Find out our top tips to grow your audience, increase site traffic and ultimately improve your writing skills.
So you’re thinking of creating a blog or, maybe you already have one. Although blog writing is a fantastic way to share information that you’re passionate about, it’s important to understand the various ways you can optimize your posts and increase traffic to your site.
How can you improve your search ranking and attract more visitors? More importantly, how can you get them to stay and come back for more? Here we break it down into our top 10 tips for writing a blog post:
Who are you writing to and what is the purpose of your article? It’s important for you to understand what your audience is looking for as well as what you are seeking to achieve from them reading your article.
Perhaps your goal is to have them complete a form, make a phone call or a purchase. In order for you to get a better understanding of what your audience is searching for, we recommend completing a keyword search. Many businesses make the mistake of optimizing the wrong keywords and then question why they lack conversions and site traffic. This can be easily avoided!
Developing a clear structure for your post allows you to stay organized and makes it easier for the user to understand your content. We recommend beginning with an introduction to your topic, followed by the body and concluding with a summary of your main points. Adding imagery and video content throughout your post is also a great way to separate paragraphs, keep the visitor engaged and improve your SEO.
Headings and keywords allow Google to understand what your post is all about, which ultimately helps improve your ranking. The heading of your blog post (also known as the H1 tag), is the most important as it specifically tells your reader what your post is all about. Your H1 tag should include your most significant keywords so that your audience clicks on your post instead of continuing to scroll down the page.
Google tends to enjoy long articles, which is why longer posts have a stronger ranking than short posts. We suggest writing articles that are 500 words or more in order to rank well in search engines. Now, you be may be wondering…why does the length of a post matter?
Well, the longer your post, the more hints Google has to grasp what your post is about. The longer your post, the more times your keywords will be used and therefore recognized by Google.
It’s important that your content is relevant to what your audience is looking for. Are you answering their questions? Are you linking to other relevant blog posts? The key is to stay on topic and focus on what your target audience is interested in.
Keeping your content fresh and exciting is key to a developing a loyal and engaged audience. Posting new content regularly also allows Google to crawl your site on a consistent basis, which ultimately improves your ranking. Not only does consistent blogging improve your SEO but, it allows you to become a better writer, find your tone and increase your site traffic.
Backlinking plays a very important role in Google’s ranking. This is because it tells Google that a site is delivering valuable information to its readers. By referencing other relevant articles in your content, you are providing visitors with information they are already interested in, which will also lead to increased website traffic.
No one wants to read a page filled with just a bunch of words, add video and images!
Images not only make your post more attractive, but believe it or not, naming your image using one of your keywords will also help improve your search ranking.
For example, if your blog post is about new condo listings in the Toronto King West Area and you attach an image of a condo building in that neighbourhood, you would name the file: toronto-condo-listing-king-west.
We recommend including video content on your website for the following reasons:
Let’s face it, everyone is glued to their phones and we rely on them for just about everything. From checking your likes on your latest Instagram post, to Googling a new restaurant menu, the majority of users view sites on mobile as opposed to their desktop. For this reason, it’s important to ask yourself, does your blog design remain consistent from mobile to desktop? Is the site structure the same on all devices? Is your blog easy to navigate on mobile? These are all important factors to be aware of.
Concluding your blog post with a call-to-action is a great way to generate leads, gain a better understanding of your audience and build loyalty. Some ways to engage with your visitors include:
There you have it! We hope that you find these 10 tips helpful when you write your next blog post. Remember to keep your content fresh and consistent so that each day you can watch your site traffic grow more and more.
Did you find this article helpful? Let us know in the comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
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