This article was updated on August 6th, 2020 at 05:57 am

I have been asked several thousand times why I started my own blog. The initial aim was to share my ideas and experiences with others. However, I soon realized that my blog could become a great way to expand my networking opportunities with my professional peers. So, I started being more and more creative with the ideas and the content. However, I wasn’t getting the kind of attention I desired.

After some research what I found was that readers didn’t even know my blog existed because I hadn’t bothered to optimize it for the popular search engines. Not implementing good SEO strategies meant that my content wasn’t being listed among the top results on the search engine results pages. If this was a business website, it would mean that I was losing out on visitors, therefore conversion and sales.

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So, here are 5 ways you can successfully implement SEO strategies to give your blog higher online visibility.

Correct Keyword Research

Thorough research is highly important to ensure that you are using the keywords that your target audience is most likely to use for their searches. These keywords are the questions that readers ask Google. You can find the relevant keywords by monitoring the relevant audiences on social media or using the Google Trendz service. You can also use the Google Keyword Popularity Tool to get the list of keywords that are likely to drive most traffic. Try to opt more localized keywords, such as “best gynecologist in New Jersey” instead of just “best gynecologist” to improve your search engine rankings. You can also use AdWords to get local search results and some great blog ideas based on your readers’ needs and interests.

Related: 5 Best Keyword research tools

Focus on Keywords & Content

The first piece of advice every blogger gets when they are trying to increase organic traffic is optimizing their blog posts for keywords. The key is to write content using the keywords, such that the keywords don’t seem forced. Remember, Google and your readers are looking for high quality content. So, make sure the use of keywords does not take away from the overall quality.

Check out this article from Google itself where they talk about how content is king.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Many bloggers make the mistake of stuffing their content with keywords, where they either use the keyword too many times and unnecessarily, or they use too many keywords that makes sentences sound awkward. This will not only have a bad impact your readership, it will also impact your search engine rankings. In fact, it might go so far as to incur a Google keyword stuffing penalty.

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Include Keywords in the Permalink, Title and First Sentence

Once you have chosen the keywords, it is important that you place them in right places for maximum impact. The first place you need to put the keyword is in the post’s URL or permalink. This can be done by visiting settings and clicking on permalinks> post name. This will be a major step towards your blog’s SEO success.

Read this: The perfect SEO permalink structure

Install a Good SEO Plugin

The good news about using a WordPress site is that you can actually get a good SEO plugin that will do all the dirty work for you. Yoast SEO is a popular tool of millions of users and mine too. Yoast SEO adds specific functionality to your blog or website that helps improve your position in the organic search results. However, you’ll need to use this SEO plugin correctly and choose the right keywords for best results.

The plugin can be easily installed from WordPress’s admin area by clicking Plugins > Add New and typing “WordPress SEO by Yoast” in the search box. After that, click on “Install now” and then click “Activate” to start using the plugin.

The key to making to the top of the search engine results is actually a combination of original, high quality content, with a good sprinkling of relevant keywords. So, don’t forget one to achieve the other.

Series: How to Start Blogging

Also, check out other articles in this series.

Ep 7: How to Get Started with SEO

Correct Keyword Research

Focus on Keywords & Content

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Include Keywords in the Permalink, Title and First Sentence

Install a Good SEO Plugin

Series: How to Start Blogging

Ep 6: How to Install Plugins on WordPress Blog

Ep 8: How to Decide What Content to Blog About

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