Easy Blogger SEO Settings for Beginners

A friendly, practical guide that walks you step-by-step through the essential SEO settings and habits for a new Blogger (Blogspot) blog.

Introduction — why SEO matters

When you publish a post on Blogger, you want real people to find it — not just your friends. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the set of small changes and habits that make your blog readable to search engines like Google so they can show your posts to the right readers. The good news: most of the important SEO steps are simple and free. This guide shows the easiest, most effective settings and practices for beginners.

1. Turn on basic SEO options in Blogger

Start in your Blogger dashboard. A few toggles unlock most of what you need:

Meta Description: Add a short description of your blog (about 120–160 characters) under Settings → Basic → Description. This helps Google understand your blog theme.
Custom robots.txt: Enable it under Settings → Crawlers and indexing. A simple robots.txt will usually do:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /search
Allow: /
Sitemap: https://yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml

Replace yourblog.blogspot.com with your blog’s address. This tells crawlers what to index and where your sitemap is located.

Tip: Set archive and search pages to noindex in the custom robots header tags so Google focuses on your main posts and pages.

2. Write a clear blog title and description

Your blog title and description are prime real estate. Make them descriptive and include a natural keyword. Examples:

Bad: "My Thoughts"
Good: "Easy Recipes & Practical Lifestyle Tips for Busy People"

Keep the description natural — it should read well for a human and include a few important words that describe your content focus.

3. Use HTTPS

Security is a small ranking factor. In Blogger, go to Settings → HTTPS and set HTTPS Redirect to Yes. This gives your site a secure URL (https://) and the little lock icon that visitors trust.

4. Control permalinks (post URLs)

Blogger generates a permalink automatically, usually long and full of stop words. Before publishing, click Post settings → Permalink → Custom permalink and shorten it to the main keywords. For example:

Auto: /2025/09/how-to-make-a-very-easy-pasta-recipe-for-beginners.html
Better: /2025/09/easy-pasta-recipe.html

Short, descriptive URLs are easier for users and search engines to read.

5. Add a search description for every post

Inside the post editor, open Search description. Write a concise 150–160 character summary that includes the main keyword. This meta description is what search engines often show under your title in results, so make it click-worthy and honest.

6. Optimize images

Images can bring traffic via Google Images and improve user experience. Follow these simple steps:

Filename: Use descriptive filenames like easy-vegan-pasta.jpg, not IMG_1234.jpg.
Alt text: In Blogger’s image properties, add alt text describing the image — e.g., "easy vegan pasta with tomato sauce". This helps accessibility and image search.
Size: Compress images before upload (use free online tools) to keep pages fast.

7. Use headings and readable structure

Break content into sections using H2 and H3 headings. Short paragraphs, lists, and bolded key points make posts easy to scan. Search engines use headings to understand topics and subtopics.

8. Internal linking is important

When appropriate, link to your own older posts. This helps readers discover more content and helps search engines see the structure of your site. Example: within a recipe post, link to a related "kitchen basics" or "how to store leftovers" post.

9. Labels (categories) — use them wisely

Blogger's Labels work like categories. Pick a small set (5–10) of broad labels and stick to them. Over-labeling creates duplicate archive pages and can confuse search engines. Keep labels consistent: treat recipes and Recipes as the same category.

10. Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console

Search Console lets you tell Google about your site and see how it performs in search. Steps:

Create (or sign-in) a Google Search Console account.
Add your blog property (use your full site URL).
Verify ownership — Blogger usually provides an easy verification method.
Submit your sitemap: https://yourblog.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml.

Once submitted, Google will start crawling and you can view search performance, queries, and pages indexed.

11. Choose a mobile-friendly, fast template

Most traffic today is mobile. Pick a responsive Blogger theme and keep it lightweight — avoid too many gadgets and large JavaScript files. Test your theme on different screen sizes before committing.

12. Speed optimizations

Faster sites rank better and keep visitors engaged. A few quick speed wins:

Compress images (JPEG or WebP for photos).
Limit widgets/gadgets in the sidebar and footer.
Avoid auto-playing media.
Use a simple, clean template.

13. Write content that helps people (and use keywords naturally)

SEO starts with helpful content. Some practical writing tips:

Target one main keyword per post and include it in the title, first paragraph, and the search description.
Use subheadings (H2/H3) and lists to break ideas into bite-sized pieces.
Write at least 800–1,500 words for in-depth topics; shorter how-tos can be 600–800 words if useful and specific.
Answer the reader’s question early and clearly — search engines reward helpful content.

14. Avoid common beginner mistakes

Watch out for these traps:

Copy-pasting content from other sites — duplicate content hurts rankings.
Changing URLs after publishing — if you must change, set up proper redirects (Blogger has limitations).
Overusing labels or creating many thin archive pages.
Keyword stuffing — write for people first.

15. Optional: Connect a custom domain

Moving from yourblog.blogspot.com to yourblog.com looks professional and can help brand trust. Domains are inexpensive and easy to connect in Blogger settings. If you buy one, make sure to update Search Console and submit the new sitemap.

16. Social sharing and initial traffic

SEO growth takes time. To get the first readers:

Share new posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest — pick platforms where your audience is.
Join niche communities (forums, Facebook groups) and share helpful content (not spam).
Pin images to Pinterest with descriptive text — visual content can drive steady traffic.

17. Track progress and be patient

SEO is a marathon. Use Google Search Console and (optionally) Google Analytics to monitor impressions, clicks, and top queries. Expect weeks to months for noticeable ranking improvements. Celebrate small wins — a steady increase in impressions or clicks is progress.

Quick checklist (copy & paste)

- Enable meta description for blog
- Set custom robots.txt and robots header tags
- Add clear blog title and description
- Enable HTTPS redirect
- Use custom permalinks for posts
- Add a search description for each post
- Optimize image filenames and alt text
- Link internally between posts
- Keep labels small and consistent
- Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
- Choose a mobile-friendly, fast template
- Compress images and limit widgets
- Write helpful, keyword-focused content
- Share on social to get initial traffic

Final thoughts

Setting up SEO on Blogger doesn’t require technical expertise — just a few thoughtful settings and consistent writing. Start with the checklist, publish useful posts, and review Search Console occasionally. Over months, your blog will attract more organic readers without paying for ads.

Want this post as a ready-to-paste HTML file for Blogger? You can copy the contents of this page into the Blogger post editor's HTML view and publish. If you want, I can also produce a shortened version for social sharing or create a featured image sized for Pinterest.