If you privation your blog posts to get hunt traffic, optimize them for SEO.

But that doesn’t mean shoehorning arsenic galore keywords arsenic possible. Keyword stuffing doesn’t enactment anymore.

How bash you optimize your contented to beryllium search-friendly? You’ll larn however successful this post.

If nary one’s searching for your keywords, you often can’t get hunt traffic. 

So earlier you bash immoderate content optimization, you indispensable archetypal guarantee you’re targeting topics radical are searching for. 

Here’s however to find these topics:

1. Go to Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
2. Enter 1 oregon a fewer applicable keywords
3. Go to the Matching terms report
4. Set the tab to Questions

Go done the database and prime retired those applicable to your site.

Google wants to service its users with the astir applicable content. It does this by knowing why a searcher is looking for a peculiar topic. This is known arsenic hunt intent.

If you privation to fertile higher connected Google, you’ll request to lucifer hunt intent. 

To place hunt intent, you’ll privation to analyse the 3 Cs by looking astatine the top-ranking pages for your people keyword:

• Content type – Are they blog posts, merchandise pages, landing pages, oregon thing else?
• Content format – Are they tutorials, listicles, how-to guides, recipes, escaped tools, oregon thing else?
• Content angle – Is determination a ascendant selling point, similar debased prices oregon however casual it is?

For example, let’s accidental we’re targeting the keyword “how to go a wedding planner”: 

Here are the 3 C’s:

• Content type – They’re mostly blog posts.
• Content format – They’re mostly how-tos.
• Content angle – There are a fewer angles present (“according to experts,” “number of steps,” “without immoderate experience”).

So if you privation to fertile for this topic, it’s apt you’ll person to make a how-to usher (with immoderate of the supra angles if you tin make thing better, oregon a unsocial 1 if you person thing antithetic to share).

If the top-ranking pages screen akin subtopics, they’re apt important and what searchers expect to see.

We tin find these subtopics by looking astatine the communal keywords the top-ranking pages rank for. 

Here’s however to find them:

1. Enter your keyword (e.g., “how to go a wedding planner”) into Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
2. Scroll down to the SERP overview
3. Select 3 to 5 top-ranking articles (make definite they’re similar)
4. Click Open in and take Content gap

Here, you’ll spot the keywords these pages are ranking for. Click connected the Intersection dropdown and take the highest 2 targets (4, 5). Then look done the results to find imaginable subtopics.

In this example, searchers privation to know:

• The requirements you request to go a wedding planner.
• Whether you request a grade to go a wedding planner.
• If you request a licence to beryllium a wedding planner.
• How agelong does it instrumentality to go a wedding planner.
• How to go a wedding planner with nary experience.

If you’re targeting this topic, they’re apt imaginable subtopics you should cover.

Featured snippets are speedy answers to hunt queries displayed astatine the apical of the SERPs. Here’s an example:

Ranking for a featured snippet is simply a “shortcut” to the apical of the SERPs, and it often has the bonus of driving much postulation to your website. 

To optimize for featured snippets, hunt for your people keyword and spot if determination is simply a featured snippet. If there’s one, you’ll privation to instrumentality enactment of what Google is displaying.

In the supra example, Google shows a explanation for the query “skyscraper technique.” And this is wherefore we’ve included 1 successful our post:

Sometimes, Google displays a list:

In that case, you’ll privation to format your contented arsenic a listicle excessively (with due subheadings).

Links are an important Google ranking factor. Generally speaking, the much radical you tin get to nexus to your content, the higher the likelihood of it performing well.

How bash you get much links to your post? You request to springiness radical a crushed to nexus to your content.

Generally, radical nexus due to the fact that there’s thing unsocial successful your content—either a unsocial space oregon you’ve added unsocial pieces of information. 

Here are immoderate ideas connected however you tin marque your contented unique:

• Produce archetypal research – For example, we ran a canvass for this post connected SEO pricing and did a information breakdown for this one connected hidden Google Search Console terms.
• Use your idiosyncratic experience – For example, we spent implicit $200K connected Quora ads and wrote astir it. 
• Approach topics from a lesser-seen angle – For example, we offered a different sentiment connected however to measurement contented selling KPIs.
• Interview experts –  For example, we interviewed 4 nexus gathering experts and compiled their experiences successful our post connected planetary nexus building.
• Offer an alternate take – For example, erstwhile zero-volume keywords were each the rage successful SEO, we wrote astir wherefore it shouldn’t beryllium truthful hyped up. Likewise, we besides offered an alternative instrumentality connected Google’s AI contented guidelines.  

Google says it uses idiosyncratic enactment information to measure whether hunt results are relevant:

If your station is hard to work and your visitors bounce—it whitethorn not beryllium large for your SEO. 

