The answer to that question may surprise you. If a blog post has been created based on a keyword or a key phrase then essentially you have an effective blog post.

Wait a minute, what was that?

Let me explain in greater detail. A blog post or article that has been written based on a keyword or a key phrase is an effective blog post because everything within the post would have been designed and created based on the most important attribute of a blog: a focus or primary keyword!

Everything that has to do with writing and creating an article or post has to do with SEO and what is SEO? Content rich with “keywords” or “key phrases.”

That would mean that the Article Heading, Page Title, Page URL, Page Content and Image were created with a focus keyword or key phrase. Hence, the blog post was written using the Keyword in the 5 key components of an effective blog post. Keep in mind that your title tag and your meta tag description would naturally take the attributes of these 6 primary components as well.

“Hmmm….okay?”

I know it sounds way too simple but if I show you an effective blog example and breakdown each component, I think you’ll agree.

But first, let’s review what those key components are for an effective blog post.

A Focus or Primary Keyword or Key phrase MUST appear in these areas:

    1. Page URL
    2. Page Title
    3. First Paragraph
    4. Content
    5. SEO Title
    6. Meta Description

Take a look at this first screenshot:

What Makes An Effective Blog Post?

Effective Blog Post Components 1 and 2:

1. Does the Page URL have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! You can’t see the URL however here is a snippet of what the URL is – com/academy/ecommerce-mistakes ).

2. Does the Page title have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! Notice the page title in bold print – 9 ecommerce mistakes and how to avoid them.

Note: If you didn’t notice it…..look at the title and URL again and you’ll see that the entire title and URL do not match. This was done intentionally as the author first didn’t want a huge URL(permalinks) for their article, so they shortened it. A Very effective SEO and Blog technique!!

Here’s our second screenshot:

What Makes An Effective Blog Post?

Effective Blog Post Components 3 and 4:

3. Does the First Paragraph have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! Take a look at the second to last sentence in the first paragraph.

4. Does the Content have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! You’ll see that the primary keyword and key phrase is repeated multiple times within the body content of the post. Also…..what you don’t see is that the shopping cart image with a mouse has an alt tag consistent with the keyword and key phrase as well.

Here’s our third and final screenshot:

What Makes An Effective Blog Post?

Effective Blog Post Components 5 and 6:

5. Does the SEO Title have the primary keyword or key phrase? Yes! You can’t see it, but if you use the link below, you’ll be able to view the Live post at Wordtracker’s website.

6. Does the Meta Description have the primary keyword or key phrase? Yes! Again…you can’t see it but if you do a “view page source” in the live article you’ll see the meta description, and you’ll notice that it has both the keyword and phrase.

So What Makes an Effective Blog Post? Hopefully, by reading this article, you’ll be closer to understanding what makes a blog effective. But in case you missed something….just make sure you integrate at a minimum these 6 components and I think you’ll start seeing more traffic and visitors to your website. In the end getting more traffic is the ultimate goal, so use these techniques to create your effective blog!

To see the full article…Click Here.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Rick Cano, Cano Consulting

About the Author:

Rick Cano

Rick Cano is a Web Designer, SEO Specialist and Consultant as well as a Teacher/Coach with over nine years of professional experience in the design industry. As the owner of Cano Consulting he specializes in creating custom web sites for small businesses, analyze SEO and Teach/Coach business owners how to increase traffic to their website....

Quacktastic Reviews:

15 Comments

  1. Tisha Oehmen on February 16, 2012 at 7:21 pm

    Thank you Rick, you are truly the master! Good SEO always seems so easy — as you say, just 6 simple steps… my problem is combining those with the actual post. 🙂 But that’s why we keep trying to move forward right?

  2. Mike Frey on February 16, 2012 at 7:26 pm

    Great examples Rick! I lot like the ‘tree that falls in the woods’ If we’re going to take the time and effort to blog it only makes since to give it every opportunity to be found so it can be read. Haven taken your SEO classes and followed your lead it’s nice know that the effort we take in writing the blogs is now paying off by them being found… Thanks Rick.

  3. Eugene Bicyclist on February 16, 2012 at 8:56 pm

    This was an interesting post, and I don’t doubt the SEO techniques you suggest are effective. But I think the post itself is a fine example of what goes awry when SEO — and “traffic” — is your main focus. To me the title of the your post here (“What makes an effective blog post”) is probably great for SEO — but it’s disingenuous, even misleading. I didn’t think this was about what makes an effective blog post. Seems to me it’s about: effective ways to lure people to find your post when they are googling for something vaguely related. You conclude saying: “getting more traffic is the ultimate goal.” Maybe. Depends on the purpose of your blog, I suppose. What I really want are readers, not traffic. Not the same thing. I suppose you could argue that SEO in the end — will get you more readers even if it means you risk annoying people who came expecting one thing and got something else entirely. Me, for instance. I landed here not really wanting to read about SEO. And I was vaguely annoyed that the post didn’t live up to its title. On the other hand, I actually read the whole thing and spent time writing this comment. So maybe it works after all.

  4. George on February 17, 2012 at 5:12 am

    Great post. Effectiveness of a blog post is something that comes from experimenting with different strategies as laid out here. Online content creation is all about knowing right keywords and how to use them.

  5. Kate Brown Wilson on February 19, 2012 at 9:39 pm

    At first I am thinking that being an SEO is not an easy task, specially when you are not use to it. but as I read your post It shows that once building a good blog post and following the right procedure simple step it can be easy. I really appreciate this great information that you have shared which I can adopt.

  6. Felicia Gopaul on February 20, 2012 at 6:56 am

    This was such a detailed post Rick, and very well explained with screen shots and all.It’s really all about the effectiveness of a blog post not the quantity of posts you make. The components were pretty easy to apply and I believe could make a huge impact. Thanks

  7. Elena Anne on February 25, 2012 at 5:08 am

    I read the full article. Very useful tips. I am a newbie at blogging and I should follow your advise from the very start for a successful blog. Thank you

    • Paradux Media Group on February 25, 2012 at 8:26 pm

      Thanks Elena, executing a good plan (a little SEO) with good content will create a winning blog. Good luck and thank you very much for stopping by.

  8. Harriet on February 25, 2012 at 6:13 am

    Thanks for the tips. It seems there are only a new simple rules to writing a good blog post and you have it covered here. Well done, I’ll be sure to visit this blog again and see what else you have to say!

    • Paradux Media Group on February 25, 2012 at 8:27 pm

      Thank you Harriet for stopping by. Good content and proper layout a pretty simple winning combination.

  9. New Web Templates on February 29, 2012 at 1:11 am

    Agree with these points! Site URL and Title is the most important to make a successful blog! and Always publish a new and interesting post, so visitors always come to your sites and give a feed back.

  10. Janus on March 4, 2012 at 7:29 am

    This is such a useful, well explained and illustrated article about the key components of an effective post for SEO! I wish I had read this much earlier!

    With these factors in mind you also need good content that either educate, entertain, or inspire your readers. I think your post has demonstrated this quality by offering really useful and actionable tips.

    Thanks for putting this together!

    • Mike Frey on March 4, 2012 at 10:19 pm

      Thank you Janus, yes good content is still king. Thank you for stopping by I enjoyed your blogs as well..

  11. Linda on April 18, 2012 at 2:09 pm

    Hmmm – I see the logic here, but am struggling to work out how to avoid the final article looking as though it is keyword stuffed. I understand this is something google doesn’t like.

Leave a Comment