Enhancing Your Article’s SEO for Greater Reader Engagement
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Chapter 1: Understanding SEO and Its Importance
Improving the SEO description of your articles can significantly increase their visibility in search engine results. If you haven't revisited yours in a while, you might be astonished by how ineffective they are.
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Your SEO description serves as a brief overview of your article that appears in search results. Crafting it to be both accurate and enticing is crucial. I realized I was missing a valuable opportunity on Medium to reach a broader audience with my articles.
While I have a basic understanding of SEO, which includes integrating trending keywords in titles and content, I recently enrolled in a Content Writing course on Udemy. The initial chapters focused on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
After conducting some research, I discovered that I could modify the SEO description tied to my articles on Medium. Upon reviewing some of my descriptions, I was taken aback by how poorly they represented my work. Many would fail to attract potential readers effectively.
For instance, one article had an SEO description that was a segment from an entirely different piece I had authored! I’m still unsure how that occurred.
Section 1.1: Editing Your SEO Description
To update the SEO description of your published articles, follow these steps:
- Navigate to the article and click on the three dots located to the right beneath your name. These dots will only be visible if the article is already published.
- Select "Story Settings," then proceed to "SEO Settings."
- Scroll down to find "SEO Title," which displays your article's title. Just beneath it, you'll see the "SEO Description," typically the first few sentences of your article.
- Edit this section to emphasize the key points of your article.
- Don’t forget to click the save button.
The interface will appear similar to this:
After I learned this process, I began revising the SEO descriptions for all my articles. I’m uncertain how these changes will impact my overall metrics and readership.
How might this influence my future writing? Now that I understand the first few sentences serve as the SEO description, I will ensure to highlight the benefits of reading the article in those lines. This is likely something I should have been doing from the outset.
Section 1.2: Additional SEO Strategies
There are various approaches to enhance your article's SEO. Utilizing trending keywords can be beneficial. When I checked the most searched terms on Google for 2023, “Google” ranked in the top 10 (with “Facebook” and “YouTube” taking the first two spots).
Consequently, I decided to incorporate “Google” into my title. One of the primary advantages of SEO is its potential to elevate your article's position in search engine rankings. Ideally, you want your article to be listed first when your keywords are searched.
Research indicates that fewer than 1% of users click on links not found on the first page of Google search results. Have you ever searched for your own name on Google? Hopefully, your name appeared at the top!
To optimize your content, be sure to incorporate your keywords into the title, description, and throughout the article’s body. Including links to other relevant articles can also enhance your SEO.
While Search Engine Optimization hasn't been a significant focus for me in my Medium writing endeavors, I am determined to learn how to utilize it more effectively moving forward.
If you have any effective SEO tips for Medium, please share them in the comments!
Chapter 2: Leveraging Video Content for SEO
The first video titled "Get More Readers from Google & Medium: SEO for Medium [UPDATED for 2022]" offers insights on enhancing your article's visibility through effective SEO strategies. It’s a great resource for those looking to attract more readers.
The second video, "8 Steps To Improve SEO Content Writing With ChatGPT," outlines actionable steps to elevate your content writing with a focus on SEO. This can be particularly useful for writers aiming to boost their online presence.