SUMMARY
To ensure your mental health blogs rank top of Google, you need to:
- Only use one ‘H1’ heading
- Properly assign your H2 & H3 tags
- Add clear ‘Calls-to-Action’ at the end of the post and throughout
- Link to other websites where necessary
- Ensure links open in a new tab
- Include internal links to point your audience to other relevant pages
- Use relevant anchor text in all links
- Add your main target keyword to the title, at least one heading, and the first 100 words of text
- Check that your post uses related keywords
- Insert interesting images or videos
- Add titles and alt tags to images and videos
- Remove any spelling or grammar errors
- Check readability against the Hemingway App
- Optimise page titles and meta descriptions
As an experienced mental health writer, I’m very familiar with the tricks of the trade to ensure blogs rank highly on Google – but I wasn’t always this way.
Back when I was more ‘green around the gills’, nothing frustrated me more than pouring my efforts into a well-researched, insightfully written article, only to have it underperform. I just couldn’t figure out why they were missing the mark.
Now, with five years of mental health content writing under my belt, I understand exactly what to put in place when writing and posting blogs. So, I’ve compiled a list of SEO ‘hacks’ writers can use to boost a blog’s performance on Google and other search engines. This way, if you’re starting out in your career, you can avoid the frustration of underperforming articles.
SEO Checklist for Mental Health Blogs
The following SEO hacks are some tricks of the trade I’ve learnt as a content writer for mental health. They can help you include SEO techniques as a natural part of your writing process and transform insightful blogs into high-ranking content that increases conversions.
1. Only use one ‘H1’ heading
You wouldn’t disguise the function of a fire extinguisher by putting any other name on it, so why do it to your blog? This is where H1 headings come in.
Using one H1 heading at the top of your blog helps search engines determine its overall content – it essentially tells them what the blog is about. It will also help your readers understand more about what the content provides, so it improves user experience and makes it more likely they’ll continue to read. For these reasons, using more than one H1 will only serve to confuse search engines and readers alike.
While it might be tempting to give your mental health content a more ‘quirky’ or even ‘click-bait’ heading, it’s best to use direct language in your H1. Think about the question your audience wants answered and include your main SEO keyword to make sure your H1 grabs attention and ranks highly on Google.
2. Properly assign your H2 & H3 tags
To help your content stand out, your H2, H3, and H4 tags play almost as important a role as your H1. Not assigning these tags to sub-sections of your content makes it hard for search engines to understand the flow of your articles. Think of them as ranks of duty; your H1 is the chief ranking officer, your H2 is second in command, and so forth.
You can make best use of your H2 and H3 (and H4) headings by putting relevant long-tail and short-tail keywords within them, turning them into SEO goldmines for search terms and helping readers answer their search intent.
3. Add clear ‘calls-to-action’ at the end of the post and throughout
A ‘call-to-action’, or CTA, is just as it sounds – it motivates readers to take action. CTAs are often placed at the end of a blog post as the piece becomes less broad and more targeted towards the readers’ needs, but they can also be placed throughout where appropriate.
While CTAs can prompt a variety of actions, from buying a service to investing in a product, or any other important action relating to a business, they are much more than just ‘ad space.’ They help increase user engagement and boost a blog’s SEO performance.
When creating CTAs, it’s important to use clear language about what the reader can expect from taking action. For example, ‘Concerned about your or a loved one’s mental health?: Contact us today for support.’
4. Link to other websites where necessary
It’s good to build trust in your readers for what you’re telling them, so linking to reliable sources, such as research publications and guidelines, can give credibility to your blog.
By doing so, you’re showing your readers where you found your facts and that you didn’t just pull them out of fresh air. Instead, you spent time researching the information to ensure they’re given all the relevant facts. Plus, Google and other search engines see these links as an asset, so your blog will perform better!
It’s also okay to link to other websites – as long as these aren’t direct competitors. For instance, if your blog is for a therapy business in London, it’s best not to link to other practitioners in this area.
5. Ensure links open in a new tab
Have you ever clicked on a link within a body of text only for it to close the window you’re on and replace it with a new one? This is exactly what you don’t want to happen. Closing down your blog means reduced reader experience, shortened engagement, and less time spent on your website.
So put yourself in your readers’ shoes and make sure links open in a new tab. Doing so will encourage them to stay on your blog page and promote engagement and business – it’s a ‘win-win’ for all involved.
6. Include internal links to point your audience to other relevant pages
Internal links hyperlink to other pages or services on the same website. In many ways, they are to your website’s performance what Sam was to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings – they boost SEO, but often without any glory.
