4 Tips to Strengthen Your Blog

Blogs are a great way to increase traffic to a landing page and raise awareness about your product.

However, blogging regularly is hard work, and it's tricky to write compelling content that will engage readers and cause them to return to your page.

While this feature on your website can deliver great results, you need to be sure your blog is as effective as possible. A blog is no longer a competitive differentiator because most businesses have them, but this doesn't mean they aren't worth pursuing. The following tips can help your blog rule:

1. Optimize for Search

Industry experts are constantly discussing the connection between blogging and better search engine optimization results.

While starting a blog may seem like a magic solution for ranking higher in search, it takes work. Blogs provide ample opportunity to insert search terms, but it's important to consider keywords before you start writing, according to Social Media Examiner.

When used correctly, keywords have multiple benefits. Not only do they help potential customers find you, but they can guide the direction of the article if you plan which terms to use in advance. Google's Adwords even has a keyword planner feature that may be beneficial for bloggers.

This contributes to more cohesive, intelligible writing, which can improve searchability as Google places more emphasis on quality. Sites that provide a high-quality user experience and valuable information for visitors will see better results compared to pages that are stuffed with keywords.

2. Don't Overlook the Importance of Visuals

Content marketing has evolved to include a lot more visual pieces. Infographics, videos and other images are becoming increasingly important to attract attention.

Because of this, you should include graphics and be sure to avoid bland images on your blog. If you are trying to describe an online process or how a program works, taking screenshots of each step can guide readers in the right direction.

This is often more helpful than detailing each step in the text.

3. Run A/B testing to Determine the Best Frequency for Posts

Many marketing experts say you need to constantly publish content for a blog to be effective. Although search engines tend to prioritize blogs that have been recently updated in their rankings, you shouldn't post unless you have something to say.

Writing for the sake of posting isn't going to improve SEO. Generating a ton of content doesn't always produce better results, which is why you should test the optimal frequency.

For example, if you've been posting every other day for several months, you can try decreasing the number of posts per week to see if conversion rates increase. You can compare the views during the test period to the traffic you saw with the previous frequency and decide which approach is best.

Depending on your industry, your target audience may not have time to read blogs every day. In this case, posting content six times a week may not be an effective use of your marketing time.

However, it may be a good idea to establish a minimum number of posts per week. This teaches loyal readers to expect posts - plus you can market to your blog subscribers. In addition, returning visitors send a positive sign to search engines.

4. Colors and Design Are Almost as Important as the Content Itself

Writing great copy is hard work, but you can't forget to pay attention to the design of the blog page itself.

Even if you have convincing content, users may not notice it or spend as much time reading if they're distracted by colors, Shutterstock said.

A lack of contrast can hurt readability as well. Color schemes can evoke certain emotions.