Let’s face it – blogs are here to stay. If you don’t have a blog for your business, good luck on getting traffic and conversions.
Having a blog is great for business.
- Small businesses with a blog generate 126% more leads than businesses without a blog (
Pre-Requisites for a Highly-Trafficked Blog
But, in order for your content to be shared across the Internet, you need to make sure:
#1. You Have a Great Website Design
If a person goes to your blog and can’t find your email opt-in or where to contact you, then you have a poor website design.
Blogs that have a lot of traffic have similar features –
- Responsive design
- Blog is on a white background
- Easy to read font
- Not cluttered with ads
- Brand messaging is clear and unobtrusive
- Minimal color use
#2. Your Blog Helps Solve a Problem
Many business blogs think that if they blog about their latest press release or the new features of their app, that this will motivate readers to read their post.
But, what works are blogs that engage with their audience. Posts that solve a problem, provide tips or is a how-to/will generate a following and spark conversations.
#3. Your Blog is Highly Targeted
You might think that if you write about the latest trends in footwear on your makeup blog, you might get some new readers. You might in the short-run, but those readers are looking for information on the latest footwear, not how to draw a cat-eye.
Businesses need to look at their brand and come up with an overall targeted niche for their blog. You can expand it to make it more engaging.
For example, Lowe’s is a hardware store that has done a phenomenal job at being savvy about social media. They’ve built a creative blog with a community of bloggers and influencers. They are also on Pinterest, which is a great content marketing strategy for generating traffic.
Instead of blogging about their latest installment of toilets, they decided to make their blog engaging by providing content people want to know about, particularly DIY and design.
The Building Blocks of a Powerful Blog
So, how can you leverage your blog content to increase traffic?
By producing the right content. This type of content is profitable, converts and is popular on social media. Let’s look closer at the building blocks of epic content.
#1. Formatting and Type
- Length – Blog posts that get social shares and traffic are long. Studies have shown that if you want to be high on the Google SERPs, you should produce content that’s 2,000 words or longer.
- Evergreen – Have posts that can stand the test of time. This will help keep your content relevant long after it’s been written, increasing the chances of more social shares and more traffic.
- Make use of lists – No one likes to read big blocks of text. Break up your text with bullet lists or numbered lists.
- Style – Editorial content that is SMO (social-media optimized), tends to be more conversational and less about keyword stuffing and more about offering practical and useful tips in an easy to read format.
- Consistent – If you want loyal readers, produce consistent content. Create a content schedule for your audience so they are looking forward to your next post.
- CTA – a CTA, or call to action is something every blog post should have if you want to turn your readers into customers. Whether it’s to sign up for your newsletter, buy your eBook or just answer a question, don’t forget to have a CTA at the end of your blog post.
#2. Make Use of Popular Types of Posts
If you’re struggling to come up with a content calendar, you might want to use popular posts that do well on social media:
- Round up posts are curated content that highlights the best posts on a certain topic.
- List posts are by far the most shared on social media. For some reason, people like numbers.
- Interviews with influencers in your industry can grab you hundreds, if not thousands of shares and a high level of engagement.
- Giveaways are popular amongst people. Who doesn’t want to get something for free?
#3. Create Eye-Catching Headlines
Social media is huge and if you want to grab the attention of viewers, it helps to have a headline that turns heads.
In fact, having a great headline is half the battle. Up to 80% of people don’t go beyond the headline if it doesn’t catch their interest.
While your headline should incorporate keywords for
SEO purposes, it should also compel a viewer to click on the link and read your post.What are the elements of a magnetic title?
- Make use of negative superlatives. Words such as, worst, avoid, mistake, kill for can increase your traffic by 63% (Huffington Post)
- Make a promise to your audience. Examples include making promises to be the best at, or make $ this way, or these tips will make your life easier. If readers learn from your post, then they will share it.
- Be unpredictable. Sometimes it’s best to step out of the box and be unique. Posts like these often go viral garnering high social shares.
#4. Have Spectacular Images
Visual content drives a lot of traffic. This is especially true on Pinterest. It’s not enough to slap on a stock photo and hope this will get people to come to your blog, read your blog and share your blog.
The best blogs have the best images. They spark interest, aren’t always immediately relevant to the content, and are high quality.
There are many places to find free images that are royalty free and require no attribution. Some of my favorites are:
Takeaway Points
Creating a blog that generates a high volume of traffic takes time and work. But it pays off in the long run.
For businesses that want to use their blog for to grow their traffic, it needs:
- Great formatting
- Popular types of posts
- Great headlines
- Awesome images
So, what are you waiting for?
Images: “Digital Dictionary Blog Follow Like Concept / Shutterstock.com“
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