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6 SEO Tips for Bloggers

July 8, 2020
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One of the biggest game changers for my blog has been focusing on SEO and by a landslide at that. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Maybe you haven’t heard of this specific term, but you’ve definitely benefited from it. SEO is all about making your webpage and blog posts easier for Google and other search engines to find. No matter where you’re at in your blogging journey, this post is for you because I’m sharing my best SEO tips for bloggers.

Why do bloggers need to focus on SEO?

I didn’t start working on SEO until last year, and let me tell you: the results have been massive. In all of 2019, only 700 of my website visitors came from search engines, meaning they typed in a search term and my blog popped up. Fast forward to this year — and it’s only July — more than 2,500 of my website visitors came from search engines like Google and Bing.

All of 2019 vs…
First six months of 2020

Think about it: when you’re looking for the best restaurants in Destin, Florida, what do you do? You open Google or Pinterest and type in “best restaurants in Destin, FL.” And yes, Pinterest is a search engine, not a social media platform.

Maybe you’re a blogger and have tried those “grow your traffic quick” methods like posting more regularly on social media, hosting giveaways with other influencers or researching hashtags. There’s nothing wrong with these, but if you’re frustrated that your traffic hasn’t increased sustainably from these methods, you’re in the right spot.

Working on your SEO isn’t a “get rich quick” or rather “get traffic quick” method. But it sets you up for exponential growth and more than anything, it gives your readers a better experience. I didn’t see results over night, but boy, have I seen my blog grow big time in the months that followed my SEO overhaul!

Okay, so what’s the magic secret? The truth is I can’t tell you everything you need to know about SEO for bloggers in one post because it’s a complex topic. But I want to share 6 SEO tips for bloggers that you can implement today.

Take Yoast’s SEO for Beginners course

This free course is where I learned 95% of what I know about SEO. They can better explain how SEO works and break down this mysterious algorithm. Ugh yes, I know, the terrible, evil, no-good algorithm. But seriously, if you do anything for your blog, take this free online course, and no, this isn’t sponsored by Yoast in any way.

This free course walks you through the basics and even gives mini quizzes to make sure you’re processing what you’re learning. At the end of the course, you receive a certificate, which I added to my LinkedIn profile.

Choose specific keywords for each post

As bloggers, we have lots of thoughts and ideas, but sometimes we can get carried away with too many focuses for one post. When you’re writing a blog post, make it specific. Let’s say you just spent a summer in Prague studying abroad and want to create several blog posts.

Instead of one massive post with how you packed, what you ate, where you visited, where to stay, day trips from Prague, etc., break it down into hearty yet easy-to-digest posts. Maybe create a post called “11 Best Restaurants in Prague,” another called “3 Best Day Trips from Prague.” That makes it less broad and also helps people who are typing “best day trips from Prague” into Google. Choose one focus keyphrase such as “best restaurants in Prague” and use it several times throughout your post.

Organize your site and posts well

This isn’t just for eye candy purposes; organizing your blog makes it easier for search engines to find and index your blog. One quick fix you can do today is go back through old posts and make sure you have subheadings in each post. No, not bolded text. Actual H1 or H2 headings. Not only does it make it easier for search engines but it also makes it a better experience for your readers.

Another thing you can do today is to make sure you’ve categorized your posts in a clear, logical fashion. This might mean categorizing the post as Recipes, Lifestyle, Travel, DIY or Fashion. And then there are tags. When you tag your posts, these are more specific than categories. So while the category might be travel, the tag might be Paris or France. The category might be Recipe and the tag is appetizers or desserts.

Link, link, link!

Another easy way to increase your blog’s SEO is by adding links within each blog post. Not only is this super helpful to your readers, but search engines also love it. And as far as SEO tips for bloggers, it’s fairly simple. Add links to your blog posts, both within your website and off your website.

For example, if you’re a food blogger and post a recipe for chocolate torte, you could link to another post of yours sharing your favorite kitchen tools. Maybe you’re sharing a macaron recipe and want to share your favorite YouTube video on how to get great consistency of your batter. (Believe me, it’s tough!)

No need to go overboard with linking every single sentence. Honestly, that’s pretty annoying for your reader, but adding several to each post will help your SEO score.

Utilize the Yoast SEO plugin on WordPress

When I first took Yoast’s SEO for Beginners course, my WordPress plan didn’t support plugins. And maybe you’re not ready to upgrade your site or aren’t able to at this time. That’s okay! There are ways to still optimize your site for search engines like the tips above.

But if you’re able to get a WordPress Business plan, use that Yoast SEO plugin every single time you draft. They have red, orange and green lights to show how you’re ranking for your keyphrase and give you specific suggestions on how to improve your score. This is, by far, my favorite plugin, and as I mentioned earlier, it’s made a big difference in my blog’s searchability.

Use my affiliate link to get $25 off any WordPress plan.

Don’t neglect previously published content

As you’re moving forward, utilize these principles, but don’t forget about all the content you’ve already published. I made a goal to fix and update at least 5 blog posts each month for SEO purposes. This means that, using the Yoast plugin, I go back to old posts to write a Meta description, add a focus keyphrase, add inbound and outbound links and check Yoast’s recommendations for improvement.

An easy way to see which blog posts need work is to go to your WordPress Admin dashboard > Posts > All Posts > Published. If you have the Yoast SEO plugin, click on the “All SEO Scores” box and pick which SEO scores you’d like see. As I’m going back through old posts, I like to click “SEO: No focus keyphrase” so that I can go back and fix those.

No, Google hasn’t disclosed the specific algorithm it uses for SEO, and algorithms are constantly changing. But Yoast takes out so much guesswork with their plugin by giving you specific suggestions. Again, this isn’t a sponsored post; I’m just obsessed with this plugin!

