If you’re considering starting a blog, congratulations! Blogging is not just a great way to connect with readers from around the world, but it can even provide a steady stream of income- so you can enjoy doing something you’re passionate about.
However, it’s not enough to simply throw up a blog and hope for the best. Many people are unaware of just how much goes into running a blog, which is why you should do your research in advance. This will allow you to hit the ground running. Here are some things you’ll need to know when you’re starting your blog:
Choose the right platform
I use WordPress, and I highly recommend choosing this platform if you’re a newbie. There are thousands of excellent tutorials available online, making it easy for you to grow your skills as your blogging career progresses.
Another one of the benefits of using WordPress? There are thousands of themes that you can use for free. That way, you can get started even if you don’t yet have the money for a new theme.
Learn SEO
SEO is a massive topic, and if I tried to teach you everything I’ve learned over the years this blog post would turn into a book. However, there are a few things you definitely need to understand so you can #SEOyourblog. In a few years, you may even be using an SEO agency to get the best results possible, but in the beginning, you’ll be on your own. Believe it or not, but SEO starts with knowing your target audience. Once you know exactly who you’d like to read your blog, you can create your SEO strategy around those people.
Find your keywords
Keywords are a crucial part of SEO and running my blog. You need to know exactly which keywords you’d like to try to rank for, so you can use them appropriately in your blog posts and throughout your website. Look for variations of your keywords. You want keywords that have a high search volume but low competition- and this can be easier said than done these days.
Use SEO everywhere
A key part of SEO involves using tags. Nope, I’m not talking about graffiti here. One example is your title tags, which is quite literally your blog post title- which needs to be relevant, interesting, and should include your chosen keywords.
Internal linking is also hugely important- you want your readers to easily be able to discover new posts, but the same is true for Google, which is constantly ‘crawling’ your blog to discover new content.
