We all want to make the blog content as engaging as possible and to do that, we apply many tricks, edits, and essentials to the blogs before posting, of course also keeping in mind the SEO part. It’s hard sometimes because some blogs require different approaches, some technical ones, some purely written ones, and some lots of images and videos. There’s a lot to consider before posting on blogs.
Maybe you have a checklist before posting, like H1 (I know, obvious), H2, and H3, bullet points, italic (if coding), interlinking, adding keywords, and so on. The list goes on, but the real question is, what can you do differently to stand out? As we know, this blog will be read by thousands of people, and each one of them will apply the edits that I’ll present. So, how can you stand out?
It’s actually simple.
Imagine this (this story is told by Naval Ravikant on the Joe Rogan podcast): If you’re at a circus and you see a bear, it’s not very exciting. And if you just see a unicycle, that’s not very exciting either. But when you see a bear riding a unicycle, that’s really interesting!
The story represents the idea that when two ordinary or uninteresting things are combined in an unexpected way, they become interesting and captivating. It highlights the concept of novelty and surprise, suggesting that unusual combinations can capture our attention and make something stand out.
That is exactly what you want to do if you want to stand out, so in this article, I’ll be sharing five essentials to complete before you post on WordPress.
Let’s get right in!
1. Read it Back
To identify errors or awkward sentences that might not be immediately evident when reading silently, I recommend using a text-to-speech voice reader or the “read aloud” feature. Listening to your content being read aloud can help you easily spot mistakes and identify passages that may be hard to understand. This approach provides an auditory perspective that complements visual proofreading.
2. Formatting Your Content
Before publishing, it’s essential to ensure your article is well-structured and visually appealing. Start by writing your content. Then, when transferring it to the WordPress editor, consider the following formatting aspects:
- Text Styling: Utilize options for making text bold, italic, or underlined. This can help emphasize key points and make your content more engaging.
- Paragraph Separation: Properly break up your content into paragraphs. This makes it easier to read and digest. Avoid lengthy, dense paragraphs, as they can discourage readers.
- Text Color: Use text color strategically to highlight specific information or add visual variety.
- Multimedia: Enhance your article with relevant images and videos. Visual content can significantly improve the user experience and engagement.
- Headers: Incorporate headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content. This not only improves readability but also helps search engines understand the hierarchy of your content.
- Quotes and Design: If applicable, include quotes or any design elements that complement your content’s style and message.
3. Use Images & Infographic
Images are a powerful tool to capture the reader’s attention and convey information more effectively.
First impressions matter, and the right images can encourage users to explore your content further. Ensure that your chosen images are relevant to the article’s topic and add value to the reader’s understanding.
- Short user attention spans benefit from captivating images, which can prolong website visits.
- Images aid audience comprehension, a boon for technical or complex content.
- Easily digestible content prevents reader boredom and the risk of losing your audience.
- Proper image usage can enhance Google search rankings, a topic we’ll delve into later on.
- Image optimization
4 Optimizing Your Post for Keywords
To enhance your content’s performance in search engines, it’s crucial to optimize it for specific keywords. A practical approach is to utilize dedicated WordPress plugins, with options like Yoast SEO and Rank Math being available. These plugins assist you in crafting content that revolves around your chosen keywords.
Rank Math Simplifies the Process, in particular, simplifies this task. You can input your chosen keyword and receive real-time feedback on your post’s optimization.
- Guidance for Optimization: The plugin offers valuable guidance on how to make your content more relevant to your target keyword. This guidance includes ensuring that you’ve included the keyword an adequate number of times and placed it correctly within your text.
- Beware of Over-Optimization: While optimizing your posts is crucial, it’s equally important not to overdo it. Excessive optimization can lead to ‘over-optimization,’ which can negatively impact your SEO rankings. This penalty is imposed to prevent individuals from trying to manipulate the system. To avoid this, exercise caution.
- Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Don’t excessively repeat the same keyword throughout your content, as this can be perceived as keyword stuffing, which is discouraged.
- Use Relevant Keywords: Stick to relevant keywords that genuinely reflect your content. Using unrelated keywords to deceive search engines is not recommended.
- Balancing SEO and Content: While SEO is vital, remember that it should serve your content, not the other way around. Your primary focus should be delivering valuable and informative content to your audience.
Optimizing your content for keywords is essential, and WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO can greatly assist you in this endeavor. However, exercise caution to avoid over-optimization and always prioritize the quality and relevance of your content over SEO tactics.
5 Add Call to Action
Many blog posts serve specific purposes, whether it’s driving traffic to your website or converting leads. Consequently, it’s crucial to strategize how to prompt your readers to take the desired action.
While crafting a high-quality blog post tailored to your audience’s needs is paramount, you also need something that nudges them to cross the threshold and complete the intended action. This is commonly referred to as a Call to Action (CTA).
The significance of CTAs cannot be emphasized enough. A CTA is a message, typically presented as a button, a highlighted link, or a signup form, intended to motivate the reader to perform a specific task. This task can be as straightforward as “Buy now!” or “Subscribe to our newsletter.”
If your goal is to encourage your readers to make a purchase, click on a link, or join a mailing list or service, you must construct a compelling CTA. Here are some guidelines to help you get started:
- Choose the right colors: Different colors convey varying emotions, and selecting a color that stands out from the rest of your content will make your CTA more clickable. For instance, red is often more effective for CTAs compared to green.
- Clearly communicate the benefit: It should be evident to your readers why they would benefit from taking the specified action. You could entice them with a free gift or offer a limited-time promotion, for example.
- Position the CTA strategically: Perhaps the most crucial aspect is placing your CTA in the right location. You might consider integrating it seamlessly within your content at a pivotal moment or positioning it at the end, just after the reader has finished the post.
Adding Links
Links are an integral part of online content. Your article may include both internal links (pointing to other pages on your website) and external links (leading to other websites). It’s crucial to ensure that link building is correctly done.
Additionally, consider setting links to open in a new tab to prevent readers from leaving your article unintentionally. Properly placed and functioning outbound and backlinks add value to your content.
Conclusion
These 5 essential tasks are the foundation for preparing your content for publication on WordPress. By following these steps diligently, you can ensure that your articles are not only well-structured and visually appealing but also optimized for search engines and user engagement.
Paying attention to details such as formatting, spell checking, SEO, and image optimization can significantly enhance the quality and effectiveness of your blog posts.
FAQs
Why is spell checking important for publishing on WordPress?
Spell Checking is crucial to maintain professionalism and readability. It ensures that your content is free from embarrassing spelling and grammar errors, which can deter readers and harm your website’s reputation.
How do categories and tags benefit my WordPress blog?
Categories and tags help organize your content and make it more discoverable for readers. Categories provide a broader classification, while tags offer specific keywords related to your content, making it easier for users to find articles of interest.
What’s the significance of optimizing images in WordPress posts?
Optimized images enhance the overall user experience by improving page loading speed and visual appeal. They also contribute to SEO efforts by including keywords in image titles and alt text. Well-optimized images can make your content more engaging and attractive to readers.
