A Blog About Blogs

A Blog About Blogs

When you think about blogs, do you think of a verbose, windy writer who is just talking to talk? Or do you think of a high schooler in the early 2000s detailing the trials and tribulations of being a teenager? Maybe you think of a person who is really into cats and has an unhealthy obsession with the colour pink. I mean, it's not totally off base, but there's more to it than that. Blogs are an essential part of your website. They give people a reason to keep coming back and see what's new, which will help boost your SEO (that's search engine optimization for those who don't know). Google doesn't care whether your site reads like War and Peace or if it's just a page full of text; what it cares about is whether the content on your site is relevant to user searches. So what makes a blog good? In this blog about blogs, we'll look at a few components that make up a good blog and see how they all come together! 

You know what they say. Content is king. Good content is essential to having a successful blog, and it comes down to being unique, relevant, and well-written. A blog should be unique. There are millions and millions of blogs on the internet, and that number continues to grow. Your blog should provide engaging content your target readers find interesting and valuable if you want it to stand out in the crowd. However, this could mean different things depending on who you're writing for. The more valuable and relevant the content, the more likely that people will read through it to the end! Perhaps most importantly, good content should be well-written. If you use too many difficult words or make your blog hard to read, readers won't be able to enjoy it. Readers want something informative and entertaining when they click on a link. The best blogs are accessible (and fun!) for everyone to read!

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is making your website attractive to a search engine so that it can be indexed quickly and ranked high in search results. It's a big topic, but we'll introduce two critical elements here: backlinks and keywords. 

Backlinks point to your website from other sites. Websites with backlinks tend to perform better because many link-backs imply that your site has valuable information or products. This practice was used effectively by AltaVista before Google took over. Backlinks are also crucial for establishing the credibility of a site. In the example sentence above, we linked the word "AltaVista" to its Wikipedia page, an example of a backlink.

Keywords are words you want to rank well for in organic search results. They should generally reflect what people type into Google when looking for something relating to your content (and then click on). For example, suppose someone was writing about dogs. They might want their keywords to include "puppies" and "dog food" since those are common queries people make related to dogs.

One SEO technique involves using keywords strategically placed in your content so that Google or some other search engine will direct readers worldwide to your blog. Using keywords is easy enough: type out words and sentences! But there are some subtleties involved when you're trying to use them well:

  1. Pick specific, not broad, keyword phrases. Your first instinct might be to use generic terms like "weight loss" or "vacation destination." These are popular topics, but it will be tough for you as a blogger to compete with big names and brands who have been dominating these search terms for years. Instead, think of more specific phrases like "vegan weight loss tips" or "best-secluded vacation spots." You'll have fewer competitors and better luck getting your page higher up on those results lists!
  2. Put your keyword phrase in your blog title, the headings and subheadings, and throughout the text of your post. Search engines are more likely to show links with specific keywords than without. However, don't go overboard by repeatedly repeating yourself! Search engines widely condemn keyword stuffing, and it can lead to search penalties.
  3. Your blog's title is the first thing anyone sees, so it needs to be good. Don't use the same title for multiple blogs. Since your title serves as a way for people to find your content, you want each one to be unique. If someone searches for one specific topic, they'll know exactly which post was written about it, so make sure your title is specific and relevant.

Backlinks are essential for SEO because they indicate to search engines that you have a solid and authoritative presence on the web. Backlinks also increase referral traffic and improve brand awareness, which can help drive more people to your site through higher rankings in search results. Search engines use these signals to determine how relevant a webpage is for specific keywords and topics. For example: if you have an article about cats, but it does not contain any links from other websites about cats, search engines may think that your article isn't relevant for "cat" related queries. 

Blogging is important because it helps you reach a wider audience and expand your online presence. It also helps you build your business and become an authority figure in your niche by providing helpful information that people are looking for online. Blogs are crucial to any business's marketing efforts; they increase your Google ranking, drive more traffic to your main website, and establish credibility with clients and potential clients looking to do business with you. Writing and promoting blogs take time, but the payoff is worth it!

So what should you write about on your blog? If you're running a business about taxidermy, why not write about how to clean up after taxidermy accidents? If you're selling cosmetics, why not write about some little-known ways to use makeup around the house? Even if it's not related to the product directly related to the products or services you sell, it'll still help get people interested in what you offer. If you need help writing blogs for your website, we can help! At Encompass Online Marketing, we specialize in SEO services, including blog writing! So if you're not don't know where to start, not feeling creative or just don't want to do it, contact us! We'll write them for you!

Written by: Trenton Ross