Keeping Up Your SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is basically the process of maximizing your website’s ranking and visibility when searched via Google or other popular search engines. While SEO can be a complicated topic, and the true algorithm for optimization is unknown, there are a few simple steps that you can take to ensure that your website is set up for success in the search engine world.
One of the biggest, and most helpful, is starting (or keeping up) a blog.
How a blog can help with your SEO
SEO picks up and catalogs the words on your website, so writing content that is ‘SEO Rich’ or is typically searched by the public, is essential in boosting your website rank. Keywords (or better yet, keyphrases) are truly the answer to this process. Include them in your title, description and throughout your blog.
Images are also a great way to add an extra amount of SEO by customizing the file name and ensuring that the images you choose to include in your post are both good quality and formatted correctly.
Most big website builders such as Squarespace give you ample opportunities to include SEO boosting material such as blog tags, headlines, etc. Make sure to utilize all these options in one way or another to make the most out of your blog and get as much traffic as possible. An example of this from my own site would be something like “holistic-web-designer.png”.
Developing a blog content calendar
Now that we’ve covered the importance of the blog, you might be wondering how on earth to keep a blog up - especially if your business isn’t something that requires one. But not to fear, creating a blog content calendar requires time and effort, but will take the stress off of curating content every single day.
When developing your content, think of your ideal client, questions they may have or any pain points in their lives that they need to have addressed. This is your chance to talk to them fully, uninterrupted and as persuasively as you wish. Bear in mind that this is YOUR content - say what you want to your ideal customers and build the personality in your business.
After you develop a few blog content ideas start to write them down in a list format one after the other until you have roughly enough ideas to fill up at least a month or so!
Grab a blank calendar
To start with the planning side, determine how often you want to be blogging. Is it every other day? Once a week? Maybe just once a month? It’s all up to you. Once you figure that out, begin to fill relevant blog topics into each slot.
Doing the work
Now that you have all the pre-planning out of the way, all that’s left is to start writing!
Drafting and outlining your posts can help you remember to include the keywords needed for optimal SEO as well as stay on topic throughout the entire writing process.
After the blogs are written and ready to be posted, do some research to determine what time would be best to schedule each one and set them to go live at that specific time. Promote your posts on social media with graphics, quotes or stats to advertise each one.
Keeping up a blog is a commitment and takes time and effort if you want to truly make a good one, but the payoff at the end of the day makes it an essential online business builder as it increases SEO, boosts awareness and gives you a chance to speak into your clients in a different way!
Be patient
A common misconception about SEO is that it will boost your ranking overnight. Nope. Building up your Google results takes T-I-M-E. Sometimes it can even take up to a year. Don’t get discouraged! Just keep plugging away and you WILL see results. Just keep in mind that SEO isn’t some magic bullet, but more like another tool in your marketing toolbox.