So you’ll privation to marque definite that your contented is arsenic casual connected the oculus arsenic possible:

• Use descriptive subheadings (H2–H6) for hierarchy
• Use bullet points to assistance with skim reading
• Use images and GIFs (where needed) to interruption up the text
• Use short sentences and paragraphs to debar “walls of text”
• Use simple words that everyone tin understand
• Write similar you speak to marque your penning conversational
• Read your transcript retired loud (when editing) to creaseless the flow

Google aims to reward pages that show E-E-A-T:

• Experience – Firsthand oregon beingness acquisition successful the topic.
• Expertise – High level of cognition oregon accomplishment successful a peculiar field.
• Authoritativeness – Reputation, peculiarly among different experts and influencers successful the industry.
• Trustworthiness – Legitimacy, transparency, and accuracy of the website and its content.

Put simply: Google rewards contented that displays grounds of expertise oregon experience.

For example, astir of our blog contented is created by our selling team: a squad built from SEOs and marketers with years of experience. For example, my colleague, Chris Haines, has 10 years of acquisition moving successful an SEO agency.

Even then, erstwhile we’re covering topics wherever we bash not person firsthand experience, we’ll scope retired to experts. For example, we interviewed respective SEO experts similar Marie Haynes to make an article astir Google penalties—a taxable that she is good known to specialize in.

You’ll privation to bash the aforesaid for your contented too.

It tin beryllium elemental things similar really utilizing the products you’re reviewing. Or going done a peculiar process oregon procedure—like really experiencing intermittent fasting if you’re penning about it. 

Otherwise, if you bash not person expertise oregon experience, prosecute idiosyncratic who has it to make oregon reappraisal your content. 

Internal links are important for 3 main reasons:

1. They assistance Google observe new pages.
2. They assistance Google recognize what your leafage is astir via anchor text: the clickable words successful the link.
3. They walk PageRank, which is an important Google ranking factor.

So not lone bash you privation to adhd interior links to different applicable pages connected your site, but you’ll besides privation to adhd them to your recently published posts too.

The easiest mode to find applicable pages to internally nexus to is to execute a tract search. For example, if I privation to adhd interior links to my station connected the Skyscraper Technique, this is what I’ll search:

Besides the archetypal effect (the existent post), the remainder are imaginable targets I tin adhd links from.

This method is mostly manual, truthful a quicker mode to bash this is to motion up for Ahrefs Webmaster Tools and tally a crawl of your tract with Site Audit. Once that’s done, caput to the Link opportunities report. 

The study volition suggest imaginable interior links you can add.

According to SparkToro, Google Images is the world’s second-largest hunt engine. Your images tin fertile and nonstop postulation your way too.

Here’s however to optimize them:

• Compress your images – This makes record sizes smaller and helps your page speed. You tin usage a instrumentality similar ShortPixel to do this.
• Use descriptive filenames – Google says that filenames springiness it clues astir the image’s taxable matter. Be descriptive and succinct and usage dashes betwixt words.
• Use descriptive alt text – Google besides uses this to recognize the taxable substance of an image. Again, beryllium descriptive and concise. Don’t stuff keywords.

After searching for a keyword successful Google, the archetypal happening a idiosyncratic volition spot is the title tags.

A bully rubric tag tin beryllium the captious quality betwixt a searcher choosing you oregon the others.

Here’s however you tin constitute 1 that’s click-worthy:

• Keep them short – Google often truncates rubric tags supra 70 characters.
• Match hunt intent – You’ve done that successful measurement #2, truthful marque definite your titles bespeak that.
• Include the keyword – Google uses the title to recognize what a leafage is about, truthful effort to see your people keyword.
• Include the year – Do this if your people taxable demands caller results.
• Use powerfulness words – These words elicit emotion (e.g., awe-inspiring, captivating, etc.). Don’t spell overboard—one oregon 2 is fine. Use this list to find ones that lucifer your content.
• Don’t clickbait – #4 won’t daze your readers. Clickbait rubric tags whitethorn enactment successful the abbreviated word but volition harm your marque successful the agelong term. Treat your readers arsenic astute radical and connection them descriptive and truthful titles. 

Google’s recommendation is to usage words that are applicable to your content. The easiest way, typically, is to usage your people keyword arsenic your slug. 

So for a station targeting the keyword “diy seo,” the slug volition simply be:

Keep learning

Check retired these resources to larn much about SEO:

• SEO: The Complete Guide for Beginners
• How to Write a Blog Post (That People Actually Want to Read) successful 9 Steps 
• Blog SEO: The Complete Guide
• 20 Actionable Blogging Tips for Beginners 

Any questions oregon comments? Let maine cognize on Twitter.