Meta Descriptions & SEO: Yes, They Matter (Kinda)

Is the dress blue and black or white and gold? Were Ross and Rachel on a break? Are meta descriptions and SEO connected? 

Some questions seem to have been conceived just to spark a debate!

When it comes to the last one, though, the most widely-accepted answer appears to be... no, meta descriptions don’t make a difference for SEO because they’re not a ranking factor.

Well, I beg to differ: while not in a direct way, meta descriptions and SEO do go together.

Hear me out, because it’s gonna help you generate more traffic for your business website!

What is a meta description?

A meta description is an HTML tag including a snippet that’s meant to summarise the content of a specific page. 

When a page shows up on Google’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page), it usually includes this meta description right below the title.

Lots of website platforms (such as Squarespace and Shopify) or WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO have a function for writing meta descriptions without having to mess with the actual HTML codes.

Phew.

Technically, what you see on Google is not always the meta description

There’s a reason why I said that this meta description usually shows up on the SERP.

In some cases, Google might decide to pull a different snippet of text from the body copy of the actual page. It’s unpredictable like that.

So, if we want to be precise, the meta description itself is not necessarily what you see when you look at Google’s results, but it can be.

In most cases? It is.

Still with me?

Good. 

Let’s look at meta descriptions and SEO to see what their actual connection is.

Do meta descriptions affect SEO?

Technically, meta descriptions do not affect SEO because they’re not a direct ranking factor for Google, but they do so indirectly.

When you include your chosen keyword in your meta description and someone googles it, it will show up in bold on their end. This gives your result a higher chance of catching that person’s eye compared to those that do not include that keyword.

Because it grabs their attention, it’s more likely that they’ll want to click on your page, which basically sends Google a message that yours is the coolest kid on the block for that specific result.

So, following this logic, meta descriptions do affect SEO in their own way.

An example of how meta descriptions and SEO go together

Let’s say that, for example, a blog post was optimised for the keyword ‘succulent care tips’. 

If it’s also added to the meta description, it won’t help it rank any higher, BUT here’s what it’ll look like in the SERP:

If you’ve just searched ‘succulent care tips’ and got these two results, which one would your eyes be drawn to?

The meta description example with your exact query standing out in bold characters, right?

That’s why you should always include your keyword in the SEO meta description tag.

Writing a meta description for SEO and your audience

Right, now that you understand the unusual link between meta descriptions and SEO, lemme show you how to write them properly.

Aim for the correct meta description length

Have you ever noticed how some meta descriptions end abruptly with an ellipsis? 

That’s because there’s a meta description character limit that you must always keep in mind when writing them. 

So, your meta description should be between 70 and 160 characters: that’s long enough to describe the content of your page but not so long that it gets cropped by Google.

However, in reality, the ideal meta description length is about pixels rather than characters.

If you’d rather be safe than sorry, you can check your meta description length with a specific tool.  

Describe the content of your page and add a CTA

Sure, the aim of your meta description is to describe the content of your page, but it’s also to convince your readers to click on that result rather than any of your competitors’.

So, tease the content that they can expect to find, leave them wanting more, and include an unmissable call to action.

Check out this good meta description example:

It establishes an immediate connection with the reader, mentioning something that they’re extremely likely to relate to since they’ve searched that particular query. 

After stating the problem, this meta description offers a solution: the user will be able to overcome their pain point if they read that article that teaches them how to create a morning routine that makes them wake up ‘energetic, productive and happy.’

Include your keyword

Now that you know that meta descriptions and SEO are connected, don’t forget to include your main keyword in there, too.

As you’ve seen in those meta description examples, it will show up in bold.

So, what is a good meta description for SEO?

Overall, a good meta description for SEO:

• ranges between 70 and 160 characters

• describes or teases the content of the page

• ends with an attention-grabbing call to action

• includes the target keyword

Found this helpful? I send weekly tips, advice, and content prompts to help ambitious female entrepreneurs connect with their dream audience through their marketing copy.

More #crafty blog posts on this topic:

Why SEO & Content Marketing MUST Work Together [Like So]

When it comes to SEO and content marketing, there are two horrific—and worryingly common—strategies that I’m BEGGING YOU to avoid:

• Writing blog posts for your target audience but without even thinking about keywords (who’s gonna find’em?)

• Writing blog posts for search engines instead of focusing on bringing value to your audience (who’s gonna read’em?)

When joined together, content marketing and SEO are more powerful than nitro and glycerin—but less dangerous.

Here’s why.

The strong relationship between SEO and content marketing

To see how SEO and content marketing work together, let’s first make sure that you understand these strategies on their own.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimisation, and it’s the practice of increasing both the quantity AND quality of your website’s traffic organically.

And by organically I simply mean ‘without chucking hundreds or thousands of pounds towards paid ads’.

Therefore, implementing or investing in SEO is all about making it easier for your specific target audience to find your website and ensuring that, once they’re on it, they have the best possible experience.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is a strategy that consists of planning, creating, and sharing valuable online material to attract and retain a loyal and well-defined audience. 

