I’m often asked about blogging for SEO. Mostly, “Should we do it?” The answer: it depends.
Blogs have a real SEO upside. They are a simple, cost-effective way to create a consistent stream of new content that keeps a website on Google’s radar. Google strives to index new content quickly, and when a site is “known” for consistent publishing, Google crawls the site regularly to index that content. Regular indexing means that new content has the best opportunity to be visible on search engines, and it allows for a more efficient testing of on-page SEO efforts. Changes to meta tags are also registered quickly.
Even more important, individual blog posts can be targeted to specific, relevant longtail search phrases to drive qualified traffic to your site. This last point is central to Dana’s SEO philosophy. Blogs are well suited to producing content that targets high-ROI keyphrases.
Furthermore, advancements in the Google algorithm have made many forms of SEO shenanigans obsolete. We saw the writing on the wall two years ago, and now reality has caught up. Don’t spend your effort trying to LOOK credible to search engines. It makes more sense to actually BE credible.
Search engine credibility comes from many things, including (but not limited to):
• The frequency with which you publish
• The quality of your content
• The engagement of your audience
So, circling back to the original question, blogging is not right for everyone. If your product inspires some kind of emotional connection, that’s a good start. In the hospitality business, it’s often easier to have a blog for a resort or a destination that inspires. People tend to feel passionate about the places they go on vacation. Anything is possible if you have some exciting content to publish.
Tools: As a vehicle for SEO, I love WordPress. It’s built for SEO. In large part, this is due to the state-of-the-art SEO plug-in by Yoast. It makes the process of matching your ideas with existing search almost intuitive.
Tactics: Know your top ROI keywords. Understand that for which you can realistically optimize based on your PageRank or domain authority. Come up with a list of phrases that are contextually relevant to your business and your customers.
Use your keyword knowledge to develop an editorial calendar of relevant content. Understand Google’s contextual sophistication and use the knowledge to write elegant copy that appeals to humans. For it to really make a difference, your writers have to have some kind of spark, to connect with an audience. In blogging, there is nothing that surpasses passion for content.
It’s an effort to do it right, and it’s not right for everyone. But if you have a product that you and your customers are passionate about, plus access to good, motivated writers and the necessary keyword knowledge, you can build quality non-branded organic traffic over time.
If you’d like help with your blogging strategy contact us.
