Blog management may seem time-consuming, but that’s only because it is.
Blogging requires the writer to generate relevant topics, perform valuable research, construct engaging content, and upload the final pieces to their website. From the time you start thinking about the article to when you upload it, you will have invested hours into the process.
And that’s just for one blog article.
So why do so many businesses put time and effort into maintaining their blogs? The short answer is that blogs really do increase your SEO. Actually, we should say that well-written, high-quality, topic-relevant blogs really do increase your SEO.
Let’s look at the factors that make a blog impactful to a website’s SEO performance.
1. Routine Articles
Fresh, current content goes a long way among website visitors. It’s difficult to trust a website whose most recent article was updated 4 years ago. Even if the facts of the article haven’t changed, it can seem as if the site itself is out-of-date or, even worse, neglected. Additionally, if a blog is out-of-date and promotes outdated or now-inaccurate information, the associated business risks losing its credibility.
Regularly updated blog accounts show users that you are keeping up with the information you provide and that you are still active and relevant. It also signals to Google that you are creating new, fresh content for your audience. The more Google receives these signals, the more it’s likely to frequent your site to index your new content (which is how you make it to Google’s search results pages).
2. Well-Written Articles
Not only are frequent articles an important part of your blog management strategy, but it’s also essential to feature blogs that are clear and easy to read. The better written an article is, the more time a visitor will spend on it. The longer a visitor spends on the page, the more likely Google is to consider your site beneficial.
When writing a high-quality article, consider the following components:
Clarity
A blog has one primary topic and should only feature content that satisfies the topic. Straying away from the main point throughout the article creates a loss of focus and can frustrate readers.
Flow
A good article guides the reader through the talking points in a way that makes sense. There should be a logical flow from beginning to end.
Scanability
The easier an article is to scan, the better. No one clicks on a blog in the hopes that they will encounter a novel. People’s attention spans are short, and they often want to see the highlights of the article first rather than the nitty-gritty details.
Accuracy
Both the facts of the article and the grammar used should be correct. Readers aren’t interested in stumbling through sentences stuffed with lousy grammar or suffering through paragraphs of inaccurate content.
3. Audience-Focused Articles
The more relevant your blogs are to your audience, the more likely you are to appear in the searches they are performing. This blog writing strategy is called keyword targeting.
Long-Tail Keywords
Audience-centered articles usually find themselves in front of the right people because of how they utilize long-tail keywords.
Long-tail keywords are the wordier keyword phrases people use in their search for solutions instead of shorter, one- or two-term “head” keywords. For instance, “allergies” is considered a head keyword because it is short, broad, and encompasses many possibilities. “Why do I develop allergies in the spring?” is considered a long-tail keyword because it is wordier with a much narrower focus.
Although long-tail keywords do not receive as much attention as head keywords, they do provide an opportunity for you to rank on search engines by using them in your blog articles. Long-tail keywords are less competitive but still relevant to the searches your audience conducts. Plus, they are often questions or phrases your audience is already exploring. Creating quality content around these long-tail keywords increases your chances of ranking on Google and appearing in front of the right people.
Example of a Long-Tail Keyword in Action
Let’s say your company sells and services mountain bikes. You might think it’s a good idea to use your blog to target the head keyword, “mountain bikes.” However, that phrase is already difficult to rank for and too general of a topic to write about.
It would serve you better to create articles around more specific long-tail keywords related to mountain bikes. Examples include “How to travel with a mountain bike,” “Best mountain bike trails to visit,” or “Difference between mountain bikes and road bikes.” Bike fans are already asking the search engine these questions. By addressing the queries through your articles, you can work to satisfy their questions, improve brand awareness, increase your site traffic, and ultimately gain new customers.
Ready to serve quality blog articles to your audience? M&R Marketing can help!
The copywriters at M&R understand the value of well-written, high-quality content for a website’s performance. Through our blog management service, we create months-long strategies, perform detailed keyword research, and write engaging content around all the right topics to help boost your SEO. If you’d like to start seeing improvements to your SEO performance, talk to one of our account managers about our blog services today: 478-621-4491