Proven methods to get readers for your SME blog |

So you’re all set up with a website and you’ve written a couple of entries for your SME blog but no one is reading.

What’s gone wrong?

Check out these methods for getting noticed and driving readers to your blog

#1 Post little and often

So there’s lots of argument about how long posts should be.

I’m going to be honest I don’t know and I’m thinking that if anyone says that they do then they are bluffing.

Some people will tell you with total certainty that you HAVE to post 650 words or less every time.

Other people will tell you with equal certainty that the other people are idiots and you absolutely HAVE to post at least 2500 words.

Actually what I think is more important is that you post regularly.

The search engines value content that is fresh and updated so doing one 750 word post a week is much better than doing a 5000 epic once a month.

And who has time to write all that content for their SME blog when they could be doing business?

#2 Make sure your on-page SEO is all good.

So this might sound a bit like gobbledegook but SEO is simply making sure that your business blog has all of the attributes that make it attractive for the search engines.

I’d suggest installing an SEO tool to help with this. I like Yoast and the good news is that the free version has lots of features and will help you get your post right.

#3 post added value

A lot of my clients like to post little snippets and opinion pieces on sites like LinkedIn and I don’t have a problem with this.

It’s all part of the community building work that you need to do.

But if you want to drive readership then you need to be producing posts that help people solve problems that they are experiencing.

When you are looking at your marketing plan (you have got one?) then work out ways that you can solve the issues that people search for with your post.

#4 Have a marketing plan

You’re going to need one of these.

It doesn’t have to be all singing and all dancing but you’ll find life much easier if you have planned out the milestones you need to hit.

You’ll also find that with a marketing plan the post titles will almost write themselves because you will already have some…

#5 Long-tail keywords

I reckon this is worth a post all of its own.

Briefly, though, a long tail keyword is a more natural way of making sure the search engines know what you are posting about.

So for instance you may be wanting to write a post about the water-saving value of changing your toilet flush valve.

Instead of just writing a post that includes the words ‘toilet flush valve’ you’ll write ones that answer questions about them.

‘How do I change a toilet flush valve?’ ‘What are the benefits of a new flush valve?’ ‘What are the parts of a toilet cistern?’ That sort of thing.

The search engines are looking for posts that answer questions that their users are asking so you should answer them.

#6 Don’t just rely on the search engines

If you are writing posts of genuine value then why hide your light under a bushel?

Make sure you publicise your posts on your company Instagram, Facebook, Twitter LinkedIn.

Whatever you have then make sure it’s posted up with a nice pic and a working link.

This is where smaller businesses can have a real edge over bigger companies because they can really home in on their customers’ needs and develop a proper community.

Getting your SME blog a sizeable readership…

Truthfully, it’s not rocket surgery.

I’d like to tell you that it is all a dark art and you HAVE to buy my services but actually getting readers along to your SME’s blog is just a matter of having a plan and making sure you are working it.

If you’d like some more information on how to get readership for your blog then check out these other posts.

Now look, I write blogs for SMEs.

I’m not too shabby at it (after all you’ve read this far) so if you aren’t wanting to write your own content then why not give me a call or message me?

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