How to Start a Blog in 2025 [A Step-by-Step Beginners Guide]

Here’s how I would start a blog in 2025 if I were in your place.

Back in 2012, when I launched my first blog, I researched a lot, spending days consuming resources, implementing every necessary step, and yet I made a lot of mistakes.

The blog came to life, and it was successful. However, I still wished I had someone by my side to guide me throughout the process.

Maybe that’s the case with you as well. Hence, I’ve created this blogging guide for you to start a blog successfully on the first attempt.

Simple. No fluff. No non-sense. Straight to the point.

This is a complete step-by-step guide on creating a blog, with real examples and visual representations.

Whether you’re a beginner or someone thinking about making a blog, you’ll have a clear blogging roadmap by the time you finish reading this post.

As readers are curious to know how to start a blog with AI, I’ll show you what blogging looks like with AI technology.

Let’s begin right away.

Affiliate Disclosure: I earn from qualifying purchases you make by clicking the product links mentioned here. You get the best deal at no extra cost, and it helps me run my household. Thank you for providing me with an opportunity to serve you.

Before you begin, Understand What a blog is and why to start one.

A blog is an online platform, often a website or a webpage, where you pen down your thoughts, experiences, or opinions in the form of posts. Think of it as an online journal – an open diary available for everyone to read and contemplate.

Some examples are The Shooting Star, a sustainable travel blog, and Pinch of Yum, a food blog about simple yet delicious recipes. Likewise, you can find plenty of blog examples in various niches – like technology, automobiles, photography, home decor, wildlife, health, fitness, and more.

Now, before you start a blog, you must know your WHY. You may want to start blogging to:

• Keep a record of your thoughts and ideas
• Share valuable insights related to your field of expertise
• List your experiences to guide people
• Build a community of like-minded individuals
• Create a source of online income

If you ask WHY I started blogging, I’d say – to expand my reach in the digital marketing fraternity, generate leads for my business, create a source of income, and help people achieve more by sharing my product knowledge.

Hope you have your WHY sorted before hopping on to the blogwagon.

Step 1: Define your Niche

The term niche in blogging simply refers to a segment that focuses on particular interests, products, services, and people. It’s a process of narrowing down in a broad market. Let’s understand a niche with an example.

Footwear, for example, is a broad industry.

Based on an interest, we can narrow it down to sports footwear, casual footwear, formal footwear, party footwear, and so on.

Based on a product, we can niche down to sneakers, running shoes, boots, heels, sandals, and so on.

Based on a service, we can focus on repair, refurbishment, customization, and so on.

Based on people, footwear can be classified by gender, age, activity, location, etc.

We can be more specific and call it a micro-niche. Examples – running shoes for senior citizens, sneaker customization, formal footwear for working women, and so on.

I hope now you know how to define your niche or maybe micro-niche. So, for example, if you like reading fiction novels and want to start a blog, you know “fiction novels” is your go-to niche, and “fiction novels for children” is one of the micro-niches.

Now, get ready with your niche, and you are all set to launch your blog.

But wait – where to start a blog? Which blogging platform is the best? Well, that’s our next topic of discussion.

Step 2: Choose a Blogging Platform

Anyone who wants to start a blog is often clueless about where to begin. Some simply want to share their thoughts on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Reddit. At the same time, the rest want a dedicated blogging platform that offers more features and autonomy.

Broadly, we have three types of blogging platforms, also known as content management systems (CMS) –

1. Self-hosted Blogging Platforms
2. Hosted or Managed Blogging Platforms
3. Publishing Platforms
   

Let’s analyze each one of them based on features, control, ease of use, security, and cost.

Self-hosted Blogging Platforms

Open source software like WordPress and Ghost are the most popular self-hosted blogging platforms. Here, you rent or own a web server from a hosting provider to install a blogging platform, configure technical settings, and customize the design before starting the blog.

This model provides complete autonomy over your website or blog; however, it requires a gradual learning curve. You’ll have to manage the backend processes, such as hosting, technical aspects, updates, backups, and security; all by yourself.

With time, along the journey, you’ll gain knowledge and experience to handle the blog, end-to-end.

PS – This blog is also a self-hosted blog, powered by WordPress.

Hosted or Managed Blogging Platforms

If you eliminate the hassle of managing the backend processes, you’ll have managed or hosted blogging platforms for you. Here, the service provider manages these overwhelming tasks so that you can focus on design and content creation.

However, this convenience comes at a recurring cost you need to pay to the service provider.

Some of the most popular hosted blogging platforms are WordPress.com, Blogger, Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow. You can either launch a blog as a subdomain with these service providers or use a custom domain name.

The former means you don’t really own a blog. You are simply creating an account using a subdomain to post content. But when you use a custom domain name, you launch a blog that you own.

Let’s say you are Shawn, a passionate baker, who wants to share baking recipes. You can use WordPress.com to launch a blog named shawnbakes.wordpress.com. This blog is the property of WordPress.com, not yours. You only own the rights to your content.

At the same time, when you purchase shawnbakes.com as a custom domain name and host it independently on WordPress.com, you become the rightful owner.

Publishing Platforms

Those who just want to write for their audience without fussing over blog ownership and management can join publishing platforms like Medium, Substack, and Patreon.

The publishing model is quite simple. You create a free account, start writing posts, build an audience, and earn revenue. The platform either keeps a slice of your revenue (Substack and Patreon, for example) or earns via paid subscriptions for readers (Medium, for example).

You can do everything using a publishing platform – write a blog, build an audience, and earn income.

However, you must still adhere to their terms and conditions. It means you don’t have complete control over your blog.

Step 3: Buy a Domain Name

Purchasing a domain name is the first step towards creating an online identity for your blog.

A domain name is a combination of a second-level domain (shawnbakes) and a top-level domain (.com). The result – shawnbakes.com – is a name in a readable form for people on the internet.

This domain name, hosted on a web server, is represented by a unique IP address that web browsers find and link to whenever someone searches for the domain name, thus displaying the webpage on the screen.

You buy domain names from domain registrars such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, and Porkbun. These are the most popular ones. You can buy from other ICANN-registered domain registrars as well.

When purchasing a domain name for your blog, keep the following facts in mind:

• Keep it short and simple – like shawnbakes.com – because it’s easy to spell and memorable
• Don’t try to imitate brand names, and don’t use copyrighted names
• Avoid using special characters and numbers, as they result in complex combinations
• Preferably use a top-level domain (TLD) like .com, .org, and .net
• Opt for other domain extensions if TLD is not available for your brand name (like I’ve used .online for this website)
• Ensure the second-level domain (SLD) is an available name on social media for you to create social media pages
• Choose a domain registrar with a good online presence, positive reviews, transparent pricing, and solid customer support

Step 4: Get Web Hosting

It’s time to buy web hosting for your domain name and get it live.

Web hosting enables you to store website data online on web servers, allowing users worldwide to access your website and blog through web browsers.

Hosting service providers facilitate the process of providing web hosting to users like us. Mostly, they provide managed web hosting, wherein they configure performance (storage, bandwidth, and memory), security, scalability, automation, and provide support.

Broadly, two types of managed web hosting are most prevalent these days – shared hosting and cloud hosting.

If you are just starting and have a limited budget, you can opt for shared web hosting from Bluehost, SiteGround, Hostinger, and GoDaddy. These are affordable, reliable, and have good support.

But if budget is not a problem, I’d recommend you go ahead with a cloud hosting solution from Cloudways, Kinsta, Nestify, or WPEngine.

Here, I use Cloudways to host my blog. I have been using it for 3-4 years, and it’s really good. Excellent performance, superb support, robust security, easy to use, and a user-friendly interface. The only issue I face is with the technicalities I’m not familiar with. But for that, the Cloudways support comes in handy. So, not a big issue at all.

Step 5: Install WordPress

Remember, we talked about blogging platforms? Out of the three types discussed, I’ll talk about WordPress here, a self-hosted blogging platform.

Why WordPress? Because it’s the best option if you want to start a fully-fledged blog, scale it, and keep it active for a long time. For example, WordPress offers maximum customization, plenty of plugins to enhance functionality, and a dedicated forum for support and discussion.

Other blogging platforms are limited in one way or another. For example, they have fewer users than WordPress and limited third-party apps and plugins to enhance functionality.

Let’s see how we can install WordPress and start a blog in a few minutes.

Here, I’ll tell you how to install WordPress on Cloudways – the cloud hosting I use for this blog.

How to Install WordPress on Cloudways

Go to https://www.cloudways.com/en/

For a new user, Cloudways offers a free 3-day trial. Opt for the trial, sign up as a new user, choose an application you want to deploy (WordPress), choose a server, server type, and server location.

Since I already host my blog with Cloudways, I just need to log in using my credentials.

After logging in, Cloudways takes me to the Server tab. Here, I need to switch to the Applications tab since I’ve already deployed my Digital Ocean server.

In the Applications page, click on Add Application.

Then choose a server. Here, I selected My Server, the server I’ve already deployed. Finally, click on Add Application.

Enter application details now. Select WordPress in the Select Application field, name your application, choose an existing project (or create one for the application), select Hybrid Stack since we want .htaccess support for the blog. Click on Add Application.

