Once in a while, you may come across some posts claiming that blogging is dead and no longer a viable source of providing quality content to readers. The probable cause for these outcries is because many haven’t kept up with the evolution of blogging and can’t seem to get noticed. Nowadays, with so many people using blogs to showcase content, the industry has transformed and requires more out-of-the-box thinking to stand out from your competition.
With regular maintenance and thought to incorporate key metrics, blogging is still very relevant today. Here are some reasons why this practice should still be apart of your SEO strategy.
A Place to Use Important Keywords
The use of keywords is very important to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but even if they add relevant keywords some people don’t see results appearing in their favor. That’s because search engines incorporate more sophisticated algorithms that can analyze blogs and webpages accurately and detect black hat marketing practices like keyword stuffing.
Keywords underwent a significant change in the last decade, given their role in SEO. Now, keyword research is necessary to include quality ones in your blog. The introduction and wide use of voice search required search engines to extract and interpret input differently, focusing on search intent. Hence, it requires one to maintain a blog differently.
It’s not a question about whether keywords are still relevant today, but instead a question of which keywords best fit your content to give more exposure. It depends on you – It’s a trade-off between how wide of an audience base you want your content to have and good traffic quality.
Drives Website Traffic
If you visit prominent websites today, you’ll see that they have a blog section on their landing page. This section is an excellent way to start a conversation with the reader and drive traffic to their website. Typically, blogs serve as a portal to the website from social media and ads; they require headlines that are intended to attract the reader by instilling a thought in their minds, answering a nagging question, or give them a solution to their problem. When blogging, the content should match the central theme of your website. For example, if you have an online shoe store, your blogs should be related to shoes. This will drive convertible traffic, i.e., customers willing to buy shoes.
Helps Establish Authority in Your Industry
Your website aims to provide information to visitors regarding your industry and why they should choose you to provide their service. Your blog is a great opportunity to displaying content that highlights your technical know-how regarding your industry.
If your business regularly brings up trending topics of discussion, news, or technological advancements on its blog, your website will become a trusted place for people to go to for information. Additionally, it will start appearing on other websites as external links, increasing traffic and recognition.
Keeps Your Website Up to Date
It takes time for new content to reach the top of search engine result pages because it depends on several metrics web crawlers employ to judge the relevancy of content. Frequently publishing fresh and updated content helps in SEO. How that content is structured is equally important as well – The way your website manages and displays your blogs should follow a logical pattern, easy for web crawlers to index and interpret.
Provide content for social media/email campaigns
Your website isn’t the only channel for getting yourself out there. If your business does not have a social media page where people can follow you to get live updates, then you’re missing a big opportunity. Social media allows your content to reach more eyes and cross-referencing your blog posts is a great way to bring in more website traffic.
Social media doesn’t work the same way as blogging, as it requires condensed information so that your readers don’t overlook your posts. Think of it as a teaser for your blog that gets shared around. Just make sure your posts are tailored for social media, meaning they are catchy and provide useful information. Try using other forms of media that can summarize information effectively, like animations, pictures, or graphs.
Similarly, email campaigns are an inexpensive way to get your message across to a broad audience. Give those that visit your website the option to subscribe to a newsletter- that way they could be notified when new blogs are posted.
Build Organic Rankings
If your business is in its infancy competing with a vast marketplace, you may be considering investing in paid advertisements using Search Engine Marketing (SEM); however, this mode of promotion is not sustainable and drains your marketing budget quickly. In the long run, your best bet is to gain organic rankings in search engine results as a free means of promoting your website.
Blogging is a key tactic to help build your rankings- the more quality blogs you have, the higher your chances are of appearing in search results and getting noticed. This investment is much less compared to paid advertisements and provides a better return.
Looking for ways to better market your business around Portland, ME? Local Image Co. is a reputable and trusted marketing agency that’s passionate about helping local businesses reach their full potential. We offer a variety of services that can help your business reach potential clients.
