A Blueprint For An Effective SEO and Blogging Strategy
Why Blogging Will Improve SEO
Maintaining a blog on your website can significantly boost your SEO. By creating a blog, you're providing another channel of content for your business to help increase your brand's visibility, build authority, and drive traffic to your website. While each one of those benefits are valuable on its own, they are most effective when integrated with a well-rounded marketing strategy.
“You’re a media company first….”
Gary V, a well-known marketer, said, “You’re a media company first, then focus on your core business.” What he means is prioritizing content creation and distribution to engage with your audience, build trust, and establish a strong online presence. By providing valuable and relevant content and being authentic, businesses can create communities of loyal customers. This shift in mindset from traditional advertising to content marketing allows companies to adapt to the changing landscape and leverage the power of digital platforms to connect with their target audience effectively.
Mastering SEO in Three Steps
Step #1 - Find Your Keywords
A successful SEO campaign starts with identifying the most effective keywords for your website. You want to compile a list of highly searched keywords and phrases that provide you with a competitive advantage. Various online tools are available to assist with keyword research, such as Semrush, Keyword Surfer, Wincher, and more, that can help you understand the search volume and competitiveness of specific keywords. However, it's important to remember that highly searched keywords will likely have high competition. While using these keywords is not discouraged, it’s better to start with other words and phrases with less competition and build-up.
Domain Authority
Domain Authority is a search engine ranking score that measures how successful a site is when it comes to search engine results. Moz created it and gives an overview of the likely search engine performance. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 100, with higher scores indicating a greater likelihood of ranking higher in search results. The score is based on a combination of factors, including the number and quality of inbound links, the overall content quality, and the website's age and popularity.
Keyword Difficulty
Keyword Difficulty (KD) is a metric used to determine how difficult it is to rank for a particular keyword. If a keyword has a high KD score, it may be challenging to rank for, so focusing on keywords with a lower KD score and significant search volume is best. Although Google has stated that Domain Authority (DA) doesn't directly affect the ability to rank for a particular keyword, it's generally considered that a good DA score to have a good chance of ranking for a specific keyword difficulty is within 10 points.
For example, if the keyword difficulty is 50, a good DA score would be 44 to increase the likelihood of ranking. By keeping KD and DA in mind when choosing target keywords, you can develop a more effective SEO strategy that helps improve your website's search rankings and drive more traffic.
Here’s an example –
Let's take the example of a wetsuit company whose ultimate goal is to rank for the highly searched term "wetsuit," which has a keyword difficulty score of 71/100 – But the company's domain authority is only 40, which means it would be challenging to rank for. While it's essential to continue creating content related to "wetsuit," another effective strategy is to target longer-tail keywords with less competition. For instance, the company could write a blog post on "what to wear under a wetsuit," which is searched 590 times a month and has a keyword difficulty score of 24/100. By targeting these less competitive, highly searched keywords, the company can improve its chances of ranking higher in search results and drive more traffic to its website. Additionally, incorporating these targeted keywords into the company's SEO strategy can help boost its overall search ranking and visibility.
Step #2 - Create Written Content Around Those Keywords
Once you have compiled the list of your primary keywords and their related counterparts, the next step is creating blog posts and landing pages centered around them. Here are a few things to remember when writing blogs –
Create an Editorial Calendar
Create an editorial calendar; this will help you stay organized and prioritize keywords with high search volumes. With an editorial content calendar, you can better manage your time and increase productivity, ensuring that you can maintain a consistent publishing schedule that meets the expectations of your audience. Whether you choose to publish blogs weekly or monthly, it is crucial to establish a consistent cadence that aligns with your capacity and audience expectations.
Focus on Quality
The quality of your blog is the most critical aspect of successful blogging. Poorly written content (or AI-generated content) will not rank on Google, nor will it resonate with your audience – Which will ultimately harm your brand. If a potential reader sees a social media post, email, or ad referencing your blog and clicks through only to find underwhelming content, their perception of your brand may suffer. It is essential to remember that your blog represents your company's overall image and the quality of your product or service. Therefore, ensuring that your blog is of the highest possible quality is crucial for building a positive reputation and maintaining customer loyalty.
What is a high-quality blog?
These blogs should be structured and designed for both scanners and deep readers.
You must adhere to SEO best practices.
Relevant keywords
Optimizing headers
Alt tags
Meta descriptions
Internal and external linking
Most of all, provides value to its readers – See below
How to Write Value Driven Blogs
What’s a value-driven blog? A value-driven blog is an article that provides direct value to the reader in three key areas:
Education: Your blog should educate your target audience on specific topics related to your product or industry and offer valuable insights, tips, and advice. An example of an educational blog for a van conversion company would be Gas vs. Diesel Sprinter – Which is right for you? This article is valuable to readers because it provides a breakdown of a common problem many people face when selecting a sprinter for their conversion.
