SEO for Blogging Guide

© 2015 BancVue. All rights reserved.
What We’ll Cover
Blogging, On-Site
SEO & Social Media
Blogging Lingo
Anatomy of a
Blog Post
Blog Post Formulas
Do’s and Don’ts
of Blogging

Blogging, On-Site SEO and Social Media

Blogs are a unique mixture of both On-Site and Social SEO.
The SEO rules that apply to regular websites also apply to blogs.
Additionally, users can endorse, share, and comment on blog posts
through various social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter,
Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more.
The more social interaction between users and your blog, the more
credible your content will appear to search engines.
Blogs on the same root domain (e.g. yoursite.com/blog) can
increase the ranking of a website. They’re especially useful in
boosting product-focused websites that would otherwise remain
fairly static.

Ways Blogging Can Influence
Rankings
Entertain and inform users
with a well-written blog and
they’ll likely share it on social
media.
Shares can bump up the
post’s ranking with the search
engines, and bring in more
users who might otherwise
have never found your site!

Ways Blogging Can Influence Rankings
An active, informative, and well-written blog can:
• Build search engine visibility and improve overall site ranking.
• Communicate the image of a quality business.
• Creates brand recognition that can prompt users to click on your
familiar name in search engine results.
• Nurture good online reviews – a significant factor in search rankings.

Google Panda likes blogs.
First launched in February 2011 and updated several times since,
Google Panda is a change in Google’s ranking algorithm aimed at
rewarding high-quality, useful sites and lowering the rank of low-
quality, thin websites.
Sites with a lot of advertising and little content rank lower in Google
search results. Those with fresh, relevant, and quality content rank
higher.
A good blog can help you woo Google Panda, because you can
post many formats of great content, including articles, videos,
infographics, and more.

Blogging Lingo
Blogging is an art form with its own language.
A Blog is a website, or section of a website, where an individual
or group of users records opinions, news, and information on a
regular basis, with the most recently published posts appearing
first. Each individual piece of content is a blog post. Think of
posts as articles in a magazine or journal entries. Each blog post
generally focuses on one topic.
Blog archives are a record of all the past blog posts.
Most blogs enable comments, allowing readers to interact with
the blog by giving their opinion, discernment, or affirmation on the
content of a specific blog post.

Blogging Lingo
Blog categories allow you to assign broad topics to each blog
post, making it easier for readers to search by subject matter.
Categories don’t help SEO, but they can hurt it. Assigning a blog
post to multiple categories can cause it to appear under multiple
URLs on your blog, and search engines may view it as duplicate
content – a definite no-no.
Blog tags further refine what a post is about for the user.
However, unlike categories, you can assign multiple tags to each
post without hurting your search engine ranking.

Blogging Lingo
Blog plug-ins are tools that can be added to blogging software to
provide additional features, such as assessing the SEO-
friendliness of a blog post. Most popular blogging content
management systems (Blogger, WordPress, etc.) have a variety
of plug-ins that provide additional functionality. We recommend
using an SEO plug-in like WordPress SEO by Yoast.

Anatomy of a Blog Post
To maximize SEO, each blog post should have:
Title
Title Tag
Images
Image Alt Text
Tags
Categories
Links
Link Text
Headers
Body Text
Meta Description

The title of your blog post needs to be compelling for readers and
keyword-rich for search engines.
Most users are more likely to click on “How to Get a Mortgage
Loan” than on “The Mortgage Loan Process.”
• Both titles contain the keyword phrase “Mortgage Loan,” which helps
search engines understand what the content of the post is about, but
“The Mortgage Loan Process” is less compelling to human users.

The title tag appears in two places: on the top of your browser
window when you are viewing a web page, and as the blue link
text on the search engine results page.
Title tags do not appear anywhere in the actual page content, but
because both users and search engines use them to understand
what a page is about, they need to be compelling and keyword-
rich, just like your post title.
Title tags often contain extra bits of information. For example, for
our post titled “How to Get a Mortgage Loan,” we might make the
title tag say “How to Get a Mortgage Loan | Freedom Institution
Blog.”

Images are common in blog posts and make them more
appealing for readers.
While search engines can’t read images, they do expect relevant
images to be part of a successful blog.
Sometimes shown as a caption below or above the image on the
page, image alt text serves two purposes.
• It tells search engines, which can’t discern the contents of images,
what the image on the page is about.
• Plus, it can describe an image on the page for visually impaired
users.

