcher to your post.

2. Use Good Titles

The title to your blog post is insanely important. You have to find a cross between grabbing a user’s attention and search engine keywords. Smart ass titles might work for user’s attention, but not for search engines. When possible, use good keywords in your post title.

I recommend that you write for readers before writing for search engines. Don’t create crappy headlines just so that you can litter them with keywords. The headline needs to grab the READER’S attention.

Also, keep in mind that the post slug can be different than the title.

3. Use the Sitemap plug-in.

Install the Google XML Sitemap Generator plug-in for WordPress. Once you have the sitemap created, it will be maintained automatically by the plug-in. Also, be sure to go into Google Webmaster Tools, set up your blog, and tell Google exactly where your sitemap is located. This will give you a back-door access to Google’s spiders.

4. Use keywords in your post.

In most cases, I find that this happens naturally. The idea, though, is simply to use words throughout your post that people will actually search for to find your post.

5. Use Header Tags

Using headers in your post is a great way to break up the flow of a post and make it easy on people who like to quickly scan through a post. However, header tags also have more ranking with search engines. So, use H1, H2 and H3 tags in your post to set off headers. For example, this very post is using H3 tags to highlight the different sections. Each of the headers in this post will help rank this post in the search engines for the words contained in those headers.

6. Use ALT Tags

If you insert images into your post (and you should where appropriate), put ALT tags using good, solid search keywords onto that image. Not only will it help rank your post, but you can also get the image indexed for those keywords in Google Image Search and that can lead to even more potential traffic.

7. Use All-In-One SEO

I love the All in One SEO Pack plug-in for WordPress. It allows you to optimize your blog’s title, your meta tags and description (both on the whole blog and on individual posts), and more. It is just a killer SEO plug-in and I highly recommend you set it up.

8. Use a Nice, Clean Blog Theme.

I recommend you use a blog theme which was set up with SEO in mind. That means clean, compliant code. It means not having embedded CSS in your HTML. It means using CSS rather than old-school HTML so that you can lighten up the amount of code seen by the search spiders.

9. Post A Lot.

The more you post, the more the search engines will see fresh content. And the more they will index your blog. Google LOVES blogs that are updated a lot. So, the most you post, the better off you are.

10. Concentrate on quality.

Because people link to quality, both on their own sites and in social media. And your rankings in the searches will improve the more people are linking to your site. It brings you more authority, better Google PageRank – everything.

So, put out your good stuff. Do it with keywords in mind. Make sure Google knows all about it with your site map. Make sure they see you’re posting a lot. And guess what? You’re search rankings will improve.

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  • http://www.travel-china.net/ Chinese Girl

    Nice summary, all of most important factors are pointed out.

  • http://www.travel-china.net Chinese Girl

    Nice summary, all of most important factors are pointed out.

  • The BBQ Dude

    This is a great post. I found a lot of usefull information in this. I plan on using these with creating my first blog. Thanks, for all your tips on this and in the past.

  • The BBQ Dude

    This is a great post. I found a lot of usefull information in this. I plan on using these with creating my first blog. Thanks, for all your tips on this and in the past.

  • http://nichetitans.com/ Niche Titans

    A great post for me to send newbies I am trying to teach….

  • http://nichetitans.com Niche Titans

    A great post for me to send newbies I am trying to teach….

  • http://zebida.com/main/ Hesham

    It’s a good post, I have been through all of this when I started my first blog, and now I can tell that bringing life to a blog is more easier than before because bloggrs like you.

  • http://zebida.com/main/ Hesham

    It’s a good post, I have been through all of this when I started my first blog, and now I can tell that bringing life to a blog is more easier than before because bloggrs like you.

  • http://hotpacksecrets.com/ Pack Searching

    Great post, I do think a lot of new people over think a simple process. If you build it, they will come!

  • http://hotpacksecrets.com Pack Searching

    Great post, I do think a lot of new people over think a simple process. If you build it, they will come!

  • http://www.stuartconover.com/ Stuart Conover

    I’ve been trying to do most of these so far though I’ll have to keep in mind to:
    a) Remove “a” and “the” from the slug of posts.
    b) Actually use alt tags. It’s one thing I’ve been doing a bad job at remembering to keep on top of.

    Thanks for the ideas!

  • http://www.stuartconover.com Stuart Conover

    I’ve been trying to do most of these so far though I’ll have to keep in mind to:
    a) Remove “a” and “the” from the slug of posts.
    b) Actually use alt tags. It’s one thing I’ve been doing a bad job at remembering to keep on top of.

    Thanks for the ideas!