It can also involve other types of content (e.g. videos or social media posts), but since we’re talking about the connection between SEO and content marketing, we’ll be focusing on one of the most popular and rewarding content marketing strategies:

blogging on your business website.

So, in this case, content marketing is all about publishing insightful blog posts to entertain and educate your target audience by answering their questions and concerns about your industry.

So, why is SEO important for content marketing?

SEO is important for content marketing because, without taking keywords and the right SEO practices into consideration when creating content, well… nobody would find your blog posts in the first place!

Sure, you could share them on social media or in your newsletter, but you’d be missing out BIG TIME.

After all, they’d only be seen by your followers and subscribers, in most cases. 

When you create an SEO content marketing strategy and start publishing SEO-driven content, you get to attract new prospects, too.

At the same time, the relationship between SEO and content marketing goes the other way as well. In fact, blogging regularly can also strengthen your SEO.

How SEO and content marketing team up for the win

Basically, don’t you ever dare to consider SEO and content marketing as two separate strategies: they can and should complement the other.

Keywords

Every blog post should bring value to your audience and be based on a different long-tail keyword.

This will help your target audience find your article when they type that query on Google.

For example, if you want to explain how they can make a morning brew even when they haven’t got their beloved coffee grinder with them, you might end up writing an article like ‘Here’s how you can have your cup of joe without a grinder’.

However, there are no keywords in there, whereas ‘how to grind coffee beans without a grinder’ gets searched between 100 and 1K times in the UK alone.

By incorporating it, you’d have the same high-quality article packed full of value, but you’d actively help it reach more people, as you’d be basing it off what your target audience is actually googling.

Backlinks

Did you know that websites with a blog attract up to 97% more inbound links?

Don’t look that shocked!

Let’s be honest: who would want to link to a company’s About or Services page?

When you create a strong SEO content marketing strategy, on the other hand, you’ll have excellent blog posts with new angles or takes on existing topics, stats, and juicy info.

It’s only natural that some other publications will want to use them as references or link to them whenever they think they could benefit their audience.

And backlinks are one of the most coveted forms of SEO juice!

Internal links

While they’re not as powerful as inbound links, internal ones are still helpful and yet another way in which SEO and content marketing work together.

Internal links allow Google and other search engines to crawl your website more easily and efficiently. They can even help them understand what your business is actually about, what kind of content you offer, and which pages matter the most.

Unlike a basic five-page website, one with a blog gives you many more chances to interlink different articles or link to specific pages.

At the same time, interlinking your blog posts strategically can help you move your audience down the funnel.

UX

Both SEO and content marketing should take user experience into account.

That’s why a website that takes over three seconds to load will penalise you both with your audience (over half of them will leave) and search engines (Google is well aware of this, so it’s unlikely to show it to them).

Same for websites that aren’t mobile-friendly.

But your blog posts should consider UX, too:

• If you use dodgy clickbait titles to trick users into checking your article that doesn’t actually answer their initial question? They’ll leave. This will increase your bounce rate and penalise your SEO

• If you present them with a huge block of text instead of using headings, paragraphs, and pictures? They’ll leave (and rightfully so)

You want blog posts that are full of value and presented in a way that makes them easy to digest.

How to create an effective SEO and content marketing strategy

So, what does an SEO content marketing strategy look like in practice? 

You should basically write the best articles for your audience, optimise them for search engines, and find a way to move your prospects down the funnel or capture leads.

1. Always start with your target audience

Plan and write these blog posts for your specific target market, not just ‘so they can rank for this keyword that has nothing to do with their pain points and needs’.

If you’re selling luxury trips for over 60s, what good would it be to dish out content or reach Google’s first page with travel articles that resonate with penniless students?  

2. Find the best keyword to describe your chosen topic

Use some keyword research tools to determine it. 

For the best chances to rank with your SEO is driven content, you’ll need a specific long-tail keyword (e.g. ‘fast fashion problems’ rather than just ‘fast fashion’), some relevant variations, and a sprinkle of semantic keywords that help Google better understand what your article is actually about.

3. Use links and CTAs wisely to retain your audience

There’s something else that every single blog post should have, as well as a keyword: a call to action.

Otherwise, your target audience will read it, enjoy it, and… leave your website. 

For example, some relevant CTAs could be:

• To subscribe to your newsletter or follow you on social media to receive more tips

• To read a different blog post that helps your audience move down the funnel (for example, if your initial article was for top-of-the-funnel leads: now that you’ve explained what causes their pain point, you can show them what solutions are available out there)

• To head to a specific product or sales page, but only for bottom-of-the-funnel articles

Need a hand (and a keyboard) making your SEO and content marketing strategy work for your badass female-founded brand? 💪

Basically, blending SEO and content marketing will allow you to reach and retain a wider portion of your target audience.

Obviously, you need to know what you’re doing. Writing low-quality articles for the best keywords, or crafting excellent audience-oriented blog posts without the right SEO practices? 

None of that will translate into actual results.

If you’re already skilled at performing keyword research, writing the right articles for your audience, optimising them for SEO, and taking the sales funnel into account… go, you!

