I mentioned in my previous post, Effective Content Marketing Blogging Strategy, that keywords are important for your blogging strategy.

A keyword is a primary word or phrase for your blog post. It defines the main point of your post.

Keywords can help your blog post get found and boost higher in the search engine ranking. It’s part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Without the right keywords for SEO, potential customers may not find you and your great content online. On the contrary, the right keywords will enable you to dominate your competition and attain a higher ranking in the search results.

When you create content people are looking for, you can rank on search engines for your chosen keywords. So, when you have an article about, “how to save on groceries,” readers can find you through search engines.

You’ll want to optimize your blog post with these keywords. Make sure they’re used in your headline, sub-headlines, content, tags, and URL of the blog post. Just make sure they appear and sound natural in your content.

After all, 51% of all website traffic comes from organic search according to SEMrush.

Be Sure to Tag Your Keywords

Do you spend a lot of time optimizing your content and then neglect to tag them on your blog post?  Tags are where search engines look and if there are no tags, they’ll pass right by your web pages.

Tags to be sure to use are the Title tag, Header tag, Meta tag, and Alt tag.

• Title tag – the is the title for your page and the most important place to put your keyword.
• Header tag – these are your headings and sub-headings used throughout your content. They are the next most important place to use your keyword.
• Meta tag – provide the small descriptive text found underneath the title tag on the search engine results page.  Like title tags these should be kept brief, informative and up to date.
• Alt tag – used to provide an image description. Each image should have a description and an alt tag.

More than 90% of pages don’t get traffic from Google because the writer didn’t do their keyword research. Neil Patel’s free tool, UberSuggest, is very helpful for this research.

Learn basic SEO and keep it in mind when blogging. This doesn’t have to be super complicated. Try to figure out what keywords your reader might use to find your post. Use that keyword phrase in your title, in a headline, in the first 100 words of your post, in tags, and when naming graphics.

However, don’t overdo it. Google doesn’t like keyword stuffing. Keep a balance between making readers happy and making Google happy. Please readers first, then search engines.

Including your keywords in your title, tags, and headlines will help your page rank higher in the search results. This will ultimately result in more traffic for your blog and your website. Which is something we all want. Am I right?

Also Use Related Keywords in Your Content

When you enter a keyword into the Google search field, it will create a drop-down of similar search terms in the order they are searched. Determine if you can also use these terms in your content to help create better SEO results.

You can also scroll to the bottom of the Google search results page and see Related Searches. These may be helpful as well. Most likely, these terms would be great to use for creating the relevant content your audience is looking for.

Whatever you write, use relevant keywords that relate to your post topic. Keyword density between 3-10% is good for getting higher page rankings in search engines. Base your keywords on the research you do to find the most popular words used in search engines for your niche.

Just remember to write for your audience not for the search engines. A genuine message from you will go a lot further than keyword stuffing your post.

Don’t Let the Idea of Using Keywords For SEO Overwhelm You

The most powerful and effective blog posts are written in a conversational tone. Just like when you’re talking to a friend.

Not like when you’re attending a boring corporate meeting. UGH!

Tell personal stories and share your experiences with your readers. It’s a powerful way to develop connections with them.

 If you feel more comfortable speaking rather than writing, you could record yourself and have me transcribe it into text for you.

Write first, edit later. Don’t let editing interrupt your creative flow. This is a lesson I had to learn myself. Get all your ideas out first onto paper or recorded. Then go back and edit, correct, put things in the proper order, etc.

Next, have me proofread your content. Spelling and grammar mistakes can hurt your credibility. These can be easily caught by using a fresh set of eyes.

Update Old Blog Posts with Keywords For SEO

Now that you know a little more about keywords and SEO, go back and update your old blog posts. Look at your headlines, sub-headlines, content, and tags to ensure they are boosted for SEO. This will help drive more traffic to your site.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. This will all come together with time and experience. Just keep writing, studying, and posting. You can’t figure everything out all at once. Just take it step-by-step, one content idea at a time.

Conclusion

SEO is much more than just using keywords, but this is a good start. You can begin to boost your search results with the suggestions found here.

Remember that using keywords for SEO will help readers find your website or blog posts when using search engines such as Google, Firefox, or Bing.

Tagging your keywords helps the search engine find your keywords and presents your website or post to the searching reader.

In addition, using relevant alternate keywords will help it get found as well.

If you are unable to research and choose keywords for SEO for your blog posts, or you just feel overwhelmed by the whole concept, I highly recommend you consider using an SEO knowledgeable virtual assistant such as myself.