over 20 blog posts before learning the basics of SEO.

I thought “good writing” was enough.

It wasn’t. ❌

If you've been following my posts for a while, you'll know that I'm a writer who learnt SEO on the job.

Good writing is invisible if no one can find it. 📌

Imagine writing a great article and locking it in a drawer.

That’s what no-SEO writing does.

Your blog isn’t Beyoncé. Therefore, it won't attract traffic simply by existing.

I could publish an article here providing more in-depth information on SEO practices. You can read it and save it for future reference.

However...

I'm going to give you 7 basic SEO tips you should know, especially as an entry-level writer.

Let's get into it:

🎯1. Keyword Research and Optimisation:

Keywords are very important for SEO. They will help people find your website and, in turn, increase your content ranking in the Search Results Page [SERPs].

So, identify relevant keywords for your content. They may be long-tail keywords [i.e. three to four words, like “how to roll sushi”] or short-tail keywords [e.g. sushi rolls].

🎯2. On-Page Optimisation:

Optimise your content by including title tags, meta descriptions, and headers. Your title tags should begin with your target keyword, A.K.A., front-loading your primary keyword. Also, keep your titles under 60 characters in length.

🎯3. Write High-Quality Content:

Create valuable, engaging content that users find helpful. Google rewards content that is original, helpful, and written for people. Your content must be relevant to your site's topic and the audience's pain points.

🎯4. Interlinking:

By interlinking, I mean using internal and external links. You can link to other relevant pages on your website or someone else's.  This is a very straightforward SEO practice. However, linking too frequently can make the content appear spammy. So don't overdo it.

🎯5. Embedding Videos And High-Quality Images

Using videos and images in your content increases dwell time on your page. However, optimise them to rank on Google SERPs by adding a video or image near relevant text and by adding a descriptive alt text to your image. Describe what’s in the image and why it matters.

🎯6. Use Keywords in Headings and Paragraphs:

Include your core and relevant keywords in two places in your headings [H1, H2s, & H3s], and paragraphs [lists, tables, and so on]. You should include your core keyword in your first paragraph or within the first 100 words of your content at least.

🎯7. Use E-E-A-T in Your Content:

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Now, this isn't an official search ranking factor, but it is important to note it as you create content.

Why?

Because, more often than not, the approach you take for E-E-A-T automatically creates content that [naturally] ranks well.

Which of these do you already use, and which one are you ready to try next?