Last week, I wrote about how to write an SEO optimized blog post. While writing it, I realized that creating the content is only half of the process. There is so much more to do once your blog post is ready. You also need to upload it the right way. That’s why this week’s post is about how to upload SEO optimized blog posts on WordPress.
Why on WordPress you might say? There are many advantages in using WordPress, but I would say that I primarily use WordPress because it’s free. It’s the best blogging option, and with WordPress, SEO always come first. Also, it supports all the media types I usually use.
Anyway, enough about WordPress, let’s go back to this week’s post. Below, you’ll see how to upload SEO optimized blog posts on WordPress in 12 easy steps. Take a look!
1. Write your title
First things first, start by adding a new blog post and writing your title. By writing your title first, you make sure that you can easily find your draft again. Then, I usually go to the visibility settings and switch from “Public” to “Private”. This way I make sure to avoid clicking on “Publish” by accident before I am done. Now I can get started!
2. Insert all your text
The second thing I usually do is to upload all my text with a simple copy-paste. Of course it depends on the theme you are using, but when I use the regular editor, it works great. It automatically inserts all my paragraphs in different blocks.
3. Use H1 to H6 on all headings
Then, I will verify that all my headings have the right format. Meaning that they are all assigned with H1 to H6 tags. Be careful here, only your title should contain an H1 tag! Then, you go from H2 to H6 depending on your post. Normally, I only use H2 and H3, and very rarely H4. Yet, to upload SEO optimized blog posts, you need to make sure that you have enough headings. This is because too many paragraphs in a row without headings can affect your readability score from Google. You can learn more about heading here.
It will usually look like this:
4. Add your visual elements
Once your text is ready and your headings have the right tags, you are ready to upload your visual elements. Normally they have already been chosen. So, you simply need to choose the right block format. You could for instance insert images, quotes or embed YouTube videos.
5. Use alt texts on all images
Now that all your visual elements have been uploaded, go back to the images and infographics. Make sure to insert an alt text on all of them. Your alt text should contain the focus keyword you have chosen, but also a description of the picture. I usually do something like this:
My focus keyword: description.
Inserting an alt text on all your images is a very important step to upload SEO optimized blog posts.
6. Insert your cover picture (also with an alt text)
Now that your blog post looks great, you can insert your cover picture. Be sure to look at the dimension requirements for your theme. That way, you will always upload a good quality picture. That’s why I design all of my cover pictures with Canva to make sure that I have the right size. Don’t forget to include an alt text on this picture as well!
7. Include your excerpt
Now, you can copy-paste your excerpt into the right section. Your excerpt should always be a small summary of your post. If you don’t include one manually, WordPress will automatically create one with the 55 first words of your post. That’s not really recommended, because when you write it manually, you can make it catchier. You can also use a CTA (call-to-action) to encourage people to read the post.
8. Verify everything with Yoast
At this point your blog post is theoretically ready. Yet, mistakes are human, and you might have forgotten a step or had a hard time with some of the parts. That’s why I use Yoast. Yoast is a WordPress plugin that verifies two important things: the SEO performance and the readability performance of your blog posts.
The SEO performance
The first thing Yoast considers is your SEO performance, but there’s are a few steps you need to do before you get their analysis.
1. Insert your chosen focus keyword
You’ll first want to insert your chosen focus in the right section. If you have the premium version, you can add multiple keywords. Keep in mind though, that only one of them is your FOCUS keyword.
2. Edit snippet
Now, you can edit the snippet. The snippet of the blog is what people will see when your post appears on Google. Take a look at your SEO title and your slug. Normally, these are automatically correct and don’t need any modifications. Afterwards, write a meta-description. Your meta-description, as always, needs to include your focus keyword. Write the correct length to be in the green zone.
3. Revise your score to make sure that it’s green
Once your focus keyword is set and you have edited your snippet, Yoast is going to show you their SEO analysis. You always want to get a green score. Yoast will show you where you have problems, where you can improve and where you did a good job. Follow this analysis to improve the SEO performance of your blog posts.
The readability performance
Google’s ranking system also takes a look into the readability of your posts. By looking into the readability analysis Yoast provides, you can make sure you have all the elements to rank well. It works the same way as with the SEO analysis, it highlights your problems and where you can improve. Here you should also only settle for a green score.
9. Verify that your post is mobile friendly
You would be tempted to post you blog now, but there is one super important last step: make sure that your post is mobile friendly. This means that you need to take a look into the mobile version of the post. Make sure everything looks great on a phone. Are the pictures visible? Is the font size big enough? Many of you readers will be on their phones when reading your content. Therefore, it is super important to never skip this step!
10. Publish it!
You did it! You are ready to publish it! Nonetheless, I would recommend implementing a blogging schedule, and not simply to post your blog posts when they are ready. Some days of the week are definitely better than others, like Tuesday and Wednesday. Yet, I post every Thursday because it makes more sense in my schedule. I think one of the most important things is to be consistent.
11. Share it on social media
Now that your blog post is published, you are ready to share it on social media. One piece of advice though would be not to share it right away on all your social media platforms. Share it on different days, so that you get a steadier number of visits rather than one big peak.
12. Share it on Medium
Finally, after two weeks, you can take a look at the results. Did your post rank well? Did you get lots of visits? Comments? Likes? If so, and only for your best posts, I would recommend sharing them on Medium to get even more attraction.
Medium is an online publishing platform. Lots of people visit it every day. You can use it to promote some of your blog posts. I usually only upload the beginning of my post on Medium. Then, I insert a link to my website with a read more CTA (call-to-action).
Be careful about when you are posting on Medium though. It is very important that you wait at least 2 weeks from when you posted on your own website. If not, Google might associate your blog post with Medium rather than your website. That’s really bad for your SEO score!
Voilà! These are the steps I follow when uploading blog posts on WordPress. There are other great SEO plugins out there that could also help you, but I wanted to keep it to a minimum here. I’ll come back to these other plugins in another blog post.
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Erika Naud 