Not sure where to start? I can help.

My SEO content marketing services always begin with the needs and pain points of your specific target audience, but I use all the right SEO tricks to give you the highest chances of outranking your competitors and generating more organic traffic and leads.

Ready to unlock the power of SEO and content marketing… without spending hours researching and writing the actual blog posts?

More #crafty blog posts on this topic:

How to Create a Company Blog that Helps Your Business Grow

Just like there’s no way you’d forget to add an About page to your business website, you definitely shouldn’t miss out on learning how to create a company blog either. Why?

Because blogging for your business is a versatile content marketing and SEO strategy that can bring you a TON of advantages and results!

To name just a few of the benefits of blogging, it helps you:

• reach more of your dream audience organically

• target them at all the stages of the funnel

• rank higher on google

• generate more leads

• position yourself as an expert in your field

• stand out against the competition

However, all those benefits are only possible when you’re blogging the right way, of course.

The blog on your business website should NOT be about company news

If you were ready to start dishing out articles based on corporate news (“Check out our new branch!” or “We’re delighted to announce that we won another award”), let me save you some time:

don’t bother starting a company blog, because nobody is going to read it.

“Wait, what should I blog about instead?! It’s a COMPANY blog, after all!”

No.

The blog on your business website should be conceived as a content marketing strategy to attract and grow your target audience by giving them value. And company news are NOT value.

You must focus on blog posts that answer their questions about your industry, niche, or type of products and services.

That way, they’ll find out about you for the first time through their Google searches, you’ll position yourself as an expert in your field, and your audience will start to move down the funnel.

Are we on the same page, now?

Excellent! Let’s learn exactly how to create a blog for your business that helps you do that.

4 steps on how to create a company blog that STANDS OUT

Not a blog filled with articles that nobody is going to read.

One that actively helps you generate more traffic and leads.

1. Pick a realistic schedule and stick to it

How many times have you bumped into a blog page consisting of a promising introductory article, a second blog post about a relevant topic, a third one after a year gap, and then just… tumbleweed?

Blogging frequently is obviously the best option, especially to rank on search engines—there are even companies that blog every day!

However, if you haven’t got the capacity and budget for it, there’s no point in churning out hundreds of crappy articles.

Consistency and quality over quantity.

Committing to two excellent articles per month is much better than writing three articles a week to begin with, then one, and then forgetting about your blog for a couple of months (and so on).

So, be realistic!

Think of how often you can actually write articles in the long run or, if you’re commissioning them to a blog writer, how many articles per month you can afford.

2. Create a blogging strategy with your target audience in mind

Just like you have a marketing and social media strategy, you need one when you learn how to create a company blog if you want to write the kind of pieces they’ll read.

It’s also easy to lose motivation if you only have one idea for the first article and then… tumbleweed (again), so I recommend coming up with 5-10 titles before you actually start writing a blog post for your company.

• Research relevant topics and long-tail keywords

When it comes to your industry, what questions do your target customers have? What are they interested in? What are they trying to find out?

For example, if you sell eco-friendly and reusable products, you could blog about sustainability-related topics (e.g. ‘How can I reduce my plastic footprint? 10 easy tips!’). 

Start with your audience’s pain points, and do some brainstorming. You can also think of a sub-topic, google it, and look at the questions in the ‘People Also Ask’ section (psst: answer them!).

Have a cheeky look at your competitors’ blogs, too (just for inspiration! No copying nor stealing).

Now, the most important thing if you want your audience to find these articles when they google their questions or queries:

Every single blog post should be based around a different long-tail keyword.

So, you must learn how to write SEO-friendly articles, too (be sure to bookmark that blog post for later).

• Write content that provides value

Around 80% of all Google searches are informational: whether by answering their question or letting them walk away with something they didn’t know before, your blog posts must provide value to your readers.

Optimising your articles for search engines is obviously vital, but don’t forget that, ultimately, it’s us humans who’re going to read them and, eventually, buy from you.

Don’t just write for the sake of writing or SEO: make sure your readers can enjoy your articles and, most importantly, gain something from them.

This is also an excellent way of showing your expertise and building trust. 

• Keep the sales funnel in mind

Blog posts are also the perfect place to add links to your other articles, products, services, and sales pages, as long as they’re relevant to that particular topic and the position of your prospects in the funnel.

Most articles tend to be for top-of-the-funnel leads, so use them as a starting point to help them start their happy descent towards the bottom.

If you sell sustainable clothes and have written an article on ‘Why fast fashion is bad’, you could end it by linking to a blog post on ‘How to ditch fast fashion’.

When writing articles for prospects who’re already towards the bottom of the funnel, it’d make more sense to link to your product or sales pages.

And, either way, if you mention something that you actually sell or offer as a service, it’s always worth linking to it at the very least.

For example, if you sell coffee-related equipment and are writing an article on ‘How to brew with the Chemex’, it’d be CRAZY not to link to its product page, don’t you think?

3. Promote your blog posts on social media

You’ve just written a ground-breaking blog post? Awesome! Make sure you tell everyone.

