You have a WordPress blog and you have even been posting blog posts regularly, but you don’t seem to be generating a whole lot of new traffic. What search engine optimization efforts, can you undertake to have your blog achieve better Search Engine results and start generating more traffic?
You need to optimize each blog post for the search engines. This means identifying one keyword phrase that you would like to optimize the blog post for.
I say keyword phrase because you need to identify the actual search term that your site visitors might use to find information on the topic you are writing about. Your site visitors are not going to just search for the term “plumbing.” This is too broad, would yield way too many results and wouldn’t help very much. More likely your visitors will search for more targeted results like “Toronto Plumber” or “Plumbing Supplies in Toronto” – notice how those are phrases not just one word.
Use the Keyword Phrase in the Blog Title
Once you have identified the key word phrase that is relevant to your article, you will want to include this phrase in your actual blog title/name. You want to do this so it appears natural not forced:
“How to find a Toronto Plumber”
“Affordable Plumbing Supplies in Toronto”
“Outstanding Plumbing Repair in the Toronto Area”
It is okay to rearrange the phrase somewhat if it makes more sense in a sentence.
Use the Keyword Phrase in the Blog Article
You will also want to use this phrase (or some variation) 3-5 times throughout your actual blog post. Again it is very important that you insert this phrase naturally throughout the blog text, so that the blog post continues to make sense!
Use the keyword phrase in your unique Meta Title and Description.
Next you will want to add a unique Meta Title and Meta Description to your blog post. To maximize your search engine optimization efforts you should have a unique title and description on every page and post on your site.
If I have I set up your blog, you will likely have the All In One SEO Pack Plugin or the Yoast SEO Plugin installed already. This means, when you are inputting your blog post you should be able to scroll down on the page and find a spot to enter a Meta Title and a Meta Description. If you don’t have one of these plugins installed, you will need to install one before you will be able to optimize your post.
What is a Meta Title?
The Meta Title is the information that shows on the title bar of the browser and also is the information on the main link to your site on the Search Engine results page (SERP). This should include your keyword phrase and other relevant words. You should limit this to 60-70 characters that summarize what the post is about. Any more than that will be truncated by the Search Engines. Often the Meta Title and the blog title can be the same thing.
What is a Meta Description?
The Meta Description is the information that displays below the link on the search engine results. Here you should aim for about 150 characters. This should contain the keyword phrase, further describe the page contents and when possible include a call to action. This is the information that should entice people to click through from the SERP to your webpage.
It is very important that you do not go overboard when optimizing the page. Inserting the phrase 25 times in a 500 word post is not going to help you; in fact you could be penalized for keyword stuffing. I am sure you seen “optimization gone wild” where the content on the page doesn’t even make sense anymore. Don’t let that be you!
If you have any questions about search engine optimization share them in the comments below.
