When creating and publishing a new blog post, there are certain things that you should always do if you want to try and create the perfect blog post such that it is SEO optimized!

It is not always easy though to remember exactly what needs to be done and what to include right?! So below, for you, is  a 15 point blog post checklist that you can use.

Before Publishing

1. Decide on a Key Phrase or Word Term Target for the Post

For every blog post, you create, you should be targeting one key term or phrase! The post should have one clear aim and theme!

So, before even writing the post content, DO be clear on what the specific aim of the post will be! This keyword term will be used in many of the 15 points below.

I would recommend to ONLY  target one term/phrase only per page. So, in our post on choosing a blogging niche, for example, our target phrase for the page that we hope to rank for in search engines, was “Choose a Blogging Niche”. 

So that term “choose a blogging niche” is included in the title, meta tag, a header style tag, alt tags, and in the content on our post on blogging niches.

ACTION: Decide on the keyword or keyphrase for your new blog post.

2. Create a Headline That Has a Real Impact

Creating headlines that rock when it comes to getting click-throughs to your posts, is essential at the start of each post!

Why spend so much time writing great quality and long posts, if people do not click through and read the post?

The good news is that there are some great and free tools out there that help you to make headlines (see our post on making killer headlines for your posts).

One brilliant free tool is the Headline Analyzer from CoSchedule. Your headline is graded on a scale of 1 – 100 and this is based on your use of common, uncommon, emotional, and power words in your title.

You should aim for a score of 70 or higher!

ACTION: Create a dazzling headline for your post (5 minutes).

3. Create a Good Permalink URL for Your Post

Next, set the URL for your post so that it is SEO-friendly.

You will want to add keywords that match the key phrase you are targeting for this page. 

If you have not done so already, you will want to set the permalinks (if you are using WordPress) so that you can add SEO-friendly URLs for your posts addresses.

See this 1-minute video below if you are not sure how to set permalinks to work). Set the permalinks to the “post name” option.

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Make sure that you include your keyword term or phrase in the URL! There should be a clear intention for every new post you write! There should be a clear goal. 

With this in mind, each post should target a specific term or phrase. AND these, this term or phrase, should be included in your URL (and in your headline).

ACTION: Ensure you are using permalinks and set the permalink for the post you are working on (2 minutes)

4. Ensure You Have Used Header Tags in the Post

You should make sure that your post has made the correct use of header tags.

If you have ever used Microsoft Word to create a document, chances are you are used to using Header 1, Header 2, and Header 3 types. You should do the same in any posts you create!

Your main title will be your Header 1. In this post, for example, it is  “Ultimate Blog Post Content Checklist – 25 Key Things You Should Do”

So why are header tags so important?

By using header tags, search engines such as Google see your content as being well structured. If your heading tags are natural sub-headings for your post, you greatly increase the chance of your post showing as a Google Answer Box result at the to of a search page!

Take a look, for example, at Valeria’s hobby site below. 

As you can see, Valeria comes at the top of the page for the search term “belly dance health benefits”.

She shows in a “Google Answers Box” as a main result for the search term. One factor that helps your search position and for showing as a Google Answer Box is how you use header tags!

ACTION: Make sure you have used header tags correctly in your post. (2 minutes)

5. Have at Least Three Internal Deep Links from Your Post

WHY not make it easy for search engines to want to rank your content?

One of the easiest ways to do this is to make it clear to Search Engines what your site is about by having a clear theme throughout your site. And with a clear theme throughout, you will naturally have related pages and content you will want to deep link when writing a new post. 

So inter-linking acts as a positive signal to Search Engines as it shows  a solid structure to your site.

ACTION: Ensure you have 3 or more internal links on each page i.e. to other pages on your site. Link on text that matches the content on another of your site’s pages.

6. Ensure You Include 2 Links to External Authoritative Resources

In addition to making sure you have internal links, in order to show the structure, depth and clear theme within your site, you also need to show search engines that you are making use of all the resources that should be included in your content.