The process takes around 2 minutes to complete. Once done, you’ll need to click on Applications installed in this server on the My Server page.

Click on Shawn Bakes application icon.

You’ll now arrive on the application page. Here you can see the blog URL, admin URL, credentials, and other sections. Now, click on Domain Management on the left panel.

In the Domain Management page, click on the Add Domain link to add the domain name. You’ll add shawnbakes.com and make it the primary domain. Also, add www.shawnbakes.com as an alias name because whenever someone types this name, they’ll land on shawnbakes.com. Similarly, you can also add all subdomains (if any) here.

Once you’ve added these, the details will appear as they appear for mohitdwivedi.online below.

The next step involves adding a DNS (Domain Name System) entry called an A record, which maps the domain to the IP address of your Cloudways server.

To find the IP address, visit Access details page for the Application you just installed on Cloudways. It looks something like this: 123.456.78.123

Next, go to the domain registrar website from where you bought the domain name. Log in using your credentials and select the domain name. I purchased mohitdwivedi.online from GoDaddy. Hence, I’m sharing how to add a DNS A record in GoDaddy.

Click on Add Record and then enter details once the box appears below. Enter the following attributes and click on Save:

• Type: A
• Name: @
• Value: The IP address
• TTL: 1/2 hour

Repeat the process for adding another A record:

• Type: A
• Name: www
• Value: The IP address
• TTL: 1/2 hour

Once added, the records will appear as below. It’ll take around 24 to 48 hours for the record to reflect. Sometimes it reflects within an hour.

To check the successful propagation of the DNS records, visit whatsmydns.net, type the domain name, and check for the A record. If it shows the IP address linked to the majority of the locations, then congrats – your website is live!

This ends the process of installing WordPress on your blog in Cloudways. The next step involves configuring your blog to make it ready for the web.

Step 6: Configure your Blog

While launching a blog, you need to take care of a few aspects related to layout, functionality, online presence, and security. It’ll ensure a hassle-free user experience for both you and your visitors. Let’s begin.

Install SSL Certificate

Remember, you installed WordPress, added DNS records to make your blog live? Now it’s time to work on the blog. We’ll start with installing an SSL certificate on your blog.

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate secures the connection between the web browser and the web server that hosts your website and encrypts the data, ensuring complete privacy and protection.

Go to the Shawn Bakes Application in Cloudways. From there, go to the SSL Certificate page. Enter the email address and domain names as mentioned below. Click on Install Certificate.

Toggle Auto Renewal to ON to ensure the SSL certificate renews automatically.

Once the SSL certificate is active, you can check the details by clicking two dotted lines – called a padlock – beside the domain name in the web browser. Check the screenshot below for a better understanding.

Log in to WordPress Admin Panel

After successful installation of WordPress and an SSL certificate, let’s log in to the WordPress admin panel to access the dashboard.

Go to Access Details section for your Application on Cloudways. From here, you can access the admin panel link, username, and password.

Once on the admin panel page, enter your username and password and click on Log In. You’ll land on the WordPress Dashboard.

The Dashboard gives you access to every section of your blog, both front-end and back-end. From here, you can manage themes, plugins, posts, settings, and more.

You’ll get to know more about the Dashboard while reading this post. So go ahead.

Install a WordPress Theme

A theme is a template that defines the look, style, and functionality of your blog. It defines how your blog looks, how your content appears, how and where the blog components should be placed, and so on. A theme is like a robe for your blog that you can customize as per your requirements.

To install a WordPress theme, we’ll first log into the admin panel – you’ve already done that.

Now, on the Dashboard, go to Appearance > Themes. Check the screenshot below to locate the links.

Once you arrive on the Themes page, you’ll find a pre-installed WordPress theme named Twenty Twenty Five. You can either use it or install another theme.

I’ve installed the Astra WordPress theme on my blog. It’s diverse, feature-loaded, and optimized for performance.

To install a theme, simply click on Add Theme.

Browse through the catalog, find a theme that resonates with your idea, and install the theme (only install a well-reviewed theme).

Once installed, click on Activate to make it live on your blog.

Later, I’ll show you how to design your blog by editing the AI-powered templates offered by the theme developers.

Install WordPress Plugins

Plugins are software packages developed to enhance the functionality of WordPress websites and blogs. They are like what apps are for smartphones.

Although thousands of plugins are available for WordPress, based on their usage and website types, I’ll show you the important ones you need for your WordPress blog.

First of all, to access the plugins section, go to Plugins from the Dashboard.

Here, you can see a lot of installed plugins. I’ve installed these for my blog based on my requirements. You don’t need to install all of these.

To add a new plugin, click on Add Plugin.

Now, search for the plugin you want to install. I’ve searched for Rank Math SEO. The plugin helps you optimize your blog for SEO. Click on Install Now. Then click on Activate.

After activation, it’ll appear in the Installed Plugins list. From here, you can directly visit the Rank Math SEO plugin page to customize settings or find its icon on the left panel, as shown below.

Later, we’ll discuss how to set up the Rank Math SEO plugin properly. You can also check out the official documentation on their website.

Just like you installed Rank Math, you can install other plugins as well. Here’s a compiled list of must-have plugins for your WordPress blog:

1. Rank Math SEO – One of the most popular WordPress SEO plugins. Helps you set up your blog to rank on search engines like Google and Bing.
2. Akismet – The plugin prevents user-generated spam on your blog, whether it happens through comments or form submissions. Follow this guide to install Akisment in WordPress.
3. CookieYes – The plugin is a consent management platform that collects cookies and manages consent. The Google-certified solution is compliant with global privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA.
4. WPForms – This AI form builder tool for WordPress helps you generate more than 2000 types of forms, such as contact forms, survey forms, registration forms, payment forms, and more.
5. Site Kit by Google – This official WordPress plugin from Google integrates tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Tag Manager, AdSense, PageSpeed Insights, and more. It helps you track blog perofrmance, blog visitors, and their behavior.
6. Sassy Social Share – The plugin lets visitors share blog content to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and over 100+ social media sites. It’s mobile responsive and allows icon customization as per your taste.
7. LiteSpeed Cache – The plugin improves your WordPress blog performance by caching blog pages and posts so that they can be served quickly when needed, thereby enhancing performance by decreasing load on servers. It also aids in minifying website code, image optimization, database optimization, and more.
8. Wordfence Security – This powerful WordPress plugin secures your blog against online attacks, malware signatures, malicious IPs, and other online fraud. It adds a security layer in the form of a firewall to prevent breaches.
9. UpdraftPlus – The plugin provides website backup, restoration, and migration services. Though most of the hosting providers offer backups, including Cloudways, it’s better to have your blog’s backup ready.

Now, when you use Cloudways for hosting, you don’t need to worry about caching, security, or backups. Cloudways takes care of everything, and that’s why I rely on them for hosting my websites and blogs.

Customize WordPress Settings

We have reached the last step in the WordPress configuration checklist. The WordPress installation comes with default settings. We need to tweak them as per our blog requirements. Let’s see how to do it.

To edit WordPress default settings, we’ll go to Dashboard > Settings and edit each section one by one.

General

In this section, you have to edit three rows – Site Title, Tagline, and Site Icon – as indicated below.

Site Title – Mohit Dwivedi or Shawn Bakes or Your Blog Name

Tagline – A brief description of what your blog is about.

Site Icon – The site icon is displayed in the browser tabs. It helps with the identification. Hence, I recommend you upload your site icon. It should be simple and memorable, and 512 by 512 pixels in size.

Once down, scroll down, and click on Save Changes.

Writing

We’ll leave it as it is.

Reading

Here, we’ll edit two rows.

Your homepage displays – Ensure Your latest posts is selected. Since we want to work on a blog, the homepage should display the latest posts. Although we can select the other option and create a static home page, for now, we’ll focus on the blog.

Search engine visibility – Ensure it’s NOT selected. We want search engines to discover our blog.

Discussion

We’ll leave it as it is.

Media

We’ll leave it as it is.

Permalinks

This is important. Change Permalink Structure to Post Name. Click on Save Changes.

This should be done before we start writing our first post. The permalink is the permanent URL that points to specific content on a website, whether it’s a page or a post or a category.

Privacy

Every website or any other entity that collects user data in any form must have a privacy policy declaration as per privacy laws governed by regulators like GDPR and CCPA. Therefore, you must create a privacy page for your blog.

Now we can either create it in the Privacy section of your blog or use a tool like Termly. The former creates a basic page that requires a lot of editing, whereas the latter drafts a detailed page that requires minimal editing.

I’ve created mine using Termly. In addition to the privacy page, the tool helps with other consent-related solutions as well, such as cookie consent forms.

Set up Blog Pages

You just learnt to draft a privacy page using Termly. But, how to create and publish a privacy policy page or any other page in WordPress? We’ll discuss the process in this section.

A blog typically needs a few pages to get going. These pages are required to convey information to visitors.

