After all, this time, is blogging still relevant in the digital space? Well, the statistics certainly prove so.
It’s been found that there are 70 million new posts published every month and that 42% of websites are built on WordPress alone. Therefore, blogging still plays an important role in an online marketing strategy.
In a recent study run by the Content Marketing Institute, they discovered that of all the content marketing modes, such as ebooks, videos and infographics, 90% of businesses still used blogs to market their offering over the last 12 months.
But, how are they still driving traffic to their site given the overload of digital content?
Well, they are achieving this with the correct strategy and by having a primary focus on the priorities which surround blogging, including SEO, and taking the time to learn about their customers, but I’ll discuss this more later on.
If you’re just starting your SEO journey, or have been a content marketer previously, you may question if building out a blog strategy or spending time on outsourcing blogs is still worth the time. Well, it definitely is.
Even, if through a change in the times, social media has become a prominent part of your content strategy, it doesn’t mean blogs have to be left behind.
Blogging consistently works to bring in more traffic, build brand awareness, and authority & in return these leads and traffic turn into loyal customers and help to create your audience.
However, making these influential and meeting your company’s objectives is a whole different topic.
So, whilst these elements are important, it’s vital that you take the time to create a strategy that is effective in engaging and growing your audiences and entices users back to your website.
Why Is Blogging Still Relevant In This Digital World?
Well, first of all, let’s take a look at why for brands blogging is essential and the strategies being used by global giants to ensure their blogs remain relevant and influential in the ever-evolving digital world.
Blogging Builds Customer Loyalty & Trust
As I mentioned above, blogs help to build customer relationships based on trust and loyalty. But how & why?
By providing the correct advice and reliable information that consumers can utilise, you will establish authority on the topics you share and discuss.
You can use blogs to slowly nurture your audience and their loyalty whilst proving your expertise when it comes to your offering and industry.
One essential part of improving your content (both in blogs and across the board) is the E-A-T concept (expertise, authoritativeness & trustworthiness). & whilst this isn’t a ranking factor, tech giant Google has shared that E-A-T plays an essential part in its algorithm and how it recognises and analyzes content.
Therefore, your content needs be informative, accurate and helpful information should also be found throughout your site and content.
Blogging Increases Your Online Visibility
The next part to consider when writing great content is making sure it is SEO-friendly. Blogs which answer FAQs from consumers asking about your industry are helpful for nailing SEO.
Additionally, you want to incorporate keywords throughout your unique and enticing headings and subheadings, as well as your well-researched content. You’re guaranteed to increase your online visibility.
Internal linking is another brilliant way of increasing your visibility. By doing so throughout other blogs, product pages & other pages on your site you can also help build awareness and authority.
You also want to pay close attention to the length of the blogs in comparison to the topic you are discussing to ensure you’re covering every avenue and reaching the length that will help you rank on SERPs (search engine results pages).
I’ll discuss this more later, but images are another way of enhancing your visibility and content, but for now, let’s look into brand awareness.
Blogging Helps Create Brand Awareness
Producing new and original content puts you at an advantage in your brand standing tall against the rest of your competitors.
When a user is searching for answers to their questions or wants to learn more about a certain service or product, your brand will sit at the top of SERPs, providing them with the information they need.
Naturally, the more time you invest in your blog strategy, the greater potential you have to grow your brand awareness not just through SERPs but through the shares you receive across social media channels.
Blogging Can Generate New Leads
If consumers enjoy your content, it’s highly likely that they will want more.
Blogging is an excellent way to draw in new leads by having them subscribe to your newsletter/email listing.
With this approach, it’s far less intrusive than encouraging them to interact with an ad that prompts them to register for an email listing to gain a discount code. While this may be a great tactic for pulling in leads, blogs help to build a connection with your brand before asking them to share their details.
If they are already engaging with and reading the content listed on your site, they are already likely to enjoy your content and want to learn from you. Through unique, helpful content there’s more of a brand relationship here.
You can then incorporate this subscription opt-in pop-up at the end of the blog once or when they scroll to a certain section, as an encouragement to enter their information and continue reading.
Blogging Can Drive Engagement
A goal for most content marketers is to continue the building of relationships with new, and existing customers.
As a helping hand, blogs provide additional, shareable content than just posts on your products or services for consumers to share with other social media users.
