A Full SEO Checklist to Get Your Content Ranking
Writing a blog post is similar to writing articles, which requires valid information, skills and a certain structure to maintain interest in the content in addition to different SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques to improve search engine rankings.
General Post Structure:
1) Introduction: Introduce your subject in general and prepare for the idea discussed in the body
2) Body: Should include multiple clear paragraphs, each section introducing a new idea.
3) Conclusion: Wrap up your article with a brief summary of your article.
Content:
4) Article details: Minimum post length 300 words
5) Interlink your articles: You can add links to old posts added on the site previously. For example, if your topic is about Facebook ads, and you have already written an article about the importance of Facebook, then you can add a link to that post which helps decreasing bounce rate of your blog.
6) Do not use hidden text
7) Keyword list (Before writing your post, write a list of keywords to be included in your article related to your topic)
8) Add reference links (to high ranking sites)
9) Include signal words: Also, First of all, Finally…
10) Add CTA (Call to action) ex (popup->Subscribe) or end the article with: Register or Subscribe.
Plugins:
11) Images should be optimized: File name, image Alt attribute, Image Title attribute, Description… you can install “seo friendly images” plugin.
12) Install “Yoast WordPress SEO plugin”. Then, below each post, it is necessary to fill up all sections: general tab: Snippet Preview, SEO title, meta description, focus keyword. After doing so, check Page Analysis tab to review what is missing in your post.
13) Make sure layout is responsive
SEO:
14) Post URL should be relevant
15) Use Title, heading & Subheadings:
only 1 Title <title>main heading | website name<title> appears in title bar. (less than 70 characters)
only 1 <h1>
multiple <h2>
16) Primary keyword to be used in both tags
<h1>Main Heading</h1>
<h2>Secondary Heading 1</h2>
<h3>Sub-section of the secondary heading 1</h3>
<h2>Secondary Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Sub-section of the secondary heading 2</h3>
Other:
17) Social sharing icons are available & making sure to each post is published on all social media
18) Subscribe to blog section.
19) Comment Field is available but make sure to approve the comments before posting to avoid spam
20) create blog author profile rather than showing posted by …@socialmediatag.com…add author bio and a picture
Below is a sample of a well structured post:
One thing to keep in mind, when posting articles is not to focus entirely on SEO but rather producing the best content for users and sharing it on different social media networks. Check the 2015 social media map here.