Your blog should feature the following pages:

• About: This page contains information about you or your blog. You can pen a personal anecdote, talk about your blogging journey, state your reason for starting the blog, or write anything that sparks a connection with your readers.
• Contact: As is evident, this page features your contact information that people and organizations will use to communicate with you.
• Disclaimer: Here, you’d state clearly about what you intend to do with the blog, how it defines relationships with partners and advertisers, who bears the legal liabilities, and who bears the responsibility of any outcome.
• Privacy Policy: As discussed above, it primarily states how you’ll manage user information and their preferences.

To create pages in WordPress, you have to access the Pages section from Dashboard > Pages.

On the Pages, click on Add Page to create a new page.

The link will open the WordPress editor, known as the Gutenberg editor. Here, we’ll write the page title, page content, and publish. To understand how the Gutenberg editor works, check out the official WordPress documentation.

Regardless of which page you want to create, the process remains the same. You can add images, screenshots, videos, links, and more in the Gutenberg editor. The block-based editing makes it easy and fun.

The “About” page requires you to draft the write-up from scratch since it’s about your personal journey. The “Contact” page will feature your contact information – email, phone number, social media links, or whatever you’d like to share.

For “Disclaimer” and “Privacy Policy” pages, I’d recommend you to use Termly to prepare the drafts. Their stepwise procedure will help you create detailed drafts.

Once done, just copy and paste them into the Gutenberg editor and publish. Click here to create a disclaimer and a privacy policy using Termly.

Congratulations! We’ve successfully configured WordPress for our blog. Next, we’ll talk about the design aspect of your blog.

Step 7: Design your Blog

WordPress blog design is an extensive yet enjoyable process. There’s a lot you can do to make your blog as appealing as you want.

Here, we’ll learn how to customize a beginner WordPress blog. Once you understand the fundamentals, you can explore and customize according to your needs.

Custom Design your Blog

The blog design begins with the installation of a WordPress theme. If you remember, I showed you how to install a WordPress theme. Once the theme is active, the design process begins.

You can access the Appearance > Customize section from the WordPress dashboard.

The Customize dashboard gives you access to all the components of your website pages. Right from colors to custom code, you can edit everything as per your preference. You can also edit the layout to fit a particular screen size – be it desktop, mobile, or tab.

I’ll brief you on various design options available here:

• Global – Here you can customize the fonts, colors, containers, and buttons used throughout the website and blog.
• Header – Here you can customize the site header, site logo, site icon, primary menu, and more.
• Post types – Here you can manage how your blog posts and blog page appear. Customize it as per your likes and dislikes.
• General – Here you can enable features that enhance site functionality, such as breadcrumbs, scroll icon, accessibility, and more.
• Footer – Here you can edit the footer section that appears at the bottom of your website and blog.
• Menus – Here you can add, remove, and edit menus that enable movability across the website.
• Widgets – Here you can manage widgets that appear in different sections of the website and blog.
• Homepage Settings – Whether you’ve a static page or a blog page set as the homepage, you can edit it here.
• Additional CSS – Here, you add custom CSS codes to override the default visual design elements.

I’m using the free version of the Astra WordPress theme for my blog. Since it’s a personal blog, I don’t require pro features.

However, if you’d like to unlock all features and enable restriction-free editing, I recommend you to buy the premium Astra theme. Along with the premium tools and features, you get access to hundreds of readymade website templates, saving you hours of designing work.

Astra provides two tools for editing websites and blogs – Starter Templates and Spectra. The former lets you install made-for-you templates, and the latter enhances Gutenberg functionality with its customized blocks.

You can install these tools in the Plugins section. Simply search for them and install them as plugins.

To access Starter Templates, go to Appearance > Starter Templates.

The plugin allows you to set up your website or blog from scratch. You can either let an AI builder design a WordPress website for you or choose from a library of templates. Both options require you to provide inputs and spend time customizing as per your taste.

About Spectra, we’ll have a look at it when we write our first blog post.

Add Widgets

Widgets, as discussed briefly above, are sections that you can add to footers, headers, and sidebars. Widgets contain blocks that either display information or increase functionality.

For example, you add a widget in the header containing a search bar or add a widget in the footer displaying your contact information.

You can access widgets from Appearance > Widgets. Here you can add, remove, and edit available widgets on the sidebar, header, and footer.

Create and Add Menus

A menu in WordPress is a list of links to pages, posts, categories, and custom links. It aids in navigability and user experience. Menus are usually displayed in the header or the footer. You can also add them to a widget or insert them into a page or post.

To access menus, go to Appearance > Menus. On the page, you can select a menu to edit or create a new menu.

You can add post links, page links, custom links, and categories to a menu. You can also change the order of these items in a particular way. To manage a menu location, head to the Appearance > Menus > Manage Locations.

Now, since we’re done designing the blog, making it visually appealing and functional, let’s proceed ahead and optimize our blog for search engines and LLMs.

Step 8: Optimize for SEO & LLMs

When you start a blog, you do it for a set of reasons outlined at the beginning of this post – it can be personal, professional, or just a hobby.

Whatever your reason, you need readers or an audience who consume your blog content.

To bring readers and audience, you must promote your blog. We’ll discuss blog promotion strategies later.

Here, I’ll show you how to establish your blog’s presence on the internet, particularly on search engines and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

The search engine optimization (SEO) strategies discussed here will help you generate organic traffic to your blog.

SEO can be broadly classified into three types:

1. Technical SEO
2. On-Page SEO
3. Off-Page SEO

In addition to these, we’ll also discuss LLM optimization.

Let’s check these out.

Technical SEO

Optimizing a website’s or a blog’s code and structure as per search engine guidelines for ease of crawling, indexing, and performance is called Technical SEO.

In simple terms, taking care of the technical aspects of a blog to optimize for the search engines is termed technical SEO.

Broadly, if you set up your blog’s crawling and indexing, optimize for speed and security, and ensure seamless user experience, you’re done with the technical SEO.

Let’s see how you can tackle these technical SEO tasks.

Register on Google Search Console

Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool from Google that helps you add your blog to Google for crawling and indexing, track impressions and clicks, identify and troubleshoot errors, and provide necessary website performance data.

Therefore, adding your blog to GSC should be your first step in the technical SEO checklist.

For this, go to GSC, click on Start Now, log in with your Google account, and click on Add Property.

Enter the URL of your blog – mohitdwivedi.online, for example – and click on Continue, and then proceed with Start Verification.

To verify the domain name, GSC will take you to the domain registrar from which you purchased your domain name. Proceed with the steps.

Once verified, GSC will show the following message on the screen. Now, click on Go To Property and explore the dashboard. Read this GSC starter guide to know how to use it for your blog.

Next, we’ll register your blog on Google Analytics.

Register on Google Analytics

Google Analytics (GA) is a web analytics software that is used to track every user activity on your blog or website or app – be it source of visits, devices used by visitors, time spent on a web page, most popular pages, and so on.

To register on GA, go to Google Analytics website and click on Get Started Today. Sign up with your Google account, the one you used for GSC, and follow the instructions.

Once logged in, click on Admin on the bottom left side of the panel, as shown in the screenshot.

Next, click on Create and choose Property from the dropdown list. We’ll create a property for your blog on Google Analytics.

Follow the steps to successfully create a property. Provide property name, business information, business objectives, website URL, and grant permissions.

Lastly, click on Create & Continue. Once done, you’ll see the following step on the screen. Choose Install with WordPress and click on Next.

After the process, Google Analytics will generate a Google Tag ID. We can either use a Tag Assistant Chrome extension to install the Tag ID or install it using the Site Kit plugin on your WordPress blog. We’ll do it with Site Kit, as we are already using it for our blog.

Let’s see why and how we will use Google Site Kit for our blog.

Install Site Kit by Google

Google Site Kit is a WordPress plugin that connects Google services and tools with your website or blog, thereby making it easier to track, review, and optimize performance.

As of now, we’ll use Site Kit to connect Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and PageSpeed Insights with your blog. You can also connect other tools like Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, and Google AdSense if you’re using them.

To install Site Kit by Google, go to Dashboard > Plugins and install it by following the WordPress plugin installation steps we already discussed before.

After installation, go to Dashboard > Site Kit from the WordPress dashboard.

To set up Site Kit, sign in with your Google account, the one you used for GSC and GA. Grant permission to the plugin to access data.

Since we’ve already verified ownership in GSC, the plugin will detect and show your blog data in the plugin dashboard.

For GA, it’ll detect that we’ve already registered on GA. However, we still need to complete the setup on Site Kit.

To do it, go to Dashboard > Site Kit > Settings to arrive on the Site Kit Settings page. Check the screenshot below. Here, click on Complete setup for Analytics.

Next, choose the Account and Property we created previously while registering on Google Analytics. Ensure the Google Tag ID shown on the screen is the one we’ve generated before.

Lastly, click on Complete Setup.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully registered on GSC and GA and connected both tools to your WordPress blog using Site Kit. Now, you’re all set to track blog performace and optimize for best results.

Besides GSC and GA, you can also connect other Google services from Site Kit Settings. Google’s PageSpeed Insights, one of the tools, is already available in the Site Kit.

It calculates how fast your blog loads and how you can improve Core Web Vitals for the best user experience. We’ll discuss this later in the post.

Register on Bing Webmaster Tools

Google is a major search engine with 89.83% search engine market share across all devices, as of August 2025.

