How to Rank on Google with Blogspot: The First 5 Steps
So, you want to start a blog. You've got an idea, you've got the drive, but you're being pulled in a dozen different directions. "Use WordPress," "Buy hosting," "You need a custom domain!" It's overwhelming, and it's expensive. What if you just want to... start? For free? That's where Blogspot comes in, and it's always followed by the big question: can you actually rank on Google with Blogspot in 2025 or 2026?
I'm going to be completely honest with you. For a long time, my answer would have been "probably not." I, like most people, saw the ".blogspot.com" domain and assumed it was a dead platform. But I'm running a public experiment right now that's challenging that very idea. This platform is owned by Google. It's fast, secure, and free. Why wouldn't it be able to rank?
The truth I'm learning is that the platform is just the tool. The real secret is in how you use it. You can't just throw up a few posts and hope for the best. You need a game plan.
Forget the 100-point checklists and the "expert" advice that costs a fortune. If you want to rank on Google with Blogspot, you just need to follow five clear, foundational steps. This is the exact plan I'm using, and it's the only guide you need to get started right now.
Step 1: Pick a Clean, Fast, & Simple Theme
This sounds basic, but it's probably the most critical first step. Before you write a single word, you need to fix your blog's "first impression." This isn't just for human visitors; it's for Google, too.
When you first create your blog, Blogspot gives you a ton of theme options. 90% of them are, frankly, clutter. They're filled with weird sidebars, multiple columns, and background images that make text impossible to read.
You must resist the urge to make your blog "look cool" and instead focus on making it "usable."
Why? Google's Core Web Vitals: This is a set of metrics Google uses to measure a site's health. It checks for things like: How fast does the page load? Is it mobile-friendly? Do elements jump around on the screen? Blogspot's default simple themes are incredibly lightweight and fast, which gives them a huge advantage out of the box. Using a cluttered, old theme will destroy that advantage.
What to Choose: Go into your Blogspot "Theme" dashboard and pick one of the "Simple," "Soho," or "Emporio" themes. They are clean, have lots of white space, and are 100% "responsive" (meaning they look great on a phone).
What to Avoid: Anything with a dark background and light text (hard to read), multiple sidebars (distracting), or a "magazine" layout (too busy).
Your goal isn't to win a design award. Your goal is to make your content the star. A simple theme tells Google and your readers that you're serious about the information you're providing. This is the foundation for your attempt to rank on Google with Blogspot.
Step 2: Plug Your Blog Directly into Google
This is the one step that is 100% non-negotiable. If you don't do this, you are flying blind. You cannot guess your way to the top of Google. You need data.
You need to connect your new blog to two free, essential Google services:
Google Search Console (GSC): This is your technical dashboard and your direct line of communication with Google. It's not for public visitors; it's for you. GSC is where Google will tell you:
"Hey, I've found your site." (Indexing)
"I'm having trouble reading this page." (Errors)
"People are finding your site by searching for this keyword." (Performance)
Google Analytics (GA): If GSC is how people find you, Analytics is what they do once they get to your blog. GA is your audience dashboard. It tells you:
How many people visited today.
Where they came from (Google, social media, a link from another site).
What posts they are reading and how long they are staying.
Think of it this way: GSC is the report from the mailman (did the letter get delivered?), and GA is the report from inside the house (did they read the letter?). You need both.
Blogspot makes this ridiculously easy. Your "Settings" menu has a built-in spot for your "Google Search Console" verification and your "Google Analytics Measurement ID." It takes 10 minutes, and it's the most important 10 minutes of your blog's life. You can't possibly know if you'll rank on Google with Blogspot if you aren't even measuring it.
Step 3: Find Your Sitemap and Submit It
Okay, you've got your clean theme (Step 1) and your tracking is on (Step 2). Now you need to hand Google a map of your new house. This is called a "Sitemap."
A sitemap is just a simple file that lists every single page on your blog. You give this map to Google so its web-crawling robots don't miss anything.
"This sounds technical and hard," you're probably thinking. But here's the best part: Blogspot automatically creates and updates a sitemap for you. You don't have to do anything... except tell Google where it is.
Find Your Sitemap: It's at this exact URL (just change my blog name to yours):
https://theblogspotexperiment.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml(Go ahead, type your blog's URL with/sitemap.xmlat the end. You'll see it.)Submit Your Sitemap: Now, go back into your Google Search Console (from Step 2). On the left-hand menu, you'll see a "Sitemaps" link. Click it. All you have to do is paste in
sitemap.xmlinto the "Add a new sitemap" box and hit "Submit."
That's it. You've just told Google, "Here is a complete list of my pages. Please come and read them." This simple act can take weeks off your "indexing" time (the time it takes for Google to find you). This is a critical, one-time setup that is essential if you want to rank on Google with Blogspot.
Step 4: Do "Human" Keyword Research (No Fancy Tools)
Now we get to the "content" part. This is where 99% of new bloggers fail. They write what they want to write, not what people are searching for.
