2021 is probably a different world from what we know now. The Internet will likely be even more critical, and the rules of search engines like Google will most likely change according to their needs. This is why it’s hard to predict how SEO-friendly blog posts in 2021 should look.
In this article, we will show you some tips which worked well for many businesses and bloggers. We will also share some thoughts on this topic based on experience and knowledge.
But first, let us define what SEO is.
What is SEO?
SEO is the process of optimizing website content to rank higher in search engine results. It’s a method of increasing the amount of traffic to your website. Higher rankings don’t automatically mean more traffic. Instead, it’s a process where you create high-quality content and promote it in the right places to get a higher ranking.
Tips for writing SEO-friendly blog posts
In 2021, search engines will probably pay less attention to keyword density and meta tags. It doesn’t mean that keywords won’t matter at all. They will still play an important role, though maybe not as much as they do now. Here are some tips on writing better SEO-friendly blog posts:
Leverage your social presence
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+ can increase traffic to your website if used properly. The best way to use these platforms is by sharing interesting articles with your readers, who then share them with their friends or followers. This way, you will get more organic traffic directly to your website without any additional effort, and this can result in higher ranking positions in Google’s search results.
Promote high-quality content on forums
Forums are a great place to promote high-quality content. The more people approve of what you post, thereby giving it a “thumbs up,” the higher your chances of gaining good SEO rankings are. It doesn’t matter whether the forum is related to your niche or not. As long as it’s visited by people who might be interested in your offer, it’s worth promoting on that forum. In addition, you can gain valuable backlinks through this method, increasing trust signals for search engines like Google, which use these links to rank your website in their search results.
Promote your websites in video SEO
Videos are becoming more and more popular. If you have quality videos on your website or YouTube channel, it’s worth sharing them on other media like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. This will also increase the amount of traffic coming to your website, resulting in higher rankings for both non-branded and branded keywords. Additionally, videos are one of the best promotional tools when it comes to search engine optimization efforts.
Use social media groups responsibly
Social media groups are another great place to promote content, especially if the group is related to your niche. Share valuable posts with other members a signature link. Most forums allow this. This will help you build relationships with other members who are interested in your offer. Sharing should be done carefully because spamming other groups might get your account banned, which is something nobody wants.
Include a sitemap on your website
A sitemap is an XML file that lists all the pages on your website. It helps search engines to crawl your site faster and index it more easily without any issues. This will increase the speed at which search engines find new content on your website, so if you have hundreds or thousands of blog posts, this can be very helpful for you.
A sitemap makes it easier for Google to index blogs with long articles (2000+ words). A good practice would be to separate the post into sections by labeling them with H1, H2, etc. This way, a search engine can crawl blog posts in a better fashion.
Make sure you have a mobile version of your website
As more people use mobile devices to access the Internet, it’s essential to have a mobile-friendly version of your website. If your blog is not mobile-friendly, this could be one reason you’re not getting as much traffic from Google Search as you would expect. In 2021, every blogger will have a mobile version since Google has already started favoring mobile-friendly websites when ranking their pages.
Use HTTPS protocol for your domain
HTTPS guarantees that all of the data users submit on your website is encrypted. This reduces the risk of users submitting sensitive information, which then gets intercepted by third parties. Google has already started to favor websites that use this protocol in their search engine rankings. In addition, you can quickly get free SSL certificates for your domain name through platforms like Let’s Encrypt, where you just have to prove that you own the website before they issue a certificate.
Submit your sitemap file to different engines
It’s essential to submit your sitemap file to Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, and Yandex Webmaster Central. If you don’t do this, search engines might not be able to crawl all the pages on your website effectively since they could miss some of them. In addition, since it’s so easy to do, you should submit your sitemap file when running SEO campaigns for websites in 2021.
Optimize page titles & meta descriptions
Page titles and meta descriptions are important because they show up in search engine results. You can increase CTR by including targeted keywords here. Make sure that your target keyword is included in the title tag somewhere since it’s one of the most significant bits of text on any given webpage.
Write content that is closely related to your product/service
When writing blog posts, make sure that you’re using words directly to what your business offers. People searching online will likely be looking for a solution related to what you have on offer – so if you don’t use keywords that relate to your products or services, how will these people find your blog post?
Include a “nofollow” tag on all external links
By default, blog posts often include links to other sites. Therefore, it’s usually a good idea to add the “nofollow” attribute on any link you place in your content. This tells search engines that this particular site should not be followed because it’s likely that the content is irrelevant and spammy (or could even damage your website).
Use anchor text when linking internally within a post
Whenever you create an internal link inside a blog post, use relevant keyword phrases as anchor text for that specific target page. Of course, you can also just type in keywords without adding “click here” at the end of the link, but it’s generally better to use something more descriptive.
Include social media buttons on your blog posts
Having a prominent “share this” or “tweet” button can increase social shares and drive additional traffic to your website. Many people will read another blog post if they see that there are already hundreds of tweets for it with popular hashtags on the topic. Bloggers in 2021 are taking advantage of this by putting share buttons at both the top and bottom of their most valuable content.
Use H1, H2, H3 tags
When writing blog posts, organize different sections using headers (H1 is the biggest while H6 is the smallest). These text headings help improve the readability of your blog posts and make it easier for people to scan through various pieces of content.
Use alt tags when uploading images
Alt tags provide alternate information for any images you upload on your website (or even in a blog post). They can be viewed either by users utilizing screen readers or people who disable image displays in their browser settings. You must add different types of detail here using keywords related to your website and its related products or services. These will appear instead of an image if it’s not displayed and could potentially boost page rankings if they contain relevant search phrases.
3 Phases of Writing Blogs for SEO
Select your keywords
You want to select a keyword that is both specific and relevant. If it’s too broad, you’re not going to have much success in getting blog posts to rank highly for this word or phrase. If you choose something very focused, how many people are searching online with that term? Particular phrases might be searched for infrequently compared to more broad-based terms. Some examples of search phrases could include “e-commerce software,” “cheap portable laptops,” or “how to build good relationships.”
You can use Google’s Keyword Planner tool (which you need to create a free Adwords account for) as well as Wordstream’s Free Keyword Tool. By looking at these keyword generators, you’ll be able to quickly discover which phrases are the most popular and have the highest search volumes over a certain period.
Write your content
Start writing blog posts using your selected keywords. Then, aim to include them at least twice within a blog post, either in the main content and towards the end of it (not too noticeable, though). If you don’t feel like people will go through your website’s entire blog posts, then try including them more often and see how well this performs for you.
Optimize your post
After you’ve published your blog post, check through it and look for ways to optimize it. Ensure that all of the H tags are there, the alt text on images matches what is shown in the image and that you’re using keywords naturally while keeping a good rhythm throughout. It’s important not to stuff specific phrases too often, or it will be considered spam.
SEO matters
When it comes to blogging, SEO is highly essential. It’s one of the most critical factors that determine how well your blog or website will do on search engines. In 2021, more people will be using Google as their primary search engine. They’re looking for specific information to help them solve problems or answer questions related to their topics of interest.
Using effective keywords within your content helps you rank higher in the search results, which means that you’ll get more traffic coming through to your site (and probably improve conversions too). Before you release any blog posts, though, take the time to make sure they are optimized for people who are searching with different phrases. You can do this yourself by checking through every article before publishing or hiring someone else to look at them first.
If you need help optimizing your blogs for SEO, we at Purple Cow Digital Marketing can help you! We have SEO experts whom you can talk to anytime regarding SEO and other content marketing things.