Share a direct link to your article with an unmissable call to action across your social media channels to drive traffic to your blog.

This shouldn’t be a boring “be sure to check out our blog”. Once again, the focus should be on your audience’s needs.

So, tease its content, and give them a flavour of what they’ll gain from reading it.

4. Share the best articles in your newsletter

Blog post packed full of value are also handy to complement your newsletter.

You can either base an entire email around one or add links to this month’s best blog posts.

This will help them gain traction and direct your readers towards your website.

Getting started with your company blog 🔥

Basically—when done right—blogging is an exciting and versatile strategy that will increase your lead generation, grow your audience, boost your SEO, build trust, and complement your social media and newsletter.

Now that you know how to create a company blog, are you ready to make the most of these benefits for your female-founded business?

If you can’t wait BUT:

• you’ve got no clue as to what to blog about to attract your audience

• you don’t know how to optimise those blog posts for SEO in a way that actually drives results

  I can help you in two main ways.

My step-by-step guide will show you exactly how to start (and keep up) blogging on your business website.

And how to do so in a way that grows your audience, brings you more leads, and positions you as an expert—even as a complete beginner.

Outsource your blog to a professional content writer and strategist (moi).

While it’s important that you still get involved by sharing your expertise, I’ll create the right blogging strategy for your brand and write the actual blog posts for you.

More #crafty blog posts on this topic:

How EXACTLY Does Blogging Help with SEO? [6 Ways]

No clue as to how blogging helps with SEO? Oh my, you’re in for a treat!

As a 90s child who has known the pain of having to rewind VHS tapes and learned to get creative with abbreviations to fit everything into a single text, I’ve seen many things evolve when it comes to everyday technology and digital communication.

Still, one of the changes that intrigue me the most is how blogging went from being a cheesy MySpace hobby to a crafty marketing & SEO strategy that helps businesses reach and retain more customers.

I mean, seriously… that’s freakin’ impressive! 

Now that we’ve taken the time to appreciate how it has come, let’s step out of memory lane before we end up reembracing our old emo phase, and le't’s look at how blogging helps with SEO on your business website.

What is SEO in blogging?

SEO (search engine optimisation) goes hand in hand with blogging because you need too optimise your blog posts for the right keywords and use the best SEO practices if you want to rank higher than your competitors.

In fact, every single blog post should target a main long-tail keyword (consisting of three words or more).

That’s why ‘SEO blogging’ is another way of referring to the practice of blogging to help with SEO on your business website.

6 ways in which a blogging helps SEO on your business website

Here’s the best thing about SEO blogging: it doesn’t bring you just one SEO benefit, but it helps both your blog posts and your entire website rank higher in quite a few different ways.

1. SEO blogging provides fresh content 

If you were looking for a book on digital marketing, would you pick book A that was published in 2001 or book B, written a month ago?

Well, I’m gonna have to go all Dora-the-Explorer and assume that you’ve actually said book B.

In most cases, that’s the same for Google and search engines: if they see that a website hasn’t been updated in years, they’re going to think that it’s probably not relevant and favour the one that gets updated every month instead.

Blogging regularly is a great way to add organic content to your website, showing search engines that your website is fresh and up to date: perfect to be shown to its users.

2. It creates more indexed pages

Back to the book analogy: if someone told you that they want to learn all about cooking with avocados, would you recommend a tiny 20-page booklet or a larger volume with plenty of different sections that cover all aspects of cooking with avocados?

Google prefers websites with lots of content, too. Updating your blog regularly will automatically result in tons of new pages, because… every blog post is also a new page.

In fact, websites with blogs have a whopping average of 434% more indexed pages than websites without them!

3. You can target (and rank) for more long-tail keywords

Let’s say that your business consists of selling zero-waste items.

You’re probably already targeting different keywords across your main pages (‘reusable bottles’, ‘reusable coffee cups’, etc.), but those are mainly for prospects who’re ready to buy.

Most of your dream customers aren’t, and they actually discover new businesses via long-tail keywords. While they’re a bit more difficult to include on your main pages, they’re PERFECT for blog posts.

If you only rely on a few core pages while your main competitor blogs about relevant topics such as ‘How to reduce your plastic footprint in 10 easy steps’, guess which website is more likely to show up to new potential customers? Ouch.

Blogging about relevant topics in your industry and answering your audience’s questions is not only a fantastic way to showcase your expertise and build trust: it helps you rank for relevant long-tail keywords and attract a larger portion of your target market in the first place. 

That’s one of the juiciest ways in which blogging helps with SEO as well as lead generation!

4. Blog posts are perfect to add internal links...

Internal links are important because they help Google’s algorithm understand what your website is actually about, guiding its crawlers through its correct structure.

A blog is ideal to include these internal links naturally withinyour articles.

If you sell camping gear and you’re writing a blog post about ‘How to put up a tent even if you’ve never been camping before’, you’ll obviously want to include an internal link to your tents.

Or, if you talk about sustainability, link to your Ethos page where you mention the importance of an eco-friendly approach for your company. 

5. … and external in-bound links

If nine friends of yours recommended that new Chinese restaurant in town, you’re probably going to want to check it out, right?

