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9 Trusted SEO Blogs

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Image result for 9 Trusted SEO BlogsSearch engine optimization is always changing, requiring constant investigation to keep up. One of the best ways to identify new trends, in addition to research and analysis on your own site, is reading the learnings of trusted SEO experts.

Adding nine blogs to your daily regiment can be a bit daunting, but you can use a feed reader, such as Feedly or The Old Reader, to corral your content into a single place to digest as it is published.

These nine blogs, below, offer information and investigation you can trust to be in alignment with search engine guidelines. They post frequently, and are typically well written and easy to read.

9 Trusted SEO Blogs

Search Engine Land. Considered one of the largest and most reputable search marketing blogs, Search Engine Land offers news pertaining to both SEO and paid search. You’ll also find posts on social marketing and other related topics from sister site Marketing Land. SEL contains more opinion-based articles and columns from many search experts across the industry. If you only have time to read three blogs, this should be one of them.

The Moz Blog. Deeply rooted in the philosophy that sharing information in the search industry will benefit everyone, Moz started off as a blog and forum. Founder Rand Fishkin, of Whiteboard Fridayfame, also has a separate blog on Moz. Moz also publishes a biennial (every other year), deep analysis of the search engine ranking factors.

In short, Moz is one of the best SEO resources and should be on your top-three list. Its popular YouMoz blog is open to anyone who wishes to publish an article, and the best posts are promoted to Moz’s main blog. Be more cautious in how you perceive the YouMoz blog’s content, however, because it mixes questionable and valuable content, based on its “anyone can post” policy.

Google Webmaster Central Blog. As the top search engine in many countries, Google’s own Webmaster Central blog is a wealth of information on the topics and tools within Google’s webmaster guidelines. You’ll find posts on innovations in Google’s search products, additions to its Search Console tools, and more. Bing also offers a webmaster blog, but its posting frequency is far lower.

Search Engine Roundtable. Manned by the vigilant Barry Schwartz, no site dedicates more posts to search engine forum activity and Google news. He writes regular summaries of the activity in the forums, and spices it with his own take on whether the forum chatter is on target or not. This is especially true of claims of algorithm shifts. Schwartz is usually among the first to confirm or deny such activity. If you’re a Google chaser or forum lover, you’ll want to read this one.

Search Engine Journal. Another news and opinion blog, Search Engine Journal covers some of the same topics as Search Engine Land, but its how-to and opinion content will differ. It can be quirkier and slightly irreverent. You’ll pick up some useful nuggets of SEO strategies to try or stop doing on this blog.

SEO by the Sea. If you want to know the inner workings behind the algorithms, read Bill Slawski’s blog. He studies the search engines’ patents and breaks them down into language that’s more digestible. The content is typically a mix between these more scientific posts and more practical posts targeted at everyday SEO life.

Searchmetrics SEO & Content Marketing Blog. This blog is based on findings from search analytics platform provider Searchmetrics. Similar providers — such as BrightEdge, SEMrush, and Conductor — have their own blogs. But I prefer Searchmetrics’ blog because it’s a good mix of posts based on their own data that highlight trends across different industries, and more practical tips on implementing specific strategies and tactics.

iProspect Blog. As a prominent name in search marketing in the U.S., iProspect has plenty of resources to put behind generating relevant SEO and paid search content several times a week. The blog covers trends as well as specific items to implement to improve natural search performance.

Practical Ecommerce. With a slant toward ecommerce, we offer posts from several SEO experts, including technical SEO guru Hamlet Batista and me, weekly contributor Jill Kocher. Veteran digital marketing expert Armando Roggio also covers SEO topics frequently.

[“Source-practicalecommerce”]

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Online Marketing

Some Important Reasons Why Instagram Should Be Used for Your SEO

by admin
written by admin

Instagram is one of the most popular social networking platforms in the world. It boasts a community of over 80 million users. Its fan base is constantly growing. A versatile and mainstream networking site could contribute immensely to the SEO efforts of any business or company trying to grow and make its presence felt online.

