Become a Substack SEO Wizard with Quick, Simple Strategies Anyone Can Manage

No-stress, no-expertise-needed ways to avoid driving yourself SEO nutz

Generated image, she said guiltily

Don't tell yourself you hate SEO. You don't have to love it, but if you want to maximize your writing revenue, you must learn these few quick hacks to grow your Substack and amass organic traffic. That translates to converting subscribers to paying subscribers. Substack itself isn’t designed with deep SEO customization in mind, but there are strategic ways to painlessly optimize your posts and newsletter for better discoverability.

If you're just flat-out anti-SEO or anti-revenue, stop reading this post.

Intuitive SEO tips you might already know

Your Substack URL is permanent, so choose it wisely. Ideally, it should reflect your niche and be keyword-friendly. Instead of using a generic or personal name, consider a custom URL like pen2profit.substack.com rather than johnswritingcorner.substack.com. I don't recommend using your given name unless you have an established following as such. Pick a name that tells strangers what you offer. SubStack charged $50 one time to customize, and there is some configuration involved, but it is worth it.

Your actual publication name should include a searchable term relevant to your content, like Empowering Writers, rather than something like Good Stuff. This helps search engines and potential subscribers immediately understand what your newsletter is about. It's a magnet.

Substack defaults to using your post title as the URL slug and the H1 meta heading, both of which are crucial for SEO. Therefore, you have to consider keyword-rich titles—something you might search for if you wanted that content. No need to research trending keywords on Google; just think about what describes your topic compellingly. Instead of “I have Lots of Readers,” consider “I Grew My Substack to 50,000 Subscribers in 6 Months.”

I work that way on every story, along with using these additional tips, and most of my work turns up quite well in searches.

Essential little-known SEO tricks

Edit the meta description. Say whut? Meta description is the short preview shown on Google search results. If you don't touch it, it will be the first ten or so words in your first paragraph. You can sex it up by entering a compelling, keyword-rich summary of your post to increase click-through rates and a seductive summary. Example: “Learn how to grow your audience” is less effective than “Discover proven strategies to increase your Substack subscribers and enhance engagement.” The latter draws traffic via a CTA, a benefit, and a summary.

More traffic, more earning potential.

Here's how: When drafting your post, before publishing, click on the Settings tab (lower right corner of the editor main page, I think), and you’ll find SEO Settings, where you can edit the meta description. Worth your time.

While we're in that SEO settings section, here's more you can do for a distinct advantage.

Customize the post URL slug—the default is usually not the best. Example: Change substack.com/p/my-latest-post to substack.com/p/SEO-tips.

Like I said, your post title (H1 is the label search engines look for) is essential for search engine ranking. Tweak it slightly to align with what people might search for.

Always include alt text on images (This is extremely beneficial to your SEO). Alt text helps visually impaired users understand the content. However, search engine spiders cannot see pictures, and pictures are one key way search engines determine your credibility and quality. Spiders read alt text. To understand the reasoning, read If You Don't Use Alt Text You're Missing the Boat. (free Medium link)

You can choose whether search engines should index your post or keep it private by enabling or disabling search engine indexing. Mostly you'll leave this alone, but it can be used for exclusive content you don’t want the public to find via search.

Consider, whenever possible, linking to your past posts in your new content. This strengthens your site's internal linking structure, helping Google understand the relationship between your posts. Your authority grows. If you mention “birthday cards,” link back to a previous post where you covered birthdays. This practice also keeps readers engaged longer.

Search engine management/optimization you might not have thought of

Evergreen posts live longer. Evergreen content tends to rank higher over time, and that means new readers. Periodically update older posts with new insights. Update internal links. Double-check facts.

No one can make every post evergreen, but you can reuse posts on your website, Medium, Vocal, Facebook, LinkedIn, or anywhere else you have a following and link them back to your Substack. This cross-promotion sends organic traffic from search engines to your Substack while reinforcing your expertise—which is a main factor in search ranking. If you're really energetic, repurpose content into different formats—YouTube videos, Twitter threads, or Bluesky posts for maximum exposure to drive traffic back to your Substack.

To understand the difference between repurposing and reposting, read Canonical Links 101 and learn a strategy that will majorly enhance your traffic.

Having said all that, I'll tell you a secret. You can pick and choose which SEO strategies you're comfortable with—no need to spend hours doing all of them for every piece. Figure out what you want the most readers to see or discover and focus more effort on those. For casual content, just work on the title, metadata, and image alt text. You'll see an uptick in how often you appear in search results.

Search engines favor well-structured, easy-to-read content, too. As I've said in other posts, break up long paragraphs (but avoid making every sentence a paragraph), use bullet points effectively, and incorporate subheadings (H2, H3) to improve readability. Use bold and italic text to emphasize important points, and include call-to-action statements like “Subscribe to be sure you never miss a single ____________.”

You don't need fancy plugins or expensive consultants to optimize your Substack's visibility. Your goal is to empower yourself as a writer making a living—I doubt you want to compete with major publishing outlets, so keep it simple and manageable. Implement some of these strategies, and over time, you’ll see your Substack gain traction. As you consistently refine your approach, you’ll build a sustainable, growing audience simply and organically.

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Hey there, SEO optimization can increase your writing income. If that works for you, I wouldn’t be offended if you dropped a little tip by clicking the tip jar :)

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For those readers who have celebrated their 60th birthday, there’s an amazingly supportive interactive community for writers called Inkspired Community. Always free, please join us at Inkspired.