Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is incredibly important if you want your website to be visible to people searching on keywords associated with your product, service or brand. Yet optimizing web page content – and by extension blog posts – is tricky business. After all, Goggle is known for implementing copious algorithm updates. If you’ve ever wanted to see just what the list looks like, we suggest a visit to the MOZ change history record – which only captures the major updates.
When one considers the volume of algorithm updates taking place, is it any wonder search engine marketers are masters of adaptation? What may have worked on Monday could be outdated by Friday. No one wants to optimize a site with “old school” methods, so it is onwards and upwards where best-practices are concerned.
What does all this talk about SEO have to do with blogging?
Once upon a time, blogging communities were all the rage. Businesses took note of the unique interactions and company blogs started to pop up. Blogging proved an ideal way to connect with customers or clients on a regular basis.
Then came mobile technology. As a society, we started to shift out attention away from desktop computer and laptops, preferring instead to work, browse and connect with mobile devices. It was this shift into mobile viewing, that in hindsight, probably changed the direction of blogging.
Here’s why:
- Content became available 24/7/365 and the once eager blog reading audience was over-saturated. As a society, we started to tune out and lost interest in “reading” about people, products, places and things. A quick glance at Worldometers shows over 3 million blog posts are written on any given day. And yes, this number continues to grow.
- Monetizing (ads) led to inauthenticity of blogging.
- People no longer seek out their own content or reading material, unless essential to a task at hand.
- We rely on family, friends or co-workers, not marketers, to curate content worthy of reading.
So you want to drive traffic to your website. What to do, what to do…
- Be authentic. If you must write a blog with more than 550 words, always err on quality over quantity.
- Get Social. Stay Social. Use Facebook, Twitter, Intagram, Google+, Houzz, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc. Strike a balance between fun posts and links back to your website and content.
- Write for Visuals. Seems counterintuitive, but consider your own social networks. Do you stop to read articles or do you stop to look at images or memes?
- Consider Podcasts or Video Blogging. Mike Rowe‘s Facebook page is a perfect example of how you can connect with an audience and create an amazing dynamic.
- Can you website support recipes? Until the Jetson’s Foodarackacycle comes to fruition, it is safe to say recipes will be in demand. Just make your recipe content is mobile friendly!
- Consider connecting with your audience via Text – Photos – Video – Chat. Essentially, make your business accessible for the times.
- Take advantage of built-in features on social platforms, like Facebook’s Carousel, Slideshows and Canvas.
- Businesses Helping Businesses: If your business is in a mall or BIA, tag your “neighbours” – support their businesses online. Share each others content or posts. Create engaging competitions and get the public involved.
- Host social chats. Let people ask questions, answer them honestly. Save the transcript, post to your website and social channels for those who may have missed out.
Need some guidance? Let’s talk.
When it comes to SEO, blogging and marketing, it can be hard to keep up with the trends. Which is why the team from Dalen Design is always at the ready. We regularly attend seminars and conferences, participate in online marketers events and engage in review strategies to assess what is and is not working for our clients. Should you wish to discuss your web presence and content marketing needs, please reach out. Our team would love to talk optimization with you!