Blogging is one of the most effective content marketing strategies because it’s the part of your website you frequently update with new posts to keep readers engaged. Your blog content helps entice potential customers to your site and build your brand’s audience.
While frequency and consistency are essential to increase blog traffic, writing quality articles that rank high on Google and other search engines is also crucial. We’ve compiled eight tips explaining how to write a blog that ranks high and drives traffic to your site. However, if you need more help creating blog posts that generate traffic and boost your ranking, Impact Group Marketing is here to help you.
Read More: 5 Reasons Why Your Business Website Needs a Blog
8 Tips to Help Your Blog Posts Rank Higher
- Choose a Relevant Topic and Create Valuable Content
- Identify and Use Keywords
- Create Titles That Capture Attention
- Focus on the Structure and Length
- Include a Call to Action
- Optimize for SEO
- Utilize Crosslinks
- Link Externally
Choose a Relevant Topic and Create Valuable Content
Choosing a relevant topic for your blog post is crucial. The topics must relate to your business in some way to attract the leads you’re looking for.
So, how do you find relevant blog ideas? Identify topics related to your business that people are already searching for. Some valuable free tools are available to help you find relevant topics to rank higher in Google and other search engines.
Google Keyword Planner – Google’s free tool helps you find the perfect blog topic. Simply enter the topic into the keyword planner, click “Get Ideas,” and discover helpful suggestions for valuable keywords to use in your blog and title.
Amazon – Amazon is another great resource for finding relevant blog topics. When you search for books on Amazon using the keyword you’ve chosen, you’ll find many books addressing that topic. Look at the table of contents of books with high ratings, and you’ll find a list of usable ideas for your blog and title.
It’s also crucial to create content that gives your audience useful information. Google has a feature built into its analytics that considers “bounce rates.” If readers click out of your content without spending time reading it, your bounce rate will be high – lowering your Google ranking. So, make sure your content is engaging, valuable, and actionable to lower your bounce rate and boost your ranking.
Identify and Use Keywords
Did you know that Google handles over 99,000 search queries per second? So, to outperform your competitors, tap into the most popular keywords your target audience is searching for. In addition to the Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends is another valuable tool to find the best keywords.
Once you identify popular keywords, naturally incorporate them throughout your article. Forcing keywords into sentences can make them awkward, so make sure they flow smoothly. And be careful not to overuse the same keywords throughout your blog. This is known as “keyword stuffing” and can lead to lower rankings in search engines.
Create Titles That Capture Attention
Once you identify the relevant keywords you want to use, create a headline using some of the top-ranked phrases. According to Backlinko, there are 20 types of headlines that capture your audience’s attention and entice them to read it.
The ideal blog post title is around 60 characters. BuzzSumo recommends using between 12 and 18 words in your blog title for maximum effectiveness. Another tip is to incorporate parentheses or brackets into your title. According to a study by OutBrain, titles with parentheses rank 38% higher than titles without.
Focus on the Structure and Length
Knowing the essential structural elements of a blog article will enable you to write compelling content. The basic structure consists of an introduction (tell them what you’re going to tell them), the body of your blog (tell them), and a conclusion (tell them what you told them.) Follow this formula, and your blog will be effective and easy to understand.
One of Google’s 200 algorithm factors is comprehensive content. Questions answered more thoroughly have higher authority and rank better on the search page. So, aiming for blog posts that are 1,500 – 2,500 words will help optimize your article for a higher ranking.
However, many brands and companies stick to shorter blog lengths (500 – 750 words) to meet the needs of their specific audience. Quality is more important than quantity!
Read More: 4 Proven Blog Post Templates – And How to Use Them
Include a Call-to-Action
Always include a compelling call to action (CTA) in your blogs. A CTA is an invitation to your audience to take a specific action. For example, the CTA may appear as a button or link that takes the reader to a landing page where they can schedule an appointment.
It also helps to include a CTA as early as possible for those readers who don’t finish the entire article.
Optimize for SEO
Another way to rank higher on Google and other search engines is to optimize your blog for search engine optimization (SEO). In addition to using keywords and writing relevant and well-structured longer posts, you should optimize images for the fastest possible page speed, optimize your image alt text, and utilize link-building strategies. By addressing each of these aspects of SEO, your blog post will be optimized for increased organic traffic.
Utilize Crosslinks
SEO crosslinks, or internal links, are links to other pages on your website – linking relevant keywords to related content. These links help improve the authority of pages on your website and enable readers to access related content easily. Make the text for your links as natural as possible instead of using the generic phrase “click here.” Crosslinking provides value to your readers and plays a significant role in SEO.
Link Externally
In addition to crosslinks, using external links can help improve your SEO. Including valuable external links accomplishes two important things – it provides more value to your audience by helping them find the information they need, and it shows Google that you put the work into thoroughly researching your topic.
Bottom Line
These eight tips will help you write a blog that ranks higher in Google and other search engines. However, effectively using each of these SEO strategies in every blog post is often easier said than done. Finding relevant topics and keywords can be daunting and time-consuming – and writing naturally in this style takes practice and skill.
At Impact Group Marketing, our team of SEO experts can help you create a blog that generates significantly more traffic to your website. Contact us today to discuss your goals and needs – and we’ll show you how we can help you grow and make an impact in your industry.
Read More: 6 Reasons to Hire a Professional Content Writer