How to Write SEO Friendly Blog Posts: 15 Pro Tips in 2024
LOOKING FOR SEO BEST PRACTICES FOR BLOG POSTS?
If so, you’ve come to the right place to learn SEO for blog posts. As a thriving and multiple six-figure travel blogger, I’m here to help you figure out how to write SEO friendly blog posts so you achieve your blogging goals.
Wondering, Does blogging help SEO? It does 😁 — and although it takes time and dedication, the #1 way to achieve success is through knowing how to write successful blog posts with SEO.
I use SEO for all my blogs, and I’m going to cover the top 15 ways to ensure each new blog post you write ranks on the first page of search results.
Using these tips, you’ll never have to wonder how to write an SEO friendly blog post or how to make your blog SEO friendly ever again 🙌
We’ll start with the topic of finding the perfect target keywords and end with more complex topics, like building solid backlinks. Ready to dive in? Let’s go!
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
What is SEO-Optimized Content?
So what exactly is an SEO post? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This means creating content that’s designed to rank in search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Bing, DuckDuckGo, etc.
Optimized blog posts are written around a specific keyword like “how to write SEO friendly blog posts” or “best things to do in Las Vegas.”
⚠️ What is keyword? A keyword is basically what someone types or speaks into Google (or any search engine). Though it’s called a “keyword,” it can contain many words, and usually does.
When internet users search for that keyword (or keyphrase), the best, optimized posts will generally appear at the top of search engine results pages. That’s what makes SEO for blogs so important.
Knowing how to write a good blog post for SEO means more eyes on your content, more clicks, and more organic traffic (versus traffic through ads or direct searches).
For example, my website Travel Mexico Solo received 2.6 million page views in 2022. A large proportion of those pageviews were generated through organic traffic (AKA blog post SEO strategies that paid off).
Once you have traffic, you can make money through affiliate income, brand sponsorships, selling your own digital assets, and display advertising.
However, it all starts with knowing how to write SEO-friendly content and how to write good blog posts in general.
15 Tips To Write SEO-Friendly Blog Posts
1. Start with Keyword Research
Keyword research is the first step in how to write SEO friendly blogs. This means finding a popular search term that you can rank for.
Some people use a paid keyword research tool like Keysearch (which I use), but others do it manually with free tools. Since this is very time-consuming, I use Keysearch to speed up the process.
🤑 Use my Keysearch discount and try it for yourself! You can purchase your Keysearch subscription here, and use my discount code KSDISC to get 20% OFF. With the discount, it’s less than $14 USD per month — but worth 10 times that much!
First, find the sweet spot between search volume, competition, and the number of backlinks you need to outrank your rivals.
Once you’ve found the perfect keyword, you’ll make it the topic of your post.
Keep in mind that the goal is ALWAYS to write high-quality content. You want to offer more comprehensive and higher quality information than the competition.
🔎 What are LSI Keywords?
Part of this means discussing your topic in depth using related terms.
This concept of using contextually related terms helps search engines understand your content is sometimes called Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords or LSI Keywords.
When writing blogs for SEO, it’s important to not repeat your keyword ad nauseam.
This is called keyword stuffing, and it makes your content a major pain to read. This also often means users won’t stay on your blog and your post will drop in the rankings.
✅ Ready to level up your Keyword research game? I teach bloggers how to find travel blog keywords with big potential to earn affiliate income in my How to Find Affiliate Marketing Keywords Class.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
2. Nailing Search Intent
Part of finding the perfect keyword and writing SEO friendly posts is nailing the search intent.
🤔 Ask: What is the person who searched for this term looking for? How can I provide them with that?
📝 Tip: Your goal is to be the last click so they don’t have to return to search results.
Doing search Intent Right
As an example of how important search intent is, my blogger friend Laura (of the Scale Your Travel Blog to Six Figures Course) once noticed that the keyword “VIPKid teacher portal” had a huge search volume, and no competition.