As far as Instagram is concerned everyone seems to be a professional photographer. More than 50 million pictures are shared every day on Instagram. As more and more people are coming to know about this unique photo-based platform they are incorporating Instagram in their way of life. You could use Instagram for promoting your brand thereby, increasing web traffic organically. Here are a few reasons why Instagram should be used for your SEO.

Helps in Boosting Brand Awareness

Instagram is a platform where an ordinary picture could be transformed with the help of vintage filters, as well as, effects. Moreover, hashtags are allowing users to effectively narrow down searches. On Instagram brands could create advertisements on a much more personal level.

Instagram is equally open to high-quality DSLR photos to the simple selfie. It welcomes all sorts of photos. You can easily create and maintain an Instagram account for your precise brand. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before joining Instagram.

First of all, you need to have the willingness to click pictures. You do not need to employ a professional photographer for doing this. You simply need to click pictures on your own provided you could produce high-quality pictures that boost your brand frequently. It is pretty obvious that the more natural the photos look; the better would be the response. It should not look like any advertisement as nobody would be interested in advertisements.

Find out if the brand that is being promoted is actually visually engaging spontaneously. In case it is not, you need to figure out an efficient way of incorporating it into your pictures. You could consider using the profile information for promoting your brand or company with a picture of yourself or a logo representing your precise brand. Include a link to your precise website. If Instagram users appreciate your content, they would try to learn more about it.

Effectively Aids in Managing the Posts’ Frequency

Spamming is never welcome and you must always keep that in mind. While using Instagram, keep track of how frequently you are posting pictures. If you are going on flooding the Internet with your pictures at every opportunity possible nobody is going to appreciate that. Try maintaining a proper schedule regulating when photos are to be uploaded instead of forcing and overdoing your brand on Instagram. This would prove to be quite effective and time-saving. Your profile should have quality images featuring your brand or products in a smart and appealing manner. It is a better idea to do that consistently and not jamming your profile with photos that make no sense.

Best Platform for Holding Photo Contests

An easy way of boosting your presence on the platform is by organizing a photo contest which would be necessitating contestants to use your specific products. This is truly an effective way of promoting your brand and also, interacting with your Instagram followers. By using a precise hashtag you could inform your followers regarding the photo contest maybe a few days in advance. Everybody participating in the event would automatically promote your brand. You could boost participation by offering winners enticing prizes. You would land up with more followers than you had ever before. When people are uploading their photos with the relevant hashtag, their followers would be noticing your brand and would like to take part in the activity.

Great for Engaging Audience and Promoting Organic Traffic

You could effectively engage your audience by using fun contests and quality pictures. Instagram is a wonderful platform for expressing creativity and sharing memories. If you have an eye-catching brand or product and wish to really make the most of the photo-sharing app, start replying to comments and staying involved and connected with your followers. Use hashtags just like you would be using SEO keywords. Consider terms and phrases that aptly describe your brand or product and use them effectively. Instagram is definitely the place to be in if you have a picture-worthy product.

Conclusion

Do not undermine the role of Instagram in promoting your brand. Instagram helps you to stay connected with millions of people and helps you to completely revolutionize the outcome of your brand or business.

Author Bio: Henry Connors is an SEO specialist who has recently taken to active blogging. He often advises his followers regarding effective ways of boosting organic traffic and increasing the number of Instagram followers. He has an impressive fan base and is an avid blogger.

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Online Marketing

Rand Internet Marketing Announces Partnership With 3dcart

by onkar
written by onkar

Rand Internet Marketing is known in the internet marketing industry for providing high quality services and solutions for their clients. Rand offers a wide range of services including search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), responsive website design and development on the Wordpress and Magento eCommerce platforms, logo and graphic design, social media setup and marketing, online banner advertising, and online content marketing, among many more.

“We are excited to be partnering with 3dcart,” said Seth Rand, Founder and CEO at Rand Internet Marketing. “We believe 3dcart will provide successful solutions that will deliver positive results for our clients.”

