First things first, most blogs you will write in the future of your career will probably be filtered through WordPress. WordPress is free to use, but you pay extra to have customized Search Engine Optimization (SEO) opportunities.
Structuring your Posts (Header 2 or “H2” tag)
GoogleDocs helps out a lot with formatting, and I prefer to write blogs inside of Docs before copy and pasting into WordPress’s posts. You will want to write generally 500-ish words for every blog, sometimes more. There should be a Title, opening paragraph, and two to five sections (with headers of their own). Feel free to create sub-sections within your larger ones to help section out each topic you are writing about.
Keyphrase
The core to every blog is the keyphrase. Generally, a keyphrase will contain two to four words and will pop up within your blog three to five times. Write it within your Title, one of your H2 titles, and a few times within the body of your blog. It’s important to keep in mind that research should generally be done to find the best keyphrase on the topic that you want to write about. This is where SEO comes in – make your keyphrase rank high on Google! This is what people are already searching for on Google, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and even TikTok! Get inspired for the keyphrase by typing in keywords into the search bar, and see what else pops up underneath it.
Inbound and Outbound Links
The goal behind every blog is for the average internet user to be able to find your website, and therefore having the page rank higher in search results. A way to have people jump through different rabbit holes is to include inbound and outbound links. Make sure when you format the post inside of WordPress that all links open within a new tab.
What is an inbound link? An inbound link is a link to your website within the text of your blog. It will relate to whatever you are writing about, and generally will lead people to more information about your product or services. For example, I want people to hire me for digital marketing services. I will talk about different techniques within my blog, then link a couple words to my digital marketing page on my website. Don’t be afraid to use two or more inbound links within each blog you write. Furthermore, for inbound links ONLY, delete all of the link before the forward slash that includes your website URL. For example, instead of http://christianacollective.com/about/, it would just be /about/.
What is an outbound link? An outbound link is a link that connects to another website. This will help the post rank higher on search engines if people already like the content that exists on that website. For example, I really love the tips and tricks that are posted through a few people on LinkedIn. I might mention their name, and share a quote of theirs that is applicable to whatever point I am trying to make.
Search Engine Optimization
This is such an important element of blog writing! Any employer will want to know that you understand what SEO is and how to use it effectively. Most people who work within blog writing use “Yoast SEO,” which is the most popular website plug-in. You will know how well you did by the completion bar beneath the fillable section, either by a red, yellow, or green bar and/or smiley face. Colors are self-explanatory (green is good to go!) Here’s a breakdown of what each section means:
Focus Keyphrase: simply type out the keyphrase you focused on in your blog.
SEO Title: This is what pops up as the blue header when you search in Google. Generally, it’s composed of your Blog Title (which contains your keyphrase), along with possibly another niche keyword or two. For example, I am located in Charleston. If someone is searching for social media marketing in Charleston, SC I am more likely to pop up.
Meta Description: This is the section that highlights what your blog is about on Google search results, right underneath the title. It generally is no longer than two sentences. Make sure to include your keyphrase.
Slug: This is just the extension that your URL has attached to your website and will be auto generated. No need to change it.
Featured Image: To upload your featured image, look to the right hand of the screen. You will “upload featured image” and choose from your media library. Make sure your Alt Text contains your keyphrase. This will assist in search results on Google Images. Not everyone does this, but it helps to have a featured image that is always the same size (I use 1000×667 pixels). This will be the image that appears at the top of your blog along with the Google search results.
Category Check: Found on the right side of page, make sure to check the category(ies) that the post most applies to. If you feel the need to add a new niche category, feel free to do so.
You’re Almost Done Writing a Blog!
Do you have a green smiley face, giving you the go-ahead?! Post your blog! Click on the link to make sure everything has been formatted correctly, and make corrections as needed. At the bottom of the blog within the last paragraph, I always prefer to include some sort of call-to-action if someone needs more help or information about what they just read, then to contact me with an inbound link to my website!
Great job! Now you know how to write a blog!