Hey,
Thanks for willing to pay to access this content.
Before we get started, I want to emphasize that this content will focus on optimizing content for a specific search engine: Google.
Why?
Because Google is still the most-used search engine on the planet with a consistent market share of above 90% year over year.
Even if Google market share drops, the decline is not too significant and it still rules the market with over 80% market share.
Also, according to my experience, if you manage to win a certain keyword on Google, you will also win the same keyword on other search engines.
By the way, this is a long enough content. You need 20-30 minutes to finish this content.
If you are a coffee lover like me, I strongly recommend you to get your coffee ready before you start the read ☕️
Or, you can go to your favorite coffee shop. Don't forget to put your headset on to get rid of the distractions.
Happy reading!
💡 For a better reading experience, I strongly recommend you access this content via a laptop/desktop.
A Brief History of Google Algorithm
Google has been the primary organic traffic source for bloggers since the early days of blogging became popular in the 2000s.
Back in the day, a blog post could easily be on the first page of Google if it had enough numbers of keywords within the content. To push the position even higher, you could build backlinks.
Both keyword and backlink used to be the primary determinants of a blog post’s position on Google. In the past, there was an SEO practice called keyword stuffing — the practice of intentionally repeating a particular keyword on a blog post to manipulate search engine results.
The keyword stuffing practice could easily be recognized by humans because the sentences in the article typically looked unnatural.
However, the Google system was still unable to detect it back then.
Those who applied keyword stuffing, backed by building decent backlinks, used to be the winners.
Then Google released a major algorithm update in 2013 codenamed Hummingbird which changed everything.
The biggest change of the algorithm update was that Google now read and understood the overall topic of a page instead of just looking at the keywords it had.
Since the update, the keyword stuffing practice was practically not relevant anymore. On the other hand, link building was -- and still -- debatable.
Google Still Looks for Keywords, However
Just to clarify. Google still looks for keywords. People enter the keywords on Google to search for something, after all. Google then displays the results based on the given keywords.
That's how Google works.
But Google, as mentioned above, is way smarter than before since the Hummingbird update. It no longer scans pages merely for keywords. Instead, Google looks for pages that cover a particular topic in depth.
Why I Don't Recommend Backlinks
Above, I mentioned that link building is a debatable SEO practice. That’s because some bloggers get good results from link building. While others get absolutely nothing.
I personally don’t recommend link building if you are a blogger working solo because I am super convinced you have limited resources and time.
Let me tell you a story.
Google released another major algorithm update in August 2023.
With the August 2023 update, Google wanted to give websites that have good EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) a better ranking.
As a result of the update, websites that have more well-established brands and higher domain authority (DA) dominate the Google search results page because Google believes that websites with a strong brand and high DA are more trusted.
That's why smaller blogs are really struggling since the August 2023 update.
A Lesson from My Own Experience
I have another blog project called Better Tech Tips. Before the August 2023 update, the project managed to generate around $2,000 per month. I make money from the blog by accepting guest posts.
The main intention of someone asking for a guest post to be published on the blog is to get a backlink.
You know what?
Since the August 2023 update, the revenue of the project plumped to only $100 to $200 per month!
You know what it means?
People no longer look for backlinks because they know backlinks won’t help a lot to boost their site ranking on Google like they used to be.
So, instead of wasting your time and energy on link building, you can focus on one thing that matters the most: content optimization.
How About Domain Rating?
Domain rating (DR) and domain authority (DA) are two sexy metrics used by SEO agencies to sell their services. But you need to know that these metrics are not the official metrics from Google. Instead, these are the metrics developed by third-party SEO companies.
It’s true that both DR and DA are two ranking factors on Google, but the portions are not significant. Thus, I don’t recommend you focus on these metrics if you are a blogger with limited resources.
Why?
Because if you do, you will ignore what matters the most in SEO: content optimization.
Remember. You have limited time and resources. Use them wisely.
I will provide two examples to support my argument.
Take a look at the following screenshots:
On the above screenshots, you will find a cool site called UtilizeWP (utilize.com).
That's my blog.
For your information, the blog has a domain rating (DR) of only 18.
I repeat. 18!
But as you can see yourself, the blog manages to outrank some sites that have higher DR.
