Are you thinking of starting a blog in 2020?

There’s never been a better time for it since a vast majority of the world is in lockdown and seeking different kinds of entertainment.

The good news is that creating a blog is fairly simple thanks to the ease of use of Content Management Systems (CMS) which enable you to easily integrate and add new site pages to the website’s linkage and navigation structure.

Part of what makes blogging so popular and attractive as an online business model is a fact that blog posts are easy to find and in high demand on search engines like Google. That’s because blogs are rich in text and links and search engines favour frequently-updated web pages which is what commonly happens when someone starts a blog.

You generally want to keep it going in order to attract more visitors to the site and improving rankings. Another awesome feature about blog websites is that they don’t have a lot of extra HTML and mostly use CSS and stylesheets.

Blog optimization works similarly to website optimization or a web page. It all depends on the particular software or blogging service that you use.

The great news is that all you have to do is follow a few SEO rules to achieve a high ranking on search engines based on the keywords that you use, etc.

Focus on Your Audience

 You’ve probably seen or heard the words “SEO content” somewhere. The problem with the advent of SEO used in content is the fact that for most creators, it becomes the cornerstone of their content creation process thus reducing the quality aspect of the content.

Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers still practice this despite the advent of voice search and the Hummingbird Update.

The Hummingbird is basically an update to the Google search engine which was designed to assist in better comprehension of search intent. For example, let’s say you go on Google and search “where to get burgers.” Google will automatically assume that this means you’re searching for restaurants that sell burgers near you.

Basically, this means that search engines focus mainly on the semantic meaning and actual question instead of the keyword alone. It’s important to keep this in mind when creating content for your blog.

Use Google Search Console

We can all remember when we were young kids and had teachers reprimand us for doing anything wrong.

It typically started as a warning that serves to help you get back on track so you won’t get punished later. This example is the easiest way to explain the role of Google Search Console on your blog.

Google Search Console is basically a tool that warns you of anything that might get you in trouble with the search engine. It does this by providing you with updated data, tools and diagnostics to make sure that your site remains in good condition.

Write In-Depth Topics

Another important factor to keep in mind is to ensure that your content is well-researched and in-depth. This means that you should ensure that your content is detailed and relevant.

The best way to get this done is to determine the quality of your content using SEO tools such as similar content. SimilarContent has an SEO Content Score feature that allows you to measure the effectiveness and quality of your content. The score that you get pretty much gives you an indication of how well you’ve covered the most relevant topics and subtopics in that particular article or blog post.

Optimize On-Page SEO

According to a Moz study, on-page optimization is the second-most important factor when it comes to search engine rankings.

The great thing about on-page SEO is that it puts the control back in your hands. It doesn’t have anything to do with off-page factors that are out of your hands.

However, on-page SEO has a lot of implications most of which are concerned with the basics. So, it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out how to make it work.

Build Relationships

One of the best ways to increase search engine rankings is to get other websites to actually link to yours. Now, there’s a right and wrong way to do this.

Obviously, you don’t want to spam other website owners with your content. Or try to enforce your agenda on them just to get more links to your website. Those types of tactics don’t work.

Search engines are getting smarter by the day. They’re now penalizing any websites who try “black hat” strategies to build links. That’s why bloggers need to be innovative when building backlinks.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet link building strategy. You simply must build relationships with other site owners so they can link back to your site.

Publish Authority Content

Google generally uses algorithms to rank websites. But, it may from time to time, manually review website content quality with the help of humans.

The most important thing is to ensure that your blog content exhibits credibility, including the actual people contributing to it. This way, people know there’s innate expertise backing the content of the topics.

Build Linkable Assets

Linkable assets are so-called because they’re extremely valuables pieces of content that are highly shareable. It’s akin to click-bait with the only difference being that it’s content that’s actually worth clicking on.

It’s like the difference between going to a great restaurant that everyone is raving about, and a so-so eatery that you probably wouldn’t visit again.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it! That’s how you use SEO tactics to improve your blog posts rankings.

All it takes is a little common sense and the use of simple tools and tips to create well-researched and relatable content that is engaging enough to get you clicks and link-building opportunities.

None of this requires special technical abilities. But these tips can play a huge role in ensuring that you grow a successful blog.