Likewise, if Google sees that other websites are linking back to yours, it’s going to assume that it’s because you have top-notch content on there, and it’s going to make it rank it higher.

While it’s hard to get people to link back to your About page, it’s much more likely that someone who’s writing an article on the health benefits of coffee will want to link to your blog post on ‘How mushroom coffee can boost your concentration’.

In fact, companies with a blog on their website receive up to 97% more inbound links than those without it.

Let that sink in. 

6. It’s easy to share on social media

While social shares aren’t a direct ranking factor, they allow you to amplify some of the other ways in which blogging helps with SEO.

After all, the more people see and share your blog post on socials, the more visits your website can receive.

This will allow your brand to be discovered by people who don’t follow you on social media just yet and who haven’t even heard about you before.

And, needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway ‘cause I’m a rebel), it might eventually mean more backlinks, too.

So, how does blogging help SEO?

Blogging helps SEO by allowing you to target more keywords than you normally would through your main pages, as well as reinforcing other ranking factors such as fresh content, more backlinks, and a higher number of indexed pages.

Also, just for the record: the mind-blowing perks that we’ve covered are only related to how blogging helps with SEO specifically. If we want to talk about the benefits of blogging on your website in general, then we’ve only scratched the surface.

Need a hand with SEO blogging for your badass female-founded business?

If you’re ready to make the most of all the benefits of this marketing and SEO strategy but:

• the mere thought of having to come up with so much fresh content triggers your blank page syndrome

• you haven’t got time to do it consistently

• you don’t know how to optimise your blog posts for SEO in a way that actually helps you rank higher

  I can do all the hard work for you!

More #crafty blog posts on this topic:

How to Write SEO-Friendly Blog Posts [Beginner's Guide]

If you have or are planning on starting a company blog on your business website, you must learn how to write SEO-friendly blog posts. Otherwise… who’s gonna read them?

Sure, your existing audience will see them on your social media or newsletter.

But the superpower of SEO blog posts is that they help you grow your audience in the first place and generate more leads.

To do that, you must make it as easy as possible for them to find your articles on Google when they’re looking for insights or answers to questions they have on your industry.

In other words, you need to learn how to write SEO blog posts correctly.

At the same time, though, never forget about your actual audience.

DON’T. YOU. DARE.

So, before diving into my beginner’s guide to writing SEO-friendly blog posts, let me clarify something.

What makes a good SEO-friendly blog post?

A good SEO-friendly blog post is written with your audience in mind, brings value to them, AND is optimised for search engines. It’s not just about keywords!

When writing a new blog post, you should always focus on creating excellent content for your target audience. Not for Google.

Then, you can optimise it in a way that incorporates the best SEO practices, from keywords to headings and UX. This will make it easier for your audience to both find and read your article.

But don’t ever make the mistake of writing with only search engines in mind!

Search engines aren’t going to invest in your products or services.

7 steps on how to write SEO-friendly blog posts for your audience

Now that we’re on the same page, let’s see exactly how to write a good blog post for SEO and your target customers.

1. Choose a topic and do some keyword research

The right topics will depend on your specific audience, but you should always aim for something that:

• brings them value/answers their questions

• is related to your industry, niche, products, or services

Once you’ve got a general idea, find the best keyword to describe it.

Ideally, it will be a long-tail keyword, which is just a fancy word for “a phrase consisting of three words or more”. Why?

Because it’ll be more specific and therefore help you generate the right traffic.

For example, if you were breaking down the steps to brew your own lavender tea, your keyword shouldn’t be just ‘lavender tea’. That’s too vague!

Your potential readers are more likely to Google ‘how to make lavender tea’ or ‘lavender tea recipe’.

But you don’t want to leave that to guesswork.

To find the right long-tail keyword for your blog post, use some keyword research tools to see what people are actually googling.

Google’s own Keyword Planner is actually a great place to start as a beginner (and it’s free).

So, type your idea, and see how people are using it. For example, ‘how to make lavender tea’ gets searched between 100 and 1K times per month in the UK alone.

All you have to do at this stage is keep your chosen keyword in mind.

2. Write quality content that brings value

As we’ve already established, when learning how to write SEO-friendly blog posts, you must never stray away from bringing value to your target audience.

After reading them, they should always walk away with something, whether that’s the answer to the title’s question or a deeper understanding of a specific topic.

So, carry out some research, add your own insights, and write an excellent article that tackles your chosen topic in a way that speaks to your own target audience.

3. Make your blog post scannable

Had you bumped into this exact same article but without any paragraph breaks or headings, would you have still read it?

Probably not.

And I don’t blame you: you simply haven’t got time. Neither have your prospects.

When you write SEO-friendly blog posts, you must also make them easy to scan so that your readers can immediately figure out what you’re covering, skim read it if they wish, or just… read it without straining their eyes.

Meanwhile, this will help search engines understand them more easily, and they’ll always prioritise articles that favour UX.

It’s a win-win.