- Authority Hacker: 79
- Scaleo: 63
- Themify: 91
- WPBeginner: 90
- Blogging Wizard: 81
- Kindlepreneur: 72
You know what it means?
Content optimization matters more than any SEO metrics.
The Fundamentals of Content Optimization
Until here you should have understood the approach you will use when writing a blog post. You should focus on the topic, not keyword.
In SEO, the approach of covering a particular topic in-depth is called Semantic SEO.
But before we dig it deeper, let's cover the fundamentals of writing an SEO friendly blog post.
Here are 5 fundamentals you can stick to in order to make your posts SEO friendly.
1. Inverted Triangle Technique
If you have ever learned writing techniques, then the process of learning how to write SEO friendly articles will be much easier because basically, writing an SEO friendly article is no different from writing other types of writings.
Especially for articles published on the web platform.
The most fundamental thing you need to understand is that the sentence you write on the first paragraph determines the fate of the next paragraphs.
If your readers find that your first paragraph doesn't represent the whole article enough, then they will go away without finishing your article.
The same applies to SEO.
When Google finds your article on the internet via its bot (crawler), it will scan the content of your article to find out the topic you cover. Then, Google will present the scanning results to its results page based on the main keyword of the topic you cover.
Take a look at the following example:
You can read the full post of the above example here. This article is one of my articles that shows up on the first page of Google with several keywords.
When you type some keywords like "MailPoet review", "MailPoet pros and cons", "MailPoet free vs pro", you will find that the article shows up on the first page of Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
Yes, three keywords at once (even more) with only one article.
This is how powerful Semantic SEO is.
Back to the screenshot.
As you can see, in the article I write a review about MailPoet, a WordPress plugin to build newsletter. Much like MailerLite but running on your WordPress dashboard.
In the article, I mention that I have a personal experience with MailPoet and will share my experience via the article.
Then, I gradually further cover MailPoet in the next sentences. Like the features, pros and cons and other things related to MailPoet.
In the above example, you can learn that Google places my article on the first page of its search results page because it (Google) understands the topic I cover according to what I write in the opening sentence.
And most importantly, what I write in the next sentences align with what I write in the opening section
This is what I mean by inverted triangle.
Take a look at the following image.
Inverted triangle is a writing technique where you place the core of your writing in the opening section. The purpose is to let your readers know that your writing is what they need.
If your readers get a conviction by reading your first sentence, they will naturally continue reading the rest of your writing.
2. Proper Heading Format
Although it is not required to have HTML skills to write an SEO friendly blog post, having basic HTML knowledge will be much beneficial.
The most important thing, you need to understand the use of heading.
There are six levels of headings in HTML:
- Heading level 1 (H1)
- Heading level 2 (H2)
- Heading level 3 (H3)
- Heading level 4 (H4)
- Heading level 5 (H5)
- Heading level 6 (H6)
You can use these headings to divide your article into some sections to make it more convenient to read.
How important is the use of headings in SEO?
Extremely important!
HTML is the main language used on the open web. Google, as a machine, understands the content of a page via the HTML structure of the page.
For your information. All web pages available on the internet, although the format is not an article, is a document.
These documents (web pages) are formed from a computer language called HTML.
Heading is a part of the HTML structure in which its function is precisely the same as headings on other document editors like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice Writer and similar tools.
What is the function?
To place the title and sub-titles.
Fortunately, you don't need to bother writing the HTML code to use headings. Nearly all blogging platforms (including WordPress, of course) provide a visual editor to ease your job.
All you need is to understand when you should use H1, H2, and so on.
For your information if you are a WordPress user. WordPress will automatically convert the post title into H1 in the HTML structure.
While for H2, H3 and so on, you can set them yourself via the WordPress editor.
The question is, which part of the content should you use as the heading?
H1 is the heading level you need to notice the most. You should use this heading to place the title of your article. Not sub-titles.
And, you should place your main keyword here. In other words, the title of your article should contain the main keyword you want to target.
Here is an example of a good placement of a keyword on the title.
Please note that your title should not be too long because in some cases, Google will trim your title if it finds your title is too long.
The best practice is that your title should not exceed 78 characters.
Use H2 for Secondary Keywords
If you have secondary keywords that you want to target, you can place them to heading level 2 (H2).
Take a look at the following screenshot and notice the numbered parts.
