What is SEO and Why Do I Need It For My Blog?

Picture this: you’re Googling a question or want to learn about literally any subject matter.

Whether it’s how to find the best avocados, avocado recipes, or where do avocados come from? you can bet the top results are going to be from blogposts.

So how do you get your blogposts to show up in Google and the other search engines so your audience can actually find you?

Search Engine Optimization.

In this post, you’ll learn what SEO is and why you need it for your blog.

What is SEO?

Way back when I started out as a professional SEO, barely anyone knew what “SEO” meant. There was a lot of education around what it was and why it was so important for business owners.

These days, Search Engine Optimization is much more of a household term, but it’s still confusing. It still feels overwhelming for many entreprenurs.

Since I like to keep it simple, let’s all get on the same page about SEO.

With these two part of SEO — on and off-page optimization — there are plenty of amazing opportunities to improve your standing and increase your chances of being found.

We’re going to focus on on-page optimization here, as we have far more control over the outcomes. Much of on-page SEO is about matching the same keywords our audience is searching for with the words we’re using on the page or post.

Ideally, our goal with SEO is to help our blog rank #1 for the right keywords.

But what are those keywords? How do you rank high for them? And where do you even start?

We’ll cover all that now, so read on.

Why do you need SEO for your blog?

If you have a blog and aren’t doing any SEO for it, stop everything you’re doing and make a few key changes immediately. As you’ll soon see, it’s really not worth blogging without SEO.

Blog vs. Website SEO

With a blog, you’re uniquely positioned for plenty of opportunities to be found with the search engines.

Think about it this way: if you have a website, your pages are likely geared toward pretty specific service or product offerings. They tend to be more salesy and may even be general as far as the keywords they target.

Blogposts, however, can be specifically targeted and answer a very niche set of keywords — or long tail — to intentionally focus on your unique audience.

How to Find the Right Keywords for Your Blog

Matching the keywords on your blog with the ones your audience is searching for is easier than you might think.

1. ASK YOUR AUDIENCE

One of the best ways to understand what your audience searches for online is simply to ask them.

If you have existing blog readers or friends, family, or acquaintances that fit into your target blog audience, simply ask them what kinds of topics they would Google.

2. LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE

Pay close attention on social media and in comments.

Your ideal audience is using the keywords and phrases they’re searching for online in their everyday comments and questions.

These FAQs are priceless when it comes to content creation; not only will they give you inspiration, but they’ll also give you the exact keywords you need to optimize your blogposts with.

3. GET INSPIRATION FROM COMPETITORS

While I’d never recommend copying or doing exactly what your competition is doing, there’s no harm in inspiration.

Consider what keywords and phrases they’re using, what questions their audience is asking, and what’s engaging on their social media profiles.

4. RESEARCH KEYWORDS

Last but not least, put some numbers behind your keyword ideas.

Keyword research tools are an excellent way to further ensure your keywords are the right choice — and that your potential audience is actually searching for them.

Experiment with tools like Ubersuggest for free to determine which keywords are getting the most searches and the least amount of competition or SEO difficulty.

How to Rank High for the Right Keywords with Your Blog

Now that you have an idea of what keywords you’re going to use for your blog, it’s time to put them in the right places. After all, knowing what people are searching for without implementing it isn’t going to do anything for your Google rankings!

Here are the most important places to put your keywords.

TITLE

The title of your blogpost is 50% of the battle when it comes to enticing your audience to click on your post and optimize it for the right keywords.

The title of your blogpost will typically show up as the title in a Google search:

Your title also shows up at the top of the browser window:

Not sure how to create your title? Not to worry…I made that simple for you.

DESCRIPTION

The meta-description shows up underneath the title in a search engine result, so you can see how it would further entice visitors to click:

You can create a unique description or, if you do nothing, the search engines will often pull an applicable bit of content from your blogpost to show searchers.

URL

While most blog platforms will use the words from your title in the URL, you can also alter it to include your main keywords for the post.

HEADERS

Headings throughout a blogpost aren’t only a great way to break up the content, they’re also the perfect place to infuse your keywords.

LINKS + CTAs

Next up, any links or calls-to-action should also have plenty of keywords included. This will also clear up any confusion skimming readers may have with “click here” or “learn more.”

CONTENT

Last, but certainly not least, your blog content should have plenty of keywords sprinkled throughout.

A word of warning, though: your blog content should be readable and user friendly above all else, so never use keywords too often.

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