7 Blogging Practices You Need to Start Doing Right Now
When a person wants certain information regarding anything, the first thing he/she does is to type few relevant words regarding that in search engines like Google or Bing. A lot of websites and pages related to that topic pop up in the window and the person can then access the page he/she wants. Thus, search engine acts as a top traffic generator. If we understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) at the most basic level, it is showing the search engines that a particular blog is a relevant resource if a person is looking for information regarding a particular subject or industry. But, lot of bloggers and marketers have the wrong notion of how to relay to the search engines that the particular blog or website they manage is relevant to the query posted. In their ignorance, they follow tactics, which could potentially harm their websites.
Things are changing at an alarming rate. Every day, new SEO tips keep coming in. All claim to get the content rank higher up in search engines.
Bloggers, often the new ones in the field, get confused as to which to follow. The search engines also keep changing the algorithms to determine where a particular content will rank for different queries. All said and done, there are few best practices, which have been consistent over the years. If a blogger follows these then practically he is saved from the entire headache of bothering about the ranking. Seven blogging practices that have been tried and tested for long are:
1 . Design for Objectives
If you are writing for a business blog, the basic aim is to get business. There are some products or services to sell and you are trying to promote that through the blog. So, now the objective is to provide information to the visitor by grabbing their attention to your blog. Providing a short and crisp text summary with a heading can get more visual coverage of the topic on the home page or the category page. These summaries ensure that a user will quickly scan and find something to grab their attention before leaving. A great write-up is no doubt an added advantage, but concentrating only on it from a writer’s point of view will defeat the purpose of getting business. You are not writing it to get the Pulitzer, but to get leads, which can be converted into business.
2. Stress on User Experience
You have to keep in mind a few things while writing. This is to increase the user interest once the title has caught their attention and they decide to go through the write-up. So, now the aim is to optimize readability. The mode of writing should be more of a conversational one rather than dictating. This will keep the visitor engrossed. The thoughts and ideas should be expressed clearly in crisp and short sentences. Use subheadings and bullet points instead of going for long paragraphs whenever possible. Use of graphics helps to keep the interest intact till the last.
And last but not the least is the heading. The heading is the first thing that draws the attention, so it should be something that catches the interest instantly. Having a great write-up with a weak headline is a recipe for disaster. Though it is easier to say to have a strong headline, creating one is really complex. You can use listicle format or some persuasive words, but the basic idea is to make the reader believe that there is something they need to check out.
3. Relationship Building Is the Best Form of Link Building
The strongest search engine ranking factor is getting other websites to link to your content. For this, bloggers try various tactics. Sometimes, they create spam directory sites or buy links from low-quality blogs. Search engines are always on the lookout for such stuff and keep penalising them by blacklisting. There is no secret formula to link building. It is only based on trust and this trust is built over time. In the blogosphere, “a rising tide raises all ships.” Embrace civilised discourse, network and befriend your fellow bloggers whether or not you agree with them.
No blogger can deny the importance of social media sharing. This sharing can either be done directly or by making it easy to share the blog post. So, you need to start building the relationship with influencers, websites, and authorities that are in your business. Search for them and find ways to interact with them. Once they are on your radar, they might link to your content on their site. In future, you can also work together to get wider audience reach. Getting influencers to share your content always has a huge influence. Trust, being an intangible asset, takes time to build and a second to get lost. So, be very cautious and never do anything to breach it.
4. Publishing Frequency
This factor varies according to the requirement and approach. There are some who post on a daily basis.
Their posts are normally short and thoughtful. When it comes to analytical, they are not all that focused. The comprehensive posts need more time and focus on creating. It is not possible to churn out such posts on a daily basis, especially if you have only one author.
Regular visitors anticipate new and relevant content on a regular basis. So, having a team helps in this case.
5. Believe In Your Writing
It happens that you might have researched well and written a nice post, but still not getting the required ‘hits’. It might shake your confidence, but understand that there are so many factors on which it depends.
Besides topic and timing, the intangibles are also involved. If you believe in what you write and you are honest with your writing, it will definitely hit the chord.
Keep in mind that success of the post is not always measured by how many people got touched by your words, but also by how deeply they get touched. "Words that come from the heart enter the heart," should be the motto.
6. Create Persuasive Calls to Action
Now that you have all the right material on your blog, what is the next step? You got a visitor on your blog and kept him hooked till the end of the content. Now, what? What do you want him to do? You want him to take the next step and for that, you need to prompt him. This needs to be done at the precise moment when the visitor wants it. So, you need to incorporate some ideas to your blog. This can be something like:
- Sign up for our free webinar
- Join us on social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn etc.
- Sign up for our e-newsletter
Likewise, many other things can be incorporated, but the basic idea is to prompt the reader to take the next step at his convenience.
7. Love Your Readers and Be Grateful to Them
The word ‘gratitude’ is not enough to convey your feeling towards those who read your stuff and consistently like and share it. Make efforts to make them aware of your feelings about how much their support means to you. Sometimes, bloggers get obsessed with finding new readers and get unmindful of the needs of existing readers. Finding new readers is a must, but at the same time find time to show the existing readers that they are a vital part and their contribution is immense. This will make them more loyal to you and help to grow your blog.
According to Jay Baer, author of Youtility, “Don’t be afraid to showcase what you know. Too many bloggers hold back the good stuff out of fear of giving away the “secret sauce.” There is no secret sauce in a world where everyone has high-speed Internet access at all times. Today, you want to give away information snacks to sell knowledge meals”.
A blog in reality comprises of two things. The first is simply a piece of technology, a platform. But, the second is a promise. It is a commitment to provide the readers with some elements of value that are hyper-targeted to their needs. It is something similar to a newspaper in the physical world. Readers don’t just look at a newspaper as newsprint that is delivered on their driveway every morning. Instead, what they look for is the information that it provides.
Blogging is not a platform to get short term return on investment or a quick path to recognition, but it is a platform to constantly learn, iterate and improve to achieve something remarkable over time.
