Don’t get lazy dum-dum. Just about every content management platform offers the ability to optimize content. This article will discuss WordPress specifically, but keep in mind, the overall message can be slightly modified to be applied to other content management systems (CMS).

1. Article title

You have 60 – 70-ish characters or less when it comes to putting together a title for your article. Use them to describe the content of the post and don’t forget to incorporate keywords that people would use to search for your post. The title will be part of the permanent URL so it’s crucial to choose one that is clear and succinct.*

*If necessary, WordPress will allow you to alter the URL after an article title is created.

2. Page title

There are several effective search engine optimization (SEO) plugins available for WordPress, such as the All-in-One SEO Pack, which allows the author to manipulate and optimize page metadata. Use the meta page title to leverage keywords that describe the content that is in the article. Sometimes using the article headline works, but if you have an opportunity to create a second variation of the article headline to cover more keywords or reinforce keywords then do that. Here you have 60 characters to create the title.

3. Description

These SEO plug-ins will also let you create an optimized description. In 160 characters or less, usually a sentence or two, summarize or discuss the main points of your article. The article title, meta page title, and meta page description should work together to relay to people (and by default, to search engines) a clearer overview of the article information. The meta description is the short blurb that will show up next to the search result or in a Facebook post.

4. Article content

Create a relevant, informative and useful piece of information for your audience and use the keywords in the metadata naturally throughout the copy, as well as some variations. Doing so strengthens the prose while adding search terms.

5. Use bold and italics

Be sure to bold and italics for a few items to highlight keywords and phrases, not randomly just for SEO, but naturally to bolster keyword phrases and assist readers that like to skim written content for relevant areas to focus on.

6. Find and add internal and external linking opportunities

Now that the article is in place, look for ways to link to other articles on your website or blog. Let’s say electronics store Smart Tech is creating a post about stereo receiver comparisons. Within this post, they mention several types of music tested on these receivers. They speak of the bold clarity of Michael McDonald’s voice. There is an older article on their blog doing a review of the latest Michael McDonald release. They can employ a descriptive set of anchor text (the text that is the actual link you click on) within a sentence of the new article to link to the old article.

For example:
“The acoustic quality of the Yamaha receiver brings the unique timbre of Michael McDonald to another level.”

The hyperlinked description (depicted in the example above) creates in the new article a clearly defined pathway to the old article. This makes it easier for users to dig deeper into your content and stay on your pages longer. It will do the same thing for search engines— allowing them to jump to more contextually relevant pages and index them properly.

*Note: When adding a hyperlink in the CMS of WordPress— and most other CMS platforms— you will see a field to enter a “title.” Always add a very brief description of the link. This serves as an “alt” tag, or description of the file in the site’s code instructing both users and search engines where the link will go. The link above could have a title like, “Article about Dunder Mifflin paper dyes.” The title of the link will also appear when the pointer of the mouse rolls over the link.

7. Post images

Adding images to posts is generally where people trail off and get lazy in the optimization process. Name your source images. Change the image’s file name from “Image_00012.jpg” to something more descriptive like “john-smith-tax-attorney-dewey-cheatem-howe.jpg.”

Use a variations that include:

• brand name
• description of the picture
• keyword or phrases that include product, service, location in the title.

In the above example we titled a fictional headshot for a tax lawyer at the firm of Dewey. Cheatem & Howe. Should users left-click and save the image they will see this new, optimized title. It also gives search engines like Google Images and Bing Images a better shot of including your page’s art and photo files in their image search results. Many people search photos, and clicking on a picture will deliver the user to the website the image came from: yours.

Additionally, WordPress editors, as well as most other CMS editors, allow the administrator to add “Alt Text” and description for the image. Since you’ve already titled your image correctly, the alt text serves to describe the image to impaired users and search engines. This title also appears when users mouse over the image. The description helps search engines further understand what the image file in the article actually contains. Here, you are covering all of your bases working both to increase accessibility and search engine optimization.

And finally…

8. Post to social media

Now that the article is optimized for search engines and ready for prime time, publish it and post it to social channels to support your blog. Use a description and link on Google+, ask for feedback on Facebook, get it out on the Twitterverse, and pin it on a specialized pin board on your company’s Pinterest page.

Case in point: this article

Headline: Optimize your blog post with these 8 simple steps

Meta page title: Simple Steps to Optimizing a Blog Post for Search Engines

Meta page description: WordPress offers the ability to create optimized content for the web. Most content management systems do. Here are some simple steps to optimize articles

Feature image title: how-to-optimize-a-blog-post-in-wordpress-by-deep-dive-content