Guest post by Jane Crighton.
77% of Internet users read blogs, and after falling to a low of 21% in 2015, more than three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies now maintain corporate blogs.
Blogs are especially popular among students who have access to fast Internet connectivity and a lot of ideas to share. And search engine optimization (SEO) plays a huge role in the processes of discovering and sharing ideas. SEO can make or break your blog’s web presence.
Students today are on the lookout for help with their marketing projects, reports and case studies. Imagine if there was a platform wherein you could find everything you need! Student blogs, and especially academic blogs, are popular destinations.
Do you have (or do you know a student who has) an idea about a kickass academic blog on marketing but don’t know where to start? Do you (or they) need some help with your marketing case studies and research papers? Valuable online resources like the assignment experts at Assignment Essay Help can help.
Marketing is a field that requires immense expertise and a keen eye for details. Students can approach assignment essay help online to help them write blog posts as well as reports on marketing. Experts like those at AEH provide insightful inputs as most of them are equipped with industry-level experience.
To enhance SEO for your blog posts, here are five critical factors to keep in mind.
1. Make keyword research part of your planning.
Bloggers who are required to come up with content on a frequent or even daily basis are aware of how important it is to plan out a work calendar in advance; listing topics and deadlines helps maintain publishing consistency.
Besides the planning you do regarding content, spend some time performing keyword research. This will help you understand the topics that your audience is searching as well as the language they are employing when seeking out information on these topics.
There are several tools online that can be used for this, such as Google’s Keyword Planner which uses the data the company collects on what people are searching for. You may also look for phrases that people commonly use by looking at similar searches under the “People also ask” and “Searches related to” sections in the results page of the search engine.
Additionally, competition analysis tools like Porter’s Five Forces are a great way for bloggers with budgets to help find out what the high-competition keywords are, so they can bid on them in paid search. Conversely, it also helps them find out what the lowest-ranked, cheaper keywords are so that they can be optimized.
2. Internal links are the way to go.
Inbound links serve as a signal to help search engines gauge the authority of your content. In one blog post, if you refer to a topic you’ve written about earlier, it ‘s helpful to link the text to that earlier post. Not only does internal linking help keep visitors on your website longer, but it also increases the relevancy of your other work in the eyes of search engines.
Though not as valuable as external links, they are still quite a significant SEO tactic. It is a good practice to search your website for the keywords you are focused on in new posts. You can use this to add a link to the newer posts and this will make a large difference in the long run.
3. Make sure to cover the on-page SEO basics.
Basic SEO is not difficult to perform, provided you have some clarity as to what you want and how to get it done. On-page SEO strategies are what you use to tweak the content and the visuals on the page in a way that is visible to the reader. This is reasonably simple to execute because there is no code or technical expertise involved.
a. Make use of SEO-friendly URLs
The URL to your page should concisely indicate what your page’s content is about. Keep it limited to around 2-5 words and make sure to have included your target keyword.
b. Meta title
Search engines use the meta title to identify the primary topic of your page or post. You can find the meta title at the top of your browser and also in the search results. Make sure to include your target keyword in it, preferably at the front of the tag.
c. H1 tag
Each page on your website is required to have an H1 tag—which is essentially the headline of the page. While using WordPress, the post title automatically becomes the H1 tag. Sometimes, though, there are certain themes that override this particular feature so it’s better to make sure.
d. Subheadings
Adding h2 and h3 tags helps establish a clear hierarchy in your posts and helps readers navigate your content with ease.
e. Images
One effective method of making your posts more appealing is by including visual content. When placing an image, always include an alt tag. This helps search engine bots recognize the content of the image and also makes it accessible to the visually impaired. Make sure that your alt tag perfectly describes the images that you have added.
f. Utility
Despite sounding simple, the basic usability of a website is overlooked quite often by bloggers both amateur and experienced. It’s vital to ensure that all the components of your site function correctly and in harmony.
Ask yourself questions such as: are all the images in your content relevant? Are there any links that do not work? Is your content loading fast enough? All of these factors play a crucial role in determining a user’s experience which is very important for on-page SEO.
4. Try out different formats for your content.
With an academic blog, you may be able to write about a wide range of topics related to your field of study without any university pressure for deadlines. Plus, you can sharpen your academic writing skills by posting case studies, reports, and research papers on your blog.
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For additional tips on academic writing, you can always contact professionals at online assignment services. These organizations have teams of marketing experts, finance gurus, lawyers and educators on board to give you real-time industry insights.
Blogging is usually associated with writing text. But blogs are a dynamic and flexible format; posts can include a variety of media such as images, videos, infographics, audio clips, maps, diagrams, and more.
5. Try to continue creating and publishing evergreen content.
To really up your SEO game, consider while picking and choosing among various blog topics one that enables you to create evergreen content.
Evergreen content refers to topics that will remain relevant and valuable over a long period of time, provided that are kept up to date with minor adjustments or tweaks in terms of specific information (such as a yearly statistical update).
University graduates can make the most of blogging by sharing their research online. It is a great way to connect with professors, deans, and educators from across the globe. Students in the UK can reach out to the UK-based professional essay writers for some assistance with their research.
In fact, good quality academic blogs also open doors for students to climb to higher levels in the academic world. You can use your research blog or case study in your resume when applying for an advanced degree program or teaching/research assistant role.
Jane Crighton is an educator and marketing professional who has interacted with students and industry professionals alike. She is also the co-founder and consultant at Top My Grades, an educational platform. Jane specializes in delivering business management assignments to students. Beyond work, you can find her on a trek with friends or fishing.
I am amazed that such post are still up to go. Great . Thank you.
You’ve made some really good points there. It should reach to mass audience. You can take help from SEO Services company to boost the traffic.
You’re welcome!
Thank you, and my clients do “take help” indeed.
A big thumbs up for your informative article. I really got a lot to learn from it.Thanks for presenting this enlightening article!! its really very helpful for me.
You’re most welcome Priya, great to hear this was helpful!