FREE SEO Template for Bloggers: How To Use It
One of the main things that prevent bloggers from being consistent is not having the right tools. If you’re not one of the lucky WordPress writers that have access to SEO plugins like Yoast or RankMath, then you’re pretty much SEO blind when writing your blogs.
But not anymore!
I’ve created a template for bloggers that’s FREE and a perfect replacement for tools like Yoast.
DISCLAIMER: You can use this template on any content management system: WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, ShowIt, Shopify, and all the rest of ‘em!
Your New Blogger Post Template: How It Works
Even if you are a WordPress blogger, this template will come in handy with all the changes Yoast has been making.
Have you noticed in the last 6 months that tips Yoast used to give away for free are now a part of Premium Yoast? Things like Keyword distribution can now only be analyzed with the paid version.
But that’s okay! I’ve taken SEO best practices to create a FREE Fill-In-The-Blank blog template that will ensure you’re hitting that green light— even on platforms like Squarespace and ShowIt.
With this blogger post template, you’ll be able to make sure each blog:
Contains the SEO Keyword in the title
Contains the SEO Keyword in the meta description
Has sufficient outbound/external links
Contains Alt Image SEO
Includes sufficient internal links
Has a keyword phrase
Is keyword dense
Has a good title length
Has a short and snappy meta description
URL contains your target keyword
Uses the main keyword in at least one H2 Heading
Has a CTA (Call to action)
Address a specific audience
Has equal keyword distribution (as in, your keyword is spaced out evenly throughout the blog)
Includes alternative keywords for Keyword Mapping
Does that all sound familiar? Here’s how Yoast makes sure your blog is search engine optimized:
FREE SEO Template for Bloggers: How To Optimize Your Blogs without Yoast!
Okay, so now that you have my free template for bloggers, let me explain how my fill-in-the-blank SEO section works.
This helps make sure your blog has enough SEO keywords and is in the right places for it to be discovered. This should all be filled out before you outline your blog— so you know where you’re headed!
Here’s how to use this template to SEO every single one of your blogs— even without plugins like Yoast or RankMath.
Your Fill-in-the-Blank SEO
Your blogger post template starts with the fill-in-the-blank SEO attributes. It looks like this:
Here’s how I filled this out for the blog you’re reading now:
I’m actually writing my first draft for this blog in my template as we speak! It makes the writing go by so much easier when I know which keywords I’m targeting and how often to use them.
I’m not going to dive into my full SEO research process. Although I do touch on it in my TikTok series, 14 Days of FInally Understanding WTF SEO Is. My blog on How To SEO The Shit Out of Your Blogs might also come in handy.
Some Notes on the Fill-in-the-Blank SEO:
The numbers next to my Alternative Keywords is the Monthly Search Volume and the Ranking Difficulty score via Ubersuggest. So “blogger post template (2.4K | 22)” just means that keyword has 2,400 monthly searches and has a Ranking Difficulty score of 22/100 (meaning it’s easy to rank for)
DO NOT use any and all variations of alternative keywords in your blog. I simply have them in this section to compare and see which phrasing of my main keyword has the most potential (and to make sure I don’t use it in future bogs).
You don’t have to use 2 different titles, but I recommend it. Think of it as A/B testing your titles.
ALWAYS format your URL. It makes it easier to read and ensures you’re using your SEO keywords correctly.
Using Your Free Blogger Post Template To Write Faster
You know when you get writer’s block, and every sentence you write feels like the first words to ever leave your mouth?
What are words?!
That’s why I included Research/External Links in the Fill-in-the-Blank SEO section. Reading through these extra resources will help you figure out what you’re trying to say. Plus, it allows you to fill in the info gaps that these others blogs may have left out.
You don’t want to read these blogs and come back to yours and use the exact same outline as the one you just read. That’s counterproductive (and a little plagiarism-y).
Instead, read for inspiration, and you’ll start to figure out what you can write about to stand out.
The outlines in this template also tell you when and where to use your keyword, internal links, and external links. Hell, I even give you a few pushes to use your alternative keywords.
Conclusion
Suffice it to say, this free SEO template for bloggers is a phenomenal alternative to SEO plugins.
How do I know?
Because before I started offering it to you guys, I went back and forth between this Squarespace website and my WordPress blog to see if I could hit the green light in Yoast just by using my template. I did this for about a year before I felt like I got it just right.
And I’m happy to say it works!
I got the green light just by following this blog template!
