Wondering how to optimize a blog? This article will show you how one writer followed SEO principles to write a compelling, keyword-optimized blog. But first, let's review the 10 principles of blog optimization:
1: Include your priority keyword in the headline. This will receive the most attention by search engines.
2: Include your priority keyword in the first paragraph. It should be identical to the keyword in the headline.
3: When natural, place the priority keywords in a subhead. This will rank higher than general text references.
4: Choose 2-3 additional keywords for each blog. Sprinkle references throughout.
5: Use your priority keyword 8-10 times in each blog. No density is required for other keywords.
6: Hyperlink your priority keyword to a non-blog page on the customer's website.
7: Include at least 600 words of text. The recommended length is 800 words.
8: Use the names of local cities, counties and places in your blogs to win local results.
9: If cloning an existing blog, ensure that a minimum of 40% of the blog is re-written, reworded or reordered.
10: Remember that the customer comes first. When deciding between cost-efficiency and customer satisfaction, choose satisfaction.
With that in mind, let's show you how these principles were applied. The priority keyword was "COVID-19 variants." The writer chose a secondary keywords of "disinfection systems" and "public health"
PRINCIPLE #1
The priority keyword was included in the headline.
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PRINCIPLE #2
The priority keyword was also included in the first paragraph.
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PRINCIPLE #3
The priority keyword was also used in a sub-head.
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PRINCIPLE #4
The writer sprinkled 2-3 additional secondary-priority keywords into the text. Note the use of "disinfection systems" and "public health."
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PRINCIPLE #5
The writer used the priority keyword, "COVID-19 Variants" a total of 8 times in the blog, meeting our recommendations for keyword density.
PRINCIPLE #6
The writer hyperlinked the priority keyword to the services page on the customer's website.
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PRINCIPLE #7
The completed blog was 674 words long, meeting the recommended length requirements of 600-800 words.
PRINCIPLE #8
The blog example was written for a national audience. No local cities, counties or states were used in this blog. The writer may have looked for public health data in various states to incorporate geography-based search terms.
PRINCIPLE #9
The blog was originally written. If it would have been cloned, we would have looked to make sure it consisted of at least 40% of new text. This text would be rewritten, reworded or reordered in a way that Google would recognize it as custom content.
PRINCIPLE #10
The customer asked that this blog be posted directly to their website. Unfortunately, out blog plugin didn't work. We chose customer satisfaction over cost-efficiency by having Social5 post it manually to their site.