An ‘On Page’ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Checklist for Thought Leadership Articles
For brilliant writers who need an easy to implement SEO optimization guide for their authority building articles.
This Article is 100% Human Generated.
By Cathy Blood, Founder, NEST New Media
January 31, 2023 - Greenwich, Connecticut
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CONTENTS
Intro
My ‘how not to write’ story
Topic Selection
People first, helpful content approach
The Checklist!
17 key on-page SEO elements
Thought leadership is for everyone, not just CEOs, and it is especially important for people whose product or service is selling their knowledge.
On-page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the first step to making sure that your expert articles are found online.
Luckily the basics are pretty easy to master.
So, what is on-page Search Engine Optimization?
On-page SEO is everything that YOU can control about your content - what’s in it, and the elements you can include when you add content to your website using your content management system (CMS) - whether that’s Squarespace, Wix, Wordpress or something else.
You’re in the driver’s seat with on-page SEO.
Even without understanding anything about technical SEO, you can nail 50% of what Google considers to be the most important things about content by focusing on one thing…
…consistently writing quality, tightly focused, intensely useful content for your target audience.
Then with a simple on-page SEO checklist, you’ll nail the other 30%.
As a business owner who knows your audience inside and out, and as an expert in your field, you’re probably doing this.
If you aren’t, it’s never too late to start :)
But even the experts sometimes get overly enthusiastic about writing (because we know so much and want to share!) & lose sight of the basics.
Below I fess-up to an ‘over-enthusiastic’ writer moment…
(Or skip my story and jump straight to the checklist!)
My Bad Writer Moment
I know a lot about writing online content, selecting good topics and optimizing my articles for my audience and search engines.
And yet this article started out as a regurgitation of everything I know about SEO, a terrible SEO 101 article, one of nearly a billion others on the web. (Billion is not a typ-o or exaggeration.)
Sigh.
It didn’t take half a minute for me to realize that my topic wasn’t nearly focused or targeted enough for my audience.
The people I’m trying to reach are ‘experts’ in their fields, solopreneurs, entrepreneurs and small business owners like you, concerned about getting their thought leadership found online. They have no marketing department.
They aren’t concerned with generic SEO, and they definitely don’t need an encyclopeadia of SEO. They (you!) need very specific information and achievable goals to meet their needs quickly and effectively.
My first attempt at this article was way too generic.
My second draft wasn’t focused enough on the needs of my target audience.
My third draft wasn’t focused enough on my OWN business goals. Like conversions, CTAs and creating a natural feeling funnel.
My fourth was closer to the information that my audience needs AND what might be useful to them.
My fifth draft...well, if you’re a writer, you know an article is NEVER finished.
I wasted a lot of time. And the main reason for that is that I used the ‘explore’ method of writing. I regurgitated what I knew on a broad topic, then tried to refine and narrow.
This is 100% NOT the way to approach a thought leadership article. Save time and stay focused by choosing a NARROW topic from the beginning.
So yes, even the experts need to curb their enthusiasm and plan ahead.
You’re probably already doing this but…
So when I say, “you’re probably already writing consistent high quality, tightly focused, intensely useful content for your target audience”. Maybe you aren’t. So I’ll repeat myself.
Your brilliant, expert writing MUST be on a strategically selected topic, narrow & hyper-focused, written for the audience you are trying to attract, be GOAL focused - and ONLY THEN can you start thinking about on-page SEO optimization.
So don’t waste time wallowing through the epic novel version of a huge topic - choose better, narrow topics before you put pen to paper.
Because all the SEO in the world can’t make a silk purse of a sow’s ear (as my grandmother would say.)
The Final 10-20% in On-Page SEO
You’ve gotten halfway to a solid SEO foundation for your article just by choosing the right topic, writing as an expert, with a good outline and subtopics.
Another 30% of SEO can be achieved by following a simple on-page SEO checklist.
I think 80% is pretty dang good.
If you were Pepsi, or Subway, you might go for the brass ring, the next 10%-20%.
If you’ve got fortune 500 resources, go for it. Otherwise let it go.
No one will EVER have perfect on-page SEO because Google constantly moves the bar, adjusting their algorithm and making changes to improve the search experience.
Your competition never stands still. The search landscape changes. There are always new articles and new resources (on your topic) being generated.
Take a deep breath…and let it go. Perfect is the nemesis of ‘done’.
Google’s mission is to give people the most useful match for their specific search queries. ALWAYS keep that in the back of your mind while writing helpful content.
Every word, every paragraph, every headline should be ‘people first’ - your audience first.
Set goals, choose niche topics carefully, add value and write well.
In the age of ChatGPT, you also need to write like a person and share your personal expert unique experiences and insights in your articles. Consciously build audience trust in you as a person and subject matter expert.
Then optimize every one of your incredible, insightful articles using the list below - to the best of your ability.
NEST NEW MEDIA’S ON-PAGE SEO CHECKLIST
The “you control” On-Page SEO basics to consider for your articles are...
Page topic (its specificity, narrow focus & relevance to your target audience, does it answer a question? Can you write expertly and with authority on that topic? Assess the competition for that topic)
Quality of your writing - voice, clarity, personality, inclusion of unique information & data
Clear authorship provided (E-E-A-T, the new ‘E’ is for Experience - does the author have first hand experience on the topic)
Clear date if time sensitive
Keyword/phrase selection (and how often and how contextually it is used)
URL/Slug (should reflect article content, contain keywords, be human friendly)
Page (Meta) Title Tag (becoming harder to control)
Page Meta description (can encourage clickthus - impossible to control Google’s use of this)
Navigation: placement of article in hierarchy (the more important an article is - cornerstone content - the more prominent it should be in your navigation to signal its importance to Google)
Page Content formatting (H1/H2 and article organization)
Image optimization (alt text, file name, image size)
Internal links (cross linking within your own site)
External links - outgoing (incoming external links or backlinks are ‘off-page SEO’)
Page speed load time (you don’t have to be lightening fast, just fast enough - primarily an image size and/or CMS issue.)
Indexing/crawl review (submit new pages for indexing & identify and fix indexing / crawl issues)
Review your Interstitials and popups (e.g. do pop-ups significantly interfere with the reader accessing your content?)
Use Schema / Structured Data (helping search engines understand your content for faster more accurate indexing - read Google’s intro to structured data guide
Good luck and if you need expert help with your on-page SEO, including writing new content and/or auditing your existing content, give me a ring at 203-247-0360.
About the Author
Cathy Blood, Founder NEST New Media
I’ve got over 25 years of experience in digital media and content marketing. A few years after graduating from Yale University, I joined Lifetime Television, analyzing how TV series and movies performed with female audiences in order to value acquisitions. That was the beginning of a long career in ‘content marketing’. With several internet start-ups under my belt I gained under-the-hood SEO knowledge that few writers possess. I launched NEST New Media in 2016 to help my fellow entrepreneurs become more visible - and more successful - online. Learn more about me.
CONTACT INFO
Cathleen Blood
Founder, NEST New Media
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NEST New Media specializes in affordable SEO optimized ‘people first’ Content Strategy, Content Audits & Content Development. We’re here to help you SHOW future clients that you’re an expert and ensure that under-the-hood website issues aren’t hurting your business.
