AJ Agrawal — June 7, 2017 Writing a blog is a time consuming and labor intensive project, but when done correctly, can be an investment in your branding that delivers incredible ROI. In order to be a successful blogger, however, you’ll need to master several skills that go beyond simply writing about topics that are interesting to your audience. You’ll need to also master the technical and sales strategies that are required to convert someone from a casual reader to a qualified lead.
Here are the top tips that any brand can do that will significantly increase the number of leads you receive from your blog:
Keywords First, Content Second
Most people write up a piece of content that they personally find interesting, throw it on their blog and social media, and then wonder why no one is interested in reading it. If this sounds like a familiar situation, it’s time to change up how you decide what to write about.
The best way to get more targeted, organic traffic with a high percentage of potential leads mixed in is to do keyword research before you even give a single thought to what you’re going to write about. This means going to Google Keyword Planner (you already know your brand’s website keywords, right?) and cross referencing a bit with Google Trends, the internet giant’s live-updating list of what people are looking for on the internet right now.
If you’re lucky, one of your keywords will reference a search trend – for example, if you’re a SaaS company, and there was recently a large hack in an enterprise brand, an update from a major software provider, or a funny tech goof from a national personality, that’s what you’re writing about!
On most days, there will likely be no perfect match, but make sure to incorporate both your brand’s keywords and a few ideas that are trending to get best results.
Use Calls To Action Regularly
A call to action is exactly what it sounds like – a statement that prompts the reader to complete an action, such as clicking through to a link, calling your brand, signing up for email updates, or making an actual purchase. While you don’t want to overdo this, make sure you aren’t forgetting to entirely.
Additionally, as Buzzfeed has proven so well, the misconception that you should only have CTAs at the end of your article are just that – wrong.
Compile Blog Posts Into Landing Pages For Keywords
If you’re frequently writing about similar topics – and, as a brand blog, it can be assumed you are – then make sure to get some extra bang for your buck by grouping blogs that share the same topics into landing pages for keywords.
For example, if you’re a bank, you probably have several blogs that focus on the keyword “business loans.” Once you have a few of them (at least 4), create a landing page that focuses on that keyword as well, using the URL www.yourbankname.com/business-loans. Include the blogs you put together in the sidebar to add more depth and credibility to your page, and to keep readers engaged for longer.
By doing this, you’ll more directly target those searching for your keyword, and prove the depth of your knowledge to them more effectively.
Creating a great, lead generating brand blog is definitely dependent on the quality of your content, but its value can be maximized with a few simple technical updates. To further increase the quality of your blog and the speed at which you generate leads, study buyer psychology, and make sure your posts are as appealing to search engines as they are to human readers.
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