SEO on Medium in 2024: Why I Don't Care Much About It Anymore
To SEO or not to SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) used to be an important consideration for me, back when I started running personal and professional WordPress blogs. And it still does.
But, now that I'm mainly writing on Medium, SEO doesn't concern me as much.
Here's why SEO isn't as big of a deal on Medium and why I don't pay it much attention these days.
Medium's High Domain Authority Gives It a Built-In SEO Advantage
Medium has one major advantage when it comes to SEO — its extremely high domain authority (DA) score.
What is Domain Authority?
Domain authority is a metric developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank highly in search engine results pages (SERPs). DA scores range from 1 to 100, with higher scores meaning a greater chance of ranking well.
A new website starts out with a DA of 1.
Medium's DA? A whopping 95 out of 100!
Why SEO Isn't As Important on Medium
With a DA of 95, Medium posts have a high likelihood of ranking #1 for various keywords organically.
You don't need to meticulously target keywords and phrases. SEO is as simple as writing a compelling story.
On a personal blog, keyword targeting and other SEO factors are crucial. Medium's sky-high DA gives writers a major leg up.
SEO Can Still Boost Rankings
While less crucial, SEO can still improve Medium rankings, of course. SEO is important for a reason.
You can write on Medium without ever thinking about it. But if you want, you can optimize.
Here are some tips, in that case:
Use keywords naturally in headlines. Clickbait titles aren't needed, but do work your main keyword organically into the headline.
Use your exact target keyword a few times in the post body.
Include keyword(s) in your Medium tags.
Use related keywords occasionally too.
Choosing the Right Keywords
For SEO on Medium, you can target competitive keywords thanks to the built-in authority advantage.
I'd still avoid ultra common one-word keywords though. A longer, more specific phrase often works better - what some call "long-tail" keywords.
The Bottom Line on Medium SEO
SEO on Medium is a double-edged sword:
If you just want to write without optimizing, Medium's high DA means some posts will rank well regardless.
If you do want to target keywords, basic SEO can further boost rankings.
It's much easier to rank on Google with a solid Medium post than a blog with low DA.
One key point - SEO mainly boosts external Medium traffic. It won't affect internal distribution and member views much. Medium also doesn't pay for external traffic. But good SEO can drive referrals.
So in summary, while I don't stress about SEO on Medium like I once did with blogs, applying basic best practices can be beneficial. But Medium's inherent authority advantage means you don't need to obsess over it either.