In other words, you need to include links to other people’s sites so that you are proving that you are contributing to sharing knowledge and resources. Search engines consider this in the search algorithms.

Linking out to other people is an important factor in search engine algorithms, whether we like it or not.

So even if you are trying to sell your own products and build your own brand, do be seen to link out in some manner, to valuable resources i.e. to academic studies.

ACTION: Make sure you have at least 2 outbound links in your blog post to high-value sites.

7. Optimize the Meta Title and Description

The meta tags are tags that are very important to search engines because they help to clarify exactly what the intention of your blog post is about.

The Meta Title and Meta Description are two tags you should always ensure you take the time to complete and optimise!

Make sure to INCLUDE the target keyword term you are using for this page in the Meta Title (at the start of the Meta Title is the very best option) and at least once in the Meta Description.

So, if this post you are writing is all about how to earn money blogging, then your meta tags might look like this:

ACTION: Optimise your Meta title and description tags.

8. Perfect Your Post for Reading on Small Devices

Close to 50% of web traffic now comes from small devices such as smartphones and iPads. The significance of this for you as a blogger is that you need to think about how content will look on mobile devices.

Long paragraphs that are 4 or 5 sentences can look very unappealing on a mobile device because it takes up the whole screen and seems overwhelming. Break the text up and use no more than 2 sentences for a paragraph. See our post on writing for the web.

ACTION: Break up your content to small enough paragraphs. Use images and other media also to make the post look more interesting visually.

9. Add a Pinterest Image

I strongly recommend including a Pinterest banner image so that you can pin this image from your post, onto Pinterest once you have published your blog post.

Creating a Pinterest image (such as the one on the top of this post) is extremely easy. Learn how to create Pinterest images in 5 minutes without the need for any design skills!

ACTION: Add a Pinterest image or two to your post.

10. Add Alt Tags to All Images

Make sure that all images on your blog post have “alt tags” on them. Adding alt tags is extremely easy to do and it helps in terms of user experience (for the blind) and is considered good for SEO (i.e. a search engine ranking factor).

ACTION: Add the alt tags to every post.

11. Optimize Your Post for Semantic SEO Value

 In point number 1 on this list, you will remember that I suggested ensuring that you are targeting one keyphrase for the post. This will also help you to optimize the post you are writing, for Semantic SEO.

Search engines such as Google are known to consider the use of terms that are related to the main theme of the post. So if this page is aimed at the phrase “blog post checklist” then I might want to include terms such as:

• beginner
• after publishing
• before publishing
• perfect blog post

Semantic SEO refers to the use of terms that are often related to your key phrase.

ACTION: Ensure you have added matching terms to your key term for the post.

12. Call-To-Action At The End of the Post

There should be at least one call to action on the page (at least if monetizing your site is a part of your reason for blogging).

At the very end of any post, you want to try and inform the users what they should do next.

You may, for example, want to make the call-to-action:

• ask the reader to comment at the bottom of your post
• a request to sign up for your newsletter updates
• the chance to get a freebie so that you can build trust with the reader (as part of a sales funnel)

ACTION: Add a call to action at the end of your post.

After Publishing

13. Post a Link on Your Facebook Business Page

If you do not already have a Facebook business page, I would recommend setting one up. It is free and a quick media on which to let your followers know about your latest posts.

14. Pin Your Image onto One of your Boards

Using Pinterest can be a great strategy, especially for beginner bloggers, to get traffic quickly. 

So, once you have published your new blog posts, make sure to point the image from your post to one of your Pinterest boards.

15. Blog Marketing Outreach

It is a great idea also to reach out to other bloggers in your niche and to influencers who can help promote your article.

• Getting influencers to share your content

A great technique, for example, can be to email anyone you have referenced in the article, so that they may share the post with their own followers. 

Blog Post Checklist PDF