3dcart, the ultimate all-in-one online store builder, provides small and large businesses alike with everything they need to sell online. With 3dcart, businesses can manage and market their online stores with additional access to a variety of eCommerce features and services, including but not limited to a blog, email, newsletters, CRM (Customer Relationship Management), social media integration, access to over 100+ responsive, mobile-friendly themes and an iPad compatible Point of Sale app. 3dcart stores are mobile and social ready, with additional social media marketing, design and SEO services available, designed to provide exemplary, dedicated support for all aspects of an online business. With over 18 years in eCommerce, 17,000+ online retailers, and $4 billion in online transactions, 3dcart is the premier platform for online businesses worldwide.

“We are very pleased to partner with Rand Marketing,” states Jimmy Rodriguez, COO at 3dcart. “This partnership reflects our desire to collaborate with companies that share our vision of helping clients grow and succeed.”

About Rand Internet Marketing

Rand Internet Marketing, a division of Rand Business Services, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, offers a full line of design and marketing services including logo design, graphic design, website design, responsive web development, search engine marketing, and social media marketing. Rand specializes in professional responsive web design and development including WordPress websites and Magento eCommerce websites, mobile site design and development, search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC) management marketing. Rand also offers video production, video marketing, full color printing, reviews and reputation management, product photography, merchant services and a variety of other professional business services.

If you are in the market for a new website, or looking to generate more leads and sales through internet marketing, let the Rand Internet Marketing team help you design an integrated strategy that will help your business succeed.

 

 

[“Source- prnewswire”]

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Blogging

How Not to Be a Sleaze (or a Martyr) in Your Business

by onkar
written by onkar

Don't take shortcuts; they take too long.

Don’t take shortcuts; they take too long.

I first wrote that advice in a post about site quality as an SEO strategy for content marketers.

It sprang back to mind when we lost the incomparable Yogi Berra last week. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do Yet Another Blog Post with Yogi Quotes (this is a good collection, if you’re looking for one).

But there’s something about that “so wrong, it’s right” Yogi logic that seems to be a constant in business and in life, and I thought I’d write about it.

So what does that initial advice mean, anyway?

Don’t take shortcuts; they take too long

In the world of SEO, it’s fairly straightforward.

First, let me make it very clear: There are some great SEOs out there. They’re smart, skillful professionals who will come to you with an intelligent strategy that works for the long haul — combined, possibly, with some technical fixes if your site code is horrible or if your last SEO firm took shortcuts that are now getting you penalized.

And those “shortcuts” are what I was getting at.

Buying links from crappy sites, vomiting out volumes of weak content, doing weird fake things like inserting “SEO text” in white on a white background.

Silly bullshit, in other words.

Almost anything that can be described as “SEOing your content” is something you should take a hard look at.

Now, if “SEOing your content” means “making it exceptionally valuable, shareable, and relevant, and including a fantastic headline and a compelling image,” go forth and do your thing.

If “SEOing your content” means deforming the language so it’s hard for humans to read, or trying to trick people into clicking your link, or other practices that defy common sense, you want to slow down and think through why you’re doing this.

Rather than thinking about “SEOing” as some kind of layer you put over your content, work on creating content that fits into a smart, cohesive strategy that works for your audience, prospects, customers … and lastly, for search engines.

Other business shortcuts

But SEO isn’t the only realm where we can do foolish things with our businesses.

Business frameworks can be extremely helpful. But “just add water, makes its own sauce” over-simplified formulas usually don’t work — except for the person who sold them to you.

Smart outsourcing can revolutionize your business. Thinking that you can run a complex business off of twelve-cent-an-hour overseas freelancers is delusional.

Working intelligently and focusing on the right things is a good idea. Trying to carve your business down to “the four-second work week” is fantasyland.

No, this is not a knock on Tim Ferriss, whom I have no problem with. It is a knock on some of the extreme claims made by dudes who have read his books but whose businesses seem to operate mostly in their imaginations.

