So, I have chatted about SEO on the blog A LOT and now that I am pretty sure we are all up to speed about what SEO is and how you can use SEO to drive traffic to your blog, we’re going to work on how to plan out your SEO for your blog post. (I’ve created a free SEO Planner printable to help you with this). I’ve long tried to find a planner that worked for me, but nothing could just quite cut it, so I decided to design one myself and it works like a bomb!
Plan Your Topic
So, you want to write a killer post about your super scrumptious, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake. That’s your topic for your blog post. In the Topic Brainstorm part of the SEO Planner, scribble down all the ideas you have and things you need to include in your blog post. Whether it is special images, affiliate links, secret ingredients, it doesn’t matter, jot it down in here.
PLAN SEO KEYWORDS
For this, I use Google AdWords – a super easy to use tool for finding keywords related and relevant to your topic, as well as indicates how many users search for that term in Google. In the screenshot below, you can see exactly what people are searching on Google to find chocolate cake recipes:
In the “Related Keyword” section, fill in the remaining 5 related keywords you found on this list.
These keywords should now be incorporated into your post, without making it sound spammy, to get Google to show your blog post whenever someone is searching for a chocolate cake recipe, no matter which one of the keywords they used.
Another great way to improve your SEO is to include synonyms of your keyword. In the “Synonyms” section, write down more words people could search to find your recipe.
Now…
FINALISING YOUR SEO PLANNING (BASED ON YOAST SEO)
In the next two sections of the planner is where things get serious! Here’s where we dig deeper into SEO and where we need to place a high focus on. In this section, you will write down your SEO Title for your post. An SEO post title is what appears when Google displays its results after you have searched for a term (it’s usually in blue). And the tiny snippet that appears below that is your Meta Description. Your Meta Description should be optimised for SEO as well. See the screenshot below to further illustrate my point:
Lastly…
I’ve included a quick SEO checklist for you to ensure you’ve got yourself covered!
Quick note: It is a general rule that the keywords in your content piece should not exceed 3%. This means that if you have a content piece of 500 words, your should use about 10 versions of your keyword. I suggest using your main keyword twice, 3 related keywords and 3 – 5 synonyms for your keyword in the blog post.
Be careful though – when you go overboard with using your keyword, Google will mark you as spam and you will not rank. When it comes to SEO, less is definitely more.
Always remember that your keywords should appear naturally in your content. Don’t force it. You are writing for your audience first, and search engines second, so ensure that your readers can flow through the content.
And there you have it – How to Plan your SEO for your Blog. So, what about that Free Printable I mentioned?
Hi, I’m Imka Webb and I am the owner of Imka Webb Digital Marketing. I live in sunny South Africa with my husband and our beautiful daughter. When I am not helping businesses grow their online presence, I am reading or trying something new in the kitchen. I make a killer meatball and my cupcakes are to die for!