The key to creating an SEO-friendly blog is to treat SEO like bookends: it helps shape what you write and ensures it’s optimized when you’re done. ✨
And don’t worry, writing for SEO doesn’t mean your content has to sound robotic. You can optimize for search engines and create engaging, valuable content at the same time.
By using SEO tools like content planner and content optimizer before you publish, you can refine your blog to improve readability, keyword placement, and overall structure.
An SEO-friendly blog post is designed to rank well in search results by following best practices while still prioritizing readability and user experience.
The goal?
To attract the right audience, people that are genuinely interested in what you offer. Keep reading to find 14 of the best tips for writing SEO-friendly blog posts that rank well and keep readers engaged! 👓
What is an SEO-Friendly Blog?
An SEO-friendly blog is designed to rank well on search engines and attract the right audience. It uses smart SEO techniques like keyword placement, clear structure, and fast loading speeds to improve visibility.
For example, if you run a travel blog, a post titled “Best Budget-Friendly Destinations in Europe” optimized with relevant keywords, headings, and internal links will rank higher and reach more travelers searching for budget trips.
Why is SEO Content Writing Important?
Without SEO, your blog is harder to find. If it’s buried on page two of Google, most people will never see it. A First Page Sage study found that the first result on Google gets 39.8% of clicks, while the tenth gets just 1.6%.
If you’re not ranking well, you’re missing out on traffic, leads, and potential revenue. 🤩
Sure, you could pay for ads—but why not invest in SEO instead? It’s free and keeps bringing traffic long after a paid campaign ends. Good SEO also helps solve common marketing challenges, like generating content ideas, increasing engagement, and reaching your audience more effectively.
An SEO-friendly blog is simply a blog that’s optimized to rank higher in search results. The better it ranks, the more people will find your business.
With the right SEO strategy, your blog can:
- Boost brand awareness
- Increase site traffic
- Generate leads
- Improve conversions
- Drive revenue
Want to make your blog work harder for you? We’ll explain how!
14 Incredible Tips to Create the Most SEO-Friendly Blog
There are countless SEO techniques, but we’re focusing on the most effective ones. For example, you can use the help of SEO tools and content assistants to optimize your blog without sacrificing quality. Let’s dive into the 14 best tips!
1. Choose the Right Keyword to Boost Content Discoverability
Each blog post gives you a chance to rank for relevant keywords. Start by choosing a target keyword—the main term you want the post to rank for, like “home workout tips” or “dog food.”
But don’t stop there! Optimize your post for:
- Secondary keywords: Variations or synonyms of your primary keyword
- Related keywords: Terms or subtopics connected to your primary keyword
- Long-tail keywords: Specific keyword phrases with lower search volume but higher intent
- Questions: Common questions people ask about your topic
Your target keyword is the foundation, but your post can rank for many other related terms.
To find a good primary keyword, start with a simple description of your topic. For example, if you’re writing about “healthy eating,” use keyword research tools to see related terms and metrics like search volume and competition level.
Once you find the right target keyword, you’re ready to move on to the next SEO tips.
2. Use a Content Assistant to Streamline Your Workflow
An AI content assistant is a powerful tool that helps you create optimized content by analyzing top-ranking pages and providing actionable insights. It suggests subheadings, focus keywords, internal links, and even related terms to boost your SEO.
For example, if you’re writing about “healthy eating,” the assistant might recommend subheadings like “meal planning tips” or suggest keywords like “nutritious recipes.” It also uses an ai outline generator, making it easier to organize your content.
Beyond content planning, the best tools also offer competitor analysis, so you can see what’s working for others in your niche. They can even generate images with AI to enhance your blog posts visually.
Once your content is ready, you can publish with one click, saving time and ensuring your posts go live effortlessly. It’s the perfect resource for businesses looking to improve SEO and content efficiency.
3. Explore Content Planners and Topic Maps for a Solid Strategy
A content planner is a tool that helps you organize and strategize your blog posts to ensure you’re targeting the right keywords and topics. It’s like your roadmap for creating SEO-friendly content.
With a content planner, you can identify keyword gaps, track your rankings, find competitor keywords, and see where you need to focus next.
For example, if you’re blogging about “digital marketing,” the planner might show that you’re missing content on “social media advertising strategies” or “email marketing tips.”
Topical maps are a visual way to organize your content around a central theme. Think of it like creating a web where the main topic is at the center, and all related subtopics branch out.
For instance, if you’re covering “Healthy Eating,” your topical map might include subtopics like “Meal Prep Tips,” “Low-Carb Diet Plans,” and “Nutritional Benefits of Smoothies.”
