As little as 3 years ago, many companies did not have blogs on their website, and if they did, they probably didn’t update them regularly. With the recent changes being made to the Google algorithms, having a high-quality blog is part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. This approach is what keeps your site well maintained and achieving better search rankings.
With the stakes being raised for company websites, there is more competition among blogs. Anyone can start a blog, but how do you build one that people actually want to read? Having a great writer helps, but you’ll need even more than that. If you stick with these traffic-boosting tips, you can be certain that you’ll build a better blog and keep the traffic flowing.
1. Write Well and Write Often
Many blogs are slow to start, so don’t get discouraged. Keep writing, and write often. It’s important that your posts are well written, so aim for about 300 or more words of solid, high-quality text. Provide a solution, offer how-to steps or share inside knowledge of your industry. A good start is to contribute 2 to 4 posts each month, and have consistency with this schedule so readers know when to expect an update.
2. Share Your Posts on Social Media
Your blog is meant to be shared, so get it out there! Post it to Google+, Twitter and Facebook so that you reach different audiences. Or, include your recent posts in a monthly newsletter. Add a catchy headline and monitor traffic using your site’s webmaster tools. You may find that sharing a post on a Tuesday morning gets more traffic than one posted on a Friday night, for instance.
3. Incorporate Solid Links
Links are more important than ever, and it’s important that they are high-quality and relevant. Links are recognized by search engines, and they give other bloggers a pat on the shoulder by linking back to their own work. When bloggers identify where the backlinks are coming from, they may in turn read your work and become a follower. This will also help increase backlinks to your site, another useful tool in increasing traffic.
4. Write Guest Posts
As you grow your blog, you’ll want to share knowledge on your industry by writing guest posts for others. Guests posts are a great way to pick up new followers and increase traffic to your site from unique sources. Guest blog opportunities are available, but you’ll have to do a little digging. You may search online for opportunities, or ask people in your own niche for a one-time guest post on their blog.
5. Keep a Clean Design and Layout
The eye enjoys reading text that is visually appealing, so make sure your design is attractive. Use the proper spacing, experiment with various fonts and have a mobile-optimized site. Insert a photo with each post, and open up the comments section. Also have fun playing around with widgets, themes and plugins. When your blog looks professional and organized, it will speak for the professionalism of your business.
