10 must do actions when writing a blog post in WordPress
Blogging is a really effective way to generate interest and engagement in your business but getting your blog posts right is very important.
Here are my top 10 things to do or consider:
The Title Box
In the box under EDIT POST make sure you use a title that reflects your content well. WHY – Because this is used to create your blogs URL which is important to your blogs ranking.
Getting your on page SEO right
Ensure you have an SEO plugin installed. Two of the best are YOAST and All In One SEO Pack. At the bottom of your post you will see the plugin window. You must have a TITLE and DESCRIPTION in the fields. Do not exceed the recommended character count but do try and use as much on the available characters as possible. The TITLE is critical to your ranking so make it good. Your description has no effect on ranking but it’s your sales pitch in the search results.
Focus Your Content
Remember a blog post is the same as a web page in it’s structure so apply all the same SEO rules as you would if it was a web page.
Google indexes pages not sites so when you create your content make sure it’s focussed and not covering many subjects. This post is a good example of a focussed post.
Use Categories
Use categories. Categories are the navigation system for your blog. If you have a few posts it’s not an issue but in years to come when you have 100’s there needs to be a way of classifying them. Try to create up to 10 categories when you start blogging and ensure every post is assigned at least one category. You can always change or add to these in the future.
Add Captions to Images
Add CAPTIONS to your images where it’s appropriate. If the captions are not formatted properly ask your web developer to sort this. There is nothing more frustrating that seeing an interesting image and not knowing what it is.
Ensure Images Have ALT TEXT
Make sure you add ALT TEST to your images. Use these to describe your image. It can be the same as the caption. ALT TEXT is good for SEO.
Consider using Publishing Schedules
Use the published schedule option to create blogs for future releases. If you can create your posts at the beginning of the month then set then up to publish automatically you can save a lot of time.
Use Headings Properly
Have just one HEADING1 on the page and use HEADING2’s for splitting up sections. The H1 is very important for SEO.
Link Back to your Web Site
Wherever possible make sure you provide a link back to a page on your web site if it’s appropriate. If someone is interested in what you are saying make is easy for them to get more information and engage with you.
Consider Adding a Picture of the Author onto the Blog
Seeing a picture who is writing is always interesting and creates a greater feeling of trust. You may need your developer to implement this.
I hope you’ve found this useful.