Internal links help search engines find, organise, and rank all the content on your website, while also pushing readers towards relevant information. The more people click on internal links, the more search engines consider this a vote of confidence – creating a snowball effect which increases SEO rankings and helps readers learn more about your services, but with little effort!
7. Use relevant anchor text in all links
Anchor text is the clickable, visible text in a hyperlink. Strong anchor text should accurately describe the content of the link, letting both readers and search engines understand what the linked-to page is about.
For example, instead of using a generic phrase like ‘click here’, use specific keywords or phrases that give readers a clear idea of what to expect. For instance, ‘This stress management guide can give you more information.’ Clear anchor text not only improves user experience and SEO but also encourages readers to stay on your website longer.
8. Add your main target keyword to the title, at least one heading and the first 100 words of text
Where you place your main target keyword matters. To improve SEO rankings, aim to place it in the title, at least one heading, and early on in the text. If you stick to this practice, search engines will be able to easily identify what your content is about and rank it accordingly.
But, never use keywords in a way that doesn’t make sense. Using keywords in forced ways is known as ‘keyword stuffing’ and detracts from the user experience as it’s very obvious. Instead, aim for balance and let your content flow naturally and creatively.
9. Check that your post uses related keywords
Related keywords are phrases that connect to the main keywords or content of your blog post. By including related keywords, you’re making extra sure that you’re satisfying all avenues of a reader’s search intent – and increasing the likelihood that you’ll be visible on Google.
An easy way to find related keywords and source extra inspiration for your content is to check out the ‘People also search for’ section at the bottom of the search engine results page.
10. Insert interesting images or videos
Capturing your readers’ attention is key when ranking high on search engine results pages (SERPs). The longer a user stays on your page, the higher Google will rank it. So how do you make sure they stick around? By adding interesting images and videos.
Relevant visual aids add contextual information, improving your mental health blog by enhancing reader understanding and engagement. So, remember, no walls of text!
11. Add titles and alt tags to images and videos
Even the most experienced mental health writers sometimes fail to account for seemingly insignificant details – but these can still have a big impact on SEO. Alt tags (also known as ‘alternative text’) and titles are no exception. Alt tags help search engines understand image content and how it relates to your page, as well as describe images when they fail to load.
By adding alt tags to images and videos, you can hit SEO targets, improve your blog’s visibility, and improve overall user experience. An additional benefit of using alt tags is they help prevent you from falling into the keyword-stuffing trap as they are often shorter and don’t need to be followed by extra text.
When creating alt titles or tags, make sure to use relevant keywords which are appropriate to each image and video in your mental health blog.
12. Remove any spelling or grammar errors
This may sound like I’m stating the obvious, but if you want to be a content writer mental health readers trust, nothing is more important than ensuring that content is well-written and error-free.
Spelling or grammar errors can be a major turn-off for readers as they can make your blog post seem unprofessional and rushed. Take the time to proofread and edit your content before hitting publish. Doing so will keep users engaged and search engines happy.
13. Check readability against the Hemingway App
Easily readable content greatly benefits all end users, from novice mental health content readers to people using text-to-speech software. For this reason, avoid using ‘jargon’, complex writing, or creating lengthy run-on sentences.
The Hemingway App offers a free way to know what reading level your writing is at, as well as helpful suggestions to make it more digestible. However, it’s important to understand that writing tools such as Hemingway use AI. So, don’t rely on them too heavily as they can cause a lack of style – as well as increase the risk of flagging for AI if you accept too many ‘suggestions’.
An extra tip for making sure that your mental health content writing can be easily understood is to read it out loud. Sometimes the ear can hear what the eye cannot see.
14. Optimise page titles and meta descriptions
When you search a term on Google you’ll see a list of page titles and short snippets of text underneath – these are meta descriptions. Google uses page titles and meta descriptions to understand what your content is about, so well-optimised titles and descriptions which include important keywords can make your post much more visible.
Optimising titles and descriptions also lets readers know what your content is about. So if they feel it accurately answers a question they’re asking, they’re more likely to click on your post – another powerful SEO benefit.
If in Doubt, Hire an Expert Mental Health Writer
With so much competition in the mental health space, it can be hard to produce high-quality content that consistently ranks well. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure of your SEO mental health content writing skills, an experienced mental health writer can help.
PsychWrite’s expert team have real-world, hands-on experience in mental health – as well as professional writing skills. They can help you craft engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly content that resonates with your audience and ranks well on search engines.
With our writers’ expertise and your unique perspective, we can create powerful mental health content together! Reach out today to get in touch with our team and learn more about how we can help elevate your mental health content writing.
