SEO Basics for Bloggers
SEO ? What is that? You’ve seen it mentioned, vaguely heard about it and that it is important. But what the hell is it and how do you do it? Why do bloggers need to know about SEO?
Well SEO is a massive topic and there are experts and companies out there in the inter-world that make their living doing nothing but SEO for companies and websites. The subject is vast enough that you could fill a shelf with big thick books on the matter. We are only going to cover the very basics here – just enough to give you a simple understanding of what it is, why it’s important and what you should do about it.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
Search engines such as Google and others, help connect internet users with appropriated internet content and webpages based on the words or phrases they are searching for. You probably use a search engine at least once a day every day to search for content you are interested in. Search Engine Optimisation – SEO – is the method of improving the visibility of your posts so they show up more frequently in search results.
Search Engines scan through webpages and analyse the content paying particular attention to words in bold, headings, link text, the URL itself, image names etc. Those words are then identified as the KEYWORDS for that particular site or page, and are recorded on their server.
When you type in words in a search box, the search engine then attempts to match those words to the keywords from the webpages it has analysed in order to deliver you the most relevant results for your search. The results will be ranked, or ordered, according to several factors including how many other sites think those pages are valuable by linking to them.
Why should bloggers care about SEO?
If your site has a higher ranking, it is displayed higher in the search results and is therefore more likely to be seen than lower ranking pages. The more often your page is offered to readers, the more visitors you will get. More visitors means more page views, more subscribers, more clicks on your adverts, more sales, more income for you. Simple as that.
That is why understanding the basics of SEO is essential. Isn’t it your dream to feature on the front page of Google search results?
How can bloggers use simple SEO principles?
- Write awesome and unique content. It goes without saying that this is critical for the success of your site.
- Think about what your post is about and try to sum it up in a few Keywords or simple phrases that readers might search for. Use these phrases in the content of your post, bold them or use them as headings if you can.
- Always use the ALT TAG description for your images and use your keywords and phrases to describe them. If using several images, try a different phrase on each one to give you a good chance of being seen over several phrases.
- Use these keywords and phrases in the title of the post and in the URL which can be different to the title.
- Link to other relevant sites with good content and encourage those sites and others to link to yours. The more awesome your content, the more links you will get and the higher your search engine ranking.
- Optimise your post and site for your readers and the content first and foremost, and for SEO second. Don’t make your posts read poorly for the sake of trying to stuff them with keywords.
What difference does SEO make to your traffic?
Let’s take a look at my two websites.
First, my sewing blog at So Sew Easy. My posts are naturally keyword rich without me having to try too hard because the phrases I rank for are common in my posts such as free sewing patterns. Here is my analytics traffic report. 31% of my visitors to my sewing blog come from looking up my keywords in a search engine – primarily Google. Nearly 8,000 visitors in the last month. Nice.
For this blog the results are very different. The site is very new, I’ve blogged on a number of different subjects, I have no backlinks from other sites, and I’ve given NO thought at all to SEO as I’ve written and published those posts. So what does Google think of this site?
Oh dear – Google doesn’t send people to this site – only 23 visits in the last month. I clearly need to work a LOT harder to attract those readers and decide what my keywords should be. I’m also in a more competitive marketplace for my subjects so it will be much harder to rank highly when I am up against the big bloggers with their SEO expertise.
Do you have any SEO tips for bloggers that you use on your own site?
Authored by: Deby at Moms Make Money
April 27, 2013 @ 7:56 am
Thanks so much for the tips. I have a lot to learn about SEO, and this is a great place to start. Have a wonderful weekend!
April 27, 2013 @ 11:53 am
Wow! Thank you for all this valuable information! I’m keeping SEO in mind now when writing my posts!
Selene @ Restoration Beauty
April 27, 2013 @ 5:12 pm
I love how you very clearly showed us with your two blogs the difference between using keywords and not. SEO is something I need to work on too.
April 27, 2013 @ 5:15 pm
It really can make a LOT of difference for just a little extra effort when writing a post. Search engine traffic is my biggest referrer for my sewing site – gotta love free traffic.
April 27, 2013 @ 7:50 pm
Thanks for this great information. I need to work harder on my SEO’s.
April 27, 2013 @ 10:46 pm
Yes, I need to work harder at SEO. ~adding to list~
April 28, 2013 @ 11:00 pm
Thanks for these tips. I was so clueless when I kept reading “SEO” and only recently began to catch on a bit. I still have a lot to learn, and even more to implement. Thank you for the help!
April 30, 2013 @ 8:46 pm
Great tips! You always have such great blogging information. Thank you for sharing on Fluster’s Creative Muster Party!
Robin
Fluster Buster
April 30, 2013 @ 9:07 pm
A good article. Found you through the Adorned From Above hop. Do you ever guest post? I have a blog called Carole’s Chatter Blog Tips – I have been looking for guest bloggers. Do let me know if you are interested. Cheers
May 4, 2013 @ 7:45 am
Hi Carole – I would certainly be interested although I am damned overworked right now and have a backlog – which is why it took me a few days to reply to your comment. If you have any particular subjects or timescale in mind, do drop me an email with your thoughts and I would love to learn more. Thanks for the opportunity.
