How To Get Your Blog Ranking On Google
Google, google, google. There isn’t a day goes by where we aren’t reading something about Google. How to get your website to page 1 is the main one, since occupying that coveted page 1 spot will gain you more clients, more exposure and ultimately, more success. And posting regular content in the form of blogs is a great, low-cost way of getting you there. But it isn’t just as simple as posting some stuff and hoping for the best. So to help you out, we’ve got four ways you can improve your blogs and get them to page 1.
Do Your Research
Anyone who’s done even a little research will know that Google still likes keywords. And why wouldn’t it? It’s one of the most important signposts Google uses to identify what content should feature in search results. But the most common mistake people make is filling their content with the wrong keywords. Instead of using the keywords you want to be found for, instead look at what people are actually searching for. That might sound like the same thing, but actually, they’re completely different. Use a keyword research tool (Like Google’s keyword planner or SEO Book’s Keyword Tool) and figure out what people are typing into Google to find you. It’s a little bit of effort, yes, but it means that your content will actually start showing up in search results – which is the whole point, right?
Produce Good Quality Content
When it comes to blogging, it’s not about quantity; it’s about quality. I often come across business owners who want to write a post every single week and make sure it’s splashed everywhere. And that’s great. But the odds are that you won’t get high-quality content churned out in that time frame. So instead of trying to get loads of content out there, focus on producing just a few pieces of high-quality content a month. If you’re not sure what constitutes ‘high-quality’, here are 5 elements to remember:
- Audience focused
- Trustworthy
- An authority
- Offer substantial value
- Quality control measures
What all of that means is that you should be writing good content that your audience actually wants, not being so focussed on stuffing it full of the right key words that you forget people will actually read it. When you’re writing your blog, forget about SEO. Seriously. Don’t worry about algorithms and key words – even though I know that goes against the paragraph above. Instead, write something engaging, interesting and useful to people, and your content will be much more successful. Don’t publish a bunch of shallow, you-focussed content that doesn’t serve anyone.
Mix It Up
Google is constantly changing its algorithms in tiny ways – always tweaking and improving something. And so should you. More specifically, don’t just write the same length of content, on the same topics over and over again. Variety is the spice of life after all. So create some posts that are just 400 words long – a nice quick read. Make some your average 600-700 word, easy reading posts. And then include some of the meatier, dig-in-deep posts too. This is where a lot of businesses fall down. If you look at studies carried out on Google’s search results, you’ll find that the average first page post is almost 2,000 words long. This is known as ‘cornerstone’ content, and is just as important to your rankings as your regular, shorter pieces.
Don’t Forget The Extras
Going back to keywords. Your content isn’t the only place you should be including them. When you upload your blog posts, you will be asked to fill in a whole bunch of metadata. And you should be including your keywords here. The most important places to use your keywords include:
- Your title
- Your URL (which you can customise)
- Your headings (which are throughout the text)
- Your alt image tags and image captions
As well as throughout your content. Google ranks your page based on the entire content of the page, not just on the bits visible to readers. So don’t neglect it.
If you don’t know how to do any of this, then don’t worry – you’re not alone. SEO is a complicated business, and frankly, even we don’t know everything there is to know about it. That’s why there are SEO gurus. But we do know how to get blogs to rank well, and use them as a tool to boost your rankings. If you’d like to know how to do that, you can book one of our 90-minute crash course sessions, or get in touch for a consultation. Can’t wait to hear from you!