So:

• create a hierarchical heading structure (only one h1 per blog post, some h2, and some h3 nested underneath your h2)

• use line and paragraph breaks

• avoid lengthy paragraphs

• consider using bold text to highlight key concepts

• include images

4. Integrate keywords organically when writing blog posts for SEO

One thing your target audience and search engines have in common?

They HATE robotic keyword stuffing, so don’t you dare repeat your long-tail keyword in every other sentence.

Your blog post must flow smoothly!

My main tip on how to write a blog post for SEO is to sprinkle your keywords strategically by adding them to:

• the blog title

• the URL

• some of the headings

• the body of the article (in the first 100-150 words, the last or second-to-last paragraph, and a few times within the actual text)

• your meta descriptions

• image names and alt text (more on that in the next paragraph)

5. Optimise your blog images for SEO

You’ve found the most Pinterest-worthy pictures to go with your blog post.

That’s great!

Your human readers are going to be very impressed, but I’m afraid search engines can’t see them, even if there’s text in the image.

What they can see, though, is their name and alt-text.

So, ditch any lazy ‘image07.jpg’, and use relevant keywords instead (as long as they actually describe the picture).

Oh, and be sure to resize and compress your images on websites like TinyJPG so as not to compromise page speed (heavy files are a no-no for SEO).

6. Add a call to action

I assume you don’t want your readers to just read your article and then forget about it for the rest of their lives, right?

You might want them to subscribe to your newsletter, follow you on social media, or check out the product that you’ve positioned as the solution to their current pain point.

That’s why it’s vital to include a specific call to action.

7. Choose the perfect title

You might have written the most impressive article since the birth of the Internet, but… who’s going to read it, if nobody clicks on it when they see it on Google?

Your title should hook the reader in, getting them to click on your blog post rather than all the other results in the SERP (search engine results page).

The reason why I recommend doing this after you’ve written the actual article is to make sure the title actually describes its focus.

Use your long-tail keywords, tickle their curiosity, and make an implicit promise to them by teasing exactly what the blog post is going to offer (e.g. “How to Write SEO-Friendly Blog Posts [Beginner's Guide]”: it seems to have worked for you. Gotcha!).

You could also ask a question, or even state something controversial or unusual that your readers will want to check out (“What No One’s Telling You About Growing on Instagram”, or “Why Your Beard Needs Caffeine Just like You”).

Listicles perform particularly well too, especially when they include odd numbers (e.g. “13 Ways to Cook with Avocados”).

And be sure to address the reader directly whenever you can (“How YOU Can Quit Your Day Job & Live the Life You Deserve”).

A little disclaimer on writing SEO-friendly blog posts

So, is that it?

Well, not really.

If that were the case, anybody could do my job.

Learning how to write an SEO-friendly blog post that:
- has higher chances of showing up before those of your competitors
- actively helps you grow your audience
- works as part of a bigger content strategy…

well, that requires a lot more knowledge and experience.

From finding the right keyword variations to structuring your blog posts in a certain way and knowing how to analyse those of your competitors before writing yours, A LOT of work goes into most articles ranking on Google’s first page and generating actual leads.

HOWEVER, trust me: what you’ve just learnt will be enough to get you started and write your first SEO-friendly blog posts.

But do you already know how to:

• plan your blogging strategy in the first place?

• identify the right topic ideas for your audience at this specific stage?

• turn those visits into subscribers and leads?

• create a sustainable blogging schedule and actually commit to it—even when you’re busy?

If you don’t, I’ve got you. It’s all clearly explained in my Boost Your Business by Blogging eBook, a step-by-step guide written for complete beginners.

It’ll show you exactly how to start (and keep up) blogging on your business website. And, most importantly, how to do so in a way that grows your audience, brings you more leads, and positions you as an expert.

How I can help with your SEO blog posts

Now that you’ve learnt the basics of how to write SEO-friendly blog posts:

• Found this helpful? Start receiving a weekly content prompt and more advice on how to grow your female-founded business through your marketing copy

• Too time-consuming? Wanna be 100% sure you’re setting yourself up for success? Let me do all the hard work for you! Discover my blog writing services helping ambitious female entrepreneurs become THE go-to solution in their dream audience’s eyes

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Why You Should Add Social Share Buttons to Your Blog NOW!

I’m going to assume that you already have a blog on your business website, yeah?

(‘Cause, if you haven’t got one, these are the benefits of blogging that you’re missing out on.)

If you leave it at that, however, your blog posts will continue to be in their own separate world rather than complementing the rest of your marketing strategy.

So, what’s a simple thing you can do to change that today?

Add social share buttons to your blog. Easy.

What are social share buttons?

Social share buttons are small icons that allow your readers to share your blog posts on their own social media.

Depending on what platform you’ve chosen for your website, you can find social share buttons for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or many more.

In some cases, you can even decide to show how many times an article has been shared on each of these platforms.

However, I only recommend this option for large and well-established publications that already rely on thousands of monthly readers.

4 reasons to include social share buttons on your blog

This small and quick tweak will help you tap into a whole new world of free marketing opportunities.

Here’s how.

1. Social share buttons on blogs help you start a conversation with your audience

You want to strengthen your relationship with your dream audience, yeah?