Still, other search engines like Bing, YANDEX, Yahoo!, and DuckDuckGo are also important for your blog.

In fact, LLMs also use search engines to enhance their search. For example, ChatGPT uses Bing’s index for its search feature.

Therefore, it’s important to register your blog on other search engines, at least on Bing if you want to reap the benefits in this AI age.

To do so, simply go to Bing Webmaster Tools. Click on Get Started and log in with your account, preferably the Google account used for GSC and GA. This way, it’s easier when you have one account for all tools.

The Bing Webmaster will then ask you to either add site manually or import already verified site on GSC. We’ll proceed with the latter since our site is already verified with the GSC.

Follow the steps on Bing Webmaster for importing the information. Once imported successfully, the tool will redirect you to the Bing Webmaster Dashboard. Here you can check all information about website data and performance.

Configure Rank Math SEO Plugin

An SEO plugin for WordPress optimizes the content management system (CMS), i.e., WordPress, and takes care of other technical aspects related to SEO.

Let’s see how we can do SEO for your blog using a WordPress SEO plugin.

We start by installing an SEO plugin whose one of the tasks is to configure your blog for search engines.

Remember, we installed Rank Math for your blog?

Now let’s configure it.

Go to Dashboard > Rank Math SEO > Dashboard from the WordPress Dashboard.

On the Dashboard, scroll down until you find the LLMS Txt box on the screen. Toggle this on so that LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can access, show, and link to your blog content.

Next, scroll up and click on Setup Wizard to start the Rank Math SEO configuration. Click on Start Wizard to start the process. Ensure you’ve selected the Advanced option available on the screen.

Now, on the Your Site page, enter basic data about your blog and click on Save and Continue.

If you’ve previously used any SEO plugin – Yoast SEO, for example – the plugin will ask you to import settings. If you haven’t, proceed to the next step.

On the Analytics page, you’ll need to connect your blog to Google Search Console and Google Analytics. This is an important step.

Rank Math SEO automatically adds and verifies your blog to GSC, submits the XML sitemap that search engines access to index blog content, and pulls data from GSC to help you optimize your blog for SEO.

Coming back to the topic, click on Connect Google Services/Connect your Rank Math Account to start the process of connecting GSC and GA to Rank Math.

On the next page, choose any account you have (the same Google account used for GSC and GA) to Log In with Rank Math.

Follow the process until you arrive on the following page (check screenshot).

Here, select the properties you added before when we registered your blog on GSC and GA. The plugin will automatically show your properties in the drop-down list for GSC and GA. Once selected, click on Save and Continue.

Next, you need to configure your blog’s sitemap. A sitemap is a code file that contains information about all your posts, pages, and categories created in your blog. Search engines use sitemaps to crawl and index content. Therefore, you must configure it here in the Rank Math SEO plugin.

Keep the default settings and click on Save and Continue.

Next, on the Optimization page, keep the default settings and click on Save and Continue.

There you go! You’ve configured Rank Math SEO for your blog. The plugin will now work in the background to keep your blog in the best SEO state.

There’s an option called Setup Advanced Options in the screenshot above. You can either check it out or leave it as it is.

For now, we’re done with setting up Rank Math SEO for your blog.

I’ll do a detailed Rank Math SEO review where I’ll cover everything. It’ll be an advanced guide. For the time being, let’s proceed ahead.

Optimize for Mobile

Do you know Google uses the mobile version of website and blog content to crawl and index pages and posts?

Google calls it mobile-first indexing. And it indicates that your blog must be optimized for mobile for the best performance.

The first step towards mobile optimization is to use a responsive web design, which adjusts according to the screen size, thereby displaying website and blog content according to the dimensions of the screen.

The content remains the same, the URLs remain the same, only the layout, font, images, etc., change according to the screen size, whether it’s desktop, laptop, mobile, or tablet.

For beginners, the most important step is to use a responsive WordPress theme for their blogs. We’ve already covered how to install a WordPress theme.

Although most of the popular WordPress themes are responsive, it’s advised to go with a well-reviewed and rated theme like Astra, GeneratePress, or Kadence.

Once you’ve installed a theme, you can check the responsiveness using a tool like Responsive Test Tool. It shows website design changes in real-time according to the screen size. If you find any problem with the theme’s responsiveness, change it immediately.

Once you’ve installed a responsive WordPress theme, you’ll customize it as per your requirements. We’ve already covered this as well.

While customizing, you can check the layout and positioning on different devices. Simply switch between mobile, tablet, and desktop icons on the bottom-left of the Customize page to check the responsiveness. See the screenshot below. Finalize changes only when satisfied.

Next, we need to optimize the website code and elements to ensure your blog functions flawlessly on all devices, including mobile. We’ll cover this topic next.

Optimize for Speed

A good user experience depends on how fast your blog loads. Your blog or website must load as fast as possible.

Even Google says it “rewards content” that ensures a seamless page experience. Optimizing website speed should be your priority if you want your blog content to appear in search engines.

We start by using Google PageSpeed Insights or GT Metrix to gauge website performance. Simply enter the URL of your blog, and the tools will analyze and present a report on the screen. Check screenshots below.

By default, Google PageSpeed Insights displays performance stats for the mobile version of your blog. GT Metrix shows the stats for the desktop version.

In both cases, aim to achieve the best score possible. For PageSpeed Insights, the score should be above 75, and for GT Metrix, you should aim for grade A.

And if the score is not up to the mark, you’ll need to address the issues. You can see these by scrolling down the report. Check screenshots below.

Confused about what FCP, LCP, TBT, and CLS are? These are Google’s Core Web Vitals that help us tweak page experience for users.

Improve Core Web Vitals

Google’s Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure a website’s or page’s performance. These metrics decide whether a page delivers a smooth user experience or not.

Currently, Google focuses on 3 Core Web Vitals:

1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – The time taken by a page’s main content to load completely. It measures how fast the page loads. The LCP should complete within 2.5 seconds from the time the page starts loading.
2. Interaction to Next Point (INP) – The time taken to respond to an interaction. It measures how fast a page responds to an interaction. The INP should complete within 200 milliseconds after an interaction. INP is indicated as Total Blocking Time (TBT) on tools like PageSpeed Insights and GT Metrix.
3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – The total shift in a visible element’s position on the screen when the page loads completely. It measures the visual stability of a page. The ideal CLS should be 0.1 or less.

You can view a detailed report on Core Web Vitals on PageSpeed Insights and GT Metrix, as discussed in the previous section.

Alternatively, you can also check Core Web Vitals on your blog. Go to Dashboard > Site Kite > Dashboard > Speed to view the report and improvement suggestions by clicking on How to Improve.

Honestly speaking, addressing Core Web Vitals issues is too technical. Only a developer can resolve these issues to optimize Core Web Vitals.

However, we must do whatever we can to bring Core Web Vitals to respectable levels.

Here I’ve listed some steps to optimize our website’s or blog’s speed and performance.

Let’s have a look at them.

Choose Reliable Hosting

Choosing managed, dedicated hosting for your WordPress blog is the first step to ensure blazing-fast page loading speed.

A reputed hosting provider takes care of the majority of the tasks related to blog performance, such as:

• Allocating a dedicated SSD server rather than a shared server, ensuring fast-loading website at all times
• Using dedicated cache services to facilitate fast loading
• Using the latest scripts to ensure superior performance
• Optimizing the database to eliminate redundancy
• Providing a dedicated WordPress cache plugin to address Core Web Vitals issues
• Providing CDN to reduce loading times to a minimum
• 24/7 monitoring and troubleshooting server-level issues, ensuring 99.99% uptime
• 24/7 support offered by technical customer executives

All these facilities take your blog performance to the next level. Therefore, I highly advise you to opt for managed hosting. As discussed before, I use managed cloud hosting from Cloudways.

However, it comes at a cost.

While shared hosting is available for a couple of dollars, managed hosting usually costs above $10 per month.

Install a Lightweight WordPress Theme

People often make the mistake of installing feature-loaded WordPress themes on their websites and blogs.

But it signifcantly hampers website performance if not optimized properly.

Hence, it’s advised to avoid complex themes and stick to minimal, lightweight, and responsive WordPress themes.

A WordPress theme must:

• Be lightweight and responsive
• Adhere to the highest coding standards
• Be updated regularly
• Be compatible with plugins and page builders
• Offer customization options
• Offer customer support (free, paid, or forum)
• Have plenty of reviews and ratings
• Be optimized for SEO and speed
• Be user-friendly

Here, I use the Astra WordPress theme. It’s an ideal theme for all types of WordPress users. You can use Astra or a similar theme that checks all the aspects mentioned above.

Install a Caching Plugin

A caching plugin is a must for WordPress websites and blogs. The plugin enables cache – a temporary storage location that stores frequently accessed files – thereby reducing loading times.

In addition to a cache, the plugin optimizes HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code to improve a website’s or blog’s performance.

Hence, a caching plugin helps considerably to address issues related to the Core Web Vitals.

Here, I use the Breeze WordPress plugin, offered by Cloudways, to speed up my blog’s speed and performance.