Also, if you read his stuff, you’ve probably noticed that Tim doesn’t seem to have a four-hour work week, at least not most weeks of the year. And that’s totally fine.

However, the hair shirt is optional

One of the quite nifty things about online business is that a lot of the blood, sweat, and tears of traditional business are considerably diminished.

In particular, the blood, sweat, and tears produced by trying to pay for a physical location and full-time employees to make your business run.

Online businesses lend themselves to experimentation, to playing around withMinimum Viable Products until you find one that resonates, and to scaling nicely once you start to attract a larger audience.

It’s still business. You have to take it seriously.

But it’s a lot easier to get an online business off the ground and a lot easier to get started without monster risks.

Finding the balance

The more I write and podcast, the more I realize that almost everything in business is about finding the right balance.

  • You need to balance the work you put in against time to take care of yourself.
  • You need to balance overdelivering value for your audience against fair and reasonable compensation for what you do.
  • You don’t want to sell like a used car salesman in foreclosure, and you also don’t want to sell like a wimp who doesn’t believe in what you’re selling.

That’s why we don’t give you straight-up formulas or paint-by-number solutions at Copyblogger. We offer frameworks, best practices, rules of thumb, and starting points.

The precise balance point you find will always be individual.

A place for people like you

Just a reminder that this Wednesday, September 30, we’re going to be closing down our Authority community to new members.

What’s Authority? It’s a group of intelligent, thoughtful people who are, like you, looking for their balance point in business and marketing.

Looking for the right way to attract the best audience, for the right way to engage and connect with them, and the right way to sell.

If you like how we do things at Copyblogger, Authority is where you learn to “level up” and start taking our advice to a more advanced level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
[“Source- copyblogger”]

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Online Marketing

11 SEO strategy trends that are set to dominate digital marketing

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the backbone of brands when it comes to online presence. Ranking higher on SERP takes effort and time – and gets even more challenging with trends that change without a moment’s notice. Google is anamorphous search engine which is popular (and even notorious) for rolling out changes in its search algorithms pretty often.

The year 2019 brought fresh updates from Google – some radical enough to ensure a swift departure from the usual SEO effortsused by professionals in the past. From the V’s (Video, Voice, and Vernacular) to the emphasis on local queries, Google is bringing a lot of changesas perthe changing internet consumption.

Let’s look at some of these changes and what they mean:

1.      Content is still the dominant factor

To offers users authentic, detailed, and complete information, websites’ content will continue to be Hobson’sChoice for boosting SEO efforts. Digital marketers and SEO stalwarts need to emphasiseon unique content that appeals to readers. Content must be in the realm of context and should not deviate from the main line of industry events. It shouldn’t be a smug illustration devoted to self-appreciation and highlighting limited virtues of business.

Further, content needs to be so detailed that a promising content cluster should appear to readers who look for securing comprehensive informationon given topics and all its aspects.

2.     Mobile apps to complement SEO strategy

Sterling mobile apps offering a range of featuresand giving impetus to business objectives among target customers will call the shots from this year onwards. However, a slight alteration in Google ranking factors will be the element of importance and popularity. Such apps are developed to gather users from social media and through online forums.

A heads-up to the SEO community: stress on building exclusive business apps, finely tuned with business ads. These apps should enable easy lead generation and sales full throttle.

3.     Local queries and Google My Business to amplify results

Google wants us to come of age and start looking forward to local business interests with intent. For a small business or an SMB with limited scope of business, getting registered onGoogle Mapsis essential. Having a business profile with Google My Business adds another level of authenticity and boosts results with local search queries.

4.    Multiple languages to provide information on website

Google has gained credibility as being the ultimate source of information across the world. To promote the idea of globalisation, websites exhibiting information in multiple languages are given preference across geographical quarters.

In other words, the website should be translation-friendly to cater to a global audience. Therefore, to generate a greater number of clicks and address users’ preference, SEO professionalsshould consider tweaking their websites to enable multiple languages.

