Whenever anyone asks me about how to get better page views, I have two answers: focus on Pinterest and SEO. I default to Pinterest because that’s how I first got a notable amount of page views for my blog, but at this point, page views from SEO has been completely taking over hits from Pinterest, which I’m so excited about! I first started out optimizing my old blog posts for SEO ranking so might as well bring you on the same path I went on.
Just in case you don’t know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it basically means (don’t quote me on this) how well your post ranks for Google. The better it ranks, the more likely a reader is going to find it. The ideal spot to have your post is on the first Top 10 results of Google because for real– how many people go to the 2nd or 3rd page to continue to find answers? I know I don’t.
But getting your post in the Top 10 results on Google? That’s not the easiest to do. So let’s make it easy and start out slow with the very first step I took to optimize my blog for SEO without any fancy search engine optimization software.
Note before we begin: I am not an SEO expert. I am just relaying information that worked for me based on trial-and-error.
Prep Work to Optimize Old Posts
Before you can jump into optimizing your blog for Google, you will need Google Analytics and activate the Search Console feature within Google Analytics.
If you’ve already done both or are not sure if the Search Console feature is activated, then head down to the next section to get the full details on how to SEO optimize your website.
If you have never used the Search Console feature, then most likely you have never activated it. Here’s how to do it.
After you do this, jump down to the step-by-step instructions to optimize old posts for SEO ranking. It may take some time to see data in this area so bookmark, Pin, or e-mail yourself this post to come back to it for when you have data in your Search Console data to appear.
Google does not give an exact time period of when this will happen, but I recommend checking every 2-5 days so you can jump on optimizing old blog posts!
Step-by-Step Instructions to Optimize Old Posts for SEO Ranking
Now that you have Google Analytics, let’s optimize your old blog posts for SEO ranking as your first step to learning search engine optimization.
✦ Sign into Google Analytics account.
✦ On the left sidebar where your reports are, click on ACQUISITION, then SEARCH CONSOLE* and finally LANDING PAGES. You will now see the top 10 posts getting referrals from search engines.
*If your Google Analytics says, “This report requires Search Console integration to be enabled,” then set that baby up! Jump back up to find out how.
✦ Click on the first post link under the Landing Page column. You will see a bunch of search queries. These are words or phrases that people type into Google to find your post.
✦ Take the top five to seven search queries, go back to your old post, and find a way to fit the exact wording in there NATURALLY.
For example, if an old post is about museums in New York and a search query that people look up is “museums New York”, you will not want to simply place “museums New York” in your post because that is grammatically incorrect. You can use your judgement here, but placing “museums in New York” in your post is ok even though there is an extra word “in”. Google will still pick up the main words.
✦ You can use one query a couple of times in your post, or use them all individually. Make sure to get one of the most searched queries in an H2 heading.
✦ Now, go back and repeat the above steps for the top 10 most visited posts on your site from Google.
I generally like to repeat this whole process every three to six months as old blog posts get picked up on Google and need a little push with ranking.
Well that’s it. I hope this SEO optimization technique was a fairly easy way to start your SEO learning!
Of course, if you have any questions or concerns, comment below or DM me on Instagram where I’m most active.
Lastly, if you found this post to be helpful, then share it, Pin it, and spread the good word to other people who could use help with SEO for beginners.
Thanks for stopping by! xo.