You don’t have to be a search engine optimization expert to understand that SEO is important; after all, without optimizing your posts to show up in search engine results, your visibility will be diminished, the chances of a reader discovering your content through a search next to nothing. In writing, formatting, and publishing your company blog posts, then, it is important to think not just about the end reader, but the search engine algorithm as well.

 The good news is that these two points are not mutually exclusive, and in fact there is a great deal of overlap here. Remember that Google wants to provide its customers (search engine users) with a high-quality product (relevant search engine results), so a blog post that offers real value to the user is inherently primed for SEO success. The old adage that content is king rings true here: If you write blog posts with the mission of conveying actionable information to human readers, you’ll probably find reasonable success with search engine algorithms.

Your SEO Checklist

With that said, there are some further things you can include in a blog post in order to make it fully optimized for search engine visibility. Consider this brief checklist:

A target keyword. Conducting keyword research has long been integral to blogging success, and while you don’t want to overstuff your posts with keywords, to the point that they feel robotic or unreadable, it is wise to choose at least one target keyword to give your blog some focus. This keyword should dictate the topic and direction of the post, rather than be shoehorned in where it doesn’t really fit.

Proper keyword placement. Ah, but where do you place your target keyword? Some prime real estate to consider: The URL/permalink; the title; the meta description; the SEO title; and somewhere in the body of the text, preferably within the first 100 words or so. Again, making it natural and unforced is key for readability.

Substantial length. You don’t want to get hung up on word counts to the point where you’re writing fluffy content just to make it hit a certain length. With that said, understand that Google wants to provide users with meaningful results, and meaningful means substantive. Generally speaking, posts under 300 words do not rank well.

Links. Inbound links are critical for SEO success, but for now let’s focus on outbound links. Each blog post should shore up credibility by including a couple of links to high-quality, authoritative sources. You may also wish to ensure some links to other blog posts or Web pages you have written, but don’t make all the links to your own material.

Anything that aids readability and reduces bounce rate. Make sure your posts can easily be digested by human readers. Bullet points and section headings help with this, as do images and even embedded videos.

All of these elements can be added to a blog post even by a non-expert in SEO, and the results can be considerable. Even so, optimized blog posts perform best when they’re part of a broader, integrated marketing approach—one that’s guided by true SEO experts and marketing professionals. To start a conversation about integrated marketing, we invite you to contact our team at enCOMPASS today.