SEO can seem confusing and nebulous, but take a deep breath! There are specific steps you can take today to ensure your blog for search engine success. Even if your WordPress plan doesn’t have plugin capabilities, I still recommend taking Yoast’s free course to learn more SEO tips for bloggers. Happy blogging!

Still looking for more tips on how to make money from your blog, promote your posts successfully, the best tools/plugins and more? Take a look at my ebook, Become a Pro Blogger in 2 Weeks.

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Comments

  1. My IRCTC says

    July 27, 2020 at 1:09 pm

    Really reading it was worth. SEO looks simple but tests one’s patience. Yost is a good plugin to suggest improvement in a blog post.

    Reply
    • roundtriptravel says

      July 27, 2020 at 4:12 pm

      I love my Yoast SEO plugin big time, too!

      Reply
  2. Shruti Agarwal says

    August 3, 2020 at 7:25 am

    I like the first point because i was ignoring it for a long Time.

    Reply
    • roundtriptravel says

      August 3, 2020 at 4:04 pm

      Hey Shruti! Learning about SEO has been a game changer for my blog, and I hope it is for you, too 🙂

      Reply
  3. Riya Mathur says

    August 8, 2020 at 6:52 am

    Hi Kristine, I must say this is such an amazing blog! Yes, SEO is all about making webpage and blog posts easier for Google and other search engines to find. I will also take Yoast free course for SEO and thanks for letting us know about it.

    Reply
    • roundtriptravel says

      August 8, 2020 at 7:10 am

      Wow, thank you so much, Riya! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 it has made such a big impact on my blog and bios it will do the same for yours!

      Reply
      • roundtriptravel says

        August 8, 2020 at 7:11 am

        *hope 💗💗

  4. Yashika says

    September 1, 2020 at 5:59 am

    Hello there! Thanks for sharing wonderful information, as an SEO executive it is very useful to me. Thanks again and keep sharing!

    Reply
    • roundtriptravel says

      September 1, 2020 at 8:47 am

      Hello Yashika! That means so much to me❤️ happy search engines optimal writing!!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Kristin. I'm a content creator teaching English in southern France. I'm all about exploring new places, practicing my French and sharing blogging tips. Allez-viens!
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Hi, I'm Kristin. I'm a content creator teaching English in southern France. I'm all about exploring new places, practicing my French and sharing blogging tips. Allez-viens!
learn more about my story

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Why is being present so hard?!🙈Double tap if yo Why is being present so hard?!🙈Double tap if you agree!

It's so easy for me to get stuck in the past or focused on the future — so much so that I made this quote my lock screen for a looooong time. It's funny how forgetful we are as humans: We long for the future, but once we're there, we crave the past.

🌍I love how travel reminds me to be present. When you've saved up, planned and dreamed about a trip for so long, OF COURSE you want to savor each moment. But it's a great lesson for our everyday life, too.

❓How do you keep yourself in the present? I like keeping a gratitude journal. Tell me in the comments!

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Yep, we were that group of students walking around Europe with our lanyards and headsets. I got those jitters when I saw Europe in its glory for the first time. And I still do.

If you would’ve told me then that I’d move to France during a global pandemic, I’d tell you you’re complètement fou.

But here’s the thing: that trip with @EFtours stirred something inside of me, and it has yet to settle. It was a longing to see and experience the world with my own two eyes. And it inspired me to start my travel blog, to continue with my French studies, to study abroad and to move to France.

This ain't sponsored (but I sure wish it were!), and I mean with my whole heart those few days in high school set me onto this path. And for that, I am beyond grateful.

🤔What about you? Can you point to a specific moment or experience that set you on the path you're on today, all these years later? Tell me about it⬇️

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What👏to👏do?👏

❌I tried sending money directly from my French bank account to my American credit card bill. It worked, but there was bigger fee. And it was only to pay off charges, not grow savings.

✅But then a friend introduced me to @TransferWise and now I am set! I can easily transfer between my different checking accounts for the lowest rates I ever did see. Plus,  I'm still able to grow my savings and investment accounts in America.

❓OK but what is it?! @TransferWise is a third-party site that transfers money between accounts from all over the world. They price compare their rates with other companies. Their site is super easy to use and explains the whole process. And the rates were crazy low and not as high as the transfer I made directly through my banks.

🔗Bop over to link in bio for the link to get a free account and the other 5 things every expat needs.

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Earlier this month, I visited Albi to see her along with her French boyfriend, who’s from a small village. He never told me the name, but as we were sipping wine and eating saucissons, he said something about Laguépie.

“WHAT?! Did you say Laguépie? I’ve been there and fell in L O V E!” He said, no, we can’t be talking about the same place, no one ever goes to my hometown😂 But after showing him my photos, including ones the village’s castle @chateau_louvielcastel reposted, it was one and the same.

Can someone queue “Invisible String” because what a small world this is that we’re all connected. Do you have any wild stories like that? Tell me in the comments⬇️

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Currently kicking myself for not getting on the Pinterest for Business train sooner because this site is truly a game changer. I went from a personal account with a wedding board and gluten-free board with recipes I’d never tried to a bustling business board with more than 400,000 monthly visitors. And most of that is not from advertising.

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⏩Pinterest is my top driver of traffic, and if you want to upgrade your blog like a pro, this is where you need to invest your time, hands down.

Want to learn how you can use Pinterest to grow your blog, brand or biz? Head over to link in bio for my best blogging tips💯

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🚗🛤️Distance from Nice: 30-minute drive or 15 minute train ride

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I left my apartment on time, but when I got to the metro, it hadn't started running yet. I was nervous about getting to the train station on time, but if I hurried, I could make it.

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