"Keyword Research" is a scary-sounding term that just means "finding the phrases people are typing into Google."
You do not need to pay $100/month for a fancy SEO tool. All you need is Google. Your goal is to find "long-tail keywords."
Short-Tail: "Blogging" (You will never rank for this. Too much competition.)
Long-Tail: "how to start a food blog on Blogspot for free" (You can rank for this!)
Here is my entire, free keyword research strategy.
Google Search: Go to Google.com. Type in a broad idea, like "Blogspot SEO" or "vegan recipes."
"People Also Ask": Look for the "People Also Ask" (PAA) box that appears. These are literal questions people are asking Google. This is a goldmine. Each one of those questions is a potential blog post.
"Related Searches": Scroll to the very bottom of the page. Google gives you a "Related Searches" list. More gold. These are other long-tail keywords.
Your job is to find a long-tail keyword that doesn't have a million "perfect" answers already. And the best way to rank on Google with Blogspot is to be the most helpful answer for one of these specific, long-tail questions.
Step 5: Write Your First "Helpful" Post (The Right Way)
You've got your theme, your tracking, your sitemap, and your keyword. It's finally time to write. But you can't just write a 300-word "diary entry." You need to create a piece of "Helpful Content."
Google's #1 rule right now is "Helpful Content." They want to rank posts that are written for humans, by humans, and that solve a problem.
This is how you write a "helpful" post. It's a two-part process:
Part 1: The "Human" Part (Helpful Content)
Answer the Question: If your keyword is "how to make sourdough bread," your post must be a clear, step-by-step guide on making sourdough bread.
Be Personal: This is where you shine. Add your own experience. "My first loaf was a disaster. Here's what I learned..." This "Experience" (the 'E' in Google's E-E-A-T guidelines) is something AI can't fake.
Be Easy to Read: Use short paragraphs. No one likes a "wall of text." Use headings to break up your content. Make it scannable.
Part 2: The "Google" Part (On-Page SEO) This is just the technical way you "format" your post so Google can understand its structure. Blogspot's editor makes this easy.
Title: Put your long-tail keyword (from Step 4) in the "Title" of your post.
Headings: As you write, use the "Heading," "Subheading," and "Minor Heading" dropdown. Your post title is H1. Your main points should be H2 (Heading). Your sub-points should be H3 (Subheading). This creates a perfect outline for Google.
Image Alt Text: When you add an image, click it, hit the settings icon, and fill out the "Alt Text." Describe the image for someone who can't see it.
Search Description: On the right-hand "Post settings" menu, find "Search Description." This is your 150-character "ad" for the Google search results page. Write a killer sentence that includes your keyword and makes people want to click.
This two-part process is the entire secret. Write for humans, format for Google. This is the path to rank on Google with Blogspot.
Your First 5 Steps are Done. What's Next?
That's it. That's the foundation. If you do these five steps, you are already ahead of 90% of other Blogspot users. You have a fast, clean blog that is being tracked by Google and is being filled with helpful, keyword-focused content.
From here, the next steps are all about "Building Authority." This is where you'll start thinking about:
Internal Links: Linking from one post on your site to another.
External Links: Linking out to helpful, high-authority sources (like a university study or a big news site).
Backlinks: Getting other sites to link to you.
I'm tackling all of this in my own journey. For example, to get my first backlink, I wrote an announcement post on Trick47.com. I also just launched a YouTube video about the experiment to create another "signal" for Google.
But don't worry about that yet. Just focus on these first 5 steps. This is the blueprint. The ability to rank on Google with Blogspot isn't a myth; it's just a reward for following the right plan.
My "SEO Tips" Checklist for This Exact Post
I'm all about transparency. This post you're reading is my first "real" SEO post. So, here are the exact stats I was aiming for while writing it:
Focus Keyword: "Rank on Google with Blogspot" (My goal is to rank for this!)
Keyword in Title: Check! (Well, a variation of it: "How to Rank...")
Keyword in First Paragraph: Check!
Keyword Density: My target was 1% - 1.2%. This post is over 1,500 words, so I've aimed to include the exact phrase "rank on Google with Blogspot" and its variations (like "ranking on Blogspot") around 15-18 times, only where it feels natural.
Word Count: 1500+ words. I'm showing Google this is a serious, in-depth guide, not a short or "thin" piece of content.
Internal Links: Check. I'm linking to my experiment's homepage.
External Links: Check. I've linked to my YouTube video and my announcement post.
Image Placeholders: Check. I've included 3 placeholders, and I'll fill in the "Alt Text" when I publish.
Human-like Tone: Check. I'm writing this like a real person, sharing what I'm learning. This is the "Helpful Content" part in action.
See? No magic. Just a plan.
This post is part of a live, public case study: The Blogspot Experiment. I am documenting my entire journey, from day one to (hopefully) ranking and monetization, to prove whether a free Blogspot blog can still be successful in 2025/2026.
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