16 Effective SEO Strategies for Bloggers
What SEO strategies are effective for blogs and bloggers in 2024?
We’ve gathered insights from sixteen SEO specialists, including SEO Consultants and Founders, to share their most effective strategies for bloggers. From analyzing competitors to using crowdsourcing for backlinks and traffic, this comprehensive guide introduces sixteen SEO strategies for bloggers.
- Analyze Competitors and Update Content
- Optimize Images Using Google Vision AI
- Speed Up Your Blog’s Loading Time
- Incorporate Interactive Content
- Ask Readers for Content Preferences
- Improve EEAT Signals for Better SEO
- Create Engaging Content Clusters
- Adopt a Distribution-First Strategy
- Leverage People Also Ask (PAA) Feature
- Update Posts with Latest Information
- Optimize On-Page SEO Elements
- Create High-Quality Long-Form Content
- Enhance SEO with Internal Linking
- Build Topical Authority with Content Clusters
- Write In-Depth Content to Outrank Competitors
- Use Crowdsourcing for Backlinks and Traffic
Analyze Competitors and Update Content
Do a Google search for the topic you’re writing about to see the other blog posts that will be your competition. Carefully dissect the other blog posts to break down why your readers may prefer their posts over yours, so that you can focus on crafting your blog post to be more compelling and engaging.
Keep this in mind every quarter or so to do another Google search and compare your article against the competition again to see if the competition has changed and if you need to make any updates or changes to help your post perform better.
Lauren Galvez, SEO Consultant, LaurenGalvez.com
Optimize Images Using Google Vision AI
If you’re a blogger and not optimizing your images for Google search, then you’re probably missing out on a ton of free traffic.
An effective way to get traffic from Google is to optimize the images’ EXIF data for what Google is actually seeing in the photo. The way you do this is you head over to the Google Vision AI API and upload an image for free. The AI will scan the image and provide you with: emotion of faces in the photo, labels, objects, logos, text, properties like colors, and safe search ratings. Drop a photo of a known landmark, business, or pretty much any well-known location with a listing in Google Maps, and it pulls the GPS coordinates and name of the location.
So let’s say I create a post titled “10 Best Chefs in America.” I would use photos of famous chefs in America and include photos of popular locations in the US that the chefs are somehow connected to. I would then upload the photos into Google Vision AI and document any relevant terms, long/lat, and location data, emotions, and whatever else I can pull from Google Vision AI. Then I use Lightroom to edit the EXIF data, but anyone can use a free EXIF editor online. We’re mainly optimizing the general EXIF data, IPTC data, and the XMP data. Also, Google Vision AI reads text in images very well, so adding some text to the photo can add an extra layer of optimization.
This is a great way to leverage your existing pages to get a traffic boost on your blog, so implement it now before it becomes another SEO tactic regurgitated by every blogger on the web.
Eric Plotts, SEO Expert & Website Designer, Blue Lake Web Design
Speed Up Your Blog’s Loading Time
Optimizing the speed of loading of your blog is a good SEO strategy for bloggers. Websites that load quickly are given priority by search engines like Google because they offer a better user experience. By optimizing your photos, choosing a reputable hosting company, and reducing the number of unnecessary plugins on your site, you can increase the speed at which pages load. A quicker website improves SEO and maintains reader interest. Try it out and see how it improves the performance of your blog.
Simon Brisk, Founder & SEO Strategist, Click Intelligence
Incorporate Interactive Content
Integrating interactive content, like quizzes, polls, and interactive infographics, has been working really well for us. This approach not only increases user engagement but also extends the time visitors spend on our site. For example, if you’re a lifestyle blogger, you could use a poll to engage readers about their favorite home-decor styles. These interactive elements promote social sharing and attract backlinks. Tools like Typeform and Canva are excellent for creating such engaging content.
Zoltan Fagyal, SEO Consultant & Founder, Back Bay Digital
Ask Readers for Content Preferences
Whether you’re a blogger looking to monetize your website or a solo website owner blogging to bring in more leads, great SEO is undeniably valuable. More online visibility typically generates more revenue. However, once bloggers start going down the rabbit hole of all things SEO, I find that they get too caught up in the step-by-step optimization process. This causes them to lose sight of a vital aspect: Is your blog’s audience actually looking for the information or content that you’re providing?
An extremely effective SEO-driven strategy is to speak directly to your readers or like-minded audiences and simply ask them what sort of blog content they’re looking for. This saves you time by replacing tedious keyword research with first-hand feedback. SEO isn’t helpful if you’re creating content that no one wants to read.
Christy Hunter, SEO Coach and Educator for Creative Small Businesses
Improve EEAT Signals for Better SEO
In the current era of Google, the most effective SEO strategy for bloggers is to focus on improving EEAT signals, which include both on-page and off-page factors. The most important on-page factors to consider are content quality, sitewide topical relevance or content coverage, and authority pages such as ‘About Us,’ ‘Editorial Policy,’ and ‘Content Review Process.’ For off-page factors, it is essential to consider mentions of the author and their articles on niche-relevant websites, the anchor texts of backlinks, and the author’s popularity in other areas like podcasts and videos.
Gaurav Kale, SEO Consultant, State of Digital Publishing
Create Engaging Content Clusters
Google evaluates numerous data points, such as average engagement time, scroll depth, clicks, and bounce rate, before determining search rankings. Bloggers should consider these engagement metrics when creating content. Initially, establish seed keywords and then expand on them by creating related articles. Internally linking these articles to form a cluster can help maintain visitor engagement, ultimately improving your website’s rankings.
