Justin Herring — January 28, 2020 Let me guess…
You’ve been told you need to start or continue blogging to help your Local SEO.
Well, whoever told you that is right, BUT there is a right way to blog and a not so right way.
It may not hurt you to blog the wrong way, but since you are putting in all that effort you might as well get some results.
Am I right?
So I put together an infographic to help out with our Top 10 Blogging Tips for Businesses to help you out with Local SEO.
Take a look below:
L???l?z? & SEO Y?ur P??t?
Most businesses we talk with will just write 500 words, post it on their site, and call it a day.
That won’t hurt you, BUT if you focus on a particular keyword search phrase and localize the post to your city you will have a much better chance of getting found.
Look for w??? that ??u can ?n??r??r?t? ??ur ??t? n?m? and keywords ?n ??ur blog post titles ?nd ??nt?nt.
T? ?v??d over-optimizing and keyword ?tuff?ng, ?nl? include k??w?rd? where they make ??n?? ?nd flow w?ll w?th th? ?v?r?ll m????g? ?f your content.
Create a List of Bl?g P??t Ideas
W?nt t? post consistently w?th?ut ??r?mbl?ng f?r ??nt?nt?
Cr??t? a l??t of bl?g ???t ?d??? ?h??d of t?m?.
The easiest way is to think about questions your customers or prospects ask all the time.
Write those down.
Go to Quora and search for questions related to your industry.
Write those down.
S? wh?n ??u w?nt t? publish something, you ??n simply ???k from your h?t list ?f ideas you already have.
This makes getting motivated to write a whole lot easier.
F??u? on Your Audience
Wh?n choosing blog post t?????, think about what dr?v?? your audience’s w?nt? ?nd n??d?.
It is about them, not you.
Remember that.
For instance, g?v? th?m v?lu?bl? t??? to ?du??t? them ?nd help ??lv? their ?r?bl?m?.
Wr?t? ?n Simple T?rm?.
Wh?n ?r??t?ng bl?g ???t?, avoid speaking ?v?r your ?ud??n??’? head or u??ng t?rm? and jargon th?t they m?? n?t be f?m?l??r with.
D??ng ?? will d?f?n?t?l? cause m?n? ?f th?m to tun?-?ut of ??ur ???t?, which is ??unt?r-?r?du?t?v?.
Cr??t? a Publishing S?h?dul?
Once ??u start ?ubl??h?ng blog content, ?t’? ?m??rt?nt t? d? so consistently.
We try to post once a week on Tuesday.
Sometimes that does not happen, but if you have a schedule you are more likely to stick with it.
Posting consistently ?? a ?lu? for local SEO and ?t’? a gr??t w?? t? keep ??ur audience ??m?ng b??k f?r m?r? information.
Have a brick and mortar location and w?nt a w?? to k??? ??ur bl?gg?r? glu?d t? ??ur ???t??
G?v? them ??????l d????unt? t? tr? out ??ur ?r?du?t? ?r ??rv????.
Wh?l? everyone l?v?? to ??v? m?n??, b? careful not t? “?v?r-?r?m?t?;” w??v? promotions ?nt? ??ur ??nt?nt periodically b???u?? th? main goal of your blog ?? to ?r?v?d? great ??nt?nt.
Link t? S????l M?d??
This is the #1 item I see missing on small business websites.
You MUST g?v? ??ur bl?g r??d?r? a way t? join you ?n social m?d?? and/or ?h?r? your content with their n?tw?rk?.
You took all that time writing your blog and you need to allow your visitors to share your great post.
Try SumoMe for a simple and free way to do this.
Include share/join ?m?g?? near ??ur bl?g posts t? g?t even m?r? r??d?r? to v???t ??ur blog.
Also, n?t?f? your ?????l m?d?? network ?f any n?w blog posts you create.
And don’t just notify them once.
I would suggest sending out your post twice a week for a month, at least.
D???u?? Local N?w? & Ev?nt?
Having a ??????l ?v?nt ?t your establishment?
Y?ur bl?g ?? th? ??rf??t ?l??? t? t?ll ????l? about ?t and invite them out.
Please make it sound fun and interesting, though.
DO NOT make a boring blog post just promoting your company.
Remember it is about your customers to tell them how it will help THEM to come.
I? th?r? other n?w? going on ?n your l???l ?r?? r?l?t?d t? ??ur industry?
Publish ???t? to ???n u? d???u????n? ?urr?und?ng ?t and create some reactions.
Encourage Int?r??t??n
Blogging platforms contain f??tur?? th?t ?ll?w ??ur r??d?r? t? r??ll? get ?nv?lv?d, ?u?h as a comment section.
T?k? advantage ?f th?? by encouraging ??nv?r??t??n?.
A?k questions ?t th? ?nd of ??ur bl?g ???t? ?nd invite readers t? leave th??r comments and feedback.
Comments are great for local SEO as well.
Use M?d?? & V??u?l?
This should be a no-brainer, but blog posts are n?t limited t? text alone.
In f??t, v?d???, ?m?g??, ?nd other types of visual ??nt?nt ?r? ?r?v?n to be ?xtr?m?l? effective wh?n ?t ??m?? t? conversions and ?nt?r??t??n.
Add them t? ?v?r? bl?g ???t.
I hope these tips helped out. Try to include all of them in your next blog post.
Let us know some more tips in the comments section you have used to increase your blog exposure?
Want to Learn M?r? Ab?ut Bl?gg?ng? Download our Content Marketing Guide for Local Businesses
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