Then the content that you put out shouldn’t be a one-way talk, but a two-way conversation with them. You’re not a lecturer with a PowerPoint!

If your content is engaging, your readers will want to continue this virtual conversation by sharing it on their own social media, perhaps by adding their thoughts on the subject, too.

Encourage that by having some clearly visible social share buttons on your blog!

2. You’re going to reach prospects that you wouldn’t have reached otherwise

There are lots of people out there who would LOVE the type of services or products that you offer, but they just haven’t heard about you in the first place.

Whenever someone shares one of your blog posts on their own social media, most of their friends and followers will see it, too.

Even though they didn’t even know your brand up until then, they’re now finding themselves on your website.

In some cases, they might even share that blog post themselves. Then their followers will see it too, and… you see where I’m going with this.

3. You can share your own blog posts, too

Once you add social share buttons to your blog, it’ll also be easier to share those articles on your own social media platforms.

And you should definitely do this because:

• you’ll be offering more in-depth content to your existing followers

• you can get a few re-shares by continuing the conversation on your own socials, reaching new potential followers, too

4. This will help your SEO

Even though social shares are not a direct ranking factor, adding these buttons to your blog can help your website’s SEO indirectly.

Why?

Because, as we’ve already established, social share buttons can help you reach more people:

• if lots of users visit your blog post, Google is going to favour it because it assumes you’re sharing high-quality content that’s worth showing to more people

• the more people see it, the higher your chances of receiving backlinks… and backlinks are direct ranking factors

Go on, and add those social share buttons!

The moral of the story?

Add those social share buttons RIGHT NOW.

Oh, and start sharing your own blog posts by bringing your blogging and social media strategies together.

Found this helpful?

I send weekly tips, advice, and content prompts to help ambitious female entrepreneurs connect with their audience.

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Benefits of Blogging for Business: 11 Juicy Advantages

“Wait, there are THAT many benefits of blogging for business?!”

Yes, and the crazy thing is that so many brands miss out on them because they still think that blog = company news or that writing these articles for their target audience is pointless.

So, let’s make sure we’re on the same (blog) page.

The benefits of having a blog on your website are only relevant for content marketing strategies

As they say in 500 Days of Summer, “you should know this upfront”:

if you’re planning on posting company news or only writing articles about stuff that you care about, you can NOT expect to unlock any of these advantages of blogging for business.

Nuh-uh. 

Nobody other than your supportive best friend wants to read those.

When I talk about the benefits of blogging for business, I’m talking about well-researched articles created with your target audience in mind and including relevant keywords.

These blog posts should bring actual value to your dream clients by answering their questions, concerns, and interests on topics that are relevant to your industry or type of services.

Now that we’ve clarified that, let’s dive into all the juicy benefits of blogging.

11 game-changing benefits of blogging for business

Overall, I could sum this up by saying that the main benefits of having a blog for your business are growing your audience, smoothening the funnel, and standing out.

It wouldn’t really do this strategy justice, though, so let’s look into each of them.

1. Blogging on your business website helps you rank for more keywords

I’m sure (or, better, I hope) that your website is already optimised for SEO keywords that describe your products or services, like ‘plumber in Manchester’ or ‘plastic-free shop’.

Still, let’s be realistic:

• They can be harder to rank for since that’s what your competitors are also aiming for on their main website pages

• They’re just for prospects who are already towards the bottom of the sales funnel: they’ve pretty much decided that they’re going to buy a specific product or invest in a service and just need to decide who they’ll buy it from

What about everyone else? 

Most of your dream customers are still trying to figure out what causes their current pain point, what solutions are available, and what difference it’ll make when they invest in one.

I’m sure they’d love what you do, but they haven’t heard about you just yet and they’re still making up their minds.

One of the benefits of blogging for marketing is that you get to target prospects from the very top of the sales funnel all the way down to the bottom. That’s because they’ll be using Google to ask questions and better understand those topics, and you can write a blog post for every single one of those by targeting the right keywords.

For example, if someone were to search ‘How to reduce my plastic footprint’ and you had a blog post that covers that very topic, they’d find yourself on your website. And after reading it, they’d realise that you are a company that sells plastic-free products.

“Interesting!” 

And maybe you’ve included a link to your newsletter where they can receive even more tips on how to make more sustainable choices at home.

You see where I’m getting at, right? 

Let’s say that you’re going to blog once a week: that’s 52 new keywords every year. 

52 more chances to attract your audience organically via Google without spending money on ads!

2. It results in more indexed pages, helping your entire website rank higher

Basically, blogging = SEO juice.

Not just because it helps you rank for more keywords, but because it makes your entire website meatier. And Google likes meaty websites.

Whenever you write a new article, that’s also a new indexed page. That’s why websites with blogs get an average of 434% more indexed pages! (1)

Plus, it shows Google that you know all there is to know about your industry.

When your website is a chonky boi full of high-quality content, search engines trust it more.

3. Blogs generate more inbound links

When an external website links back to yours, that’s another SEO boost: it shows Google that your content is getting noticed and is therefore worth showing to more people.

