Optimizing for SEO on Your Blog Post_____________________________________________________________________

Introduction:

Optimizing your blog posts for SEO is an important part of creating content. After all, if you create a piece of content, you want to make sure that the people who are searching for it are able to find it. That’s where SEO comes in. By taking a few extra steps to optimize your blog posts, you will be able to generate more traffic to your website.

To make optimizing your blog for search engines easy and second nature, the HubSpot blog now includes an SEO Panel that appears alongside your compose box as you write. This new tool is an addition to the COS blog and will make sure you hit upon the most important parts of optimizing your blog posts.

This worksheet will take you through the different parts of SEO and hit upon optimizing your blog post through title, body, meta, and image optimizations. When you are finished, you will be prepared to create an optimized blog post using the HubSpot blog and the SEO Panel.

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Section 1: Pick Keyword to Optimize

1. Make a list of 5 keywords based on what you know about your business. Don’t worry about making them specific yet; think of them as general keyword buckets. Use the Keyword tool to help you come up with some ideas.

2. Take the keyword buckets you created in step 1, and think of 5-10 long-tail keywords that fall into each keyword bucket. We started you off with an example in the first column.

Example Keyword: Sneakers

Keyword Bucket 1 Keyword Bucket 2

Buy Jordan sneakersNew Jordan sneakersJordan sneakers for kidsDiscount Jordan sneakersBasketball sneakers JordanJordan sneaker releaseJordan sneakers for saleJordan sneakers for menAir Jordan sneakers newUpcoming Jordan sneakers launch

Keyword 1

Keyword 2

Keyword 3

Keyword 4

Keyword 5

Keyword Bucket 3 Keyword Bucket 4 Keyword Bucket 5

3. Go back to your work in Step 2, and think of any variations you can use of those keywords. For example, if you are selling sneakers, you may want to try “buy Michael Jordan sneakers” as well as “buy new Jordan sneakers Nike.”

4. Do some outside research on related search terms. Go to your preferred search engine, and see what other results it suggests when you type in one of your keyword phrases. What other phrases did you find?

5. Take a look at how your competitors are ranking for these keywords. How are they ranking for the keyword phrases you chose in step 2? What other keyword phrases are they trying to rank for?

Click here to add your phrases.

Click here to add your phrases.

6. Narrow down your keyword list to 1-2 long-tail keywords that you think are the most important terms your company should rank for.

Keyword 1

Keyword 2

Section 2: Begin writing your blog post

1. Now that you have 1-2 keywords that you want to rank for, let’s start thinking of blog topics. Remember, it is important to write for a topic, and not just a keyword. Using the Blog Topic Generator, plug in your keywords and see what titles it suggests. Note: If you do not like the titles it gives you, try it again!

2. Organize your content. Create an outline. Your outline should consist of the following:

An introduction: Sets the stage for what you plan to address in through your collection of curated content.

A body: Explains every bullet, list item, step, and example in a logical order – each with an explanation.

A conclusion: Wraps up your post with a brief statement that's reflective of what your readers just learned.

What are all the bullet points you need to cover to introduce your compilation, explain each point, and remind the reader what they just learned?

Title 1

Title 2

Title 3

Title 4

Title 5

I. IntroductionII. Point #1

a. Purpose:b. Source:c. Data:d. Takeaway:e. Image

III. Point #2a. Purpose:b. Source:c. Data:d. Takeaway:e. Image

IV. Point #3a. Purpose:b. Source:c. Data:d. Takeaway:e. Image:

V. Point #4a. Purpose:b. Source:c. Data:d. Takeaway:e. Image:

VI. Point #5a. Purpose:b. Source:c. Data:d. Takeaway:e. Image:

VII. Conclusion

3. Write out your introduction. Make sure to grab your reader’s attention, and make it captivating.

4. Now that you have an introduction and outline, go into the HubSpot Blog Tool, and write your blog post.

5. Fix your formatting.

Keep your title & subtitles consistent. Write out the meta description in 150-160 characters Pick 2 tags that describe your post.

6. Pick what CTA you want to use. Include it at the end of your post. Use the box below to brainstorm ideas and/or workflows for your CTA.

12. Optimize for on-page SEO.

Are there any keywords you can link to other pages on your site? Is your page optimized for mobile?

13. Find resources that you can link to throughout your blog post for more information.

Click here to write your introduction.

Describe your CTA, and include the link it should redirect to.

Section 3: Using the SEO Panel to Optimize Your Blog Post1. While in the HubSpot Blog Tool, click on the SEO View. What keywords did the tool pick up from your blog post?

2. Pick one of the keywords to focus on for this particular blog post. Note: You may notice that if you use the keyword too many times, the tool will ask you to remove some keywords. Keyword stuffing will not positively impact your SEO.

3. Take a look at the other items that are marked in red. If they are marked in red, that means they are still SEO items that need to be addressed. If they are marked in green, that means they are SEO items that have been addressed. Note: If you want to filter by just the items you still need to complete, click on “Suggestions” at the top.

4. Out of the red suggestions, there may be some you do not want to complete. The impact buttons will give you an idea about the importance of each task. Write out the SEO items that are top priorities for you that you would like to address based on the list of suggestions.

Keyword 1

Keyword 2

Keyword 1

Examples (edit as much as you would like):

1. Including an image in my post2. Writing out my meta description3. Having my keyword in my title

4. Let’s start with your title optimizations. What keyword(s) are you using in the title?

5. How many characters is your keyword? It should be under 70 characters.

6. Next, take a look at your body optimizations. How many keywords are in your post?

7. What resources does the SEO Panel suggest linking to from your blog post?

8. How many times is your keyword used in your post? It shouldn’t be used more than five times.

9. What is your post’s call-to-action? Check out the CTAs the SEO Panel suggests based on your keyword. Pick one of them.

Keyword 1

Click here to write the number of characters.

Click here to write the number of keywords.

Resource 1 Resource 2 Resource 3

Click here to write the number of times your keyword is used.

Click here to write about your CTA.

10. Let’s move onto image optimizations. How many images are you including in your post? You should have at least one. What are you images going to convey? How will they help your post?

11. Do you have alt text on your images? All images should have alt text.

12. Finally, let’s go over meta optimizations. Is there a keyword in your URL? What is it?

13. What is your meta description? It should be under 155 characters but still informative.

14. Look back at your meta description. Does it include your keyword? If it doesn’t, update your meta description.

1. Describe the image.2. Write how they will help your blog post.

Keyword 1

Click here to write your meta description.

Click here to write your updated meta description.