SEO & Blogging: Simple Tips and Hints

Post context: I was watching a #fblchat with some interest as it was to do with SEO. Having worked in the industry since 2009 I thought it might be helpful if I wrote a quick post explaining SEO, and what it has to do with bloggers. I've worked on SEO campaigns for many brands in the UK including Selfridges, Holland & Barrett and plenty of travel and leisure companies too, so I feel that I am relatively qualified to provide some advice. So if you are interested in what I have to say, check out the post below...

What is SEO?

SEO isn't a term to be scared of - it is an acronym for the phrase 'search engine optimisation' which in simple terms is to do with where you rank in the search engines (mostly Google). You will hear a lot of people saying that they want to be "at the top of Google" but what does this really mean? Of course it is great to be in the first position for your own name, and the name of your blog, but you can't expect to dominate the rankings for every term you have ever used on your blog.

However you might want to get more traffic for certain blog posts you write, whether it is a review of a new concealer or your opinion of a new restaurant that has opened in your neighbourhood. If you think about it, everything you write about on your blog will be quite specific, and this is also how people use search engines! Think about when you use Google; you wouldn't search for 'concealer review' or 'restaurant review' - you would probably be looking for something like 'Bobbi Brown Long Wear foundation review', etc. For future reference, this is known as 'long tail SEO'

This gives you a clue of how you should structure your own blog so people can find what they are looking for. Google exists to provide users with the most relevant results for the search they have conducted, so make your blog relevant for more traffic!

Improving blog relevance

OK so now you now what SEO is and how it applies to you, it is time to make a few changes to how you do things. On your blog you should look at the following:

• Blog post titles
• Subheadings
• Blog post content
• Image tags
• URLs

Think about the people who would benefit from your blog post, and work from there. Your blog post title should be engaging, but also include the key words that will appeal to searchers (this includes brand names and product names). Subheadings are also hugely important for providing further context to a blog post, try and use 'heading 2' (called 'subheading' in Blogger) where possible rather than simply making your text bold.

Since search engines read your blog posts from top to bottom, make sure you include the important bits first, or at least make sure your opening paragraph is nice and descriptive. Further things you can do include adding descriptions to your images and photographs, as well as making sure your URLs include real words rather than just strings of numbers.

Increasing blog visits

If you use blogger, you might have seen the 'search description' option when you are writing each blog post. You should put a sentence or two in this area to summarise your post - try to avoid leaving it blank. Whilst it won't necessarily help where you rank in Google, it will provide searchers with a reason to click through to your blog if they are intrigued by what you have written in your description.

You can also use your statistics to find out what posts people have enjoyed the most, and which ones have received the most visits. This can give you some ideas about other posts to create on the same topic or as part of a series. It is really helpful to use Google Analytics if you don't already - it is really easy to sign up (for free!) and put a tracking code on your blog, especially if you use Blogger. You will get so many insights about what people have searched before in order to land on your blog.

How to rank higher in the search engines

Most of you will already be doing many things the right way, so keep up the good work. However there are a couple of things you can do on top of what you are already doing. Perhaps the most tried and tested method is by 'link building' but you need to be really careful that you aren't being a spammer! Use your connections and do a bit of guest posting on other blogs - people you are friendly with surely won't mind you linking back to your blog. Try and be clever here and mix up the type of links that you build, you will want:

• A mix of branded terms (i.e. use your blog name and send people to your home page)
• More specific terms (i.e. 'review of Bobbi Brown long wear foundation' which directs people to that page on your blog)
• A combination of the two (i.e. 'read my Bobbi Brown long wear foundation review on Pinafores and Pies')

Also... Google is highly interested in SoLoMo, which stands for social, local and mobile. Undoubtedly you are already doing loads on a social level! Local relates more to businesses but it doesn't hurt to use city or town referencing especially when talking about shop/restaurant locations. In terms of mobile, just make sure your site is easy to use on a mobile device.

My final piece of advice is to improve the linking structure between the pages on your blog. If you are writing a blog post and are referencing one of the ones you have done in the past, make sure you include a link to it. However you should put the link on the name of the post itself (or a short description of it), rather than saying 'click here' as this means nothing to Google so it won't understand the relevance of the connection. To give you an example, I could link to my Porcelain Foundation Swatches: Bobbi Brown Vs Gosh blog post. Super easy.