Blog Writing Tips: Master SEO Keywords for Success

Updated: Aug 12, 2016

Whatever you do, we’re willing to bet that you do it pretty darn well. Right?

You know that you’re an expert within your niche, but it’s important that your audience knows that, too. Keeping a blog is an excellent way to do exactly that while delivering relevant and valuable information to your readers.

But, like anything to do with your website, we can’t overlook SEO in the process.

The 4-1-1 on SEO

We’ve talked a lot about SEO here on The Brand Brew ® blog, and the reason is that, well, it’s important. Like, really important!

Search Engine Optimization (SEO), in a nutshell, is the practice of helping search engines discover, understand, and surface your website for relevant searches. Keywords are part of the recipe, but so are useful content, site structure, technical health, authority, and user experience.

Greater visibility in relevant search results can bring more of the right people to your website, creating more opportunities to turn that attention into business.

SEO Keywords and Blogging

An effective SEO & GEO strategy can help connect your website content with the language and search intent of the people you're trying to reach.

Remember, blogging supports your business in many key ways, not the least of which is funnelling new traffic toward your website. Aligning your blog content with your broader SEO strategy can help those articles support both your audience and your visibility in search.

Blogs are an excellent place to explore the more specific questions and topics behind long-tail searches. They give you room to answer those queries naturally and in greater depth than a landing page often allows.

Let’s Talk Content

Don’t get it twisted—blogs are not simply vessels for keywords. They need to be relevant, engaging, and valuable to your readers.

Remember, your audience comes first. SEO works best when it helps search engines understand genuinely useful content created for people.

The two main components of high-quality content are the topic and the execution. To ensure your topics are on point, consider crafting a content calendar ahead of time with blog ideas that pack a punch. 

Look at what others in your industry are talking about, and keep your content calendar flexible enough to slip in a last-minute blog post if something new comes up.

Use keyword research, search intent, and audience questions to help guide your topics and don’t be afraid to take inspiration from your audience.

If you get a lot of questions on a certain topic, create a blog post that you can use as a reference in the future! We at The Brand Brew ® use this strategy, too!

Now, let’s talk execution.

Optimizing Blog Posts for SEO

SEO and copywriting go together like tea and crumpets. When done correctly, your blog can genuinely serve your target audience while giving search engines the context they need to understand your content.

For many, pleasing potential buyers through blog content is a little bit more intuitive. You know your buyer personas, the value you offer, and what information your audience might be looking for. But helping search engines understand it?

Here’s how to optimize blog posts to boost your SEO strategy:

1. Hello, Headings!

Just like headings tell your readers what’s going on with your blogs, they do the same for search engines, making headings a natural place to incorporate relevant keywords when they accurately describe what follows.

2. Don’t Miss Metadata

Metadata, like title tags and descriptions, are also an ideal place for SEO keywords.

Metadata is used to concisely describe the content of a page.

Make the most of the opportunity by writing clear, descriptive metadata that naturally reflects the article's primary topic and search intent.

3. All Hail Long-Tail

We mentioned this above, but it’s worth its own list entry.

Long-tail keywords are more specific search queries that often reflect clearer intent. They may attract less search volume individually, but they can connect you with people looking for something very specific.

Blogs, however, are the perfect way to give your long-tail keywords their time to shine.

4. Loco for Local

Local SEO can be especially important for businesses serving a defined geographic area.

Local keywords help businesses reach customers in their area. However, like their long-tail counterparts, they can be a bit difficult to integrate smoothly into website copy.

Thank goodness blogs are here to save the day!

5. Let’s Talk Length

How long should your SEO blog be? Long enough to answer the question well—and no longer than it needs to be.

Google doesn't have a preferred word count, so adding fluff simply to hit an arbitrary target won't give you an SEO advantage. Focus instead on covering the topic thoroughly, answering the reader's likely questions, and delivering enough substance that they don't need to keep searching for the answer elsewhere.

6. We Love Linking

As you’ve scrolled through this blog, you’ve surely noticed hyperlinks sprinkled throughout. 

The vast majority of those are internal links—links that connect to other pages within The Brand Brew ® website, mainly blog posts. 

Internal linking helps readers discover related content while helping Google understand your site's structure and the relationships between pages.

As you build your blog's ecosystem, you'll have more opportunities to connect related articles and service pages using clear, contextual anchor text.

Harness the Power of SEO Blogging

The Brand Brew®'s SEO & GEO Strategy brings keyword research, search intent, content planning, and AI visibility together to build the foundation for discovery, while Messaging & Photography helps turn that strategy into content that sounds like your brand and connects with the people you want to reach.

Book a call and let's brew content that's worth finding—and worth reading.