Blogging is not only a good way of getting company news and updates out to followers. If planned properly bearing in mind your SEO objectives, it can boost your search traffic and Google rankings.
Blogs are effective tools which, if used strategically, can present businesses with a number of key SEO benefits.
1. Google loves regularly updated websites that provide fresh and relevant content
You are more likely to be seen as an industry expert by Google if you are publishing valuable content about topics relating to your business. In turn, by providing regularly updated and relevant content, you are encouraging Google to crawl your website more frequently.
2. Attract more search traffic by answering commonly asked questions via long tail keywords
Are there questions that your customers regularly ask you that could be turned into a blog post or a series of blog posts? Come up with a list of top FAQs, do some keyword research around these and then write helpful blog posts. This conquers two tasks in one; a) it provides industry relevant content that Google will award you brownie points for, and b) it provides helpful information for potential/existing customers.
3. Give people a reason to link to you
Publishing high quality posts that people want to read will help you attract links naturally. Consider the blog post as a whole; is it topical? Is the copy written well? Are there are any grammar/spelling mistakes? Have you used subheadings to split the text up? What is the readability like? Have you used images? Images are highly recommended as they provide a better reader experience and also some eye candy. You want people to share your blog posts, so don’t give them any reasons not to.
4. Social shares and interactions give Google positive indications
Don’t forget to add social sharing icons to each of your blog posts, make it easy for people to share. Test these to make sure they work. If your content is shared on social media platforms, in Google’s eyes it must be providing value. Also don’t forget that blog posts need promotion. It’s very difficult to attract views and shares if you don’t actively put your content out there. You want your blog posts to grow across the web, so give them a kick start by sharing on your social media accounts and social bookmarking websites. For more information about blog post promotion, check out our blog post here.
As well as the key SEO benefits, there are also a number of general benefits that blogging provides including; building brand awareness, encouraging people to come back to your site and building relationships with people in your industry, which in turn will help with your outreach link building efforts.
One final tip that I strongly recommend is be organised! Don’t miss opportunities because you haven’t given yourself enough time to sit down and write something or you’ve left it to the last minute. Create a blogging content calendar for the next 6-12 months, taking into consideration your SEO objectives, industry events, seasonal events, national holidays, company activities and so on.
If you need help with your blogging strategy, we have a team of content blogging experts who can help so give us a call on 01403 261491 or email [email protected].