If you are using content marketing to improve your search rankings then a cornerstone of this is probably your blog and you want this to be a good as possible.
Here are my 5 tips to make your blog postings more effective as part of your digital marketing strategy.
Tip #1 – Have a clear plan to write to
It’s important that you don’t simply start writing and firing off blogs left right and centre.
Instead you need to think about what you are trying to achieve and set your keywords accordingly.
When you have a plan and a set of keywords then you should write posts around your keywords but I’d suggest only writing a post around one keyword at a time.
Trying to pack too much in will destroy the way the article reads and may even lead to Google thinking you are keyword stuffing, which is a bad thing.
Tip #2 – Use short sentences and simple words
You are probably going to be writing for a fairly mixed audience and Google understands this.
Short sentences are easier to read, especially on a mobile device and the vast majority of web content is accessed on mobile devices.
Google also likes you to use simple, accessible language and so unless you are writing something very technical for a professional audience then you are better off using short words.
Check out these handy tools for finding keywords and the questions your customers are asking – click on the image
Tip #3 – Answer the questions that your audience are asking.
If you are writing general pages for your website then you can get away with simply writing copy that is about your company.
But if you are wanting to attract people to your site and of course rank highly on Google then you need to answer questions.
There are number of tools that will help you do this and I have done a separate post about my favourites which you can access here.
Essentially you need to find questions that people ask about your keywords and write to them.
For example, if you sell kitchen knives then you could answer the questions “What knife do I use to fillet fish?” or “How do I sharpen a kitchen knife?”.
By doing this over a series of posts Google will eventually get to think of you as a subject matter expert which helps your ranking.
More importantly if you have a wealth if information on particular subjects then your potential customers will also come to think of your site whenever they have a question they need answering.
Tip #4 – Structure your post.
I always like to use a simple structure that works really well, especially when you are suffering from writer’s block!
Start off with a striking headline
Set up the reason for your post
Answer the question you have asked
Summarise
Call to action.
In other words, tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you’ve told them!
By doing this you will find that your posts are actually easier to write and fall into a comfortable rhythm that readers prefer.
Tip #5 – Don’t forget a call to action
You shouldn’t forget to tell readers what you want them to do as a result of reading your post.
“Call me for more details”
“Check this related post”
“Email me and book an appointment”
That sort of thing.
I see lots of posts that don’t include a call to action and that’s really missing a massive opportunity.
I’ve spoken to people who feel that this is somehow being too ‘salesy’ but actually when I read a post that has a call to action at the end it actually makes me feel a sense of certainty about what they want me to do.
A call to action doesn’t have to be ‘buy now’ but it can be more around giving people more related content to read or letting them know what they need to do to get more information.
Here’s your summary
So look back over this post and think about my post structure.
I’ve told you what I was going to tell you
I’ve told you
And now I’m telling you what I’ve told you.
And that’s how post structuring works.
The great thing about using this method is that if you have your keyword that you are going to focus on then the post almost writes itself.
Here’s my call to action
I’ll admit that not everyone has the time to write their own content so if you’d like help setting up your marketing plan, writing the content or you want someone to take over the whole shooting match then why not give me a call?
I’d be happy to talk over your options with no obligation at all.
If you’d like to find out more about SEO then why not check out the rather excellent Neil Patel here