This method helps you see the full scope of content you can create to cover every angle of your chosen topic, making your blog more comprehensive and SEO-friendly.
4. Leverage Scholar to Understand Content Like Google
A scholar is a tool that helps you optimize your content to meet Google’s ranking standards. It allows you to see exactly what Google sees, which is critical for improving your rankings.
The tool assigns a score between 0 and 100 to show how well your content is performing, helping you see exactly where to improve.
Here’s what Scholar looks at:
- Content Clarity: How easy your content is to read, free from jargon.
- Factuality: How accurate and relevant the information is, and how it connects with search queries.
- Human Effort: How much real effort went into creating the content beyond just using SEO tools.
- Information Gain: What new or unique facts your post brings to the table that aren’t already covered elsewhere.
- Content Freshness: How up-to-date your content is to show Google it’s current.
- User Intent Alignment: Whether your content meets the user’s needs and expectations.
- Entities: Are you mentioning the right topics that Google understands?
- Contextual Flow: Does your content flow logically from one point to the next?
For example, imagine you’ve written a blog post on “How to Grow Indoor Plants.” Scholar will review your content and provide feedback. If the factuality score is low, it might mean you need to fact-check your information to make sure everything is correct.
5. Meet Search Intent to Answer Your Public Answers
Search intent is the reason behind a user’s query—what they’re hoping to find when they search. To rank well, your blog needs to match that intent.
There are four main types of search intent:
- Navigational: The user wants to find a specific website or brand.
- Informational: The user is looking for more information on a topic.
- Commercial: The user is researching something they might buy.
- Transactional: The user wants to make a purchase or complete a transaction soon.
For example, if someone searches “how to crate train a puppy,” that’s an informational intent because they’re looking for advice on training. So, Google will show “how-to” blog posts.
On the other hand, if someone searches “best crates for puppies,” that’s a mix of commercial and transactional intent. Google will show comparison guides or product lists to help the user choose.
6. Structure Your Content With Headings
Headings break up your blog post into easy-to-read sections and give you a chance to target secondary and related keywords, improving your rankings.
For example, H1 through H6 headings might look like this:
- H1: Main topic or title (with your target keyword)
- H2: Main sections or subtopics
- H3 to H6: Subsections or details under each section
Headings make your content more scannable for readers and help search engines understand the structure of your post. They also show the depth of your content, which can improve rankings.
A content assistant tool can help by analyzing the top-ranking pages for your target keyword. It can suggest a content outline based on what’s already ranking, including a minimum number of subheadings for each section.
This helps ensure your content is well-structured and aligns with what’s working in search results.
Here are some tips for optimizing headings:
- Use one H1 tag, matching it with your title.
- Keep a logical hierarchy: H2s below H1, H3s below H2, and so on.
- Include secondary keywords in headings and expand on them in the content.
- Be concise, long headings can be hard to scan and read.
7. Incorporate Other Keywords to Avoid Stuffing
To improve your chances of ranking, use both primary and secondary keywords throughout your blog post. Just remember, it should sound natural, avoiding keyword stuffing. For example, repeating the same keyword over and over, like this:
Keyword Stuffing Example:
“Buy the best dog leash. A dog leash helps in dog training. A dog leash is perfect for all dogs.”
Instead, use secondary keywords and related terms. This keeps your content natural while broadening the range of terms Google can associate with your post.
A content analysis tool can suggest related terms based on what’s ranking at the top for your target keyword. These semantically related terms help increase your topical relevance without overusing the same keyword.
For example, if you’re writing about “dog training,” related terms might include “puppy obedience” or “training techniques.” This variety helps your content feel more complete and natural.
8. Add Visuals and Multimedia to Engage Users
Adding images, videos, and audio can make your blog post more engaging and help meet user expectations. In some cases, multimedia is even crucial for ranking high in SERPs.
For example, a blog post about “how to train a puppy” could include step-by-step images to help readers follow along or a Youtube video. These visuals not only make the post more engaging, but they also match the user’s intent for a detailed, easy-to-understand guide.
Multimedia also helps break up long sections of text, improving the overall user experience. This can indirectly benefit your SEO by encouraging more time on page.
Just be sure that your images and videos don’t slow down your page. One major SEO mistake is forgetting to compress them and use modern formats to keep load times fast, ensuring your optimization efforts aren’t hurt.
9. Craft a Compelling Title to Improve Click-Through Rates
Your blog’s title tag is key for both users and search engines to understand what your post is about. It helps determine which keywords your blog ranks for and is often used as the clickable link in search results.
