by Delia Rusu | Featured Contributor
You may have heard of the importance of formatting your blog posts. Many of us see just above the surface and understand how nice formatting changes the appearance of your posts.
Perhaps you’ve changed your theme layout to use some different colors for your headers and use different graphical symbols for your bulleted lists.
But there are some clear benefits of formatting your blog correctly and that help with SEO optimization.
So it’s not all just so your blog looks nice visually and people like to read it (though that’s helpful too).
Let’s see how formatting your blog may be beneficial for SEO, maybe without you being aware.
1. Headers
You’re probably using headers already to break up your blog post text and to organize it in sections.
Your headers have a font size bigger than the regular text and they’re perhaps displayed in a different color. They’re easy to notice and they improve reader’s experience tremendously.
But did you know that Google also loves headers? Yes, indeed! While considering many other aspects, search engines rank your site content by your use of headers, too.
So what are the guidelines for headers to use in a blog post?
In general, there are a number of 6 header types that you can use. However, most bloggers only use H1, H2, and H3.
Regardless of how they look visually, Google ranks them in the following way:
- H1: Used by default for your blog title. I’m pretty sure nobody uses it in the body of the post.
- H2: The main header in the body of a post, used to break content into major sections.
- H3: The subsequent main header in the body of a post. If suitable, use it to break a section into subsections for better readability.
Conclusion: Continue to use your headers or start using them from now on. Otherwise you’re missing on some SEO juice.
2. Lists
Lists, either numbered or bulleted, can provide a great way to break up big sections of text.
Typically, numbered lists are used for how to-s and tutorials, but you can also put them to work for any blog post that has steps to be completed or read in a certain order. Great examples: tech blogs, food blogs, DIY project blogs.
Typically, bulleted lists are used for items that are parallel in description and structure. Great examples: travel blogs, health and lifestyle blogs.
Visually, lists they make the body text more scannable and easy to follow. Your blog readers will find the content easier to read, and will spend more time on your blog. When readers stay more on your blog, Google sees it as an indication that your content is useful, so more SEO points for you.
Conclusion: Start using lists if you’re not doing it already. No matter your blog niche, you can use this technique to make your posts more attractive and your content more attractive.
3. Paragraphs
Similar to the previous point about lists, short paragraphs themselves are not something that search engines look at when they rank the content. However, know that short paragraphs and ample empty space mean an easy read.
Even if you don’t see what SEO has to do with it, it has a lot to do with how people feel when they reach your blog and what they experience.
Your content may be amazing, but not having it nicely formatted means losing readers. Not only they will bounce off your blog, but also they won’t share it with their communities. So bam! missing opportunity there to get more traffic to your blog.
Conclusion: Break up your body text into short paragraphs and provide enough white space between them. Take the time to format all your blog posts and you’ll see your traffic growing steadily in time.
Your turn now!
What are you doing today to format your blog for SEO? What can you improve even more for better results? Please leave a comment and share so others can benefit!
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Delia Rusu – Blogging coach at Happy Blogger Plaza – Worldwide
Wanna blog confidently, get online visibility, and get more traffic to your blog?
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