Step-by-step mini snippet to set up a blog post SEO

How to optimize a blog post

1. Select the keyword and searcher intent you want for the page. One core keyword = One page. Google rank pages not domains. Use keywords tools: Ahrefs, KW finder, Keysearch, Keywordseverywhere.
2. Optional: find related non-core keywords to write sub-sections.
3. Write the content of the page without worrying about optimization. Write for users.
4. Optimize page title with the chosen keyword. Use dates, numbers, power words in titles. Use HeadlineStudio.
5. Optimize URL slug: include keyword, use hyphens, keep it short, max 3 levels of path nesting.
6. Optimize meta Description: include keyword, google shows it on the search page, so make it readable and attractive.
7. Optimize page content: set up a single H1 tag, include core keyword in the first 100 words, use synonyms and LSI keywords (Latent Semantic Indexing keywords are words that are commonly used within the context of the main topic, e.g. coffee: water, machine, recipe...).
8. Structure your document: H1, H2, H3. Make it readable: keep paragraphs short, break up text with images and headings.
9. Optimize images filenames and alt attributes: use human-friendly namings.
10. Include internal and external links. Your page must be a part of the whole net. Link to already well-ranked pages, competitors, authorities.
11. Use semantic markup, use specific HTML tags such as <article>, <p> and others instead of universal one like a <div>.
12. Set up robots.txt, sitemap.xml, google search console.
13. Use appropriate microformats and rich snippets. Set up Facebook Open Graph tags and support for Twitter cards.
14. Include canonical meta tag: <link rel="canonical" href="https://..." /> and consider to cross-post your content on various platforms.
15. Optimize page load speed, make it mobile-friendly and make sure to use https.
16. Apply writing tips and tricks: give some value at the very beginning, use "So what?" and "Why should I care?" mindset, use humor, make it controversial, use cliff-hangers, make it personal, end with a call-to-action.

Comments

[GrahamTheDev]

A really good list, unfortunately you need to know SEO to use it (things latent semantic indexing LSI will confuse a lot of people) but I will be bookmarking it as the basis of a checklist as it covers some points I always forget! 👍

[OlegP]

Good point. I've added a small explanation about LSI keywords. Thanks!