Before You Publish: Blogging Checklist
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Check off these items before you publish your blog posts![/caption] You've written an informative blog post. Your readers will love it. You're ready to publish. Great! But before you do, there are a few things you need to do before that post goes live. Before you publish, check off the items on this list: 1. Optimize Images: Un-optimized images are missed opportunities! Data shows that blog posts with images get 94% more views than those without, so it's important to include an image in each of your blog posts. But adding an image is just the first step. Each image comes with a slot for a keyword. 
Every time you upload an image, you have the opportunity to add an 'alt tag.' The alt tag is a brief description of the image, and since you only use images that are relevant to your content, the alt tag can be one of your keywords. The alt tag gives you a chance to punch up your SEO. If you leave the alt tags blank, you're passing that chance right up! 2. Test hyperlinks: One surefire way to annoy readers is to publish a post full of broken links. Make sure that all of your links are working before you push the post live. Open the post in preview and click on every link. 3. Proofread and copy edit: Carefully read through your post to make sure its free of spelling, grammatical and syntactical errors. Rewrite any sentences that are unclear. 4. Send it around: Ask your colleagues to take a look at your post to make sure that it makes as much sense to others as it does to you. 5. Fill out title tags and meta descriptions: Just like alt tags, blank title tags and meta descriptions are missed opportunities. Be sure to add title tags using your keywords and meta descriptions before your post goes live. Blog posts are a great way to answer potential customers' questions and nurture relationships with clients and leads. Because blogs are such a powerful tool, you need to make sure that every post is the best it can be. Following this checklist before posting -- every time -- can make a significant difference. Photo credit: AJC ajcann.wordpress.com / Foter / CC BY-SA
Check off these items before you publish your blog posts![/caption] You've written an informative blog post. Your readers will love it. You're ready to publish. Great! But before you do, there are a few things you need to do before that post goes live. Before you publish, check off the items on this list: 1. Optimize Images: Un-optimized images are missed opportunities! Data shows that blog posts with images get 94% more views than those without, so it's important to include an image in each of your blog posts. But adding an image is just the first step. Each image comes with a slot for a keyword. 
Every time you upload an image, you have the opportunity to add an 'alt tag.' The alt tag is a brief description of the image, and since you only use images that are relevant to your content, the alt tag can be one of your keywords. The alt tag gives you a chance to punch up your SEO. If you leave the alt tags blank, you're passing that chance right up! 2. Test hyperlinks: One surefire way to annoy readers is to publish a post full of broken links. Make sure that all of your links are working before you push the post live. Open the post in preview and click on every link. 3. Proofread and copy edit: Carefully read through your post to make sure its free of spelling, grammatical and syntactical errors. Rewrite any sentences that are unclear. 4. Send it around: Ask your colleagues to take a look at your post to make sure that it makes as much sense to others as it does to you. 5. Fill out title tags and meta descriptions: Just like alt tags, blank title tags and meta descriptions are missed opportunities. Be sure to add title tags using your keywords and meta descriptions before your post goes live. Blog posts are a great way to answer potential customers' questions and nurture relationships with clients and leads. Because blogs are such a powerful tool, you need to make sure that every post is the best it can be. Following this checklist before posting -- every time -- can make a significant difference. Photo credit: AJC ajcann.wordpress.com / Foter / CC BY-SA