A caching plugin, like Breeze or any other, does the following to optimize your website or blog:

• Enable Caching – Creates a cache to speed up page loading
• Enable Gzip Compression – Compresses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files on the server side and decompresses on the browser side.
• Lazy Load – Loads images, videos, and iframes only on the user’s viewport (device screen), not before.
• Preloading – Preloads assets like fonts, links, and images in the cache before the request arises.
• Minify File Size – Removes whitespaces and comments to reduce CSS and JavaScript file size.
• Combine Files – Merges all minified files to reduce HTTP requests.
• Enable Deferred Loading – Delays the execution of unimportant files unless necessary.
• Delay JavaScript – Delays the execution of JavaScript files unless necessary.
• Optimize Database – Cleans up the database to reduce unwanted files and versions.

If you’re installing Breeze, I recommend that you read this Breeze plugin tutorial to configure it properly.

Optimize Images

An image is usually the largest and the heaviest element in a web page. And if you have multiple unoptimized images on a web page, it can severely affect a website’s or blog’s performance.

Therefore, it’s important to optimize images for your blog at any cost.

Using low-sized images should be a priority. Avoid large images. They take forever to upload.

Besides, you can follow a four-step formula to optimize images for WordPress.

Use a WordPress Plugin for Image Optimization

When you have a lot of images on your blog, a plugin is required to automate the process of image optimization. A WordPress plugin comes in handy to optimize images for WordPress.

Here, I use Imagify on my blog. You can use other plugins as well, such as EWWW, Smush, and Optimole.

In general, a plugin manages the following tasks related to image optimization:

• Uses next-gen image formats like WebP and AVIF that load faster than JPEG and PNG
• Compresses and optimizes images in bulk without reducing the quality
• Resizes larger images
• Offers lazy loading and preloading
• Works with CDN
• Optimizes images beyond your uploads

Add an Alt Tag

An alt tag is an acronym for “alternative text”, an HTML tag used by search engines to index and crawl an image. It also helps visually impaired users to understand what an image is about.

To add alternative text, go to Dashboard > Library > Media and select an image. Write the alt text as seen in the screenshot above.

Lazy Load Images

We’ve already covered this topic before. The lazy load feature in the caching plugin only loads an image or a video into the user’s viewport, which is the device screen in front of the user, visible when scrolling a web page. Some image optimization plugins also have a lazy load feature.

Use a CDN

We discuss CDN in the next step.

Use Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of distributed servers that stores (caches) websites’ and blogs’ static content like images, videos, CSS, and JavaScript files.

These servers are located worldwide. Thus, whenever a browser requests to load a website or a blog, the nearest server to the user responds and delivers the content.

The CDN reduces latency, the time taken by the data to travel from the server to the user’s device, and ensures the fastest loading times.

A CDN is a must for providing a seamless user experience. It delivers content faster, improves Core Web Vitals, reduces the main server’s load, and handles high traffic with ease and efficiency.

Cloudflare is the most popular CDN provider. You can purchase Cloudflare CDN from their website, or if you are using Cloudways hosting, you get an option to purchase Cloudflare CDN add-on on their dashboard.

Optimize for Security

Last, but not least, we’ll talk about your website’s and blog’s security. An online entity is always at risk, vulnerable to online attacks and threats.

The most common online security threats include:

• Malware, an acronym for malicious software, like trojans, viruses, and bots, is used for cyberattacks
• DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks that flood a server with unwanted traffic, thereby preventing legit traffic from accessing the website or blog
• Spyware that steals data unethically without your knowledge
• Unauthorised login attempts
• SQL injection, where attackers execute malicious entries in the SQL database
• Vulnerability attacks that exploit vulnerabilities, like outdated code in your themes, plugins, and website files, to gain access

These online attacks can compromise your website and blog and cripple your efforts. You must deploy website security measures to eliminate all online risks and threats.

Choose a Secure Hosting Service

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – use a reputable hosting service provider, preferably one that provides managed hosting, to securely host your website or blog.

If the hosting provider takes care of the security aspects, half your problem is solved.

For example, I use Cloudways, and they are renowned for their secure hosting services. They ensure round-the-clock security by providing:

• Server-level Immunify 360 firewall to block all malicious attacks
• Fail2ban to prevent unauthorised login attempts
• Malware scanning
• Vulnerability scanning
• Security patches and updates
• Brute-force protection
• Bot protection
• IP country allow/block
• 1-click SSL certificate
• Automated backups

Install SSL/TLS Certificate

A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, or now widely used Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate, is a digital file that verifies a website’s identity and establishes a secure connection between the user’s browser and the website’s server to transfer data and sensitive information in an encrypted format.

You can view whether a website has an installed SSL certificate or not by clicking on the Padlock icon on the top left side of the URL bar. Check the screenshot below.

Not installing an SSL certificate is not an option. Even Google states your website content should be served in a secure fashion.

To install an SSL certificate, you can use Let’s Encrypt, a Certificate Authority (CA) that provides free SSL/TLS certificates to enable secure communication across the globe.

You can visit their website and follow the procedure to install an SSL certificate.

Alternatively, check if your hosting provider or domain registrar provides Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates on their dashboard.

For example, Cloudways provides Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate installation, free of cost. Simply go to your application on Cloudways, then click on SSL Certificate, and enter the details to install the certificate.

Once done, the certificate will become active on your blog. You can check by clicking the Padlock icon on the URL bar.

Use a Strong Password

It’s a no-brainer that your WordPress admin should be as secure as it can be. For that, you should use a strong password, a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.

When you install WordPress on your domain name from your hosting panel, it comes with a default password. You can change it right there in the panel. For example, in Cloudways, you change it in the Access Details of the application.

Alternatively, you can set the new password from your WordPress dashboard as well. Go to Dashboard > Profile > Users, scroll down, and click on Set New Password.

Although this is enough to secure your WordPress login if your hosting provider ensures additional security.

But if you want to double down, you can install a WordPress security plugin.

Install a WordPress Security Plugin

A WordPress security plugin, just like any other plugin, enhances WordPress functionality by making it secure.

You can install it just like other plugins from the Plugins page. Some notable security plugins are Wordfence, Sucuri, All in One WP Security (AIOS), and MalCare Security.

A WordPress security plugin will help you with:

• Deploying a firewall
• Malware scanning
• Vulnerability scanning
• Preventing DDoS attacks
• IP/Country blocking
• Login security
• Automated backups
• And more…

That’s all. By following these major steps, you’ll secure your website or blog against the majority of security threats.

Still, you must take regular backups of your website or blog. Although your hosting provider and security plugin take automated backups, you should also periodically save a copy on your computer.

Simply download it yourself or ask the hosting provider to share the backup copy with you.

Next, let’s see how you can optimize your blog for on-page SEO that’ll help you gain traffic both from search engines and LLMs.

On-Page SEO

Optimising your blog content for search engines and user experience is called On-Page SEO. It ensures your blog aligns with search engine guidelines to provide a seamless user experience.

Here, I’ll show you some of the most important on-page SEO tips you should implement without fail.

Set up Permalink Structure

We’ve already done this while customizing WordPress settings for your blog. In the Reading section, we changed the permalink structure to the post name.

So, for example, if you write a blog post on How to Write a Blog Post, the blog URL should look like:

mohitdwivedi.online/how-to-write-a-blog-post

And not like:

mohitdwivedi.online/id=12345

This way, we create a meaningful URL and also include the main keyword, which is how to write a blog post.

Set up Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs are a way to provide a hierarchical navigation to your blog content. It shows the pathway from the home page to the current page.

Search engines use this to understand the content organization on your blog. It helps them in crawling and indexing content.

To enable breadcrumbs, go to Appearance > Customize > General > Breadcrumb.

You can configure settings as per the screenshot above. Just ensure to disable breadcrumbs on the Homepage. Once you publish the settings, the breadcrumbs will appear at the top of the page, just before the title.

Do Keyword Research

While writing blog content for the web, it’s important to focus on keywords. A keyword is a word or a phrase that people search for in search engines.

The search engines rank websites’ content by identifying the keywords in the content. So if your blog post features the keyword, it’s likely to appear in the search results.

For example, the main keyword for a blog post like How to Write a Blog Post is – how to write a blog post.

Therefore, the main keyword should appear in the title and the body. Of course, you can’t stuff it again and again. This is called keyword stuffing, and it’s against search engine guidelines.

Hence, you should include variations of the main keyword in the headings and body. These are called secondary keywords.

The secondary keywords related to how to write a blog post can be:

how to write a post
how to write an article
write a blog post
how to create a blog post

While researching for keywords, keep two things in mind:

1. User Intent – It should resolve people’s queries and it should be something people are searching for.
2. Web Relevance – It should have searches on search engines, and it must be related to your niche.

Write an Attractive Title

The title of your blog post is the first interaction point for the visitor. You must catch their attention or else you may lose them.

The best blog post title has the following attributes:

• It’s short, preferably between 50 and 60 characters, 10-12 words
• It contains the primary/main keyword
• It directly addresses visitors’ problems and queries
• It should contain catchy elements like power words, action verbs, numbers, questions, etc.