For example, if your title tag reads “Best Dog Training Tips for New Pet Owners,” that’s what Google may display in the search results.
Your title also plays a big role in attracting clicks. Here are some tips to make it effective:
- Keep your title under 60 characters (around 600 pixels), since Google only shows that much.
- Place your primary keyword near the start of the title.
- Ensure each page has a unique title tag to avoid confusion.
- Make your title clear, catchy, and relevant to what users are searching for.
You can use a tool to automatically optimize meta tags (title and descriptions), making sure they’re SEO-friendly and enticing for users. These tools can help streamline the process and fix any issues, ensuring your titles and meta tags are always up to par.
10. Write a Meta Description to Increase Engagement
A meta description provides extra details about your blog post for both users and search engines. It often shows up under your title in search results, giving users a quick preview of what your post covers.
For example, if your post is about “training a new puppy,” your meta description might read, “Learn the best techniques to train your puppy quickly and effectively.”
While meta descriptions don’t directly impact rankings, they can influence clicks. Here are a few tips for writing effective meta descriptions:
- Keep it under 105 characters (around 680 pixels on mobile).
- Include related keywords or variations.
- Make it align with search intent.
- Add a compelling call to action (CTA), like “Find out more” or “Get started today.”
11. Include an Author Bio to Build Trust
Author bios give readers a quick snapshot of the person behind the blog post, showcasing their relevant expertise and experience in the subject matter.
Typically placed at the end of the post, an author bio schema might look something like this: “Jamie Lovejoy is a certified pet trainer with over 10 years of experience working with dogs.”
Author bios are a great way to demonstrate experience and expertise, which are key quality signals that Google looks for when evaluating content.
To highlight expertise and experience in your author bios:
- Work with industry experts to write your content.
- Include the author’s relevant qualifications, like education or certifications.
- Mention their industry experience and the topics they specialize in.
- Create author pages that link to all the content they’ve written for your site, showcasing their work.
This builds trust with your audience and with search engines, helping your content stand out.
12. Add Expert Insights to Enhance Authority
Including expert insights in your blog posts can boost your website’s credibility and trustworthiness, especially in an age where much content is generated by AI.
This is where the key factors that Google uses to assess content quality. These are the Google E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
To help your content rank higher and stand out, it’s important to showcase these 4 key aspects. Here are a few tips of how you can add expert insights:
- Invite industry experts to write or contribute to your blog.
- Interview an expert and include their insights in your post.
- Link to authoritative websites, original research, or case studies.
This not only enhances your content but also helps build trust with both users and search engines.
13. Link to Relevant Content to Provide More Value
Internal links point to other relevant blog posts or pages on your website. They help users and search engines find different pages or blog posts within your website.
Internal linking also shows that your site covers a variety of useful topics, which is great for both users and search engines.
Here are a few tips for effective internal linking:
- Make sure the links are relevant and valuable to the user.
- Use clear, concise anchor text that describes the linked page.
- Avoid linking to pages with 301 redirects, as this can confuse search engine bots and users.
The more content you have, the more internal linking opportunities you’ll have to boost your site’s navigation and SEO.
14. Create a Short, SEO-Friendly URL to Improve Visibility
A URL is the web address of a page and should clearly communicate what the page is about and where it fits in your website’s structure.
Content management systems (like WordPress or Shopify) often generate URLs automatically, but these may not be very informative for users or search engines. For example:
- mydomain.com/post-id?=8394asddkfue
It’s a good idea to customize your URLs for better SEO. Here’s a better example:
- mydomain.com/blog/how-to-train-a-puppy
To create SEO-friendly URLs, follow these tips:
- Use HTTPS for added security (and it’s a Google ranking factor).
- Organize your content with subfolders, like /blog/ for blog posts.
- Keep URLs short and sweet; long ones are harder to share.
- Include your primary keyword in the URL.
Skip the Hassle: Use Tools to Make Your Blog SEO-Friendly Automatically
While there are numerous SEO techniques to consider, the right tools can help you automate almost all of your efforts, saving you valuable time and energy. 💆
For example, instead of manually searching for NLP terms related to your keyword and topic or analyzing the outlines of your competitors’ content one by one, you can easily access all of this with Search Atlas’ content assistant, the Content Genius.
Plus, you can streamline your on-page SEO, meta tag optimization, technical SEO, internal linking, and more with OTTO.
Why not see how much you can automate with OTTO and other innovative tools from Search Atlas? Try our free trial today! ⚡