  • http://www.travelwires.com/ Muzi Mohale

    http://tagaroo.opencalais.com automates tags on each story i publish and offers related Flickr pictures for adding into a story. all this has vastly helped my blog rankings.

  • http://www.travelwires.com Muzi Mohale

    http://tagaroo.opencalais.com automates tags on each story i publish and offers related Flickr pictures for adding into a story. all this has vastly helped my blog rankings.

  • http://www.tonyteegarden.com/ Tony Teegarden

    Sweet post! Good to see I’m on track so far.

    I like using the SEO Slug Plug in fyi. Automatically removes words from your permalink URL that aren’t relevant to search terms.

    Are you familiar with it and do you see any issues with using it?

    Again thank you!

  • http://www.tonyteegarden.com Tony Teegarden

    Sweet post! Good to see I’m on track so far.

    I like using the SEO Slug Plug in fyi. Automatically removes words from your permalink URL that aren’t relevant to search terms.

    Are you familiar with it and do you see any issues with using it?

    Again thank you!

  • http://hegeeks.com/ Marko

    I’ve been doing most of the stuff listed here, but never thought of removing “a”, “the” etc from urls.
    Didn’t know about the header tags either.
    Thanks for the great tips!

  • http://hegeeks.com Marko

    I’ve been doing most of the stuff listed here, but never thought of removing “a”, “the” etc from urls.
    Didn’t know about the header tags either.
    Thanks for the great tips!

  • http://ozlantis.com/ Kay Rennie

    Great summary. Lots of good advice here. There’s always more to learn.

  • http://ozlantis.com Kay Rennie

    Great summary. Lots of good advice here. There’s always more to learn.

  • http://www.mattybyloos.com/ Matty Byloos

    Solid rundown of the foundation elements of SEO as they relate to blogging. Especially the slug clean up and the smart titles.

  • http://www.mattybyloos.com Matty Byloos

    Solid rundown of the foundation elements of SEO as they relate to blogging. Especially the slug clean up and the smart titles.

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  • http://www.geekentrepreneur.net Wesley Green

    That’s the great thing about using WordPress: there are plugins which help take care of most of the SEO work for you.

    I think most people make SEO much harder than what it is. You practically laid out all that needs to be done in order to optimize a blog for search engines. Great post!

    Wesley
    The Geek Entrepreneur

  • http://www.geekentrepreneur.net Wesley Craig Green

    That’s the great thing about using WordPress: there are plugins which help take care of most of the SEO work for you.

    I think most people make SEO much harder than what it is. You practically laid out all that needs to be done in order to optimize a blog for search engines. Great post!

    Wesley
    The Geek Entrepreneur

  • http://www.dorm-room-biz.com/ chris.pund

    Great tips David. A few common sense ones in there but still great to always read them and get them reinforced. Hearing them from another source is always helpful to drive the point home!

  • http://www.dorm-room-biz.com chris.pund

    Great tips David. A few common sense ones in there but still great to always read them and get them reinforced. Hearing them from another source is always helpful to drive the point home!

  • http://www.theblogoholic.com/techniques-of-free-backlinks/ the Blogoholic

    I seem to be doing everything correctly except for #9, I’m slacking off a bit with constant posting.

  • http://www.theblogoholic.com/techniques-of-free-backlinks/ the Blogoholic

    I seem to be doing everything correctly except for #9, I’m slacking off a bit with constant posting.

  • http://sprachen-lernen-web.com/en Dani Schenker

    11. Refer to other posts in your blog.

  • http://sprachen-lernen-web.com/en Dani Schenker

    11. Refer to other posts in your blog.

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  • http://www.ereviewer.net/ Peter Lee

    On #6 Use of Alt Text:

    I heard about some Google Algorithm changes which may impact putting keywords there.

    If your image is about a cat, call it a “cat” and not “make money online”. Google doesn’t like that and now favor actual description. Over using keywords in image tags will most likely get you penalized for spamming or over-optimization. The risk/reward ratio is not worth it.”

    Googlebot doesn’t know how to read image, however it’s able to realize and take notice if you have many keywords in your “alt” and “title” description.

    In fact Googlebot became extremely wary of keywords in those tags as it used to be a place of choice for spammers.

    Anyone has any thoughts on this?

  • http://www.ereviewer.net/ Peter Lee

    On #6 Use of Alt Text:

    I heard about some Google Algorithm changes which may impact putting keywords there.

    If your image is about a cat, call it a “cat” and not “make money online”. Google doesn’t like that and now favor actual description. Over using keywords in image tags will most likely get you penalized for spamming or over-optimization. The risk/reward ratio is not worth it.”