April 30, 2013 @ 11:10 pm
Wow! Your pie charts really say it all. Thanks. I’ve recently been trying to go back to all my old posts and add in labels to pictures and such, but it’s time consuming. However, seeing this chart is a real motivator!
April 30, 2013 @ 11:33 pm
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
May 2, 2013 @ 6:48 am
Yippee I don’t have to feel like an idiot when they are talking about SEO anymore! Thank you for the easy, fast explanation. Now to find out how to do keywords and what backlinks are!
May 2, 2013 @ 8:56 am
Hey! Nice post on a quick overview of SEO. You asked for some more tips, here’s the beginning to my SEO series for small business, but it’s super applicable to blogging as well. I’ll be continuing this series soon so any SEO questions you have, please ask! I’ll be happy to help 🙂 http://kristy-o.com/blog/beginning-seo-for-small-business-keyword-research/
Kristy @ 3peppers-recipes.com / kristy-o.com
May 2, 2013 @ 10:55 am
Thanks for the tips!!
May 2, 2013 @ 2:24 pm
Thanks so much for the great tips – I really need to do some SEO research! =) Thanks for linking up at the Pinterest Power Party as well!
Danielle
SewMuchCrafting.com
May 2, 2013 @ 3:58 pm
I have so much to learn…
May 2, 2013 @ 7:19 pm
Wow, such great info. I need to definitely be more aware of SEO’s. Thanks for sharing this!
~Jen @ YummyHealthyEasy.com
May 3, 2013 @ 10:46 am
You always have the best advice a new blogger can find! I’d love for you to come share it on my new link party today! I’ve named it “Fidlin’ Fridays” @ http://www.fidlersunderoneroof.com/2013/05/link-party-1.html
May 3, 2013 @ 12:57 pm
Thanks for the tips! I will keep this in mind as I prepare a new post!
May 3, 2013 @ 5:54 pm
Great information! Thanks so much for linking up to Give Me The Goods Monday! We love having you party with us and can’t wait to see what goods you bring next week! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof
May 4, 2013 @ 12:09 pm
Great pointers!! SEO is a “word” that is all over blog land right now. Definitely important for us to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing at our Simply Create Link Party! We can’t wait to see what you have to share with us next.
May 4, 2013 @ 3:52 pm
Food for thought & good tips. Thank you for participating in our linky party at http://www.finecraftguild.com/party-65/ Great to see you there! Have a wonderful weekend! ~ Rose
May 6, 2013 @ 7:38 am
Hi Deby, thanks for writing this. I have only one problem. You write among others: “Link to other relevant sites with good content and encourage those sites and others to link to yours.” Link exchanges are now being penalised by Google so that’s not such a good idea. It’s better to have outgoing links to high ranking relevant sites and incoming links from authority websites without linking back to any of them. Also networks of sites all linking to each other are now penalised. I found this information about SEO basics on the page http://weloveourhost.com/seo.html
May 6, 2013 @ 7:46 pm
I entirely agree about link exchanges – this will harm rather than do you good if all you do is send out emails to other sites offering to link to them if they link to you. Google will see right through it. Better to be completely natural and genuine in the link building – link out to genuinely great and relevant stuff you love, and by producing great content on your own site, you encourage others to link to you and your posts.
May 8, 2013 @ 3:32 pm
Great tips! SEO can be so complicated to understand. Thanks for sharing at the Pinworthy Projects Party.
May 9, 2013 @ 10:18 pm
Thank you so much! Excellent Article… I finally feel like I am beginning to understand SEO 🙂
Theresa @ AMomInTheMaking.com
July 24, 2013 @ 10:57 am
so helpful – thank you for sharing! now I will start thinking more about seo and how I can make it fit in with my blog!
August 11, 2013 @ 9:27 pm
Thanks Deby for this awesome page you have put together! I am a brand new blogger, two days old to be exact, so this is a wealth of information for me. Thanks again and keep up the great work!
Kristen @ scatterbirdmom.com
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February 21, 2014 @ 6:01 am
[…] about that is because it involves a whole messy needs-to-be-its-own-post deal with SEO. Plus, Deby already wrote a post on that topic, so let’s move […]
September 8, 2015 @ 6:21 am
Hi Deby! Thanks for sharing about SEO. It’s really something every blogger and webmaster should learn and comprehend if they want to bring traffic to their site from search engine and I’m still working on it. Honestly, I haven’t worked much on my sites. Still thinking about what to write. Not that I have no idea. In fact, I got a lot of ideas. Too much that made me confusing about which to write first. Sometimes I also had a writer’s block and my mind got blank whenever I’m in front of my laptop. Sometimes it’s driving me crazy. I mean, I got something in my mind, it just wouldn’t come out. Have you ever felt it?