When it comes to starting a blog it can sometimes be a lonely experience...
Your goal is to create great content that provides useful information and inspires your audience.
But how do you get the best from every one of your blog posts?
How do you get to the people who are really interested in what you have to share on your blog?
That's why I'm here to assist you. I have put together a few guidelines that if followed should significantly increase your blog posts reach.
Blog Post Checklist
1. Blog Title
You should take time to think about the title of your blog post. Your title is what people will read. It is the headline that makes them decide whether they want to continue reading or not. Try and keep your title short and to the point. To improve your SEO, make sure you include your primary keyword in your title. For some amusing and alternative titles, try the 'Portents Content Idea Generator'.
2. Content
Ensure the main body of your post is easy to read. Minimise paragraphs to no more than five lines. keep sentences short - twenty words or less is recommended. Plain English is best - you don't want to display your knowledge of the most complicated words in English. Break your text up with sub-headings - this not only makes your readers experience easier to take in it also makes your post look more interesting.
Your blog will be read by people like you who are interested in your content, but you must still ensure that the content is engaging enough to keep their attention.
3. Images
Be sure to include one featured image at the very least. Humans are visual creatures and an eye catching feature image will get their attention. Uploading an image should not exceed 256kb in size to ensure it loads quickly. Don't forget to fill in the alt attribute box for your image and be sure to include your keyword's in the description.
4. SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. The higher your SEO, the greater chance your blog post will appear higher in search engine rankings
There are a number of things you can do to improve your SEO.
Your main keyword/s should be included in your title and in the first paragraph of any post. Also, make sure you use it often throughout your posts.
Search engines love content that is at least 1000 words.
Include alt attributes in the images you use so this will display in the event of your image no loading.
Also write a short meta description and include your keyword/s. The meta description is text that appears below your main title in search engine result pages.
5. Links
Include links whenever you can in your posts. Link to external sites as well as directing people to relevant places on your own website or other blog posts they may find interesting. Including links also helps with your SEO.
6. Credit Your Sources
You www.parrotfishdive.com must credit any sources you used for research or quotes in your blog post. This will give credibility to your content and show readers that you have reliable sources.
7. Social Sharing
Make sure you have social sharing buttons on your blog from the beginning. This allows your readers to easily share your blog to any social media platform they choose.
8. End and Publish
Finally end your post with a question to your readers in order to encourage comments. You can also make a call-to-action related to your post, e.g. Download your guide now.
The final thing to do before you publish is to proof read the whole thing. If you need to make changes do so, then proof read the whole thing again to be sure it is all as it should be.