Blog/SEO Checklist
Blogging can be a good way to drive traffic to your website. But it’s not enough to simply write great posts. You also need to use good SEO tactics to help your website rank well in search engine results…
- Add a metrics program to your website and blog. Two good options for this are Google Analytics and Kiss Metrics.
- Monitor your website speed. If your website is lagging, you’ll rank lower in most search engines. You can use Pingdom’s free website speed testor GTmetrix (also free).
- Add an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate is the latest security measure for websites. It shows visitors and search engines that you’re working hard to protect their data. If you don’t know where to get an SSL certificate, talk to your hosting company. They can usually help with this.
- Repair broken links. When you have links to websites that no longer exist or your URLs are broken, search bots think your blog is old and don’t rank it as highly. Use a website like Dead Link Checker to see if your site needs some TLC.
- Install an SEO plugin. If you’re using WordPress as your content management system, add an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack to help you rank better.
- Use a responsive theme. If you’re using WordPress to run your website, make sure you have a responsive theme enabled. Websites that don’t have an easy-to-use mobile feature are penalized by search engines.
- Include a sitemap. Make it easy for search bots to find all the content on your website and blog by using an XML sitemap.
- Sign up for Google Search Console. You’ll get an alert if something happens that makes it difficult for search engines to crawl your website. Join Google Search Console.
- Add “alt” tags to your images. When you upload images to your website, make sure to include a description of your image in the “alt” area. This is the text that search bots will use to determine what the image is about.
- Install a “rich snippets” plugin to your website. Rich snippets are bits of additional information that are displayed by search engines. Using them correctly can help you rank better. If you use WordPress, try a plugin like All In One Schema Rich Snippets.
- Use a thesaurus. When it comes to ranking for keywords, think of other phrases your visitors might search for. A visitor looking for “puppy training” may also type “dog obedience”.
- Link your other content. If you have content in your archives that might be helpful to visitors, make sure to link to it. Doing this shows search engines that your site is valuable.
- Include your keywords early in your content. When it comes to adding keywords to your website, try to do it within the first paragraph or two. Most search engine bots want to know what your website is about and will reward you for making this information easy to find.
- Add variety to your content. Don’t just upload lengthy blog posts to your website. Include pictures, videos, charts, polls, and other content. Not only will your post be more entertaining, search bots will be more likely to consider your website an authority on your topics.
