Some write for their readers and some struggle to write for search engines. Why not do both? Our presentation shows you how to optimize your posts without disrupting the reader enjoyment.

1. Anatomy of a Blog Post
{How to Make Readers & Search Engines ♥ U}
@BillieHillier

2. @BillieHillier
Marketing side of blogging - consult others with
• Finding their voice
• Brand
• Marketing
• Blogging as a business

3. @BillieHillier
• Internet Marketing geek ~ almost 20 years in corporate, non-profit
world, small business & individual consulting
• Evil blog owner who constantly abuses my personal sites for
testing, research, and… it helps people still talk to me.
• Believes 100% that personal relationships with peers & readership are key
to success

4. Financial Disclosure
• Reference income generating websites
• Conference planner
• Paid speaker and consultant

5. Content Over Numbers
• Quality content is key for any niche of site
• Viewers stay on site longer & return
• More opportunities, which may mean more income {if you are into that}

6. Blog Post
1. IMO - most important part of your blog
2. Most posts are missing key components
3. Easy to fix to make your blog more powerful

8. Keyword Research
• Google Keyword Tool is your best friend
• Research your terms before you start your article
• Try to use 1 keyword phrase and several similar throughout your post
• Mix them up if you write about apple pies a lot

9. Know Your Character Lengths
Title Tag Length Meta Description URL
BING 67 – 72 176 – 184 91 – 94
GOOGLE 66 – 69 156 – 158 75 - 92
YAHOO 64 - 65 <156 65 – 80

10. Being #1 Means Nothing
• You are #1… so what!
• If you can’t convert the impression to a click… what’s the point!
• ENGAGE PEOPLE! Make them want to read what you have written

11. Be Captivating

12. Title
• Watch the # Characters
• Use Your Keywords
• Use your SEO plugin for guidance {I prefer Wordpress SEO by Yoast}

13. Captivating Titles
1. This is it!: The Ultimate Guide to Captivating Titles
2. Need + Outcome: How to Use Amazon to Make Millions
3. How interesting is that!: Why You Can’t Resist This Article
4. The Ultimate List: 5 Ways to Improve Your Titles

14. Permalink
• Use your keyword phrase
• Make sure it’s not a tag or category
• # characters

16. The King… Your Content
• Use your keyword phrase in the first sentence of your paragraph
• The first few paragraphs {~100 words} are the most important – make sure
your keyword density is found there
• Content should be AT LEAST 300 words

17. The King… Your Content
• Use bold and italics with your keywords / keyword phrases
• Use Header 2 and Header 3 with keywords / keyword phrases
• Keyword density of 3% – 5%
Have you heard of Wordpress SEO by Yoast? {Did I mention I love this yet?}

18. Your Hook
• Did you know that 90% of your readers never read past the 2nd sentence?
• Ways to open your blog paragraph:
• Start with a question
• Toss a statistic at them {I just did both!}
• What is the need or a problem {use yours or a readers}
• Make a claim
• Start with a quote

19. Picture This…
• Helps identify what post is about
• Best photo should be your featured image and at the top of your article
• Fill the width of your posting area
• Always rename your pictures before uploading to your server
• Always resize your pictures before uploading to your server

20. Picture This…
• Upload photos to your server {no Flickrr, etc.}
• Try to use a 3:1 ratio of paragraphs to images
• Use ALT TEXT to match your keywords
• Change your media settings to fit the posting area width {SETTINGS → MEDIA}

21. Photo Traffic & Tool Tips
• Branding
• Pinterest & Image Search
• Helps with lazy thieves
• PicMonkey
• FREE
• Simple to Use
• Cheap Upgrade

22. Links
• Include at least 1 internal link to another related article {use your keywords
for the link}
• Include 1 external link to another related article {people link to GOOD
content --- YOU WANT THIS!}
• I love Zemanta

23. Lists
• Break up content with lists
• Easily browsed
• Easy to remember
• Just as powerful as a post
• Keep symmetrical
• Begin with the same part of speech

24. Call to Action
• Sign up for this
• Buy this
• Go read my other article
• Email me
• Read my feed every morning

25. Categories & Tags
• Category
• Recipes
• Tags {use your keywords}
• Best Apple Pie Recipe
• Fast Apple Pie Recipe
• Apple Pies

26. Money Money Money
• Use links within the paragraph instead of a banner or a “store” {it’s a about trust – people
scan}
• Watch your ads if using an ad insertion plugin {I use the 2nd paragraph for mine so content
wraps}
* TIP: Know the FTC rules {they are constantly changing}

27. Social Sharing
• Using plugins to social share
• Flares
• Pin it buttons floating over image
• Stumble
• Tweet
• Facebook
• Email

29. Recap of Key Components
• Keyword research
• Captivating Title
• Optimized permalink
• Identify your goal / topic of post
• Killer content of at least 300 words
• Images
• Lists
• Links
• Wordpress SEO
• Call to actions(s)
• Categories & Tags
• Money {optional}
• White Space
• Social Sharing

30. Miscellaneous Tidbits
• Templates to save time {plugins for this}
• KISS: 6th – 9th grade reading level {unless you are technical, medical, etc.}
• Google authorship