SEO Tips for Blogs: Blogger and WordPress // Part 2

Time for the second instalment of SEO Tips For Blogs, don’t forget to catch the first part of SEO tips, where we covered:

1. Editing URLs.
2. Keyword Rich Titles
3. Editing Search Description.

Let’s talk about 3 more ways you can improve SEO on your blog.

4. Have you edited the alt tag in your photos?

Search engines can’t read images. So adding an alt tag or alt text to an image will tell search engines what the image is, as well as allow the visually impaired to understand what DSC_00949.jpg means.

The alt tag will have a positive impact on SEO and is one of the main factors Google will use to pull up in images in Google Image search.

When I say main, there are many things that influence search rankings. When it comes to images, the main two are said to be:

1. Alt tags
2. Content of the page the image is on

Use the alt tag to describe a picture. Here’s how to edit it on WordPress and Blogger:

WordPress:

Step 1: Hover over the photo and click the icon of the pencil.
Step 2: Enter the text in the Alternative Text box.

Blogger:

Step 1. Hover over the image and click ‘properties’
Step 2. Enter the text in the ‘alt text’ box and click ‘ok’.

You want the alt text to contain your focus keyword, but also describe the image.

Watch out: Don’t keyword stuff as this may result in a penalty. An example of keyword stuffing for this particular alt text would be ‘essence haul essence makeup essence mascara essence eyeshadow essence nail varnish essence range’. Keep it short, simple and to the point.

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 5. Is the keyword in the first and last paragraph?

If you can manage it without it sounding awkward, try to include your keyword in the opening and closing paragraph of your post. This is because search engines will hold most weighting to the first and last paragraph when matching web pages with search results.

If you end up sending unnatural when doing this, then use alternative words that relate to the keyword, if it still founds forced, then leave it out.

6. Is the keyword in a heading?

Try to use the keyword in a heading or subheading in your blog post, as this is another one of the factors search engines will use when scouring the internet for matches to search results.

Headings categorise blog posts, so search engines will use them as a clue to what the page is about.

This is something that I learnt really late on in blogging. I would make headings by using bold and underline on my text, without realising it’s so easy to actually create a heading on a blog post!

Here is how:

Creating headings in WordPress:

Simply highlight the text, then use the heading drop down menu to select which heading.

Creating headings in Blogger:

Simply highlight the text, then use the heading drop down menu to select which heading.

As always, if you can’t get they keyword in header without sounding awkward, leave it out.

You should only have one H1 tag in your blog post, which would be your main heading. Then use H2 tags for subheadings. H3 tags can follow H2 tags, then H4 etc.

For example, I use H2 headings for any subheadings, then H3 tags to indicate any further headings within that subheading. Then use a H2 tag again on the next subheading. Never use a H4 tag following a H2 tag, it should be H3!

I hope these SEO tips help you in your quest for a bit of extra lovely traffic from search engines!