Have a look at the title of this post – How to Start a Blog in 2025 [A Step-by-Step Beginners Guide].

It’s short, question-based, addresses a query, contains the primary keyword, and features a number.

Your titles should look like these. But the types vary.

Examples of Blog Post Titles

• Question-based (What, Why, Who, Where, Why) – How to Write a Blog Post?
• Number-based (Listicles) – 8 Ways to Promote a Blog Post
• Curiosity-based – Here’s One Secret Hack to Grow Your Blog
• Ultimate Guides – A Complete Guide to Travel Blogging
• Reviews – Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max Review
• Comparisons – Apple iPhone 17 vs iPhone 17 Pro Max
• Negative View – 10 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs
• Power Words – 10 Mind Boggling Travel Blogging Ideas

Write Proper Headings

Headings are used to organize content and give a structure to the blog post. It helps readers scan and navigate effectively without getting lost.

The title of the blog post is the main heading, often referred to as H1. The rest of the headings are H2, H3, H4, and so on. These are used to maintain a flow in a blog post.

Look at the table of contents for this blog post. You’ll get an idea of how to assign headings and subheadings.

Besides giving structure and maintaining flow, headings contain secondary and tertiary keywords, thereby helping you rank for terms other than the primary keyword.

Optimize Images

Using images and screenshots in blog posts is highly recommended. But you should optimize them so that they show up in search results and bring visitors.

First of all, you should use original or licensed images. Don’t upload images owned by others or downloaded from the internet.

Secondly, use high-resolution images, but also ensure the size is neither too large nor too small. Large images take longer to load, thereby affecting user experience.

And, as discussed earlier in the post, the rest will be handled by a WordPress plugin for image optimization.

Lastly, add alternative text for an image, which is basically a description of the image for the search engines.

To upload an image in a blog post, type /image here and click on Upload. Once the image appears on the screen, you can edit it, add a caption, and add alternative text in the box visible on the right side, as shown below.

To use videos in blog posts, simply type /YouTube Embed and paste the YouTube URL of the video, and click on Embed. The video will appear in the blog post.

Create Internal and External Links

In a blog post, we add two types of text links – internal links and external links.

The internal links link to the posts and pages on your website URL or blog. The external links link to web pages and blog posts of other websites. Let me give you an example.

If I link to https://mohitdwivedi.online/contact-me/ from this blog post, it’s an internal link.

If I link to https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohit-dwivedi-digital-marketer/ from this blog post, it’s an external link.

The internal links help visitors navigate your blog or website. You can add links to other blog posts or web pages on your website.

This way, visitors spend more time on your blog. Eventually, it results in better engagement and maybe better conversions.

To add an internal link, simply select the text you want to add a link to, click on the link icon, enter the URL in the box, and click Enter. That’s all. You have created an internal link.

You have to follow the same procedure when adding an external link. However, only add external links if you cite data, quote, or useful information available on the web. And ensure you link to credible sources, not any random website on the internet.

Optimize Metadata

Metadata is data about the web page presented in the form of HTML tags. These tags tell search engines and users about the content.

Title tag, description tag, robots tag, and open graph tag are some of the HTML tags search engines use to understand your blog content and serve it accordingly to users and on other platforms.

You can create these tags if you have technical knowledge. But since most WordPress bloggers like you and me are from non-technical backgrounds, it’s better to use WordPress plugins for implementing HTML tags.

For on-page SEO, you should be concerned with the title tag and the description tag. Let’s see how you can add these using the Rank Math SEO plugin. Remember, we’ve already installed this plugin?

On the top-right side of the WordPress editor where you are writing your blog post, locate and click on the Rank Math box icon as shown in the screenshot below.

Now, first enter the Focus Keyword. For example, I entered how to write a blog because that’s my primary keyword for a blog post.

Next, click on Edit Snippet to enter metadata like the title and the description, as shown above.

Enter the following details:

• Title – Enter the meta title here. It should be between 50 and 60 characters or 10-12 words. For the blog post on how to write a blog, I entered How to Write a Blog in 2025 [A Detailed Guide].
• Slug – This is the blog post URL extension. For example, for the blog post, it’ll be how-to-write-a-blog. The URL, along with the extension will look like – https://mohitdwivedi.online/how-to-write-a-blog
• Description – Here, you’ll write a short description of up to 160 characters about the blog post. Ensure you include the primary/focus keyword in the description.

Once you have entered these details, the plugin will show you a preview of how this metadata will appear on search engines like Google if your blog post appears for a query.

Additionally, you can optimize other SEO aspects for the blog post in the Rank Math SEO plugin, as shown in the screenshot below. However, these are optional.

Moreover, when you include images, videos, internal links, external links, headings, and subheadings, the Rank Math SEO score will increase automatically.

Optimize User Experience

All your efforts will go in vain if you don’t optimize your blog post for user experience. Visitors must feel at ease when browsing your blog.

I highly recommend you read Google’s SEO Starter Guide to know what it’s like to provide a seamless user experience to your blog visitors.

Here, I’ve summarized a few important points you should emphasize while setting up a new blog.

Minimal website design

People often make the mistake of cluttering their website with excessive design, too many color combinations, using different fonts, unorganized information, using low-quality graphics, and so on.

Instead, keep a simple design, use 2-3 color combinations, use one font, organize information under categories and tags, use menus and breadcrumbs for easy navigation, use high-quality graphics, link wherever necessary, and so on.

High-Quality and User-Centric Content

Visitors will be spending their precious time consuming your blog content. Therefore, ensure you provide useful information to them, complete in all aspects.

Include practical insights, hands-on experience, expert comments, data-backed facts, real-world examples, images, screenshots, videos, credible links, and so on.

Encapsulate all these under proper headings and subheadings, assign a suitable category, and provide metadata to provide a well-formatted blog post.

Lastly, ensure your content satisfies user intent. It means your content should be in line with what users are looking for.

For example, if I’m writing this blog post on how to start a blog, I shouldn’t just write about how to write a blog. I must tell readers all the steps involved in launching a successful blog.

To understand user intent, search for the primary keyword on Google, and analyze the AI overview and search results. Based on what’s showing up in search results, create an outline for your blog post.

Alternatively, you can ask ChatGPT and other LLMs to create an outline based on the primary keyword. Simply type the following prompt to get an outline.

I want to write a blog post on <Cruise Packing List: What to Pack for a Cruise?>. The primary keyword is <cruise packing list>. I want you to create a detailed outline for the blog post. Keep user intent in focus. Prepare the outline based on what people are actually looking for and what’s ranking on search engines. Don’t complicate it. Keep it simple.

Based on the outline provided by LLMs, create your own outline and start writing your blog post to create user-centric content.

Mobile-first design

You already know Google uses the mobile version of your website’s content to index and rank content?

Hence, it becomes compulsory to use a mobile-first design for your website or blog.

The first step requires you to install a responsive theme for your blog, which adapts to different screen sizes, be it mobile, tablet, desktop, or laptop.

To check the mobile responsiveness of your blog, you can use a tool like SE Ranking Mobile Friendly Test. Simply enter the URL and let the tool check your blog.

Apart from this, go to Appearance > Customize. Whenever you customize the design of your blog, check how it appears on different devices. You can do so by clicking on the device icons in the bottom left.

Lastly, ensure your blog opens without any delay. For this, you need to optimize website loading speed.

Fast Loading Time

Another important parameter that enhances user experience is the website’s loading speed. It should be as fast as possible. Slow-loading websites and blogs are not favored by users and search engines.

How to ensure a fast loading time for a website or a blog? We’ve already covered this topic in the technical SEO section.

Off-Page SEO

After you’ve mastered on-page SEO, it’s time to take care of off-page SEO.

Things you do outside your website to improve search engine rankings are termed as Off-Page SEO.

Again, off-page SEO is more about promoting your website and blog. The more you promote, the stronger your off-page SEO becomes.

We’ll later discuss blog promotion strategies, which will strengthen your blog’s off-page SEO. For the time being, I’ll just list these strategies to make you aware of the topic.

• Social media marketing & engagement – Creating social media accounts and sharing content in various formats across multiple social media platforms.
• Forum discussion – Participating in like-minded communities on forums like Reddit, Quora, and others.
• Digital outreach – Connecting with sources that can help you extend your reach and promote your blog.
• Email marketing – Collect emails on your blog, educate and nurture these leads, and convert them into clients.
• Push notifications – Notify readers when they are offline via web notifications whenever you publish content or want to promote something.
• Guest posting – Publishing content on other websites and blogs.
• Collaboration – Partnering with other content creators to create content.
• Creating original content – Create and publish original content like surveys, research, and case studies to provide fresh content and key takeaways.
• Content repurposing – Converting your blog posts into other content formats like social media threads, videos, infographics, and publishing on relevant platforms.
• Link-building – It’s the process of obtaining links to your blog from sources across the web – websites, blogs, social media, forums, etc.

LLM Optimization

Large Language Models (LLMs) are artificial intelligence (AI) models available in various forms, mostly in the form of chatbots and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, and Perplexity.

These LLMs are trained on massive datasets and incorporate enhanced thinking capabilities using deep learning.