The numbered parts are the secondary keywords I target for the example above.
As I mentioned earlier, I manage to win all secondary keywords I target.
Once again. This is the power of Semantic SEO.
3. URL Optimization
Another crucial thing you need to set before you publish a new article is the URL. Or URL slug more precisely.
URL slug is a string right after the domain name. Here is an example.
The best practice to optimize URL is to use the main keyword you target as the URL slug.
As you can see in the example above, I use the main keyword I target as the URL slug.
Nearly all articles I published have the similar URL format.
In WordPress, you can set the URL on the Post tab on the settings panel.
A crucial thing to note. If you already have a certain URL structure (e.g., yourdomain.com/category/post_name), never try to change it as it can ruin the SEO of the articles you have published.
I strongly recommend you to keep the current URL structure of your website.
However, don't forget to always set the slug every time you want to publish a new article.
4. Internal Linking
Internal links have a significant role in SEO, but not everyone really understands it.
They play a role in increasing the DR score of your website.
To prove this, you can check the DR of WPPagebbuilders, another blog of mine.
As you can see yourself, WPPagebuilders has a DR of 63. Way higher than UtilizeWP which has a DR of only 18!
The secret?
Internal linking.
For your information. I never intentionally built backlinks for WPPagebuilders. The DR score is earned naturally via internal linking practice.
Internal link itself is a link that points to another page on the same website (the same domain).
An example.
When I am writing an article about "How to Install a WordPress Theme", then some links I can add are links to related articles. Such as "Best WordPress Themes", "Magazine Themes" and so on.
To be able to have articles to be interlinked to, you definitely need to write and publish more articles.
However, it's crucial to note that not every keyword idea needs to be executed into an article. You don't have enough time and energy to do that. You need to work smarter. I will further cover this in the next section later.
What's interesting about internal links is that, once again, your DR score (if you still find it important) will increase naturally.
And more importantly, Google will consider that you are an expert on the particular topic/niche.
The question is. How to add internal links the right way?
There are two super important things you need to notice when adding an internal link: Anchor text and link title.
Anchor Text
Anchor text is a clickable text where you place a link to. Here is an example of an anchor text.
Adding an internal link is extremely easy. However, when it comes to SEO, there are some rules you need to follow.
You should add a link to a text according to its context (contextual anchor text).
How?
Say you are writing an article titled "How to Fix Your Slow WordPress Website". In the article, you want to add a link to an article titled "Best WordPress Hosting Services with Built-in CDN".
Instead of "click here" or "read here", you can use the anchor text "CDN Hosting" or "CDN".
Your creativity in cultivating words plays a significant role in adding an internal link.
Link Title
Contextual anchor text can help Google get a glimpse about the content behind the link. Link title can help to confirm what's exactly inside the anchor text.
I always add a link title every time I add an internal link and outcomes have been great so far.
What is a link title, by the way?
Link title is the text that shows up when you hover your cursor over a certain anchor text.
How to add a link title?
In WordPress, you can add link title via the following steps:
First, edit a text block that contains a link. Click the three-dot icon and select Edit as HTML.
Find the link where you want to add the title to and add title="" right after the link. You can place your title inside the quote marks.
5. Image Optimization
Image is an important element of an article. If you optimize it the right way, it can be an extra gateway for visitors to come to your website.
However, some people are still reluctant to optimize images on their website.
Why is image optimization important for SEO?
The contextual explanations you add to images can help Google to better understand the article you write.
Keep in mind. Google is not a human. It is just a machine.
We humans can easily recognize an image by just seeing it. Google, as a machine, needs to learn the attributes of an image before it can recognize the image.
About image optimization itself, there are at least two attributes you need to add:
- Title
- Alt text
In WordPress, you can easily add those attributes via the settings panel of the editor.
Here is the screenshot of how to add both image title and alt text.
Add title and alt image according to the context of the image use. Like in the example above when I added an inverted triangle image, the title I can use is "inverted triangle".
So is the alt text. You can use the same word for image title and alt text. Or you can use the combinations of synonyms.
Another important thing you need to take note before you upload an image is file naming. Especially for screenshot images which usually have random names.
Never upload an image before you rename the file name.
The best practice for image file naming is to use a file name according to the use of the image. Pretty similar to title and alt text.
