Blog

The SEO secret in blogging in four simple steps. Keyword choice, answering a question, adding intent and consistent application explained

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

What exactly does SEO do and why is it important?

Search engine optimization or SEO is establishing a search route to your blog or page that resides preferably on page one of the term.

While there are many ways to obtain traffic, SEO is by far the greatest producer of specific interest visitors.

First off all Google established a method to allow anyone to find your work using simple keywords.

However, Google has moved on from Keywords to Artificial Intelligence (AI)controlled by robots and reading your mind to offer a solution. Content intent.
But! Bing and Yahoo are continuing the tradition of exact match keywords just to make the whole thing a bit different.

If keywords are first what is second?

Authority is important to SEO

Why does authority matter and how does Google know the who's who anyway.

First of all, Google knows everything so don't try thinking that you can outdo them.

When we say authority it is really relating to education. If it is a legal question of course a Lawyer has authority however are they outsmarted by Judges and Professors.
Again medical issues rate a Doctor but is a Surgeon better or perhaps a Medical Institution.

Google wants to present the most reliable answer, backed by experience and education to any query.

However, we can work around this situation by sitting our own authority in the way of research.

The team at Yoast says they are “Yoast SEO: the #1 WordPress SEO plugin' so we would presume they know what they are talking about.

Therefore when I use them as a reference I am calling that high power to support my words and show that I know what I am talking about

This is important because unless you hold a high rank of importance you are always coming from an inferior position.

What is the SEO secret in blogging when the robots take over

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken over.

This single subject has changed all the rules of a Google search. The robots at Google now think that they know what the user is really asking and the intent of the question.

• Informational keywords — searchers looking for an answer to a specific question or general information.
• Navigational keywords — searchers intending to find a specific site or page.
• Commercial keywords — searchers looking to investigate brands or services.
• Transactional keywords — searchers intending to complete an action or purchase.

Informational Keywords generally relate to the who when and why questions that are easily answered.
What is the birth date of Elvis as an example

Navigational Keywords take you to a location.
Where was Elvis born and how do you get there.

Commercial Keywords can include Product reviews and details of particular products

Are the early records of Elvis any good?

And Finally, Transactional Keywords are buying requests.
Cheap Elvis records in New York.

You can have more than one level of intent in your blog and this page contains both Information and Navigation as I take you to new places to increase your knowledge.

See Semrush on Content Intent

Readers want an answer

This is not all that difficult to comply.
However, does the answer reside early on the page or do they need to wade through a lot of murky waters to uncover a solution?

For instance, if I want to know Elvis's Birthday

I want it right up front. I don't want to read through lots of paragraphs to find the date.

However, if the question is about Elvis's early records I may review them and come to a solution based on my research.

The important thing to remember is that an answer is required and a rambling essay with no conclusion will not get a five-star rating.

Gathering a following with a consistent application

Google wants to know that you are the real deal and that you have a following and actually understand what you are talking about.

Therefore you need plenty of posts to build your credentials over time.

1. Keyword selection
2. Answer a question or solve a problem
3. Introduce authority
4. Understand user intent
5. Consistent application

What is the SEO secret in blogging by Peter Hanley?

• Why Keywords Are Not So important Anymore
• How to write blog posts that get read
• Do AI Writers work for blogging
• How this Keyword secret can make a massive difference