5.     Searches through video, voice, and vernacular

Since the estimation of users hunting for specific product or services stands at a whopping 320 million across the globe, Google has decided to take a stride in this arena. As a strong hint to our ever-insightful SEO executives, the websites will be located through voice searches against a given set of keywords spanning industries. Websites need to program the lines of code accordingly to decipher and process voice-based queries.

Furthermore, according to a recent study, internet users in vernacular languages have seen immense growth. More than 70 percent Indians prefer surfing local languagecontent.Video has a similar story to tell and is responsible for 75 percent of total mobile traffic in India. More than 95 percent of video consumption online is in vernacular languages.

The entire digital ecosystem is changingand there’s more focus on the 3V’s of digital medium: video, voice,and vernacular.

6.    Online forums and communities with ingenious reviews

Businesses and websites are manipulated for ranking through real-time user reviews. Working on such a principle, explicit algorithms are written where metadata drawsin user reviews targeting a product range or a service. Such an idea is pretty broad; it entails recording opinions in favour or against a particular product on online forums.

Here, as a notion for SEO efforts, we need to heed what people think about us in forums and what perception our company or website enjoys. Adequate steps should be taken to refine it gradually.

7.     Image optimisation is crucial

Google searches are largely seen inundated with images, forcing SEO professionals (especially those working for ecommerce websites) to derive immense fortunes from such a perspective.Further, as Google also taps machine learning to uncover images, we need to post pixel-perfect, real-time product images imbibing relevance regarding their texture.

8.    Revisit the most crucial ranking parameters again and again

In general, backlinks are rightly reckoned to be a prominent effort affecting searches. Since they have a significant impact on searches, they are highly exploited and are one of the most prominent black hat SEO practices. Thus, as an antidote to such a menace, users’ behaviour on any of the navigational links is put under constant scanner.

For engineering the SEO, such an aspect can hardly be overlooked.It is important to crafta content cluster in a given context whereby websites are searched against a given query.

In the same way, links need to be built from an array of websites that dominate a given niche and not the other way around. Further, unwanted traffic should be avoided at all costs. A content strategy should align perfectly with the demands of the target audience.A good content strategy will be one that offers solutions to the customer’s queries and doubt at each stage of the purchase process.

9.    Videos bringing the next shift

While looking for information, one generally develops a solidified and widely integrated knowledge through videos rather than reading volumes of data as textual representation. In other words, Google is all set to manage data by placing a number to every aspect of video interaction. Number of views, likes or dislikes received, video sharing, comments, and so forth willbe calculated.

This tectonic shift in favour of videos should alert SEO executives to empathise with video explanations highlighting any process in a given industry. Furthermore, objects discussed in media content are generally captured through advanced machine learning as deployed by Google for such an underlying reason. For SEO, videos that are simply another version of contentthat should be given priority,followed by a briefsummary of information.

10. Quick results and faster ROIthrough customised searches

User preferences and past actions play a deciding role, as one’s interactions against a given keyword are manipulated. As such, those sailing in the ever-expansive SEO ocean, need to be tactful enough to capture at least (and at best) single interaction with all clients/customers categorised as hot leads in a specific geographical area.

In such an effort, PPC campaigns should be executedwhile giving Facebook ads a boostto enable traction among the crowd to click on the website in any given industry. The underlying benefit is that when the search is for a keyword or any such query, website pages relevant to the keyword or search query will start showing up in SERP organically.

11.   Lay copyrighted and third-party multimedia content to Rest

Google is getting better at all sorts of multi-media context, including music and videos. To ensure a draw of great luck and fortune for our websites, we also need to sail along the tide of originality and should restrict putting up videos and multimedia that are copyrighted or owned by others. For best results, proficient graphic designers should be roped in for carving out and stockpiling images with company name and logos.

In the same way, artists can be contacted on platforms such as SoundCloud for consent to use their work. They usually agree because it cross-promotes them. Finally, upcoming artists and talent should be given a thumbs-up by including their work onto the website. In short, under all circumstances and in all weather, originality needs to be accentuated, and duplicity and dubious play of things should be discouraged as Google’s eyes and sight are improving.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.) 

