Image via Wikipedia

SEO optimization of blog posts is critical in gaining large volumes of traffic to a web site. Imagine being on the first page of Google for a term.. it certainly does bring more visitors your way. In 55% of cases, Google users will click on the first line of search results returned.

Today I want to show you search engine optimization for blog posts. I use WordPress for my blog, so we will use that as the model. WordPress is a very popular and easy to customise blogging tool.

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Step 1 : Make a list of relevant seo keywords

To do this we are going to go to the Google keyword tool https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal and enter the seo keyword that you will be basing your blog post around. For this example we will use :

blog post seo optimization

Now make a note of the related keywords that are returned, as we will be using these sprinkled throughout the blog post.

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Step 2 : Write your blog post

Write a blog post that your readers will find informative and educational. Sprinkle your seo keywords in a way that will make your post easy to read and interesting for the human being.

Step 3 : Use these SEO techniques:

• Use a list of related seo keywords that you can then go back and create blog posts for (I have done this at the bottom of this post as an example). This will encourage your visitors to stay on the site for longer, and will provide them with more information
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• add the main seo keyword to your blog post title and use it 3 or 4 times throughout the post if you can without making the post sound too wooden and unnatural. Some people overdo their SEO optimization on blog posts.. and it just reads in a way that is not human friendly at all
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• Use h2 headings with related seo keywords as Google looks at this when it decides how to rank pages
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• Link out to authority sites such as Wikipedia or sites ending in the .edu, .org and .gov when possible and this will make the site more authoritarian in the eyes of Google. Let’s not forget that we need to do what Google loves so that it gives us kudos for our page and rewards us with a strong seo positioning on the search engine results page.
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And you need to do this too:

• Add an educational video from YouTube that is relevant and useful. Use it to demonstrate your point or add something extra to your post that will educate and inform your readers. They are easy to insert, just use the embed code provided next to the video on  YouTube  to the html of your post. 
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Here is a video that I found about Zemanta WordPress Plug-In – you don’t always have to post a video – but it can liven up the post.

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• In addition to using my own royalty free images, I use some from Zemanta WordPress Plug-in which suggests media images that are related to whichever topic you are writing about. The images usually come from flickr and other sites that allow reuse of them and there is a link back to the original site. Using photos and video make the post more interesting and interactive for your readers.
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• Change the image title and the alt tag on the image properties to your main seo keywords
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• create your post in small paragraphs so that your readers can easily scan the post – as this how humans prefer to read online
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• add bold to your words where it makes sense to break up the text further and for the readers to easily pick out the succinct points
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• Add your blog post to the right categories and assign tags
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• use All-in-One SEO Pack Plug-in and create a description and add related keywords too
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Step 4 : Publish the post

Then use social bookmarking and social media to distribute links to your post. Write an article and link back to your site..

Remember that by using Google Analytics you can understand more about what types of blog posts and seo techniques are working well on your site. You can also see where visitors have come from and which links they use to leave, how long they spend on your site etc and it will tell you how you are doing with your seo and whether your optimization on your blog post is up to scratch.
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In future seo blog posts I will cover:

• how to optimize a website for improved local search engine results
• how to seo optimize images
• how to select seo keywords
• social bookmarking
• how to use use social media profiles for your off site seo
• how to use RSS to help your seo
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Is this how you seo optimization for your blog posts?