For an example. For the inverted triangle above, the file name I can use is inverted_triangle.jpg.
How Long Does It Take for a New Blog Post to Get Indexed by Google?
This is one of the most-asked questions by new bloggers. How long does it take for a new blog post to get indexed by Google?
If you have added a sitemap of your website to Google Search Console then Google will periodically check the sitemap to find out whether or not a new article has been published to your site.
Only Google knows when exactly your article will be indexed.
One obvious thing. The age of your domain determines how long it takes for an article to be indexed by Google.
Some "SEO experts" say that the age of a domain doesn't affect how long it takes for an article to be indexed by Google. But experience cannot lie.
For an example. If I publish a new article on utilizewp.com, I can confidently say that the article will be indexed in less than three days.
Conversely, if I publish a new article on a brand new domain (which I bought less than a month ago), then it takes weeks or even months for the article to be indexed by Google.
So, the sooner you buy a domain and get your site online (if you want to create a new project), the better.
How to Know If a Blog Post is Indexed?
To check whether a blog post has been indexed by Google, first, open Google. Then, type site:post URL on the search box and hit enter. Example:
If you find your blog post on the results page (you should only see one post), it means that your blog post has been indexed by Google.
What if your article is not indexed yet?
Continue below to learn how to make your website get indexed faster.
Performing the Manual Indexing Request
If you really can’t wait for your new blog post to get indexed, you can request for an indexing manually via Google Search Console.
But keep in mind. There is no guarantee that your blog post will get indexed more quickly.
If you want to try this method, go to Google Search Console and login with your Google account. Paste the URL of your blog post to the search box at the top and hit the enter key on your keyboard.
Click REQUEST INDEXING and wait a second until the process is done.
You can re-check days after you make the indexing request (using the site operator) whether or not your article has been indexed.
Two Fundamental SEO Techniques
Ever since the Hummingbird update, Google now scans a page to understand the topic that the page covers before it presents the page to the search results page.
TOPIC is the main highlight here.
If you want to succeed long-term in the SEO game, you should focus on the topic instead of keyword. When you focus on the topic, you will win on multiple keywords with a single post. This is how you can work smartly as a blogger.
The SEO technique of focusing on the topic instead of keyword is called Semantic SEO. This is the main fundamental SEO technique you can focus on.
Apart from Semantic SEO, another fundamental technique you can use to build a SEO strong foundation for your blog is Skyscraper Content.
Semantic SEO
Semantic SEO is a strategy of content creation that focuses on topic, not keyword. The strategy focuses on understanding the search intent and provides comprehensive information that answers all of the questions from users.
What is search intent?
Simply put, it is someone's intention when they want to look for something on Google.
For an example.
When I want to use an email marketing service (say MailPoet), then I naturally will collect some information about MailPoet to support my decision whether or not I should use MailPoet.
One of the ways to get information about MailPoet is by reading reviews from real users, which I can find on Google.
When I am looking for some reviews about MailPoet on Google, then I will check the following details:
- Pros and cons of MailPoet
- The differences between the free version and the pro version
- Features I get from the pro version
- The pricing of the pro version
Generally, you can find the above information on the official website of the software provider (MailPoet in this case). But reviews from users are more trusted and unbiased.
That's why many potential users tend to read reviews from real users before they subscribe to a certain service.
Rationally, you can turn the above points into separate articles with different keywords and angles.
However, I have to say that it's a terrible idea.
Once again. You need to work smarter. Not harder.
Instead of creating separate articles for each point above, you can create a long-form article with one main keyword and several secondary keywords.
Don't trust me?
You can try to type the following keywords on Google and notice the results.
- MailPoet review
- MailPoet pro price
- MailPoet free vs pro
- MailPoet pros and cons
On each keyword you type, you will find my blog post (the same blog post) shows up on the first page of Google SERP.
If you still unsure, you can try to type the following keywords on Google:
- Elementor json templates
- Download free Elementor templates
- Free elementor json templates
- ProfilePress review
- ProfilePress pros and cons
- ProfilePress pro features
And you will also find my blog posts show up on the first page of Google 😎
That's the power of Semantic SEO.
You can win multiple keywords at once with only one article. Smart work!