However, let’s be realistic: who’s gonna link back to your About page? Or Services?

If you were to share insightful blog posts, on the other hand…

Yep, other websites and publications will want to use them as references or link back to them whenever they can be helpful to their readers.

No wonder websites with blogs receive 97% more inbound links than those without one (2).

Not bad at all, right?

4. They give you the opportunity to add more internal links, too

Internal links (from one page to another on your own website) help search engines crawl your site more easily and efficiently, so they’re yet another SEO benefit of blogging.

Also, when used wisely, internal links can direct your readers to other pages.

Perhaps you’d like them to read another blog post that explores the solution to the problem you’ve just covered. Maybe they’re ready to be sent straight to your sales page.

And you should definitely include links to the products and services that you mention.

5. Google rewards websites with fresh content

Another important SEO factor is freshness.

Of course, your website hasn’t got an expiry date (unlike the yoghurt that I forgot about for two weeks), but if it was created two years ago and NEVER updated… well, Google isn’t going to favour it (just like me with that yoghurt). How can it trust it to have up-to-date information?

Adding fresh content regularly and consistently in the form of blog posts lets search engines know that your website is still being looked after and is therefore relevant.

Definitely the kind of thing that search engines want to share with their users.

6. Blogging on your business website smoothens the funnel and improves conversions

Because you’ll be creating content for every stage of the funnel, one of the benefits of blogging for business is that you can slowly move your audience from its top to the bottom.

First of all, they’re much more likely to purchase from you because you’ve been giving them so much helpful and high-quality content. They trust you and like you a lot more than your competitor who only has a FAQ page for them.

Plus, interlinking your articles wisely and including the right internal links to other website pages are the equivalent of greasing up your funnel with oil: your prospects will start sliding towards the bottom.

7. It creates shareable content for social media

You probably already have a badass social media presence, but not all the users who could be interested in your products are already following you.

If you create shareable and insightful content (aka compelling, useful, or entertaining blog posts), some of your readers will want to share it on their social media. And their followers might do the same. And so on. And so on. You are basically reaching more people on social media without the added cost of paid ads! Nice one.

Needless to say, you can (and should) still share your blog posts with your existing audience by posting them on your own social media, too.

As well as your usual pictures and videos, they’ll get some awesome articles on topics that they’re already interested in or curious about.

8. It generates an average of 67% more leads

Think about it: you’ll be

• Attracting more relevant traffic via search engines

• Reaching more followers by sharing your blog posts on social media

• Including the right CTAs or newsletter signup forms within these articles

… of course, one of the benefits of blogging for business is that it results in higher lead generation, too!

67% more than websites without a blog, on average. (3)

9. A blog on your company website will position you as an expert in your field

Let’s say that a coffee shop is looking for a new coffee supplier and finds two roasters offering very similar products. 

However, one has been posting knowledge-dripping blogs about blends, caffeine, and coffee-related topics. They seem to know a loooooot about it. The other? Nothing.

Which one do you think would inspire more authority? 

And don’t forget that 70% of consumers learn about a brand through articles rather than ads (4), so they definitely help when it comes to brand recognition, too!

10. It supports your newsletter

Just like blogs, your newsletter shouldn’t be about company news, but rather an email marketing strategy that brings value to your audience and keeps them informed and/or entertained.

Have you just written a new blog post that answers one of the questions that are bugging your dream customers? Then create an entire email around it! Or, if you have a monthly newsletter, you could include a roundup of your best articles.

Either way, just like it can add to your social media strategy, one of the advantages of blogs is that they can complement your newsletter, too. 

11. Blogging on your business website helps you stand out from the competitor crowd

Finally (although I’m sure I’ll come up with another couple of benefits of blogging when I’m having a shower or going for a walk later), it’s your chance to differentiate your brand from your competitors.

By positioning yourself as an expert in your field and building trust, you’ll attract and wow your dream customers organically instead of always having to get their attention through ads or discounts.

It’ll be a no-brainer to buy from you.

Need a hand unlocking the benefits of blogging for business for your female-founded business?

I’m sure you’ll agree that it’d be INSANE to keep on missing out on all the advantages of blogs. But what should your next step be?

• If you’ve got plenty of time to invest in creating the right strategy for your blog, learning how to write SEO-friendly articles, and writing the actual articles, here are my tips on how to create a company blog
  

• Wanna save time and set yourself up for success? I can take care of your blog, just like I’ve done (and still do) for other ambitious female entrepreneurs

  By letting me craft the right SEO-friendly articles for your specific audience, you’ll get to put your blog on autopilot and start enjoying the benefits of blogging for business over the next few months

More #crafty blog posts on this topic

References 

1. Hood, E. (2013, August 7). The #1 Small Business Marketing Idea [Infographic]

2. Jekishan, K. (2014, June 4). 10 Unbelievable Statistics To Sell Your Boss on Business Blogging

3. Patel, N. (n.d.). How to Convert Blog Readers to Leads

4. (n.d.). (2019, January 19). A Guide To Making Your Corporate Blog Relevant