They are a great way to create more connections with your brand, educate customers, as well as to provide tips or how-tos.
Naturally, over time these subtle reminders of your brand through your content will covert loyal readers into long-term customers.
Additionally, blogs can be used to add interesting points to the customer journey and grant you different opportunities to share your content.
Finally, blogging engages consumers with topics that they already care for or want to learn more about, creating more exciting engagement.
Blogging Grants You The Opportunity To Understand Your Customer’s Needs.
Most often, consumers only have a short time to read a blogpost, so you want to identify what resonates with them and what will keep them invested.
You simply want to put yourself in their shoes and answer their queries. This is what blogs are created for and can benefit both parties equally.
By doing so, you have taken the time and effort to research future customers and understand your chosen target market, whilst they gain the information they require.
Blogs also provide an inviting way to leave reviews and feedback, granting you the ability to find new areas for improvement and new ideas for boosting your blog engagement. For example, if someone left a question perhaps, can this create a great blog post topic?
Overall, it is brilliant for future inspiration, connecting with your customers and understanding their exact needs.
What Does The Future of Blogging Behold?
Blogging has seen quite the transformation over the last few years, both in how optimisation strategies have evolved and the practices that best engage users.
As shown by Google Trends, content marketing and blogging merge together at some points, although the main focus is now shifting towards content as a whole.
In short, simply inputting keywords into your content and carrying out the practices preached by Google simply isn’t enough. Your content should always be well thought out and expertly crafted.
So let’s take a look at how you can amplify your content to ensure it’s hitting the right spot.
Adapting To The Changing Times
Blogging should always be focused on quality over quantity so you don’t just want to produce blogs because you think it might help build your brand’s visibility.
Search engines have evolved over time (just like blogs) and are now better at evaluating content. So, you want to make it rich and interesting.
As I touched on previously, people don’t have the time either to be reading long, never-ending content where key points aren’t clear.
Content must be descriptive, feature engaging headings & subheadings, as well as being clear, concise and with effective keywords.
It’s important to fully discuss a topic so readers can understand it, whilst also getting to the point – no additional jargon or fluff.
Finally, it’s crucial that you produce a long-term content strategy to not only meet general business objectives but to truly reach and understand your target audience.
Multi-Channel Storytelling Is The Right Route To Follow
In short, multi-channel storytelling is how you act upon sharing content across various platforms. In today’s digital age, there are many social media platforms and business listings where you can adapt and share your content.
So you want to look at where your target audience engages? Maybe this is Facebook or Instagram? You can then create copy that promotes your blog and drive them back to your site.
Additionally, you can look into the business listing or directories where you can share your content, such as a Google My Business profile.
Use Visual Content To Attract More Readers
We all know that pictures and videos speak louder than words.
So use pictures, short videos, infographics and other visual content to break up your blog topics.
These can also be used to highlight topics better, describe difficult concepts to grasp, and finally, keep your readers engaged.
Keep Being Visible In Mind
When seeking visibility, it’s vital you produce unique content and have a main focus of keeping readers switched on.
In addition, you want to keep the customers in mind when producing a blog, so the content itself doesn’t fall on SERPs or get lost in the mass of content available.
Carrying out research into what your competitors are doing and what’s ranking well on SERPs all help to improve your brand’s visibility.
You then want to find a unique angle or break in the market to build on what they are discussing whilst still answering the FAQs being searched for. By doing all of this, you’ll find the perfect balance for creating content that ranks well and engages.
So Are Blogs Still Relevant in 2022?
The simple answer is yes, but so is SEO, which is evolving too. So, at the centre of your blog strategy, should always be the best SEO practices.
You want to evaluate your strategy as search engine optimization evolves and make your content, and website has the trustworthiness, authoritativeness and expertise that search engines require.
As much as online marketing evolves, blogs will always remain a prominent marketing tool.
Blogging not only brings in leads but also helps grow brand awareness for your target audience. & if you take the time to learn and understand the simple SEO techniques and how to reach your audience, you’ll have the best foundations for a successful blog post.
After you read this blog post, you seek support with your website copy, blog writing or SEO, contact me today.
Thanks for reading,
Myk Baxter, eCommerce Consultant
The post A Guide To: Blogging For Marketing & SEO appeared first on eCommerce Expert.