She wrote an in-depth article on how to use the ESL company’s portal, ranked in the tops spots on Google’s first page, but got no traffic to her blog post. Why?
Because the people searching for the term were looking for the URL to the portal itself (navigational intent), not a guide on how to use it (informational intent).
If one of your goals is to make affiliate income, searching for terms with a clear buyer intent will bring in far more sales and conversions than those without.
For example “best street food tours in Barcelona” indicates an intent to book a tour, whereas “best food to eat in Barcelona” does not.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
3. Create an SEO Blog Outline
A key element of SEO blog writing is organizing and structuring your content so it is clear, the progression makes sense, and it is easy to read.
Using headings and subheadings is vital to all of those goals.
Before you write your outline, look at 3 to 10 of the top-ranking posts for your keywords. See what those bloggers are doing, and borrow inspiration — but never plagiarize another blogger’s content.
Instead, see what the best blog posts for each keyword are writing about, identify gaps in what’s already published, and then write a post that’s more complete. Remember, you want to always add value to your post; never fluff.
You can learn more about writing an SEO writing a blog outline that ranks on Google by checking out the linked article.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
4. Craft the Title and URL
When it comes to how to write SEO friendly titles, your title needs to include three elements if you want to get consistent clicks:
- Your target keyword
- A reason readers should click (the value)
- A unique angle
For example, “Geico Insurance Review: My Brutally Honest Opinion as a New Customer” includes the keyword “Geico insurance review.”
The title makes it clear that it’s a review so readers know what they’re getting, and the “brutally honest” bit is the unique angle that entices them to click.
When it comes to URLs, use your keyword and keep it evergreen. Avoid using dates and numbers in your URL that might change in the future because you only want to change a URL when absolutly necessary.
For example, the blog post “Digital Marketing for Vets – 15 Actionable Tips in 2023” is too long to use as a URL. Simply using the keyword “digital-marketing-for-vets” is sufficient.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
5. Write Your Meta Description
Another element of an SEO-optimized blog is the meta description. This is the small summary that appears under your blog title on search engine pages.
The goal is to craft a short, compelling, relevant summary to get readers to click the link to your post. It’s basically a pitch to convince the user your blog will provide them with what they’re looking for.
💡 Blogger Pro Tips: Remember to use your keyword in the meta description.
Now, Google won’t always show the meta description you write in it’s search results, but it’s still considered an SEO best practice to write a meta description.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
6. Use Paragraphs and Headings
The next step in writing blog posts for SEO is making your content easy to read.
Avoid using large blocks of text. Instead, break up your content into small two to three-sentence paragraphs. Use headings and subheadings to further break up the content and make it easy to scan for information.
Techniques such as writing shorter sentences and paragraphs, using headings, formatting posts like an outline, and adding more images all help keep users engaged.
Source: Mediavine
Search engine algorithms often give headings and subheadings a little more rank juice than standard paragraphs, so be sure to use your keyword in some of your H2 and H3 headings.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
7. Write a Short Introduction
Draw your readers into the blog post by sharing how you’re going to answer their search query. In the intro, you want to identify why you’re an expert in this topic, and why they want to read what you have to say.
Be sure to use your keyword in the introduction — or within in the first 10% of the content. This is a simple but often overlooked step in knowing how to write SEO blog posts.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
8. Focus on E-E-A-T
Another element to include in your SEO friendly article is E-E-A-T. This stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
E-E-A-T content is content that provides exceptional value. It is content you can trust from someone who knows what they are talking about.
💡 Blogger Pro Tips: Google has said AI content is acceptable, as long as it’s helpful.
Explaining who you are, how you know about the topic you’re writing about, and why readers should trust you is an excellent way to start your post. So be sure your introduction hits all those SEO content writing for beginners topics.
For example, in this post, I started off by explaining that I’m an experienced six-figure travel blogger who has built success through SEO.
This establishes me as a person who can speak with authority and expertise on how to make blog posts SEO friendly.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
9. Write For Humans
Keep in mind that your readers are humans, so write for them. Yes, knowing how to write SEO friendly articles is important, but you’re always writing for people; not bots nor search engines.
