The beauty of a blog is that you can literally write about anything you like. There are almost no rules: whether you include images or not is up to you, and the format is open to interpretation. However, if you want to make sure your blog features higher up in the rankings, you should follow the recommendations for search engine optimization.
The subject of a blog post is important, so that it will attract traffic to your site. So, you shouldn’t write about just anything. You need to use your blog to establish a niche, which is related to your product or service.
One of the things to remember is that there are many blogs out there either in your industry, or at least linked to it. You need to find an angle that is just yours – one that will bring users to you. The aim, of course, is to do what you can to optimize your blog, using SEO, so you will boost your reach and rankings.
A blog can bring you closer to your users and bring traffic your way.
Keep your blog up to date by using currently relevant keywords
If you write a blog, make sure you update it regularly and keep it current. Address issues in the community and the world that relate somehow to your business. Comment on developments that may affect you. Refer to people or events that you’ve been involved in, or taken part in.
Central to any writing you do for your blog is to make sure you use keywords that are relevant and topical. Particularly, work on using keywords that are featuring in related online searches. Some of these are single words, but many are short phrases.
You can’t use just any keyword, so this’ll mean constantly doing research and looking for those keywords. It’ll be worth the effort, or the expense, in the end.
You can do the keyword observations and research for yourself on a running basis, preferably using an online tool to do so. Your other option is to use a paid digital service, that offers a full-scale service aimed at SEO, including constant keyword research. If you work in a technical industry like software, you might want to consider contacting a B2B SaaS marketing agency. They will ensure your keywords and content are targeting the right people.
Make sure the content of your blog matches the keywords
Just because you feature a keyword on your blog doesn’t mean that it will immediately feature during a Google search. When you research for keywords, make sure you understand why the words themselves are out there. What is it that people are writing about concerning those keywords?
If you understand what the intention behind the keywords is, you’ll be able to create content that is more likely to feature high up in the rankings during an online search.
Write for your readers, not around the keywords
At the heart of writing a blog are your readers. It’s all very well writing and publishing on the net if no-one is going to read it. The key is to make sure you write well, with good grammar and phrasing, so that the readers feel what they are reading speaks to them.
The difficulty is that you need to use the particular keywords, if you are going to optimize your blog. The challenge is to work them naturally into your writing. This isn’t always easy to achieve, but something you will need to do.
You don’t want to end up with a blog post that features high up in the rankings, but that no-one bothers to pay attention to, because it’s difficult to read.
Make sure your blog posts are easy to read
When you write a blog post, bear in mind that people who use the internet are faced with a lot of choices about what to read. The thing is to make your blog post attractive to readers. One of the easiest ways to do this is to make sure each post is carefully structured.
Divide the post into sections, each of which has a heading. Keep the sections focused and relatively short. Each paragraph shouldn’t be longer than three lines.
Perhaps most importantly, begin each post with a short introduction, that features the main keyword at least once. This is what the search engine algorithms will pick up.
The keyword should also feature in at least some of the headings.
Create links in your blog posts
A blog post should attract users to your website, and it can also be a way to keep their attention. One of the ways of doing this is to create internal links to other blog posts on the same, or a similar topic. You can also link to other pages on your site.
The other type of links you should aim for on your site are back links. You don’t create the links, they are established via other sites ‘voting’ that your site has value. The online search engines will recognize the value of your site, if it features backlinks.