Prologue: This is a companion post to Can AI interpret a Comic Strip? In this post we describe the original post’s evolution with a How to optimize a blog post with Yoast SEO.
Have you ever wondered what goes into optimizing a blog post for search engines? Recently, I embarked on a fascinating journey into the world of SEO, with the help of the advanced language model, Gemini, and the popular WordPress plugin, Yoast SEO. Our subject was the blog post Can AI Interpret a Comic Strip? Exploring the Capabilities of Multimodal Gemini, which chronicled a conversation with Google AI Studio’s Multimodal Gemini about a comic strip by independent artist Skeleton Claw.
While the content of the original post was strong, we realized that its SEO could be significantly improved. This companion post will take you behind the scenes of our rewriting process, showing you how we used Yoast SEO to refine the post and make it more discoverable. We’ll present this as a case study, demonstrating practical steps you can apply to your own blog posts.
Why SEO Matters for Bloggers
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) might seem like a daunting technical term, but at its core, it’s about making it easier for people to find your content through search engines like Google. By optimizing your blog posts for relevant keywords and phrases, you increase their visibility and attract more readers.
Yoast SEO is a powerful plugin that simplifies the SEO process, providing real-time feedback and suggestions as you write and edit. It helps you optimize various aspects of your post, including the title, meta description, key phrase usage, and readability.
Our Starting Point: The Blog Post Before Yoast
Before we dove into Yoast, our blog post, while rich in content, lacked focus from an SEO perspective. The original title, “From Tweet to Think Piece: How Skeleton Claw’s Comic Strip Unlocked a Conversation About AI and Talent Stacks”, was a bit too long and didn’t clearly highlight the core topic. We hadn’t strategically incorporated keywords or a focus key phrase, and the meta description needed work.
Enter Yoast SEO: Identifying Areas for Improvement
The first step was installing and activating the Yoast SEO plugin on my WordPress site. Once activated, Yoast provides an SEO analysis for each post, using a simple traffic light system: red (needs improvement), yellow (okay), and green (good). At the beginning most of the lights signaled red
The Rewriting Process: Collaboration and Key Changes
With Yoast’s feedback as our guide, Gemini and I embarked on a collaborative rewriting process. Here are some of the key changes we made:
1. Title Optimization:
Our original title was lengthy and lacked a clear focus. We brainstormed several alternatives, ultimately settling on:
Original Title | New Title (Used in Original Post) |
---|---|
From Tweet to Think Piece: How Skeleton Claw's Comic Strip Unlocked a Conversation About AI, Talent Stacks, and the Serendipity of Discovery | Can AI Interpret a Comic Strip? Exploring the Capabilities of Multimodal Gemini |
The new title is concise, includes our focus keyphrase (“Can AI interpret a comic strip?”), and clearly signals the main topic.
2. Key phrase and Keyword Integration:
We identified our focus keyphrase (“Can AI interpret a comic strip?”) and the main keyword (“AI comic interpretation”, “Yoast SEO”) based on the post’s content and potential search queries. We then strategically incorporated these, along with variations and synonyms, into the text and subheadings. We also added Yoast SEO and related terms into the text.
For example, we changed:
Original Subheading | Revised Subheading |
---|---|
A Multimodal Conversation: Three Acts of Understanding | A Multimodal Conversation: Can AI Interpret a Comic Strip? |
Act I: The Initial Misinterpretation | Act I: When AI Misinterprets a Comic Strip |
Act II: Correcting the Course | Act II: Getting the Interpretation Right |
Act III: The Eureka Moment - Enter the Talent Stack | Act III: Can AI Interpret This Comic Strip Through the Talent Stack Lens? |
The Artist Behind the Insight: Skeleton Claw | Skeleton Claw: The Comic Strip That Challenged AI Interpretation |
AI, Multimodality, and the Evolving Nature of Interpretation | AI, Multimodality, and the Future of Comic Strip Interpretation |
More Than Just a Comic Strip: A Reflection on Meaning-Making | Beyond the Panels: What Comic Strips Can Teach Us About AI |
What's Next? | What's Next in AI and Multimodality? |
3. Meta Description Refinement:
The original meta description was too short and didn’t effectively summarize the post’s content. We rewrote it to include the focus keyphrase and provide a more compelling overview:
Original Meta Description | New Meta Description |
---|---|
AI & the talent stack: How a comic strip sparked a conversation between a human & Gemini. Ft. art by Skeleton Claw & DALL-E 3. | A behind-the-scenes look at **optimizing a blog post** for search engines using **Yoast SEO**. We share our process, challenges, and key takeaways. **Improve your blog's SEO** today. |
4. URL Modification:
We initially changed the URL from the lengthy https://foodcourtification.com/from-tweet-to-think-piece-how-skeleton-claws-comic-strip-unlocked-a-conversation-about-ai-and-talent-stacks/
to the more concise https://foodcourtification.com/ai-interprets-comic-strip
. However, to maintain consistency across the blog, we finally opted for: https://foodcourtification.com/can-ai-interpret-a-comic-strip-exploring-the-capabilities-of-multimodal-gemini
. We then set up a 301 redirect to ensure a seamless transition.
Lessons Learned: Key Takeaways for Bloggers
Our journey with Yoast SEO taught us several valuable lessons:
- SEO is an Iterative Process: It involves ongoing refinement and adjustments.
- Yoast is a Helpful Guide: The plugin provides valuable feedback and suggestions, but it’s not a substitute for human judgment.
- Keywords and Keyphrases Matter: Strategic use of keywords helps search engines understand your content.
- Collaboration Enhances Results: Working with Gemini allowed me to leverage AI’s analytical capabilities and refine my SEO approach.
Conclusion
Optimizing a blog post for search engines is an essential step in ensuring that your hard work reaches the right audience. Yoast SEO is a valuable tool that can simplify the process and help you improve your blog’s visibility. By combining Yoast’s guidance with a collaborative approach, we were able to transform our blog post into a well-optimized piece of content. This case study demonstrates how a few key changes, guided by Yoast, can make a significant difference in your blog post’s SEO.
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