Years ago, when I launched my first Blogger blog, I had no clue about SEO. It grew slowly, and I didn’t pay much attention to it— it never appeared on Google until I eventually closed it down.
Now, I hope no one has to go through that. Especially if you're on a tight budget, like students, hobbyists, or experimenters, Blogger remains a top choice for building your online presence without breaking the bank.
I’m still running my personal site on Blogger, and this post documents how I made it SEO-optimized to appear on search engines and become searchable.
Funny that these are just simple settings on the blogger dashboard. Yes as an absolute beginner then I didn't know what to turn on and off.
But this post should make anyone in that shoes turned on 🥴 mxm
Here are the steps I wish I had taken sooner:
The Blog Title
When I set my blogger blog for the first time in 2019, I was in a rush to see it live so I had inputed an anyhow name. Mxm
On blogger there is an option to always change your blog name called "Blog Title"
Go to the Settings board on blogger. It is the first basic settings option.
The name of your blog plays a crucial role in SEO. This would be your blog identity and it's not advisable to change this anyhow, anytime.
Blog Description (Tagline)
I find this one of the most strangest things about blogger because it allows texts input of 500 characters.
This is in no way related to a meta description. I need a closure on this though, but a blog description should give visitors and search engines a quick idea of what your blog is about. Keep it concise but informative.
I see this as tagline or a slogan space for a blogger blog.
The Adult Content Mark
If your blog contains adult content, mark it in the settings. Not doing this can affect your SEO and even get your blog flagged or deleted.
Turn on SEO Discovery
In Blogger settings, make sure to enable the option that makes your site visible to search engines.
If search engines can’t find your blog, it won’t show up in search results—this is an essential first step.
😔 I always knew what this setting is for but on my first settings tweak, I turned it off, som I can make customization being a ghost before going love, but I never went back to turn this off until the day came then I did.
Set Reader Access to Public
In the "Reader access" settings, make sure your blog is public.
If it's set to private, not only humans, but even search engines won’t be able to crawl your site, meaning it won’t show up in search results.
Turn on Lazy Load and WebP for Images
During my initial days on blogger, these options weren't available. They were added later in a recent update.
These settings optimize images, making your blog load faster, which is crucial for both user experience and SEO.
Search engines prefer fast-loading websites, and enabling lazy load and WebP can help you rank better.
Enable Meta Search Description
Make sure to enable the search description option.
Write a brief description about your blog to give search engines context on what your site is about.
When this option is enabled, you would also be able to set meta description for each post posts mad pages.
Meta descriptions on blogger only allows a maximum of 150 characters.
Custom Robots.txt
Custom robots.txt allows you to guide search engine crawlers on what parts of your site to index or skip.
This can be critical for improving your SEO by telling crawlers what content is important.
Also, with robots.txt, you restrict any bot access to specific parts or pages on your site.
You can check any site robots.txt by adding /robot.txt url path. Example this site robots.txt is available on sdavidprince.space/robots.txt
Here’s a what to add:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /search
Allow: /
Sitemap: https://www.yoursite.com/sitemap.xml
Replace "yoursite.com" with your actual domain.
You can always freely generate a robot.txt for any site using my Unrivaled Robot.txt generator 😁
Submit to Google Search Console
From your Blogger dashboard, click the Google Search Console link to register your blog.
Add your blog and submit your sitemap, usually located at `yourdomain/sitemap.xml`.
This helps Google crawl and index your site faster. If there’s an issue, Search Console will let you know.
This is another very very important step to take to make sure Google bots visit and monitor any update or changes on your site.
You Should As Well Submit to Other Search Engines
It is no fact that Google is the giant of seacrh engines and I know that a large number on Nigerians uses Google daily.
Mxm
Well I do not use Google search even though I use and enjoy most of their other products 🥴 This is not the post to explain why I don't use Google.
This is more reason you don’t want to ignore other search engines.
🤷🏾♂️ I have infected a number of people with the freedom not to use and rely on Google Search.
Submit your site to Bing and Yandex as well, for broader reach.
🥴
Submitting your site to search engines seem to be the main point of all these Mxm you should explore more SEO optimization if you care.
Let me add one more
Make Sure Your Blogger Template is SEO-Friendly
Choosing the right template is key.
This should not be a worry anymore since most modern and recently updated blogger templates are all SEO friendly.
When I mean SEO friendly I mean that they have all the necessary meta tags and syntax that everything you set from your blogger dashboard should be recorded by the template.
More bonus is if the template is structured well with schema markups, light, fast, responsive or and easy to navigate.
An SEO-friendly template has the necessary tags and schema in place to signal search engines about your content’s relevance.
It also ensures your blog is responsive (mobile-friendly), loads quickly, and properly structures headings and metadata.
If your template isn’t SEO-optimized, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle for visibility.
Proud to Have Learnt This Much
Search engines use hundreds of signals to rank content. A well-optimized template ensures that your blog is properly indexed, making it more likely to appear in search results. It helps search engines understand your content better, leading to more visibility and organic traffic.
By following these steps, you can set your Blogger blog on a solid foundation for SEO. It’s not just about writing great content; it’s about making sure the right people find it.
Keep at it, and over time, you’ll see the results in increased traffic and visibility.
Answering Some Questions
What is an SEO-friendly blog title?
An SEO-friendly blog title is one that clearly reflects the content of your blog and contains relevant keywords that people might search for. It helps both users and search engines understand what your blog is about.
2. Why is a blog description important?
A blog description gives search engines and visitors a quick idea of what your blog covers. Though Blogger allows up to 500 characters, it’s better to keep it short and to the point for clarity and SEO. As I mentioned use this as a space for tagline or slogan.
3. What does Lazy Load do?
Lazy Load optimizes how images load on your site. Instead of loading all images at once, it loads them as the user scrolls down, improving the site’s speed and user experience, which is good for SEO.
4. How does a custom robots.txt help SEO?
A custom robots.txt file allows you to control how search engine bots crawl and index your site. It helps you prioritize which pages are indexed and improve SEO performance by avoiding duplicate content issues.
5. How do I submit my Blogger blog to Google Search Console?
To submit your Blogger blog to Google Search Console, go to your Blogger dashboard and click on the Google Search Console link. Follow the steps to add your blog and submit your sitemap (yourdomain/sitemap.xml).
6. Should I submit my site to other search engines?
Yes, while Google is the most popular search engine, submitting your site to others like Bing and Yandex can help expand your reach to different audiences.