[“source=yourstory”]

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Blogging

SEO & Blogging: Your 2019 Guide

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Blogging is often a central component for both successful organic search ranking and content marketing, but it requires careful planning to reap maximum benefits. If your goals for 2019 include growing your organic reach, read on for some key tips to get started on the right foot.

What Are Your Blogging Goals?

It’s not enough to say that you want “more organic traffic” when setting up your blogging strategy. Take some time to consider what you want from your organic traffic before you begin. Is it:

  • more sign-ups to your email list?
  • more targeted audience traffic for retargeting campaigns?
  • more sales from current customers?
  • something else?

Once you’ve decided what kind of results you want from your organic traffic, you can begin planning out your content schedule. Aim for consistent, regular posts that fit with your capacity for content creation. The goal is to develop a regular blog production schedule that your audience can rely on. And because fresh content helps with organic rank, you’ll be giving your SEO a boost as well.

image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/research_1545721449-600×400.jpg

young man stares at a wall of research

Pexels / Pixabay

What to Write About: 5 Tips for Blog Topic Research

One of the best ways to ensure consistency is to find topics to write about before you sit down in front of a blank screen. Here are some ways to brainstorm topics that will bring you relevant traffic:

  • Dig deep in Facebook & LinkedIn groups—find relevant groups to join and make use of the search function to see what kinds of questions come up over and over. Are there ways you can address these common challenges in a blog post (or a series of blog posts)?
  • Use a content research tool—tools like BuzzSumo and ContentStudio help you to find what kinds of content are already trending for your keywords. You can use this information to find ways to either improve upon what’s out there, or to address gaps in what’s already been covered.
  • Check review sites for common themes—sites like Yelp and Angie’s List offer deep insights into the kinds of concerns that customers have for service-based businesses. Look at reviews for your competitors as well as your own business. What topics could you cover that would help customers feel more at ease about doing business with you?
  • Raid your helpdesk—chances are good that there are at least 5-10 topics that come up over and over for your support team. Can you turn those questions/common issues into a series of blog posts that offer fast solutions? This is a great option for current customers that may be searching for the answer, even if you already have a knowledgebase or help docs.
  • Get local for big impact—local search optimization doesn’t have to end with semantic markup for locations. Are there local events that you support? Conventions you’ll be attending? Seminars that you’re hosting? All of these can make excellent topics for blog posts that will rank well for local search.

More than Written Words: Multimedia Blog Content

Creating multimedia content to supplement your blog posts offers the potential for additional engagement as well as additional opportunities for both on-page optimization and inbound traffic.

  • Video—video hosted on sites like YouTube and Vimeo can be optimized to help draw additional traffic to your site.
  • Audio—podcasts or voiced blog posts provide accessibility to the visually-impaired and podcasts can be used as another inbound channel to bring traffic to your site.
  • Images—alt text and captions provide additional opportunities for on-page SEO, while informative or entertaining imagery helps to drive engagement.
  • Slides—whether you create a new slide deck highlighting the main points of the blog post, or repurpose slides used for a similar subject, slides provide another means to help people understand complex topics and gain further insight.

Post Publishing Push: Outreach & Promotion

Once your blog posts are published, the crucial step of promotion ensures that you’ll get traffic to your site even before the pages are indexed. While basic promotion across social media channels is a given, don’t stop there. Think of creative ways to get your content in front of your audience.

Content promotion through paid services such as Outbrain is one option, but you can also get traction through guest blogs, influencer marketing, supplemental content (think videos and slides linking to your blog posts).

image: https://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/sharing_1545721584-600×300.jpg

keyboard with social media icons - twitter, pinterest, facebook, and linkedin

472301 / Pixabay

Ongoing Blog Optimization: Test, Tweak, Repeat

As your blogging efforts take shape, remember to take the time to regularly assess performance. Which blog posts are doing well in terms of bringing in not only traffic, but results? What kinds of topics engage your audience most? What kinds of blog post formats get the most conversions? The answers to these questions should form the basis of how you move forward with your blog as the year progresses.