    Googlebot doesn’t know how to read image, however it’s able to realize and take notice if you have many keywords in your “alt” and “title” description.

    In fact Googlebot became extremely wary of keywords in those tags as it used to be a place of choice for spammers.

    Anyone has any thoughts on this?

  • http://www.reviewedroulettesystems.com/ Ponoincunse

    Sweet blog. I never know what I am going to come across next. I think you should do more posting as you have some pretty intelligent stuff to say.

    I’ll be watching you . :)

  • http://www.reviewedroulettesystems.com Ponoincunse

    Sweet blog. I never know what I am going to come across next. I think you should do more posting as you have some pretty intelligent stuff to say.

    I’ll be watching you . :)

  • http://www.discountedwebhosting.net/ Kenny

    Excellent summary. It’s way too easy to get bogged down in the intricacies of SEO, like controlling the flow of page rank through your sit. Posting frequently and engaging your readers is definitely more important.
    And alt tags are often overlooked. Google Image Search can be a big driver of traffic to a blog – but you need to tag your images properly.
    The one thing I would add is that there is a plug-in which does all that All in one SEO Pack does, and more. Its called SEO Ultimate, and is worth checking out. SEO Smart Links is also useful as it automatically generates links from specified keywords to related posts, thus providing an inbound anchor text link to that post.

  • http://www.discountedwebhosting.net Kenny

    Excellent summary. It’s way too easy to get bogged down in the intricacies of SEO, like controlling the flow of page rank through your sit. Posting frequently and engaging your readers is definitely more important.
    And alt tags are often overlooked. Google Image Search can be a big driver of traffic to a blog – but you need to tag your images properly.
    The one thing I would add is that there is a plug-in which does all that All in one SEO Pack does, and more. Its called SEO Ultimate, and is worth checking out. SEO Smart Links is also useful as it automatically generates links from specified keywords to related posts, thus providing an inbound anchor text link to that post.

  • http://truetrafficsecrets.com Kevin Baker

    WOW David,

    top stuff. I was actually searching for SEO advice when i found this blog post. I learnt a few things which I am going to do to my posts in future.

    I do tend to believe that if your post reads right then keywords are not really so important as the ability to find your blogpost.

    So good job and thanks for the advice.

    Kevin

  • http://truetrafficsecrets.com/ Kevin Baker

    WOW David,

    top stuff. I was actually searching for SEO advice when i found this blog post. I learnt a few things which I am going to do to my posts in future.

    I do tend to believe that if your post reads right then keywords are not really so important as the ability to find your blogpost.

    So good job and thanks for the advice.

    Kevin

  • http://connect2workathome.com/ Andy Loverock

    Some very useful advice, although one tip that I thought would have been included, is to use text links within the post to other posts on your blog. Then again where do you end? 210 Point Crash Course in Blog SEO wouldn’t have the same ring to it!

  • http://connect2workathome.com Andy Loverock

    Some very useful advice, although one tip that I thought would have been included, is to use text links within the post to other posts on your blog. Then again where do you end? 210 Point Crash Course in Blog SEO wouldn’t have the same ring to it!

  • http://health-drink-monavie.blogspot.com/ Tom Armstrong

    Excellent list David,

    I orginally started out gettting alot of my traffic from social media but was having a very difficult time converting like others. Since then i’ve started discovering SEO techniques and hit the jackpot with your site. You seem like an honest blogger trying to help out and not just a DM like alot of other SEO product hockers.

    Tom

  • http://health-drink-monavie.blogspot.com/ Tom Armstrong

    Excellent list David,

    I orginally started out gettting alot of my traffic from social media but was having a very difficult time converting like others. Since then i’ve started discovering SEO techniques and hit the jackpot with your site. You seem like an honest blogger trying to help out and not just a DM like alot of other SEO product hockers.

    Tom

  • http://timsinternetcashflow.blogspot.com/ Timothy Albiez

    Your 10 points are perfect foundation level basics, and I heartily agree with your angle. I have posted on several SEO topics at my blog, but I could only wish to have the same success yo have had here. I’ll check back often, keep it real.

  • http://timsinternetcashflow.blogspot.com Timothy Albiez

    Your 10 points are perfect foundation level basics, and I heartily agree with your angle. I have posted on several SEO topics at my blog, but I could only wish to have the same success yo have had here. I’ll check back often, keep it real.

  • http://www.totallyace.co.uk/ Web Design

    Hey great post. This will help newbies a lot to build community. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

  • http://www.highlyrelevant.com HighlyRelevant

    Hey nice post David. I retweeted @aybecker — I'm gonna start commenting here regularly, thanks for the good content and information.