A bloggers guide for SEO in 2017

SEO is forever changing, expanding and getting more complicated. If you’re wanting to rake in that beautiful search engine traffic, then you need to be aware of the latest in SEO. So let’s talk about what we as bloggers need to be looking into doing to optimise our lifestyle, beauty, fashion, food and travel blogs in 2017.

If you’re new to blogging or aren’t sure what SEO is, it stands for Search Engine Optimisation. In lament terms, this means when we create blog posts we also consider what we can do to within that post to help it show high up in search engine results.

I’ve written about this topic plenty of times in the past if you want to expand your knowledge a bit before reading the rest of this post:

• SEO for bloggers part 1
• SEO for bloggers part 2
• SEO for 2016

Content Density.

A few years ago the advice was to keep blog posts short to keep a reader from getting bored – over the past 18 months or so the advice has shifted to posting longer content to rank higher in search. We were encouraged to write long, detailed guides of a few thousand words.

Every major SEO authority agrees that in 2017 this will change. It will be more about dense content – meaning getting as much valuable information into fewer words as the world of marketing adapts to peoples lower attention span and higher use of browsing websites on mobile phones while on the go.

This can be good news for those of us that don’t have time to write longer content! But might require a bit more editing to ensure every thing we include in a post is of value, other wise you’re best giving it the chop.

Being older is better.

After all that squarking I did about turning 30, you’re probably surprised to hear this one.

Google ranks older domains higher than younger ones. I know what you’re probably thinking – ‘Well I can’t make my domain any older, can I?’

No, you can’t. But what you need to be looking at is a consistent link profile. If you have an old website but hardly anybody linking to it, that’s a bit pants. What you want is to have a consistent number of links point to you over time. This means you have to work on SEO all the time, rather than spending a couple of months getting some links and then thinking you’ve done enough. No, you haven’t done enough.

Google’s algorithms are always logging information about your site and judging any behaviour relating to it.

This also means having regular fresh content. You can’t update a site, have links to it and then expect it to continue to do well. It’s about developping trust and authoity over time – so bear that in mind as your website ages.

User experience.

In 2017, Google will continue to focus on user experience. As technology has improved, people aren’t happy to wait around for websites to load slowly, they won’t stick around if a website hard to navigate.

It’s clear that Google favours websites that load faster, are easy to get around and have a lower bounce rate as these are all indications that the users are enjoying their experience on site.

Further Reading: How to lower your bounce rate.

Content is king.

As a daily blogger, I’m going to say something that is totally against my nature. Quality over quantity will get you further every time.

So this is good news for those who are struggling to keep to a schedule, focus more on getting quality content out there that will make people stick around your blog, share your links and tweet about it.

Remember Google’s aim is to provide the most relevant result in search as quickly as possible that’s the best content. The best way to get your content to the top of these results is if it’s good enough that it’s shared across social media, people are linking to it and people stick around the site rather than bouncing straight off.

Remember – most people share content if it’s helpful, inspiring, relatable or funny.

Mind your keywords.

Traditionally keyword stuffing was a great way to get to the top of the ranks, but Google got wise to that. Keyword stuffing is when you use the same word over and over again. Say I wanted this post to rank high for 2017 SEO tips, I’d keep repeating that phrase throughout the post. I’d also have it in the title, headings, URL and alt tags.

But this looks unnatural and Google can tell, pulling your page ranks down.

Thankfully, Google Hummingbird uses Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) – which means similar keywords are picked up. For example ‘how to lose weight quickly’ would be recognised as similar to ‘fast weight loss tips’.

So remember to use similar terms to your target keyword throughout the blog post to rank high in search in 2017.

Mobile use is still on the rise.

Using the internet on mobile phones is as popular than ever, with mobile searches outnumbering desktop searches, so it’s important to ensure your website is mobile friendly.

If your theme doesn’t load fast or look great on mobile, then you might want to consider getting one that does.

Do you look think about SEO when writing your blog posts? What tips have worked best for you?

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