On the 11th Day of Content SEP gave me - 11 blog tips for bloggers.
Blogs - a great way to create compelling content that your target audience would be interested in reading. They provide the ability to answer questions, interact with your customers and share expert advice on particular topics. Generating and creating fresh, unique content for you blog actually increases your search rankings. Below are 11 tips on how to optimize your blog for higher search rankings and increased conversion rates.
Tip 1 - Create Compelling and Unique Content
Content that answers consumer's questions, and offers advice regarding the specific industry, portrays you as an expert. Not only will this content satisfy the consumer but it will increase the likelihood of your business being visible in search results. New content on a new part of your website will signal Google that there is new content to be viewed and verified.
Tip 2 - Include Branded Pictures
Pictures are engaging and receive more interaction than plain text - especially on different social platforms. Photos generate 120% more engagement on Facebook pages than any other content - linking your blog to a branded picture will increase the likelihood of the blog being viewed especially once shared on social platforms.
Tip 3 - Write About Topics You Know - First Hand
Writing from experience allows you to be personable and connect with an audience. You are able to answer questions and speak to experience that may help them address their issues/problems. Understanding what their problems are allows you to customize your topics to suit their needs. Offering to solve your target market's problems will help you position your company as a thought leader in your industry.
Tip 4 - Guest Blogging
This is a great way to attract new visitors to your website. By leveraging a guest blogger's expertise you can reach a broader audience that may not be familiar with your company. Typically guest bloggers will promote their posts through social media exposing your blog and company to a wider audience. It will also provide your regular readers a new perspective giving your blog some variety.
Tip 5 -Promote Blog Across All Social Media Channels That You're on
Promoting content is essential - without promotion it's difficult to reach your audience. Promotion technique is just as crucial as the promotion itself. Content needs to be promoted in a fun, engaging and effective manner across social platforms - the idea behind this is to try and keep your content alive on social media for as long as possible.
"Links shared on Facebook, Twitter, and via direct sources like email or instant message have a shelf life of about 3 hours. This excludes YouTube, where people remain interested in links for more than twice that -- 7 hours! And while you can expect that the majority of links will only remain interesting for less than 2 hours, others can generate a lot more interaction and clicks, lasting for more than 11 hours." - Pamela Vaughan, Hubspot (2013).
Tip 6 - Don't Write Too Little or Too Much
The ideal blog length to generate maximum engagement and interaction should be between 400 - 600 words with a call to action at the end to generate more leads and referrals. If the blog is long, could be a suitable idea to turn it into a two part series. That way you have more unique content and have increased content for search engines to view and rank your page. Ensuring language is relevant and reflects key words that your industry, consumers and target audience use increases search rankings.
Tip 7 - Include Internal Links
Adding internal links to your own page or external page that is relevant and legitimate can drastically improve your SEO value. If you're building strong reputable links, while caring about the quality of content that is published on your site and others - you'll give Google what it's looking for.
Tip 8 - Use Images as Examples
Relevant images are a great way to break up long chunks of text or direct the reader's eye to a particular place. Images can correspond with the writing tone or be humorous to inject some fun into a post.
Tip 9 - Use Keywords That Are Specific to Your Business
Rich content should consist of relevant keywords that individuals may search to answer a question or solve a problem. Using keywords as a part of your blog title and throughout your blog will help your blog to appear on search engine results pages. The ideal blog length for maximum engagement and interaction is between 400 - 600 words. If the blog is long, it could be a suitable idea to turn it into a two part series.
Tip 10 - Promote Interaction and Engagement With Your Audience
Ask users to engage on blogs via comments, questions or polls. This is a great way to engage your audience but also to understand what your consumers are looking for - (ex. ask "what should I blog about next?)
Tip 11 - Vary Types of Blog Posts
There are a wide array of different types of blog posts that can engage consumers. Here are some that will keep your blog fresh and compelling.
- Tutorials
- Business Updates
- Reviews
- Research Findings
- Personal Stories
- Quotes
- Photos News
- Trends
- Conversations
- Resource Lists
- Answer reader questions
- Review analytics
- Round Ups
- Need to Knows
- Want to Know
- Q&A
- Follow Up
- Regular Features
- Videos
- Guest Bloggers
Did we miss any tips? Let us know in our comment section and stay tuned for more from our 12 Days of Content series.
