How Can A Blog Impact My SEO?
Simply put, maintaining an up-to-date blog allows you to boost your search engine optimization in that, when you offer relevant information and answers, search engines will be more likely to position you higher up on their results pages.
In other words, when a customer searches a specific question on Google, the businesses that offer the most “optimized” blogs with regard to the answer will be the first to appear — and thus the most likely to be clicked on first.
In fact, research conducted by Demand Metric found that businesses who regularly blog produced, on average, 67% more leads per month.
So not only will a proper blogging strategy enhance your overall credibility from the viewpoint of the customer, but by effectively placing inbound hyperlinks and writing a persuasive call to action, you can also keep them in your sales funnel and guide them down the path to full conversion.
How Do I Optimize A Blog For SEO?
When considering Google’s ever-changing algorithms and the mountain of information available with regard to SEO, we understand that parsing through it all and finding the blog-specific bits can be challenging.
That’s why we’re here to help you with three quick tips to get you started:
The Key Is In The Word
Begin by picking one or two words, terms, or phrases that you would like associated with your business or blog. If you want to be a result when someone types in “air quality,” for example, that term should be one of your keywords.
Be sure to use your chosen keywords in your blog title, meta description, and in the body paragraphs. That being said, also be sure not to use “keyword stuffing” — basically, don’t choose more than two or three keywords and barrage your readers with them — and also make sure to use your chosen words in a coherent sentence.
How Much You Should Talk, Talk, Talk
WordPress reports that, “as a rule of thumb, blog posts should be at least 300 words to appear high in search engine results.” Meanwhile, the average length of a blog post has grown in recent years. A study conducted by SEMRush found that articles less than 3,000 words were not only three times more likely to get high traffic volumes, but they were also four times more likely to get shared.
Of course, that’s a pretty big gap from 300 words to 3,000 words. On average, we recommend keeping your long-form blog posts somewhere around 500 to 1,000 words maximum, with shorter blogs ranging from 300 to 500 words. Plus, remember that with the modern takeover of social media, audiences tend to have shorter attention spans.
Why Stop With Words?
Did you know research indicates that the majority of the human brain is dedicated to processing visual information, both directly and indirectly? Thus, by embedding visual content — be it videos, images, graphs, or something else — your audience will not only be more likely to become interested in the information, but search engines will also rank you higher. With alt text included, that is.
Think of it this way: the visual content itself is for your audience. Search engines, however, can’t see pictures. That’s why alt text is important — because it’s what tells those engines that there’s content embedded there. Oh, and don’t forget to use your keyword(s) in your alt text, too.
How Do I Know If My Blog Is Being Utilized Effectively?
If you’re already using Google Analytics as a part of your online marketing strategy, you’ll not only be able to automatically see how many people are on the different pages of your blog, but you can also dive into your “Audience Overview” and “Acquisition Overview” reports to get a better idea of how traffic to your pages has changed over time.
Otherwise, you might refer to several different markers of activity, such as…
Total page visits
Impressions and reach
The average length of a reader’s stay
And more
But, if you do not know how to find this information — or worse, you have no idea how to utilize it — you may find it difficult to adjust course and optimize your blog efficiently.
That’s why, here at Mad Men Marketing, we don’t just offer creative copywriters who will craft a cohesive blog for your business — we also offer research specialists who can curate your website’s analytics, thereby helping you to create the most successful and functional blogging strategy for your business.
You don’t have to embark on the journey of blogging and search engine optimization alone. If you’re ready to interact with your customers, contact Mad Men Marketing today by calling 904-355-1766!