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SEO without Blogging: How to Rank Better with Less Effort

SEO without Blogging: How to Rank Better with Less Effort

While there’s absolutely no arguing that SEO is really, really hard work, there’s also no arguing that improving your existing SEO scores can be done in a multitude of clever ways to avoid having to re-write blogs, and facing possible penalties for duplicate content on your page.

With the help of HubSpot and MOZ, we’ve curated a list of the ten easiest ways to improve on existing SE-Optimised blogs to get them to gain more traffic, and possibly more leads:

Tips to Improve Blogs

How to boost a blog’s ranking

  • Increase your blog ranking with optimization

Keyword optimization

Focus on long-tail keywords, and use your keyword along with synonyms naturally throughout the blog. Do not stuff your blog with keywords!

longtail keywords
Longtail Keywords – Image Credit SEObook

Title optimization

Include your keyword (as far left as possible) in the title, and keep it under 60 characters.

title optimisation WebSite Advantage
Title Optimisation –
Image Credit WebSite Advantage

Meta description optimization

Include your keyword, keep it under 160 characters and write a clear, engaging description of what your blog is about.

Meta Description Optimisation Image Credit Ignite Search
Meta Description Optimisation Image Credit Ignite Search

URL optimization

Findings show shorter, keyword rich URLs rank higher.

URL Optimisation Image Credit Ignite Wordtracker
URL Optimisation Image Credit Ignite Wordtracker

Image optimization

Don’t forget your images! Include alt text that includes keywords/ synonyms.

Image Optimisation Image Credit Scoop It Blog
Image Optimisation Image Credit Scoop It Blog

Link optimization

Link internally when appropriate and use external links to back up research and help increase the authority of the article.

Link Optimisation Image Credit Kissmetrics Blog
Link Optimisation Image Credit Kissmetrics Blog
  • Increase blog ranking with external links

Although Google has somewhat denied that linking externally is a ranking signal, we have all seen a correlation between a page’s external (outbound) links and its search rankings. It’s important to include these links in the blog post you’re trying to boost rankings for.

  • Increase blog ranking with backlinks from authoritative sites

Keep in mind, backlinks that come from aged domains hold more power than those that come from new domains. For this reason, link outreach to authoritative sites is a great way to boost a blog post’s ranking. There are many ways in which you can get backlinks, but here are a few to keep in mind:

Email outreach

Start an email outreach program that targets websites that relate to your blog topic and asks for a backlink.

Social sharing outreach

Don’t have the contact information you need for an email? You can reach out to authoritative sites through social & blog commenting or messaging.

Guest posting on authoritative industry sites

This may take some email outreach to inquire about guest posting, but is a great way to get a backlink.

Don’t be afraid to use e-mail campaigns to promote your blog!

Make sure you’re not ignoring email as a channel, one-to-one though it may be. When given an opportunity in a conversation that’s relevant, feel free to bring up your blog, a specific post or a topic you’ve written about. If you are selling refurbished coffee machines, for example, and are sending out an e-mail campaign about such machines at a special price, don’t be scared to drop an article in their outlining how a refurbished coffee machine can benefit you financially.

Interact on Other Blogs’ Comments or a Q&A forum

As bloggers, we see a lot of comments. Many are spam, only a few add real value, and even fewer are truly fascinating and remarkable. If you can be in this final category consistently, in ways that make a blogger sit up and think “man, I wish that person commented here more often!” you can achieve great things for your own site’s visibility through participation in the comments of other blogs. Imagine a question asking the same thing you just wrote a 1000-word article on; you simply have to comment “I have the answer” – and backlink to your very own blogs. How much traffic would you see as a result?!

Refresh existing blogs with social shares to a target audience

Twitter has 271 million active users every month. Facebook has over 1 billion active users. Google+ has over 300 million. LinkedIn is over 300 million. Together, these networks are attracting vast amounts of time and interest from Internet users around the world, and those that participate on these services fit into the “content distributors” description above, meaning they’re likely to help spread the word about your blog – whether it’s a brand new or refreshed piece, nothing works better at gaining traffic than making your content more shareable! Posting in social groups based on your craft will strike a note with an already-interested audience.

Use metrics to gauge your CTR

A CTR (click0trhough0-rtate) is a metric used to observe how many new users click from a search engine onto your specific article; studying these metrics will highlight non-performing pieces of content, making it that much easier for you to narrow your SEO-refreshing tactics. The lowest CTR articles should be re-optimised, with some fresh links and content sprucing thrown in. Simply changing your meta description could work the trick; the meta description is the first bit of info a new user will see before clicking the article, so the trick is getting this snippet of info to be as catchy and alluring as possible.

Research newer, more relevant variations of older keywords you have already used.

People’s needs change over time, so its natural y their search queries will change, too. Sprucing up older blogs to be more relevant (i.e., – changing your focus keyword, SEO title and meta description) could yield some amazing results. Instead of re-writing, simply use the existing framework to make a bigger, better and badder blog.

Don’t be afraid to promote yourself!

By this we mean cross-promoting your own content, not standing on rooftops singing your praises (though, if that’s what makes you happy we’re rooting for you!). If you find yourself writing a blog on a topic that somehow interlinks with a previous article of yours, backlink! Backlinks are some of the highest-quality SEO improvers, and they’re hard to come by. You are already an authoritative domain, so show the rest of the world the same!

A closing word from MOZ-zer, Rand Fishkin: “Earning traffic isn’t rocket science, but it does take time, perseverance and consistency. Don’t give up. Stick to your schedule. Remember that everyone has a few posts that suck, and it’s only by writing and publishing those sucky posts that you get into the habit necessary to eventually transform your blog into something remarkable.”

If you need any help or info on optimising your SEO, click here to get in touch with us today!

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