We tell all our small business clients that in order to optimise their websites for search, they need to have a blog and post regular blog content. But how do you write a blog that not only increases your chances of better page ranking, but also captures your audience’s attention long enough for them to digest your content and engage with your message?
It’s not enough to just have a beautifully written blog or one that is just stuffed with key words – your blog content needs to appeal to search engines and human readers alike. Here are some of our top tips for writing compelling, engaging blog content for your audience that also delivers strong SEO results for marketing growth strategy success.
First Impressions Matter
Give your post a catchy, unique title – but don’t forget to make it Google-friendly! Make sure it is punchy enough to capture the reader’s attention with at least one keyword. If you struggle with this, we suggest writing the bulk of the post first, and then come up with the title to summarise what you’ve written.
Use (Don’t Overuse) Keywords
Yes, you definitely need to research and make use of keywords in your blog content, but don’t go overboard. While researching and planning your keywords, don’t forget that the point of your blog is to be read by people. People don’t respond well to content that’s too keyword-heavy; it tends to be less engaging as it feels spammy.
Check Your Blog Structure
Laying out your posts in a clear, organised structure will not only help people read your content easily, it will help Google use and feature your content. Break your posts down into short subsections (of around 200 words optimally) broken down with headings and subheadings to make your points easily digestible. You will also boost your chances of being featured as a Google snippet, which can be a great driver of traffic to your site! Read more about Google snippets here.
Hit the Right Target Length
There’s a fine art to finding the perfect blog length. Long posts can perform quite well, but it’s also true that quality is more important than quantity. You need to grab people’s attention with good content, but you also need to keep them on your site. You’ll do this more effectively with a concise and well-crafted post. Save your longer posts for more in-depth topics where you’re presenting yourself as an industry leader or hoping to gain syndication from.
Use Internal Links
Links, links and more links! Don’t forget to link internally to keep people on your site. Use internal links naturally and casually throughout your blog posts, making sure to use appropriate anchor text that flows well.
Optimise for Backlinks
Make sure the websites that backlink to you are credible sources and have good domain authority. There are many strategies for getting quality backlinks, and many of our tips here will help create quality content that other sites will want to link to. You can also forge connections with other content creators through mentioning them in your posts, leaving meaningful comments on their blogs, and exploring techniques like guest bloggers and interviews.
Include Images In Your Blog Post
Images can increase your search engine reach and also provide visual variety for your readers. Include images that are size-optimised and have alt-tags for SEO. Spend some time finding a royalty-free image that perfectly sums up your blog post and will catch reader’s eyes. Or better yet, create image content yourself! We wrote a whole blog post about stock photo alternatives which you can read here.
That’s So Meta
Don’t forget to include a meta-description. Metadata is information about your posts that isn’t technically part of the content, but is available to Google. It can help give Google further context to your content, improving your page ranking odds.
Trust Oracle Tree As You Grow
At Oracle Tree, we know that managing your digital presence is challenging, and we’re here to help. Contact us today to learn more about our services for business growth, branding, digital marketing strategy, and more.