Dhiren Mulani, SEO Specialist, Earningify.com
Adopt a Distribution-First Strategy
Use a distribution-first strategy. It’s very tempting to focus on just one platform, especially when you’re doing things solo. However, a distribution-first strategy will save you if and when Google cracks down on small publishers, such as what HouseFresh experienced.
I’m not saying to use all available platforms—choose ones that you can maintain. Find your topic, and see how you can create platform-specific content for that topic; then, create the content.
Veniz Guzman, SEO Expert & Content Strategist, Promet Source
Leverage People Also Ask (PAA) Feature
One good SEO strategy for bloggers is using the People Also Ask (PAA) framework. Take advantage of Google’s PAA feature to find common questions related to your blog topics. Make your content directly answer user questions. This will improve your chances of ranking in the PAA box and getting more organic traffic.
To start, enter a broad keyword related to your niche into Google and look at the PAA questions that show up. Pick questions that match your content goals and have a lot of search interest. For example, if you blog about fitness, a PAA question might be, ‘What are the best exercises for weight loss?’ Write a detailed blog post that answers this question, using the question as your title or heading.
Next, make sure your content is structured to give clear, concise answers. Break down your post into sections that cover different parts of the question, and use bullet points or numbered lists to make it easier to read. This way, you increase your chances of showing up in the PAA box and give useful, easy-to-read information that keeps readers interested and encourages them to explore more of your content.
Armen Davtyan, Head of SEO, Market Apartments
Update Posts with Latest Information
I have been writing blogs for more than a decade now, and there is no single strategy that bloggers can rely on—specifically, keeping under consideration the consistent algorithmic changes by Google. Therefore, to ensure that my blog ranks on top in the SERPs and remains stable, I tend to update my blog posts quite frequently.
For instance, if I am writing a blog on Google Spam updates, I update the blog after every Google Spam Update is launched. This strategy does not just keep the content fresh but also shares valuable information that is relevant to the community (which in my case are SEO professionals). Visitors become accustomed to the blog, and they readily visit the blog for content updates.
A glaring example of this could be Search Engine Journal; the platform readily shares insights with respect to algorithmic changes, tech announcements, and news, which keeps the users engaged and anxious so that they keep on visiting the site repeatedly to find updated yet relevant information.
Kashif Faraz, CMO, Aun Digital
Optimize On-Page SEO Elements
One SEO strategy for bloggers is optimizing the blog post for on-page SEO. The most important area of on-page SEO is how to distribute your primary keyword. Bloggers should ensure that the primary keyword is featured in their titles, headings, meta descriptions, URLs, and throughout the content. Incorporating also related keywords across the blog aids in achieving better search engine rankings.
Brian Lukorito, Lead Web Architect, Reactionpower
Create High-Quality Long-Form Content
One effective SEO strategy for bloggers is to focus on creating high-quality, long-form content that thoroughly addresses the needs and questions of their target audience. This involves conducting thorough keyword research to identify relevant topics and incorporating those keywords naturally throughout the content. Optimizing on-page elements such as meta titles, descriptions, headers, and internal linking can significantly enhance search engine visibility.
Regularly updating content to ensure its accuracy and relevance also helps maintain and improve search rankings over time. Engaging and informative content not only attracts more traffic but also encourages backlinks, which are crucial for SEO success.
Shawn Miller, Blogger, Modified Rides
Enhance SEO with Internal Linking
You need to take advantage of internal linking. By strategically linking to other relevant posts within your blog, you can enhance user experience, reduce bounce rates, and strengthen the overall site structure. Internal links help search engines understand the relationship between different pages, thereby improving indexing and ranking.
To maximize the impact, ensure that the anchor text is descriptive and contextually relevant. Regularly audit your blog to identify opportunities for new internal links, especially within older posts that continue to attract traffic. This strategy boosts SEO performance and keeps readers engaged, which is just as important.
Leslie Gilmour, Founder, BeFound SEO
Build Topical Authority with Content Clusters
For bloggers, focusing on topical authority is a highly effective SEO strategy. Instead of creating scattered content, develop a cluster of interlinked articles around core topics relevant to your niche. This approach not only demonstrates expertise to search engines but also provides comprehensive value to readers.
For example, a fitness blogger could create a series of in-depth articles on “bodyweight exercises,” covering subtopics like technique, progression, and nutrition. Interlinking these pieces creates a content ecosystem that search engines recognize as authoritative. This strategy often leads to improved rankings for multiple related keywords and increased organic traffic over time.
By building topical authority, bloggers can establish themselves as go-to resources in their niche, enhancing both their SEO performance and audience engagement.
Tristan Harris, Demand Generation Senior Marketing Manager, Thrive Digital Marketing Agency
Write In-Depth Content to Outrank Competitors
Back in the days, I believed excellent SEO could take your rankings very high up, and content quality was not much of a concern. But now, my thoughts are completely different in light of my experience.
Websites involved in writing long-form content, it is a necessity for them to write in-depth, quality, and helpful content if they want to rank up. Any blogger not fulfilling this requirement will not succeed in these competitive conditions.
In this context, a useful strategy for bloggers would be to beat their competition. This can be done by searching for similar blogs that rank high. Beat their content. Write more in-depth, include more information, and have a better design. Surely, in some time, you will be able to rank high, considering your quality content.
Arafat Mughal, Lead SEO, Funkari Customs
Use Crowdsourcing for Backlinks and Traffic
I love the crowdsourced approach to blogging. Crowdsourcing is where you have others contribute quotes on a specific topic and build the blog article around their insights.
When you feature others in your blog posts, you have instant backlink opportunities and free traffic as soon as it’s published. Traffic and backlinks are two important SEO ranking factors. You’ve given others a platform to share their quotes, stories, and insights, and they’ll be more likely to share your blog when they’re a part of it.
Alli Hill, Founder and Director, Fleurish Freelance