Since Google reads text, if your blog has a lot of great content it’ll probably rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs) – even for competitive terms. This is why they’re a great content marketing tool. To really get the most of them in the SERPs you’ll need some SEO love and great internal links.
Tips for Starting a Blog
When you first start a blog you’ll need to buy hosting and install a theme before you can ever worry about your content marketing strategy. However, if you already have one, it’s time to get started with your first post. There are a few things you should know to help you here.
Choose Your Niche
It’s important to write about a topic you know a lot about. This topic is what’s known as a “niche.” Having a niche ensures that your audience will return to read more of your writing since they know what to expect.
Conduct Keyword Research
Now you’ll want to learn about the keyword part of content marketing. This means finding those words that people are using to find your niche. You’ll notice that there are a lot of different keywords here. Make sure you consider search intent so you have less competitive long-tail keywords too.
Consider Your Site’s Structure
When you’re just starting your site it’s important to think about its structure right away. To determine this you’ll want to find out what topics and keywords are important for your niche. Once you know what these are you’ll want to create cornerstone content (long, thorough articles) for each keyword and give it a prominent place on your site. Then you’ll want to write about subtopics that you can link to your cornerstone content and from your cornerstone content to these posts. This is important for SEO as it tells Google exactly what you want to rank for.
Tips for Creating Your First Post
It’s time to start writing posts for your blog. Don’t worry about perfection. Instead, take heed of these tips to help you with your post’s SEO.
Choose Your Topic
Decide what you want your post to be about and then just write it. To become a better writer you may want to spend some time reading about writing, but don’t get too hung up on it.
Add Pictures and Videos
SEO wants more than words. It also wants pictures and videos. Taking photos and making short videos of yourself is a great strategy, especially if you have a personal blog.
Optimize for SEO
A vital part of content marketing starts before you hit the “publish” button. Use Yoast to create a great title and snippet. Make sure your post is readable and SEO friendly. Add some links from your cornerstone content to your new post so that Google and your readers know it exists.
Engage in Content Marketing
Social media is an important part of content marketing. It helps you reach out and grow your audience. Make sure you not only utilize Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter but create a digital newsletter too. Once people start subscribing make sure you send them updates about your posts and anything else that’s happening.
Ready? Set? Start!
At the Local SEO Tampa Company in Tampa, FL we understand that having a great blog takes a lot of hard work. However, this is the best way to get positioned in the SERPs so you get the traffic you deserve. Therefore, we want you to know that we’re here to help you with this process. Just reach out to us today.