Starting a blog is an exciting venture, but one that requires finesse if you wish to succeed in the highly competitive landscape known as the internet.
One of the things that can help you grow your blog is digital marketing, particularly, Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO focuses on improving the visibility of a website or web page in organic or natural search engine results, including Google Search, Bing Search, Yahoo! Search, and other similar services.
To better understand what SEO has to offer to your blog, you must first keep in mind the most common mistakes new bloggers make when utilizing SEO.
1. Impractical Use of Keywords
In 2022, keywords are still essential in SEO. However, you need to use them in moderation, just like you would other marketing elements. Many people think that the more keywords they use, the higher the rank they’ll attain, but that’s not the case.
See, websites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing are looking for one thing—quality. If you’re keyword stuffing (i.e., using too many keywords in one blog post), you’re lowering the quality of the content you put out for your readers, which essentially hurts your ranking.
Besides that, you also risk getting penalized by search engines. It’s best to use at least two to three keywords per blog post to boost your chances of ranking online.
2. Lack of Focus
When it comes to blogging, it will help if you don’t spread yourself too thin, especially at the beginning of your online career. Meaning, try not to cover too many niches at once. In fact, you will boost your chances of success if you concentrate on your strengths and interests before branching out.
For example, you’re a makeup enthusiast. Instead of posting content about different topics, you can focus on writing about makeup-related matters, such as the best liquid foundations to use on oily skin or the best primers for long-lasting makeup looks.
Later on, you can diversify your content by including skincare routines in your blog posts. In general, blogging and digital marketing favor cohesive content, so start simple and build a stable readership.
3. The Use of “Dirty” Tricks
Any article on this subject wouldn’t be complete without addressing the bad digital marketing habits that have earned thousands of blog penalties from Google.
A prime example is using link farming. Link farming refers to the act of buying one or a few links from sites with high page ranks and then adding them to your blog, hoping they will help you rank higher in search engines.
Google takes a dim view of blogs that use these tactics to rank higher in the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs), so using them will undoubtedly have consequences.
Now that you’re aware of the SEO mistakes you should avoid, it’s now time for the SEO tips that can help your blog grow organically.
Top Tips for Effective SEO
One of the first things you need to do as a blogger is to mind the content you’re publishing on your blog. As previously mentioned, search engines, especially Google, prioritize quality when ranking pages. You have to make sure that the content you post is unique to your blog and interesting enough to keep readers going through your timeline.
While planning and creating content, you should also do keyword research. Taking the time to do so will yield keywords appropriate for your niche and give you an idea of the high volume and long-tail keywords you require for your SEO strategy.
Lastly, invest the time to study SEO and digital marketing. These fields are constantly evolving, and it’s impossible to learn about every feature and nuance overnight. It will do you and your blog good if you take a portion of your day to know everything they have to offer.
Conclusion
Staying on top of SEO is tricky and can be frustrating at times, but it’s a necessary task that every blogger should learn.
Take the time to understand the basics of SEO and follow the tips to ensure that your blog grows in a healthy and organic manner, away from penalties and search engine blocks.
If you’re looking for affordable SEO strategies to improve your online ranking, make sure to check out Akby! We’re a full-service digital marketing agency in Kansas, committed to helping clients boost their presence online. Aside from SEO, we also offer website development, paid ads, and lead generation. Contact us today!