Every blog post you create on your blog should be assigned one
category and any number of relevant tags (if these features are
available in your blog management software).
• For example, for the Mortgage Loan post, the category might be
Loans or Lending.
• More refined characteristics of the post can be assigned as tags, like
mortgage, home loan, how-to, credit score and more.
Don’t get carried away with too many tags. Assign only tags that
you feel will be relevant and that may also apply to future posts
on your blog.

Links enrich a blog post by leading readers to other relevant
posts within the blog, as well as other high-quality external
websites.
Links in the copy boost SEO by establishing a weak but helpful
association between your blog and the other web content you
have linked to.
Link Anchor Text is the visible text a user sees as part of a link.
• Link text usually looks like this, and masks the URL of the
destination page from the user. In this example, the users sees “like
this” instead of http://www.example.com/page.
Search engines use the anchor text to figure out what the linked
page is about and why you are including it.

Headers dictate the structure of your blog post.
Each header should be named based on the content that falls
below it.
• Looking back to “How to Get a Mortgage Loan,” we might use
headers like: Finding and Improving Your Credit Score, Getting
Prequalified or Choosing a Financial Institution.
Blogging management software usually includes several levels of
headers.
• Generally, the title of your entire post is called an H1 header, and the
tiered sub-sections can be designated as H2, H3, H4 and so on.
• Most blog posts do not use levels beyond an H3.

The body text is the meat and potatoes of a blog post.
Body text should read naturally to users and should include
familiar terminology they can understand.
Include the most important pieces of content early in your post;
search engines emphasize the first portions of each webpage,
and users don’t often read entire blog posts.

A meta description is a short blurb that search engines use as the
text beneath a link in search results.
Because it doesn’t appear anywhere on the blog page, the meta
description doesn’t directly impact SEO, but a compelling one
can encourage readers to click through to your blog.
A high click-through rate can help a page climb in the rankings.

Blog Post Formulas
So you’ve got a blog. Now what should you write about? Don’t worry
if you think your ideas have been done before – they probably have
been! Your blog is still valuable, because each time you write a post,
you are providing your own unique perspective and style of writing.
You can keep your blog fresh and interesting by using several
different blog styles and formats to present your valuable
information and perspective.
Understanding the different blog formats can help you come up
with more ideas to write about. You can always find something to
write about that your customers will find helpful. Sometimes you’ll
have to think outside the box, and sometimes you’ll have to ask
readers what they want to know.

Blog Post Formulas
How-To
News/Updates
What is __?
How does it work?
Top 10 ________.
Helpful Resources
Person Spotlight
Problem > Solution
Comparison
Story
Research
FAQ
Interview
Cheat Sheet
Checklist
Debunking Myths
Series

Blog Post Formulas
The how-to formula is relatively simple. Focus how-to posts on
subjects pertinent to your business that customers often don’t
know how to navigate.
Each major step of the how-to should include a header that
covers the generic goal of that step, and then body text below
that further explains the step.

Blog Post Formulas
News and Updates posts can cover many subjects, from a new
website design to sponsoring a local little league team, from
employees of your institution being honored in the community to
your community involvement, and more.
Each post should focus on only one piece of news – showcasing
your unique perspective on it – especially if it is general news
about the community where you are located.

Blog Post Formulas
For a keyword-rich blog that informs readers and showcases your
expertise, it’s hard to beat the “What is ______? How does it
work?” format.
While talking to readers about complex topics they might not be
familiar with, segment the blog into manageable chunks set up by
headers. This helps users work their way through the content
more quickly. It is also helpful for SEO.

Blog Post Formulas
The simple list format of Top 10 ________ posts are particularly
compelling to users.
The best Top 10 blogs are brief, concise, informative, and
entertaining.
Top 10 posts can also be written to be keyword rich. Here are a
few examples:
• Top 10 Ways to Increase Your Credit Score
• Top 10 Things to Look for When Buying a Home
• Top 10 Ways to Save on Summer Vacation
• Top 10 Ways Your Home Could be More Energy Efficient
• Top 10 Ways You Can Use Kasasa to Manage Your Money Better
Each of the 10 reasons should include a short header with body
text that further explains it.

Blog Post Formulas
Give readers the tools they need to solve problems through
Helpful Resources blogs.
These may be a list of a few tools/items with a few sentences of
explanation for each, or a deeper dive into a single resource that
solves multiple problems.
Be sure to address where readers can access the resource and
why it’s helpful to them.

Blog Post Formulas
A Person Spotlight post can help put a face on your brand and
allow you to highlight an employee or person in your community.
It’s not an interview, though. It’s a post about that person from
your perspective that tells your readers why he or she is
important.
• If you have an Employee of the Month program, each month’s
winner would be a great person to spotlight.