Inspiration: Your blog should inspire your readers with stories, ideas, or examples that motivate them to take action. An example of an inspirational blog for a company that sells live edge slabs would be 5 Live Edge Tables to Inspire Your Next Project. This blog is a valuable asset for GL Veneer as it inspires readers and followers by showcasing what other woodworkers are creating using the company's live edge slabs. It is a source of creative inspiration and highlights the beauty and versatility of GL Veneer's live edge slabs.
Entertainment: Your blog should provide entertainment value to your readers, making them laugh, think, or feel something. An example of an entertaining blog for a flight simulator company would be 9 Airports to Practice Landing With A Flight Simulator. This blog provides entertainment for pilots by presenting a list of nine challenging airports to land at using a flight simulator. Pilots can use the list as a fun and engaging way to test their skills and practice their landing techniques in various scenarios, from short runways to difficult terrain.
How to Optimize Your Content
To ensure SEO success, optimize your blog or landing page before publishing. Use on-page techniques like meta descriptions, headers, alt tags, and links. Tools like SEM Rush SEO Writing Assitant can help you analyze and improve your content based on top-ranking pages for your chosen keywords.
Step #3 - Send Traffic to Your Site
Now that you've created content around specific keywords and optimized it for SEO, it's time to send traffic to that page and increase its odds of ranking faster. When traffic is directed to a new blog, it can increase the blog's visibility. Google considers on-site behavior as a crucial ranking factor. It aims for a positive user experience, which includes low bounce rates, longer time spent on pages, and content sharing. These behaviors can send positive signals to search engines that the blog is relevant and valuable, which may lead to higher rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). However, it is essential to note that traffic alone does not guarantee a higher ranking.
Social Media
Social media can be the easiest and quickest way to drive traffic to your website. You can promote your blogs by incorporating them into your stories with a link to click or by sharing a picture or video snippet of the blog and directing users to your link in the bio to read more. This approach can help drive traffic to your site while boosting your social media engagement.
Including your blog posts in your email marketing campaigns can provide significant value to your subscribers and drive traffic to your website. We recommend incorporating your blog content into your automated email flows, such as featuring relevant posts in your welcome email or including them in abandoned cart follow-up messages if the content can help convert users.
For example, suppose you're a paddleboard company and someone abandons a cart with a specific product, such as an inflatable paddleboard. In that case, you could include a blog post titled '5 Reasons An Inflatable SUP Is The Perfect Board For You.' This post could review the advantages of using an inflatable board versus a hard epoxy board, helping to persuade the user to complete their purchase while also providing additional value.
Advertising
You are applying the same concept as above to your advertising. This is one of the most underused and underrated advertising strategies. While most companies might lead with only product-specific advertising or highlighting the specific service, incorporating blogs into your prospecting and remarketing campaigns can lower your cost per click and increase your credibility because you are leading with value first, not asking them to buy your product or service.
For example, as a San Diego landscaping business, you have a few options to create engaging content. You could start with a video showcasing before and after pictures of your work or record a talking head video discussing your company and its specialties. Alternatively, you could lead with educational content, such as 'Tips for Drought-Tolerant Landscaping in San Diego.' With the region's semi-arid climate, many San Diego homeowners seek ways to conserve water. You can provide valuable information while showcasing your expertise by writing a blog post with tips on creating an attractive, low-maintenance yard with minimal watering.
An Affective Blogging Strategy
While it's essential to implement all of the strategies above, there are additional best practices to consider when developing a successful blogging and SEO strategy.
Post Regularly
As mentioned above, having a blog on your website can help your SEO, but it doesn't happen overnight. If you continue creating and posting valuable content regularly, your audience will appreciate the effort and consistency and see you as a trusted industry voice. This continues to drive traffic to your website, and the Google algorithm notices.
Each new blog provides new opportunities to rank for keywords relating to your industry and land higher in Google rankings. Doing so regularly can help you keep your momentum and get the most out of your strategy.
Write For Your Audience
New content is being thrown at your audience daily, but only so much will resonate with them. So, before you can write to your audience, you must understand who they are and what they're searching for to provide them with the answers they need, which is where your keyword research comes into play. Doing so will be a challenge as you want a successful ranking piece, but remember that you'll rank well when you provide high-value content to your audience.
Create Listicles
A listicle is a blog post structured around a particular idea or theme and presented as a numbered or bulleted list. Listicles provide a clear expectation for readers regarding the amount of information they will receive, making it easier to digest and retain. Beyond their popularity with audiences, listicles also offer several advantages from a writing perspective. They can target specific keywords, are easier to plan and write, and provide a sense of accomplishment for the writer as each item on the list is completed.
Outsource Your Blogs
Outsourcing your blog writing can be a wise decision for many companies. Creating high-quality blog content requires time, effort, and skill. Outsourcing to a professional content writing service or marketing team can help ensure your blog meets the high standards necessary to engage and retain readers.
Professional writers have the experience and expertise to produce informative and engaging content while incorporating SEO best practices to improve your website's rankings. In addition, outsourcing can provide cost savings and allow your team to focus on other important business functions.
If you're considering our SEO services, we encourage you to explore our case studies showcasing how we've helped past clients achieve SEO success.