In other words, write well. Be informative, be funny, and add personalization and pizzazz. No one wants to read robotic text with strange semantic configurations and lots of repetition.
In the world of AI content writers, standing out from the crowd with human-centered content is more important than ever.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
10. Use Transition Words and Phrases
We’ve already talked about how important readability is when blog writing for SEO.
Leaving white space and using headings and short paragraphs are all key elements, but so are transition words.
Transition words help your content to flow by connecting ideas, concepts, phrases, and words.
For instance (that’s a transition phrase) using words like so, because, in regard to, first, second, next, etc., will help readers transition smoothly from one sentence and concept to another.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
11. Add Alt Text to Images
Alt text, or alternative text is the description of an image that sits inside the HTML code of a page.
🧐 Alt text for discoverability
Not only does alt text give Google more material to scan and figure out what a blog post is about, but it also helps you rank in Google Images.
If your image appears in a Google Images search and users click through to our website, you’ll gain more traffic.
👩🏻🦯 Alt text for accessibility
As another bonus, alt text improves accessibility. And how to write SEO friendly alt text is a skill most people overlook.
Did you know that millions of visually impaired people use screen readers to access online content?
When screen readers come across an image with alt text, they can read the photo description, improving user experience (for example “a woman standing in front of a statue of David”).
But if there is no alt text, the screen reader will either read off the image name (for example IMG-7341), or just skip over the image entirely.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
12. Optimize the Length of the Article
The ideal length of your article depends on the subject matter and the searcher’s intent. Ask yourself, how many words you need to give users what they’re looking for?
Generally speaking, search engines favor long-form content.
Remember, they are trying to deliver the best quality content to users. They are looking for blogs that nail user intent and communicate clearly, concisely, and completely.
Take a look at the top-ranking posts for your keyword and check the length, then use that as a guide. You can use Word Counter Plus, a free plugin that makes it easy to determine the word count of blog posts.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
13. Use Internal Links
Internal links are links from one blog post or page to another on the same domain. They add authority to your post by linking it to other relevant information on your blog.
Having multiple posts covering similar SEO blog topics or content clusters helps establish you as an expert. It’s also an easy win in the steps for how to write SEO optimized blog posts.
Fortunately, interlinking is an element of SEO blogging tips that’s easy to incorporate. Each time you publish a post, simply link from and to it from other posts on your website.
For example, if you’re blogging about hiking La Malinche Volcano in Mexico, it would make sense to link it to your posts on climbing Popocatepetl, Iztaccihuatl, and Pico de Orizaba.
You’ll also want to link back to La Malinche from each of those posts, as they all cover the best volcano hikes in Mexico.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
14. Publish & Submit to Google
Whenever you publish new SEO posts, it’s a good idea to submit them to Google to potentially speed up the ranking process.
When it comes to how to write an SEO blog post, you’ll first need to set up a Google Search Console account and submit a sitemap.
Next, every time you publish new content, you can either ping Google or use Google’s URL inspection Tool.
Some WordPress plugins like Rank Math and Yoast ping Google automatically. You can also do it manually by entering a special pinging URL into your browser. Google will re-index your sitemap, including your new post.
Alternatively, log in to Google Search Console then click on your website property. Next, enter the URL of your new post into the URL inspection box. Then hit Request Indexing, and Google handles the rest.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
15. Getting Backlinks
One way Google measures the authority of a particular website is through backlinks.
There is a strong correlation between rankings and backlinks, so if your post has fewer high-quality links than the competition, you’ll struggle to outrank them.
Backlinks are gold in the blogging SEO world, but if this is something you struggle with, you’re not alone. Most bloggers loathe getting backlinks. Fortunately, I can teach you how to get high-quality backlinks FAST.
Learn more about getting backlinks in my 10 Ways to Get High-Quality Backlinks MasterClass.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
BONUS: Use an SEO Plugin
If you aren’t sure how to make your blog SEO-friendly or if you’re wondering is a blog good for SEO, then using an SEO plugin could be helpful.