Blog Post Formulas
In the banking industry, the Problem > Solution format can be
particularly valuable for readers.
Most people get into a financial pickle at some point in their lives,
whether it’s overdrawing on their checking account or skipping a
mortgage payment. Often, those people don’t know what the best
course of action is in these situations.
Discuss a common problem and offer possible solutions, keeping
SEO in mind to create a keyword-rich post.

Blog Post Formulas
Comparison posts are also really helpful resources and are often
keyword rich as well, making them great for SEO.
When customers need to make an important financial decision,
they don’t always understand the differences between their
options, or the pros and cons associated with each.
• For example, a post might compare auto loans, mortgage types, or
investment opportunities.
Put your staff’s expertise to use to create a keyword-rich,
informative blog post.

Blog Post Formulas
Stories about customers, your community, how you were
founded, and other topics can make for very compelling and
enjoyable blog posts.
Most “story” posts won’t be very keyword rich, but are more likely
to be shared across social networks.
Social media interaction also has high value when it comes to
search engine optimization, so don’t discount a post if it doesn’t
have lots of key terms in the text.

Blog Post Formulas
Sharing your own take on Research done by a third party, or
even research you’ve done yourself, will be interesting to users
and often SEO-friendly.
The most-shared research posts contain compelling statistics or
information users can apply directly in their lives, like information
on the health of the housing market in their locale.

Blog Post Formulas
The FAQ blog post should cover only one complex question in
each post, or several simple but related questions.
Focus on questions that are asked relatively frequently – think,
“what might someone ask in a Google search?”
When answering questions, make sure you use banking
terminology that consumers understand, or define terms along
the way when you think they warrant further explanation.

Blog Post Formulas
In Interviews you ask questions of an individual who has agreed
in advance to have his or her answers published on your blog.
You can interview thought-leaders in an industry or other leaders
in the community.
• For example, you could interview a mortgage officer about things like
the best time of year to apply for a mortgage loan, common
problems that prevent people from qualifying for the amount they
want, and more.

Blog Post Formulas
Cheat sheets and Checklists are relatively similar posts. Often
keyword rich, they are best if oriented around your business.
• For example, a checklist for the things someone needs to gather
before applying for a mortgage loan, or a cheat sheet covering what
to look for when house hunting.
Each item on the cheat sheet or checklist should have a header
with one to five sentences of explanation below.

Blog Post Formulas
A blog post that Debunks Myths is also helpful for consumers and
SEO.
You could combine it with a Top 5 list and write a post entitled
“Top 5 Misconceptions about Credit Scores.”
Have employees at the bank watch for certain concepts that
customers are confused about when they call or visit. Take note,
because these misconceptions may help you write a blog post in
this format.

Blog Post Formulas
A Series is a group of related blog posts concerned with a
specific topic that requires a lot of content.
• For example, a series about the home-buying process for a more
complex loan, like one that includes a grant for low-income earners,
could start with a post that contains a checklist for the items a loan
officer will need.
• A second post could address how that particular type of mortgage
loan works, another might focus on how to select a residence that
will meet the program’s qualifications, and so on.
Bloggers will often create a unique tag for the series of posts to
make it easier for users to find the series long after it has ended.

Do’s and Don’ts of Blogging

Do post at least one blog article per week.
Do get all employees involved with writing for the blog in order to
distribute the workload.
Do have fun and show your personality. Blogs don’t need to be
written like professional newspapers, so use a conversational
tone.

Do share your newest blog posts in all your social media
channels, especially Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.
Do link to other relevant posts within your blog and on external
sites.
Do use a WordPress SEO plug-in if you’d like to try some more
advanced SEO techniques.

Don’t use your blog to try to sell your accounts. Use it to give
advice and information to your customers.
Don’t publish a new blog post without having someone review it
for typos, misspellings, and grammar errors.
Don’t post large blobs of text. This is unhelpful for both users and
search engines. Organize your ideas logically within the post.
Don’t write posts you aren’t proud to call your own!

Don’t post the exact same article more than once or copy posts
from other blogs. That will be seen as duplicate content by a
search engine.
Don’t plagiarize. Blog posts should be unique without lifting text
from elsewhere. Information, data, etc., from other sources
should be correctly attributed.
Don’t worry if your blog doesn’t have a lot of readers for the first
year or so. It takes time to develop a reader base and a good log
of articles they will want to read. While you’re waiting for
readership, just remember how great this will be for SEO!

SEO for Blogging Guide

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