That’s why you can chat with these tools like you are talking to a friend or mentor and find answers to your queries in a structured and logical manner.

But, how does it matter for your blog? Because LLMs are projected to have an 87% traffic share by 2029.

Therefore, you have no option but to optimize your blog for LLMs. Broadly, you can expect LLMs to access, process, display, and link to your content if you:

• Configure your blog for technical SEO
• Follow on-page SEO guidelines and publish your content accordingly
• Focus on different content formats – blogs, images, videos, case studies, social media posts, and more
• Promote your blog across multiple channels – social media, forums, publications, and other outlets
• Build your authority by becoming an expert content creator

Also, do you remember we configured the Rank Math SEO plugin? We toggled the LLMS Txt box ON to create an llms.txt file that’ll serve as the source of your blog content to LLMs.

That’s all you can do for now as a beginner blogger. Later, when LLMs become more mainstream than the search engines – if that ever happens – we’ll have to optimize accordingly.

Step 9: Write your First Blog Post

Finally, we talk about the most important aspect of starting a blog – how to write your first blog post.

We’ve already laid the foundation of the blog. Now we’ll start building the product, step by step. And it starts with writing a blog post, complete in all aspects – be it text, images, videos, or links.

To begin, go to Dashboard > Posts > Add Post.

This is your workspace. Here you’ll do everything to make your blog post the best piece of art ever made.

Start by writing the title of the post. The title of the blog post should be about what you’ll be discussing in detail. The title must contain the keyword, be concise, and easy to understand.

For example, let’s assume you’re writing a blog post on – How to Write a Blog Post?

As evident by the title, you’re going to write about how a newbie can write their first blog post.

Next, start with the body. As discussed before, a WordPress blog comes with the Gutenberg Editor. It’s a block-based editor wherein every aspect of the blog post body is defined in blocks.

So, for example, if you want to add a paragraph, you’d use the Paragraph block. Similarly, for an image, there’s an Image block, for a heading, there’s a Heading block, and so on.

The Paragraph block is the default block. If you want to use a specific block, either type / followed by the block name or click on the + icon displayed in the top left corner to explore and insert blocks.

In the screenshots, you can see a floating toolbar above the block. It contains tools to edit the block. You can use it to customize the block as per your requirements.

Remember, we talked about Spectra when discussing the design aspect of the blog? It’s a plugin from Astra that offers customized Gutenberg blocks. You can use these while writing a blog post or when designing your blog.

Access these the same way you access normal Gutenberg blocks, by clicking the + icon. Then you’ll find all Spectra blocks as shown below in the screenshot.

If you want an example of a blog post, check out this blog you’re reading right here. This is about How to Start a Blog.

Analyze how I’ve written the paragraphs, organized under headings and subheadings, inserted images and screenshots, mentioned important links for better insights, and so on.

Don’t want to spend time on writing a blog post from scratch? No worries. You can use an AI content writer to create a blog post from scratch. You just need to give some prompts, and that’s all. The AI writer will do the needful for you.

For example, let’s ask ChatGPT to write a blog post on How to Write a Blog Post. For this, I used the following prompt:

I’m writing a blog post on topic <How to Write a Blog Post?>. I want you to write a detailed post. Use the following guidelines:

• Use a second person approach
• Use simple language that a 12-year old can understand
• No word count limit; however, don’t make it unnecessarily lengthy
• Write an an engaging introduction and conclusion
• Prepare a table of content
• Keep the content concise and not fluffy
• Use short paragraphs
• Use proper headings and subheadings to organize content
• Cite facts, important information from credible sources as per your discretion and link to them.
• Use public images and embed videos to explain ideas clearly

Feed this prompt in ChatGPT and it’ll produce a well-researched blog post for you. However, you must review it, perform necessary changes (a lot of them), copy it, paste and format it here on WordPress, and then proceed further.

You can also use dedicated AI writers for blogging, but that’s another topic of discussion.

Once you’re done with the body, set a featured image for the blog post by clicking on the button shown below.

Next, you need to categorize your blog post. Let’s define a category called Blogging. Scroll down and click on the Categories tab on the bottom right, add Blogging as a category, and check the box.

Lastly, click on the Publish button on the top right to publish your blog post. Congrats! Your first blog post is live now!

Ideally, this is how we write and publish a blog post. However, before we hit the publish button, we should optimize the blog post for on-page SEO. It’s important because we want the content to appear and rank on search engines.

Therefore, make sure your blog post aligns with the on-page SEO guidelines we discussed previously.

Step 10: Promote your Blog

You definitely want to promote your blog unless you want only one reader for the lifetime – and that’s you.

Promotion can be as simple as sharing a link with your friends and family. And it’s okay if you wish to keep it that way.

But if you want to scale your blog, build an audience, become an expert, and earn recurring income, you’ll have to do a lot more.

In the off-page SEO section, we listed the most important blog promotion strategies to build blog authority and establish a strong presence on the web.

And we also mentioned that off-page SEO is more about promoting your blog.

Therefore, we’ll elaborate more on these strategies here that’ll serve both purposes – off-page SEO and blog promotion.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is so ingrained in our lives that we cannot escape it. On average, an internet user’s daily internet usage is 141 minutes.

Hence, it’s important to get your blog out on social media platforms.

Create social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Telegram, WhatsApp, and other prominent platforms.

Set up these accounts using profile pictures, descriptions, links to your blog, and more.

Finally, start sharing content in various formats across these social media platforms.

Now, have a look at some key aspects to consider when promoting on social media.

First, you don’t have to always share your blog link in every social media post. In fact, it’d turn off your followers.

Always focus on sharing valuable content that adds value to people’s lives.

For example, I write about blogging. That doesn’t mean I’ll only share posts related to blog posts published here. I can talk about other successful bloggers, latest tips & tricks, my personal life as a blogger, and so on. I hope you get the idea.

Second, share content in different formats. For example, share a mix of image posts, carousels, reels, and stories on Instagram. The same applies to other social media platforms.

Third, engage with your followers – resolve their queries, respond to their comments, reshare their content, and so on. This builds trust and personal connection.

Last, choose social media platforms where your audience hangs out the most.

For example, food bloggers’ favorite platforms are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. Similarly, B2B bloggers like me hang out on LinkedIn and Twitter the most.

Paid social media marketing is also an option, but I won’t recommend it unless you’ve a product or service to sell. Invest in paid media only when you know you can generate the return on investment (ROI).

In addition to these, I’d recommend that you follow platform-specific social media guidelines to promote your blog in the best possible way.

Forum Discussion

Somewhat similar to social media, forums are more specific and focus on discussions and communities.

Consider Reddit, for example. People don’t use it to create a social circle of friends. But they use it to find answers to their queries, connect with like-minded users in communities, and provide their opinion on discussion threads.

Since forums like Reddit, Quora, Discord, and Stack Overflow allow you to participate in valuable discussions and communities, bloggers must use these to promote their blogs.

Start by creating a user account, setting it up, joining relevant communities, and participating right away.

Again, you don’t have to leave a link to your blog everywhere. Only do it where it’s allowed and necessary.

Digital Outreach

Digital outreach is connecting with sources that can help you extend your reach and promote your blog.

Social media marketing and forum discussions are components of digital outreach.

Besides these two, it comprises email marketing & communication, guest posting, collaborations, and more.

The key here is – you’re only reaching out to promote your blog. This is about brand awareness, brand authority, lead generation, and more.

For example, you can reach out to marketing managers at online food magazines to publish your recipes. It’ll help you increase brand awareness, build connections, and gain backlinks.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is about collecting emails on your blog, educating and nurturing these leads, and converting them into clients.

This is highly recommended because it helps you build an audience that you own. You can nurture it as per your discretion.

First, you collect emails on your blog by using tactics like offering mind-blowing content, a free resource, a free consultation, and so on.

Then, you nurture these leads by offering immense value and communicating regularly, so that you gain their trust.

Finally, you pitch your product or service or promote any offering. The probability of conversions is the highest at this stage.

Nevertheless, you continue to educate and nurture the leads, regardless of any conversion. The primary goal is to offer an unmatched user experience.

Push Notifications

Notify readers when they are offline via web and mobile notifications whenever you publish content or want to promote something.

Push notifications allow you to target users with personalized marketing on both desktop and mobile.

It enables real-time engagement as the notifications are delivered instantly, prompting users – particularly mobile users – to engage immediately.

This may increase click-through rate (CTR), dwell time, and social media shares, thereby helping you promote your blog effectively.

Guest Posting

Guest posting is a process of publishing content on other websites and blogs in return for a byline and a backlink. It helps you build blog authority, increase brand awareness, and develop connections in your industry.

How to find guest post opportunities? Follow these steps.

1. Use a search engine like Google and run this query: your keyword + “write for us”
   The result page will show you all the websites and blogs in your niche that accept guest posts. Send them an email or connect with the concerned person on social media to pitch your offer.
2. Run the following query in Google: your competitor name + “author”
   When you run this query in Google, the result page will show all the posts published on websites and blogs by your competitor. Next, connect with these websites and blogs via email or social media to pitch your offer.
3. Search for the list of magazines, news portals, news aggregators, and other established websites in your niche. For example, if you are into travel, search for a list of travel magazines or a list of travel websites to find well-known players in your niche. Send them your pitch via email or connect with the company employees on social media to get an opportunity to submit a guest post.

