Many people can share their experiences of having a personal blog. It may only seem that blogging is outdated and belongs to the past.
It is still a good way to practice your writing and receive feedback, whether you focus on fiction writing or exploration of topics of all kinds.
You may have started a blog, but you didn’t go further than posting several articles. Or you have a blog, and it hasn’t gained much attention yet.
But why does even good content often get lost in the endless sea of websites and platforms?
Partially, blog promotion may seem way too complicated for people who have zero ideas about whether they need to boost it.
Especially if you are a student who is more preoccupied with questions like “how to find help to write my term paper” and “how to do a good essay research”. The search for SEO and marketing specialists would be the last priority on the list.
In fact, you don’t need to hire a SEO specialist. It is possible to make your blog SEO-friendly and get some valuable experience, all by yourself.
Use these easy SEO tips to boost your student blog.
What Is SEO?
SEO is rapidly evolving and it is growing and evolving ever since the first website appeared back in the nineties.
But SEO is what makes websites that you need visible in the endless pool of products and services. Various SEO tools make it possible for brands to stay competitive.
Long-Tail Keywords Are Your Friends
First of all, what’s the difference between short-tail and long-tail keywords? What does that even mean? ‘Short-tail’ indicates the queries that consist of one or two words.
These are the casual generic searches that people are typing in, especially when they just look for term definitions or something in general.
‘Long-tail’ indicates the four and more term searches, with more specific queries. Using them creates more chances that your target audience will find your content.
With specific content like a student’s blog, it is easier to come up with long-tailed phrases that would bring people to your website. So, how do you use them properly?
Various tools can help you with the most common phrases used to search a specific subject.
You can use:
- Free tools like Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, KeywordSheeter, or SEMrush, which provides you with detailed statistics;
- Paid tools like Yoast or Ahrefs;
It is also helpful to research the search bar suggestions. You can investigate what searches come up after you write several different combinations.
You may also find the variations of the search results under the “related searches” title.
Use LSI Keywords
Latent semantic indexing (LSI) phrases and their appropriate usage is a great way to boost your student blog. LSI keywords are related terms used to determine the quality of your blog content.
Putting it differently, it is the usage of synonymous concepts that are appropriate for the context and connect it to the initial topic.
Still, it is not only synonyms. LSI is rather phrases and words that might stem from the initial concept.
If you are writing about the best places for students to spend summer break, your keywords might include:
- best trip ideas for students;
- top places to visit during summer break;
- top restaurants and cafes to visit during summer holidays;
Include Needed Terms in the Title
The title of the blog or an article is as relevant as using your keyword organically throughout the text.
Research the most used power markers in marketing and decide what words can be useful to promote your article.
Power or trigger words would ignite the interest of the readers. Don’t clickbait your readers, though.
Engaging titles makes it also compelling to people to click on and read your article. Click-through rate (CTR) is also a relevant SEO concept to use.
CTR is important because the more people would see your content the more chances your ranking position would boost.
What Not to Do With Keywords?
Using keywords is essential but you have to be careful with overusing them. Readability is one of the most significant aspects of your content.
When you focus too much on keywords and not the text cohesiveness, it would result with low-quality content.
The more unique and readable is your article, the more chances are you would get a top spot in the search result page.
Avoid hiding your key terms and concepts trying to outsmart the search engine. Technically, you can hide them in the background and they still would be present for the algorithm.
But practically, the engine would mark it as spam. So, tricks and magic would fool anyone but Google.
At the same time, be attentive to what keywords you use specifically.
Just throwing a bunch of keywords would make it harder for you to gain visibility: avoid generic or global keywords.
Content Optimization
Algorithms are changing faster than you say “Eureka” and get over the basics. Google gives preference to long reads and high-quality articles.
Even if you practice writing without going into unnecessary details, SEO prefers in-depth and engaging stories.
Longreads are favored by the search engines, especially if they have all the ingredients for a readable post:
- Your post has a clear structure;
- You use appropriate subheadings and keywords there;
- Formatting is also important to engage your audience;
- You use images and videos related to your topic;
- Your post has no grammar or spelling mistakes;
Final Thoughts
These SEO tips are just the entry-level techniques and practices that top-notch specialists use to battle for their place under the sun.
As a beginner in the world of blogging and SEO, don’t force yourself to make everything perfect.
It is better to take baby steps in learning more about keywords, their usage, and improvements that can be made to boost your posts.
After some time, you can move to analytics and more professional practices that can make your student blog the next sensation.
Just have some patience and dedication to conquer the world of SEO.
