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Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Post SEO Checklist, your go-to guide for optimizing your content to boost SEO and drive more website traffic. Use this comprehensive checklist every time you create and publish a blog post to ensure your content is optimized for your article to be ready to rank on Google.

Planning

• Craft an Engaging Headline: Begin with an attention-grabbing headline that entices readers and includes your target SEO keyword.
• Keyword Research: Once your headline is formed, research the most relevant and high-impact keywords to include in your content.

Before You Hit “Publish”

• Internal Linking: Link 2-3 of your older and related blog posts within the new content to enhance user engagement and navigation. If you feel like you do not have any, this is your chance to write some more supporting articles.
• External References: Include links to reputable outside sources and websites. Always ensure these open in a new tab to maintain user engagement. However, avoid linking too many external links because Google will think you are link-stuffing, and no one likes that.
• Categorize and Tag: Choose an appropriate category and add relevant tags to help organize your content for readers and search engines.
• Image Optimization: Ensure all images are optimized and appropriately resized to enhance page loading speed and user experience. Need help optimizing your images? Check out our article, how to Optimize Your Images For SEO.
• Social Media-Friendly Images: Create visually appealing and shareable images for social media sharing to expand your content’s reach. However, we prefer not to place these throughout our article, as ads and spam can be frustrating. Instead, we opt to place them at the bottom if it is absolutely necessary.
• Proofreading: Carefully proofread your post for errors and ensure it is easily scannable with appropriate formatting.
• Yoast’s Recommendations: If you don’t have the Yoast plugin in for your WordPress account, you need it. Review and address any SEO recommendations provided by the Yoast plugin.

On-Page SEO Optimization

Now it’s time to optimize your content to place your target SEO keyword strategically. If you have Yoast, the plugin will highlight these for you so you can be confident that you’ve optimized your page correctly.

• H1 Heading: Incorporate your target keyword into the H1 heading; this is typically the post title.
• First 250 Words: Include the keyword within the first 250 words of your content, preferably in the opening paragraph.
• Throughout Page Content: Naturally, integrate the keyword a few times within the content to provide context and relevance.
• H2 & H3 Headings: Use the keyword within H2 and H3 headings throughout the content, wherever it’s appropriate.
• Page URL Permalink: Ensure the keyword is part of the page’s URL permalink for better search engine recognition.
• Image ALT Text: Add descriptive ALT text to at least one image, aligning with your target keyword, for improved accessibility and SEO.
• SEO Title: Craft an SEO title that includes your keyword, as it plays a significant role in search results.
• SEO Meta Description: Create a compelling and keyword-rich meta description to attract readers in search engine listings.

The more naturally you incorporate your target keyword throughout your content, the stronger the context clues you provide, enhancing your SEO.

After You Publish

• Internal Links: Go back to your relevant older blog posts and add links to this new post to create a network of interconnected content.
• Pinterest Promotion: Pin your Pinterest-friendly graphic to your Pinterest board and schedule it. Utilize Pinterest for valuable SEO juice.
• Social Media Sharing: Promote your post on your Instagram Feed and Stories to reach your Instagram audience.
• Multichannel Sharing: Share your post on all relevant social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more.
• Ongoing Promotion: Revisit and reshare your post on social media in 1-2 months to maintain visibility and SEO benefits.

With this Ultimate Blog Post SEO Checklist, you’ll have the tools to elevate your content, improve SEO, and drive more traffic to your website. Get ready to maximize your digital presence in the online world with Soigne’.