Once you have the guest post leads, send a proper pitch with complete details – who you are, what you want, what you can offer, links to your blog posts, and guest post topic suggestions.

If they approve your pitch, write a detailed, well-formatted post for them. Add a link to your blog in the guest post. This is important.

Also, always include a byline having a link to your blog and social media handles.

Collaboration

Partnering with other content creators to create content is called collaboration.

Guest posting is a kind of collaboration. You collaborate with websites and blogs to create content for them. In return, you get backlinks and exposure.

Other forms of collaborations comprise:

• Creating blog posts by collaborating with other bloggers, you can include their expert opinions or ask them to contribute specific sections of the post.
• Creating social media content in the form of videos, reels, shorts, and so on.
• Starting a newsletter together with a blogger from the same or related niche.
• Starting a podcast and inviting industry experts for the recordings.

The possibilities are endless. You can think of numerous ways to collaborate and grow.

The collaborations will help you build connections with the niche experts and reach out to a larger audience.

Creating Original Content

Creating and publishing original content that exists nowhere on the web can bring you to the limelight.

Original content like surveys, research, and case studies provides a fresh perspective and key takeaways.

Hence, when promoted well, the original content can bring in a lot of backlinks, recognition, and connections in the industry.

This, in turn, brings in a lot of traffic and revenue.

Creating original content requires quite an effort. For example, let’s say you want to write about the 50 Most Popular Indian Dishes in the USA.

You’ll have to start with a survey wherein participants will share their options. Then you’ll compile responses and publish on your blog. After publishing, you’ll have to perform an extensive digital outreach to bring it in front of the right audience.

The whole process takes time, but it’s worth it.

Content Repurposing

Content repurposing is converting your blog posts into other content formats like social media threads, videos, infographics, and publishing on relevant platforms.

It’s a smart way to redistribute the same content without spending much time and resources.

It helps you to take your content across multiple platforms, bringing in visitors and attention.

For example, I can convert this blog post on How to Start a Blog into a Twitter thread, an email newsletter series, a YouTube video, a LinkedIn carousel, an Instagram reel, a Reddit post, and so on.

Link Building

Link building is the process of obtaining links – popularly called backlinks – to your blog from sources across the web, like websites, blogs, social media, forums, etc.

Experts say backlinks are important to improve search engine rankings.

However, Google doesn’t clearly say so. It asks you to provide valuable content and a good user experience.

And if you do so, backlinks will follow. Therefore, you can say backlinks are the byproduct. Quality content comes first.

The best way to obtain high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites and blogs – all the blog promotion strategies we discussed above.

Yes. It’s as simple as that. Spend time promoting your blog by following the strategies outlined above, and you’ll naturally gain relevant backlinks from the web.

Step 11: Monetize your Blog

Now, since we’ve got the ball rolling with your first blog post published and marketing in place, it’s time to discover monetization strategies for your blog.

It’s up to you whether you want to monetize your blog or not.

However, if you’re working so hard on building something, why not extract maximum benefit out of it?

You can either get started with the following monetization strategies right now or do it later when you think you are ready to take the plunge.

Here’s how you can monetize your blog in the following ways.

Advertisements (Ads)

This is the simplest and most common method of monetizing a blog. As the term suggests, you, as an ad publisher, display advertisements, commonly called ads, on your blog to earn money.

The most common types of ads for a blog are display ads, in-text ads, in-feed ads, and video ads.

You insert the ads on your website or blog by placing the ad codes either manually or with the help of a plugin.

The two most prevalent revenue models in ad publishing are CPC and CPM.

CPC – stands for cost per click. The advertiser pays you whenever a visitor clicks on the ad.

CPM – stands for cost per 1000 impressions. The advertiser pays you based on the ad views. The payout is based on 1000 impressions/views.

Google AdSense, Mediavine, Media.net, Infolinks, Monumetric, and Amazon Display Ads are some of the most popular advertising platforms that allow publishers like us to display ads on our websites and blogs.

You can sign up as a publisher and start displaying ads on your blog.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular and most rewarding monetization models available right now.

Here, you sign up as an affiliate to promote companies’ products and services on your blog.

The companies pay you when you complete a sale or generate a lead via your affiliate link.

The payout can be as low as 1% of the amount paid by a buyer, and it can go up to 100% as well.

Since payout is quite good in affiliate marketing, bloggers prefer becoming affiliates for various product or service providers in their niche.

However, to become a successful affiliate marketer, your blog must have commercial content focusing on products or services, sufficient visitors per month, and a good reputation.

Almost all popular online businesses in every industry have an affiliate program. Amazon, Walmart, Expedia, Tripadvisor, and others, for example.

We also have online advertising companies offering affiliate programs. CJ Affiliate, Impact, Rakuten, Awin, JVZoo, Clickback, and others, for example.

Products & Services

Besides promoting others’ products and services, you can also launch your product or service on your blog.

For example, if you are a food blogger, you can launch a salad recipe book and sell it on your blog. You can either sell a digital copy (digital product) or a hard copy (physical product).

Another example of a physical product can be kitchen equipment that supports your cooking style.

Similarly, if you’ve a fitness blog, you can launch online strength training services on your blog. Likewise, you can also offer workout programs for a fixed fee.

Now, when you’re selling products or services on your blog, you’ll have to enhance its functionality to facilitate seamless transactions and delivery. A payment gateway is a must for every transaction, for example.

Coaching or Consultations

If you’re an educator, you can consider providing online coaching and consultations. People nowadays want to access best-in-class knowledge from their place. Online coaching and education aim at providing this comfort.

The blog is the perfect platform for you to advertise your knowledge and skills. This, in turn, will attract visitors who want to learn from you.

You can provide 1:1 personal coaching, group classes, conduct in-person events, and so on. Possibilities are endless.

Online platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, Udemy, LearnWorlds, LearnDash, Kajabi, and Skool help you set up your online coaching and education business.

Subscriptions

Offering a subscription for a recurring fee, say monthly or yearly, is also a lucrative monetization model for your blog.

If your content provides immense value to readers, you can consider asking a small fee for the hard work you pour in.

Besides educational content, you can also send them offers. For example, if you write about credit cards, you can share credit card hacks and offers with your subscribed members.

You can create a gated community using a subscription management tool like Recurly, Chargbee, Zoho Subscriptions, Gumroad, Kajabi, and Podia.

Sponsorships

Lastly, blogging will help you land sponsorships in various forms.

Brands will reach out to promote their products and services. PR agencies will reach out to you to publish sponsored posts. Creators will reach out to you for collaborations.

The only condition is to keep writing for your blog and promote it rigorously. Opportunities will knock at your door.

The Final Step: Learn Every Day to Become a Better Blogger

That’s it! Congratulations, you’ve become a successful blogger now!

You’ve completed all the steps. Now you know how to start, how to write, how to optimize, and how to grow your blog from scratch.

Now, it’s up to you where you want to take your blog next. You can either keep upskilling and grow or continue with what you’re comfortable with.

Nevertheless, I’ve listed some tips here that’ll help you transform from a beginner to an expert blogger.

Increase your EEAT

EEAT stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

It’s a Google framework to identify high-quality content that’s worth ranking for.

To become an expert blogger, you should always keep EEAT in mind. Work towards gaining knowledge and skills, and display them on your blog and other online profiles.

Eventually, Google and the web will reward you.

Be Consistent

Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.

In this post, you got the blogging blueprint. But, you’ll become better by showing up every day.

Write every day. Edit every day. Learn new concepts every day.

Blogging is an evolving industry. You must keep up with the latest trends to stay relevant.

Hence, become consistent.

Analyze & Improve

Out of all the things, some work and some doesnt.

The same applies to blogging as well.

Therefore, keep a check on what’s working and what’s not.

Which blog post is ranking on the first page of Google? Which country is sending the most visitors? Which blog promotion strategy is providing maximum reach? Which blog monetization model is bringing maximum revenue?

You must analyze all these aspects – and others – to know what’s best for your blogging journey.

Competitor Research

You’re not alone in the blogging journey.

Many people love to blog. Some do it for personal reasons, and others for professional reasons.

You can learn from both.

Check out what others are up to. You’ll get new ideas. Your thought process will evolve. You’ll know what you’re lacking at.

This way, you’ll develop a comprehensive approach to managing your blog, ensuring you’re not missing out on anything.

Moreover, you’ll keep up with the trends. It’s crucial to stay ahead of your competitors.

BONUS: Start a Blog Checklist

A checklist comes in handy to complete a task successfully. Hence, I’ve created a Start a Blog Checklist for you. Download it, print it, share it – do whatever you want, provided it meets your goal.

Enter your email and I’ll send it right away. Happy blogging!

Download “Start a Blog” Checklist

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Mohit Dwivedi

A certified content marketer and a blog content writer, specializing in content marketing, SEO, and marketing technology. On the personal front, I’m a nomadic yogi who loves practicing yoga, meditation, and playing the flute. Also, a proud person who s-s-stutters while conversing.