Even if you’re an SEO pro, a plugin can provide useful reminders to make sure you’ve checked all your SEO boxes.
Some of the top plugins are Yoast SEO, All-in-One SEO, HubSpot, and Rank Math.
Wondering how they work? For example, if you have the Yoast SEO plugin, you simply input your keyword into the correct box, and then it will rank you as you write.
It will let you know if you’ve missed something important, like including the keyword in your meta description.
How to Write SEO-Friendly Blog Posts: FAQs
What is an SEO friendly blog?
An SEO-friendly blog is optimized for search engines to increase its visibility in search results.
For travel blogs, this means using relevant keywords, ensuring mobile responsiveness, optimizing images, and providing valuable content that addresses searchers’ intent.
The goal is to attract organic traffic and rank higher on search engines like Google.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
How do I write SEO-friendly content?
Writing SEO-friendly blog posts is a multi-step process (see below). However, once you’ve done it a few times, this process becomes second nature, and before you know it, you have the best SEO blog posts.
- To write SEO-friendly content, start by researching relevant keywords and incorporate them naturally into your content.
- Next, ensure the material is high-quality and valuable to readers.
- You’ll then want to properly structure your content with headings, and always optimize images with descriptive alt-text.
- Keep in mind, the content should be mobile-friendly and interlinked with related articles on your site that are relevant to the blog’s topics.
- Avoid overloading with keywords and craft a compelling meta description.
- Keeping your content updated, ensuring fast load times, and providing an easy navigation experience is also crucial for SEO optimization.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
How long should a blog post be for SEO?
There’s no hard and fast rule for how long a blog post should be to rank. SEO blogger tips suggest that long-form content helps answer reader questions more completely.
Length does influence rankings, but not directly. For example, a super lengthy post that doesn’t say anything won’t rank as well as a succinct more informative post that answers the user’s search intent.
The idea is to be as complete and concise as possible.
That said, it’s always a good idea to look at the top blog in SEO posts for your keyword and see how long they are. Then aim to make your post at least as long as the average ranking posts but better.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
How many blog posts are good for SEO?
While there’s no hard and fast rule for how blog posts you need on your website, the more you have, the better your chances of some of them landing on the front page of Google.
But remember, it’s always about quality blog — not just how many articles you have.
When starting out, you might want to aim to post about 1-4 times a month at first.
This shows search engines you’re active, and helps get your blog noticed. Once you have lots of articles and people are visiting regularly, you can post less often if you choose to.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
What 4 pillars are important in SEO?
The four crucial pillars in SEO are Technical SEO, On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO, and Content SEO.
- Technical SEO ensures your website’s structure is optimized for search engine crawling and indexing.
- On-Page SEO focuses on optimizing individual pages with relevant keywords and meta elements.
- Off-Page SEO is about building external links and credibility for your site.
- Content SEO emphasizes delivering high-quality, user-relevant material.
How to write SEO friendly blog posts
Can I do SEO on my own?
Yes — You can definitely tackle SEO on your own. However, like many things, having guidance can expedite the process and help you avoid pitfalls.
I offer a range of courses tailored to help you navigate SEO effectively, ensuring you’re on the right track from the start.
Investing in knowledge can save you time and energy, and enhance the results of your SEO efforts as fast as possible — so you can see traffic (and income) from your blog as fast as possible.
Conclusion: How to Write SEO-Friendly Blog Posts that Rank in Google
Congrats! You now know my top 15 blogging SEO tips to launch your website to new levels of success.
Each of these will get you one step closer to finding your own successful how to optimize blog posts for SEO formula.
SEO is a crucial way to drive organic traffic to your travel blog and kickstart or maximize your earning potential through ads, affiliate marketing, and more. It’s the cornerstone of how to write effective blog posts!
If you would like to learn how to make more money from your posts, my Affiliate Marketing Keyword Course is the best place to start.