How Often Should I Blog for SEO and How Many SEO Keywords Should Be Used?

An SEO blog is primarily like any other blog, but it’s managed with the intention of using the blog to gain higher search rankings and visibility. The bonus is that by producing content of value to gain better search ranking you can also directly convert leads and customers with an SEO blog.

SEO blog posts are the individual posts in a blog that’s used for search engine optimization. There’s no limit on the topical matter for SEO blog posts. As long as it can be linked back to your brand or business it’s fair game.

This simply refers to blogs that are written with the understanding upfront that they are being used to boost SEO. Because improved SEO is the end goal, SEO blog writing is approached a little differently. One of the most notable aspects of SEO blog writing is the use of targeted keywords. 

Links both external and internal are also important as is the length of the blog post. In some cases, likes, comments and shares can also help improve SEO and the writer should include prompts that encourage readers to take action.

SEO keywords, or just keywords if you want to keep it simple, are terms or phrases that represent an entry in a search engine. SEO keywords are used in a number of ways within a search engine optimization strategy. The goal is to get a web page ranking in the top three of the search engine results for a particular keyword.

How SEO keywords work is a bit of a mystery to many website owners. While it is a complex process that involves proper techniques on the part of writers and developers, the idea is fairly simple. SEO keywords tell search engine bots what a page is about.

Just as the words on the page inform a reader, they also allow search engines to figure out the topic matter of a page and what exactly is said about the topic. So when a user searches for a term or phrase, the search engine knows if your blog post is a good resource or not.

There are so many SEO keyword search tools today that it can be a bit overwhelming for a beginner. The best way to learn how to find SEO keywords is still Google’s keyword planner tool. It’s by far the most widely-used resource, and you know you can trust the results. 

There’s also a trending keywords feature that comes in very handy for blog posts about a current event or popular topic. You can even narrow it to a subregion to see what people are searching for currently in your area.

There are a lot of nuances and intricacies to understanding keyword data and parsing out the ones with the best SEO potential. SEO experts often have their own specialized keyword search tools that add to the information provided by Google’s keyword planner. They allow us to hone in on opportunities that might be overlooked and create a strategy for both short-term and long-term SEO benefit.

What’s considered “good” SEO keywords is different for every blog. Good SEO keywords are terms and phrases that 1.) your customers are searching for and 2.) apply to what your business/website/products/services/brand are about. 

Don’t get too hung up on search volume. Sometimes a keyword has a very high search volume, but it’s not targeted. There could be so many reasons people are searching the keyword that most of the volume wouldn’t apply to your blog post. Take a search for “attorneys” for instance. If you own a firm that specializes in entertainment law, then people who searched attorneys because they got a DUI aren’t your target audience. Neither are couples who are getting divorced or employees that are suing for workers comp. 

The moral of the story is there may be a high search volume but that doesn’t mean they’re all relevant so search volume shouldn’t be the biggest consideration.

Longtail keywords - The shorter the keyword is the more competitive it’s going to be. That’s why most bloggers find SEO success with longtail keywords. These are the keyword phrases with 4+ words. The search volume is typically lower but the relevance is much higher. 

Geotargeted keywords - If your blog is relevant to a specific location, say the city where you live, then using geotargeted keywords could gain you local exposure. A geotargeted keyword is a phrase that includes a location-related word. For example, Austin SEO consultants or professional web design in San Antonio. Because of Internet-enabled smartphones, phrases with “near me” and “nearby” can also technically be considered geotargeted keywords.

Keywords are important to have within the blog in general, but where keywords are on the page can make a difference. Search bots try to imitate the experience of users when they analyze a page. For that reason you’ll want to make sure to include keywords in the:

• Main Heading (H1)
• Subheadings (H2, H3, etc.) 
• First sentence or paragraph
• Link anchor text

Essentially, all of the scannable parts are where you want to incorporate keywords. Search engine bots try to think like a user, and the overwhelming majority of users scan blogs, articles and everything else on the web. 

Need help identifying high-value SEO keywords? The consultants at SearchRPM are keyword research experts that can find keyword opportunities with untapped potential. Contact us today to start building your SEO blogging plan!