You have heard us say it before, and we will say it again – content is everything. A good blog on your website can help improve your SEO/SERP results, develop your brand and message, support your social media platforms, and give you a big boost with Google as you create additional landing pages and links to your site. We have previously covered benefits of blogging as well as key practices to develop a blog. But what happens if you have a blog and it’s hopelessly out of date? Or you are consistently posting but you aren’t keeping up with the latest tools that help your blog achieve tangible results for your business? We are covering the latest updates that your blog needs to drive real results for your business.
Remove Dates From Timeless Posts
If you are creating timeless blog posts with relevant information for your readers (which is the goal!), you don’t want an old date stamp next to it. Whether or not the content is timely, relevant and useful to your readers – if it has a date six months older or more, users can assume the information is old and out of date as well, even if its not. Timeless blog posts should get the shares, reads and search results that they deserve so remove all dates from this relevant content.
Shareable Icons on Each Blog
Social media platforms are absolute necessities to grow your business and brand. Chances are your users are finding your blogs from either social media or from SEO results when they search for a specific topic. Having shareable icons allows your users to share your content directly to their page, increasing the number of views and reach of your content while also providing invaluable backlinks. Google reads each one of these shares as an extension of your site, helping to improve your SEO/SERP results. Make sure your icons are prominent and easy to understand so your users can quickly choose their desired platform and share away!
Social Icons and Invitation to Follow
Building off our previous note, aside from the option to share your content, you also want to give your users the option to follow you on social media. These icons should be visible with a clear invitation to follow your social media presence. You should already be providing consistent, quality social media content (your amazing blog posts should help with this!) and you can increase your reach, reputation and build brand loyalty through consumers that consistently follow you on social.
10 or Fewer Categories and a Search Option
One way to clarify what you do well and how your blogs enhance your consumers lives is to develop ten or fewer categories for your blogs and include an easy search option for your users. By narrowing down and consistently focusing on providing unique and valuable content you set yourself up as an authority within your niche. Google then rewards you for having content that connects and comes back to the message of your website. Conversely if you are providing out of date or irrelevant content to your business, Google penalizes you for that as well.
Images on Each Blog
We live in an increasingly visual world. Short videos and eye catching images are the wave of the future in digital marketing. Each blog you post needs to have a relevant, eye catching image. This allows your post to draw readers in, especially through social media when most people don’t read long captions but look immediately to images first. There are many free stock image sites that are useful as well as tips to taking professional photos even with a smartphone.
More Options Like “Read Other Blogs” or Events
Once you have drawn the user to your site through a blog, you want to keep them engaged. Offering additional free content like other blogs, events, free seminars, or an option to chat can decrease your bounce rates and help drive consumers through the sales funnel to conversion. Additionally, once a user sees you offer valuable content in a variety of areas they are more likely to follow you on social, stay up to date with your posts and share your content as well.
Last 10 blogs Have CTA to Contact On Page
Make it easy for your users – at least the last ten blogs should have a call-to-action with contact information on the page. Whether that is a phone number, email, or free seminar, there should be a prominent, simple way for users to find more information from you should they want it. Good CTA’s drive conversions, help users continue their engagement with your site, and they prevent drop off if your users reach the end of a blog and are looking for the next steps.
Last 10 Blogs Have Links to Other Pages and Another Page On the Site
It is extremely difficult to have a successful digital marketing strategy that involves a site without links. Google reads any link from your site posted elsewhere (think social media shares, guest posts, website links) as an extension of your site. These backlinks improve your standing as an authority in your field, improve your organic search traffic results, and increase referral traffic which often has a lower bounce rate. Internal links inside your website also helps your users find additional content on the topics they are searching, driving them further into your website and hopefully engaging them in a quality call-to-action such as signing up for a newsletter, sharing your content or most importantly converting into sales and tangible results for your business.
Do you have additional questions on how your blog can help your digital marketing strategy? Our team of designers, content creators and social media experts work together to build a comprehensive content based strategy for every client. Contact us for more information on how we can help you too!