Don’t be afraid to test new blog post types, topics, and promotion techniques in order to find out what works best for you. Once you have a formula that works, continue testing new options to turn your blog into a top driver of organic traffic (and results)!

[“source=business2community”]

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Blogging

SEO & Blogging: Your 2019 Guide

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

What Are Your Blogging Goals?

It’s not enough to say that you want “more organic traffic” when setting up your blogging strategy. Take some time to consider what you want from your organic traffic before you begin. Is it:

  • more sign-ups to your email list?
  • more targeted audience traffic for retargeting campaigns?
  • more sales from current customers?
  • something else?

Once you’ve decided what kind of results you want from your organic traffic, you can begin planning out your content schedule. Aim for consistent, regular posts that fit with your capacity for content creation. The goal is to develop a regular blog production schedule that your audience can rely on. And because fresh content helps with organic rank, you’ll be giving your SEO a boost as well.

young man stares at a wall of research

What to Write About: 5 Tips for Blog Topic Research

One of the best ways to ensure consistency is to find topics to write about before you sit down in front of a blank screen. Here are some ways to brainstorm topics that will bring you relevant traffic:

  • Dig deep in Facebook & LinkedIn groups—find relevant groups to join and make use of the search function to see what kinds of questions come up over and over. Are there ways you can address these common challenges in a blog post (or a series of blog posts)?
  • Use a content research tool—tools like BuzzSumo and ContentStudio help you to find what kinds of content are already trending for your keywords. You can use this information to find ways to either improve upon what’s out there, or to address gaps in what’s already been covered.
  • Check review sites for common themes—sites like Yelp and Angie’s List offer deep insights into the kinds of concerns that customers have for service-based businesses. Look at reviews for your competitors as well as your own business. What topics could you cover that would help customers feel more at ease about doing business with you?
  • Raid your helpdesk—chances are good that there are at least 5-10 topics that come up over and over for your support team. Can you turn those questions/common issues into a series of blog posts that offer fast solutions? This is a great option for current customers that may be searching for the answer, even if you already have a knowledgebase or help docs.
  • Get local for big impact—local search optimization doesn’t have to end with semantic markup for locations. Are there local events that you support? Conventions you’ll be attending? Seminars that you’re hosting? All of these can make excellent topics for blog posts that will rank well for local search.

More than Written Words: Multimedia Blog Content

Creating multimedia content to supplement your blog posts offers the potential for additional engagement as well as additional opportunities for both on-page optimization and inbound traffic.

  • Video—video hosted on sites like YouTube and Vimeo can be optimized to help draw additional traffic to your site.
  • Audio—podcasts or voiced blog posts provide accessibility to the visually-impaired and podcasts can be used as another inbound channel to bring traffic to your site.
  • Images—alt text and captions provide additional opportunities for on-page SEO, while informative or entertaining imagery helps to drive engagement.
  • Slides—whether you create a new slide deck highlighting the main points of the blog post, or repurpose slides used for a similar subject, slides provide another means to help people understand complex topics and gain further insight.

Post Publishing Push: Outreach & Promotion

Once your blog posts are published, the crucial step of promotion ensures that you’ll get traffic to your site even before the pages are indexed. While basic promotion across social media channels is a given, don’t stop there. Think of creative ways to get your content in front of your audience.

 

keyboard with social media icons - twitter, pinterest, facebook, and linkedin

Ongoing Blog Optimization: Test, Tweak, Repeat

As your blogging efforts take shape, remember to take the time to regularly assess performance. Which blog posts are doing well in terms of bringing in not only traffic, but results? What kinds of topics engage your audience most? What kinds of blog post formats get the most conversions? The answers to these questions should form the basis of how you move forward with your blog as the year progresses.

Don’t be afraid to test new blog post types, topics, and promotion techniques in order to find out what works best for you. Once you have a formula that works, continue testing new options to turn your blog into a top driver of organic traffic .

[“source=business2community”]

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