How To Make Blog Posts SEO-Friendly: Michigan SEO Marketing

Michigan SEO marketing

Blog posts are a valuable component of a good SEO marketing campaign. Business owners have the opportunity to consistently update their website content with new, relevant information, which ultimately improves their Google rankings. Writing a good blog post is about more than just putting information on a page though. That information has to be optimized to rank well in search engines.

The guide below explains how to make blog posts SEO-friendly so you can adjust your Michigan SEO marketing strategies.

Choose A Focus Keyword Or Phrase From The Start

When search engine optimization first became a “thing,” the goal was to get as many keywords on the page as many times as possible. Over the years, Google has modified their algorithm to encourage better content on the web. It’s no longer a matter of incorporating a large volume of keywords or using one keyword respectively in the content (a process known as keyword stuffing). It’s more about making one word or phrase the star of the show without overdoing it.

Determine what your focus keyword or keyphrase will be before you start writing. This will keep the word hovering in the back of your mind as you begin to create the content. Your mind will naturally work the word or similar phrases into the paragraphs, and you won’t have to forcefully stick it in areas it doesn’t belong. Your readers will gain more value from the content, and Google will assign more authority to your blog and corresponding website.

Include Your Focus Keyword In These Important Areas

You can incorporate your focus keywords however you like in your content, but try to include them in the following areas:

  • Title (Ex: Creating A Commercial Roofing Maintenance Plan)
  • Headers (Ex: Step 1 – Find A Reputable Commercial Roofing Company)
  • URL (Ex: http://roofingsite.com/blog/commercial-roofing-maintenance)
  • Body Paragraphs (In the most natural way possible)
  • Alternate Image Titles & Image Names
  • Meta Description (The title and content description displayed in search engine results)

This may seem like a lot of places to use the same keyword, but it is not difficult to do. Most of these occurrences will happen on their own, or you will use a closely-associated keyword that you could substitute in your editing. Follow this general format every time, and your SEO marketing will improve immensely.

Target Local Consumers When Possible

If you run a local company (Metro Detroit roofing company vs. a nationwide supplier of roofing materials), try to target your own community while creating blog posts. For example, if you were writing about causes of foundation cracks, you could specify a location with the title “Causes Of Foundation Cracks In Troy, MI.” Adding a geo-modifier to your blog content will not only make it more appealing to local customers, but it will also improve your local SEO strategies. You may not be able to make location-based content for every blog post, but you should aim to do so as often as possible.

Link To Other Blog Posts On Your Website

Interlinking is another great SEO strategy for blog posts. The encourages readers to stay on your website, and it shows that you have more knowledge about the subject in question. If you are already using a silo structure for your Michigan SEO marketing, you can consider your blog a silo within itself. Link to one or two existing blog posts if you have a way to naturally incorporate them into your content.

Should I link to webpages on my website? Yes and no. While it may be tempting to link to a service page that corresponds to a service you mention in a post, doing so could break your silo structure. The more organized your website is, the easier it will be for Google to navigate it and promote your content. You can still leave a call to action at the bottom (Contact Detroit Internet Marketing at (248) 234-4830 to learn more about…), but try not to do too much interlinking outside of your business blog.

Check And Recheck For Spelling And Grammar Issues

Spelling and grammar are more important than you may realize. If your blog posts are riddled with errors, your readers will consider you less knowledgeable than you actually are. This can also hurt your Google ranking because the search engine rewards website that are well-crafted, well-developed, and well-informed. You don’t want to create a negative impression from the start because of a few typos.

Divide Your Content Into Sections And Paragraphs

You’ll notice that this blog post is divided into steps/tips, with each one separated by a descriptive header. This makes your content easier to scan, and it gives you more opportunities to incorporate your target keywords into your writing. If your blogs are giant blocks of text, most people will not sit around long enough to read them. Think about what you are willing to read on the internet, especially if you are searching on a mobile device. Do you want to sift through a page of words, or do you want to quickly navigate to the information you searched for?

At the end of the day, the key to making blog posts SEO-friendly is thinking about your audience and how they use search engines. If this is not something you’re familiar with, you can always talk to your Michigan SEO marketing company about using their content development services. At Detroit Internet Marketing, we have professional writers on-hand who are constantly informed about changes to Google’s algorithms and search engine optimization as a whole. They will make sure that your blog is set for success.