When you focus on the topic and provide comprehensive, high quality content, you will win big on Google.
The Steps to Write a Blog Post Using Semantic SEO Technique
When you write a blog post using Semantic SEO technique, you will implement what's called Topically Relevant content.
What is that?
Typically Relevant content is basically an SEO technique where you cover the intended topic in-depth. It is the main part of Semantic SEO.
Since you want to cover a particular topic in-depth, then you need more words.
But how many words should you use in an article?
2,000 is the minimum word count for a blog post if you truly want to optimize your blog post using Semantic SEO technique.
The argument for this is simple enough. You can't cover a topic in-depth with 500-700 words!
Here are the steps to write a blog post using Semantic SEO technique.
Step 1: Build a Keyword List
You can win multiple keywords on Google with only one blog post. But before you really win, you need to build the list of keywords you want to target.
I have provided a clear example above with one of my blog posts where I target four keywords at once.
In my case, the primary keyword I target is MailPoet review. While the secondary keywords I target are Mailpoet pro price, Mailpoet free vs pro, MailPoet pros and cons.
How to know if a keyword has a search volume on Google?
There are a bunch of keyword research tools you can use. My favorite is Free Keyword Tool from WordStream because it is free.
Visit the tool's page. Once the page is loaded, enter the keyword you want to target and click the Search button.
You can take at least three keywords. One primary keyword and two secondary keywords.
You can use spreadsheet software like Google Docs or Microsoft Excel to record the keywords and the search volumes.
Keep in mind. The keywords should be related between one and another.
You can download the example of a spreadsheet file I use for keyword research here.
Step 2: Create Topic Outline
After you have collected the keywords you want to target, the next step is to create an outline of the article you want to create.
You can use any editor to create the outline, but I strongly recommend you use an editor that supports Markdown. Such as Google Docs and Notion.
By using an editor that supports Markdown, you can place the main keyword on H1 and secondary keywords on H2. This way, you will have a clear guide where you should place your keywords when executing the article.
Here is an example of an outline I use for this article.
Once you are already familiar with Semantic SEO, you can use any editor of your choice as long as you already know where you will add the keywords you want to target.
Step 3: Write a Long Post and Publish
You have conducted the keyword research and have put together all the keywords you want to target.
You have also created the topic outline.
So, the next step is to go to your WordPress dashboard and start to write the content.
Remember again. The minimum word count is 2,000 words. The longer, the better.
Skyscraper Content
You have learned the Semantic SEO technique and how powerful it is to win multiple keywords on Google.
Now, it's the time to learn another powerful SEO technique to boost your traffic. This technique is an enhancement of Semantic SEO so the core concept is the same.
The technique is called Skyscrapper Content and is designed specifically to create listicles.
The main idea of Skyscapper Content is to write a longer listicle than the ones on Google.
For an example.
When I type "recurring affiliate programs" and the Google SERP shows the longest listicle is "10 Best Recurring Affiliate Programs", then I can write a listicle titled "11 Best Recurring Affiliate Programs".
The point is that you build a taller "building" than the "buildings" already show up on Google SERP.
To prove how powerful the Skyscapper Content technique is, you can type the following keywords on Google.
- Elementor json files
- Amazon affiliate alternatives
- WordPress hosting with cdn
- Sticky header theme WordPress
You will even be surprised because I managed to outrank websites that have higher DA!
That's the power of Skyscraper Content.
How to Write a Blog Post Using Skyscraper Content Technique
As I said above, Skyscapper Content is the enhancement of Semantic SEO which is specifically designed to create listicles. Thus, the steps to create an article using Skyscapper Content technique are the same as Semantic SEO.
First, you need to conduct the research to put together the keywords you want to target. You then create an outline of the article and execute it to become an article.
Always remember this particular thing when writing a listicle using the Skyscapper Content technique:
Make sure that your "building" is taller than the "buildings" already show up on Google SERP.
Also make sure that the title of your article aligns with the content. Don't cheat your readers!
Example.
If your title says "20+ Free Elementor Templates to Download", then you should also have 20 downloadable Elementor templates.
Or if your title says "25 Best Amazon Affiliate Alternatives", then you should also have 25 alternative items to replace the Amazon affiliate programs.
That's it.
Once again. Thanks for willing to pay to access this content. Good luck!