And How to structure your blogs to attract the right audience.
Imagine your blog as a person. When going about making a blog, we often aim for perfection and aspire our blogs to be like DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man (though maybe with a bit more clothing).
But just like people with unique skill sets, blogs are not one-size-fits-all. Yes, there are some concrete elements your blog will need. Just like a person needs bones and organs, there are some basic guidelines to go by when piecing together your Frankenstein blog to ensure it functions well: a moderate word count, good structure, correct keywords, quality content, etc.
However, you want to tailor your blogs for your audience. Don’t get too focused on fulfilling an ideal blog length that you write a novella about the history of no-bake cookies when people are just looking for a recipe (I think we’ve all been victims of food blog introductions…but seriously, if I’m too lazy to put dough in the oven, do they really expect me to read all that?).
When composing your blog, there are some boxes you’ll want to make sure to check off to ensure it will be effective. You could have a really groovy blog, but if it falls too far outside of what web crawlers will be able to detect as beneficial, then no one may ever find it through a search engine. So to an extent, you’ll want to stick within some parameters. However, don’t waste time trying to make a 2007 Brad Pitt, if a present-day John Cusack is the blog your website actually needs.
With that said, here are some tips and reminders for when you’re building your blog…
Title: The Blog’s Name
Long-tail keywords, short-tail keywords, no-tail keywords. Figuring out a name shouldn’t be a stress factor. The same way you look up baby names on the web, there are plenty of resources online to help you choose a click-worthy title. There are guidelines to follow to ensure you choose a good one, such as providing hard numbers rather than generic words like “lots” or “big.” There are effective and ineffective titles. Learn how to make effective ones, and then move on to the next step. Need some ideas? Check out CoSchedule’s blog packed with over 100 blog title formulas.
Headers & Sub-headers: The Blog’s Skeletal System
Use headers and sub-headers to add structure and a framework to your blog. This not only helps readers quickly locate information but web crawlers as well. Adding a table of contents at the beginning is another way to add organization and help the reader quickly get to where he needs to be.
Body: The Blog’s…well…Body
While reader attention span should be considered, if you’re aiming for the first SERP then you’ll need to aim for a bit lengthier blog, typically a little over 2,000 words. However, it’s not about quantity, but quality: content is the key. A succinct info-packed article will outperform a long article full of nothing but wordiness for wordiness’ sake. However, the reason those top spots are long is that a long article full of great info is going to outrank a short one because it will likely more thoroughly answer people’s questions concerning the topic. So it’s not about wordiness, but quality content; the more quality content, the higher the ranking.
However, even 1,000 word articles may be enough to suffice, so if you are a small company, and do not have the time (or money) to invest into long articles full of significantly researched material, then don’t sweat it. Focus on what you can do. If 500-1000+ word blogs are all you’re capable of currently, then keep writing them. They are still valuable to your website’s ranking, and can still pull in site visitors.
Audience: The Blog’s Significant Other
As a writer, you should always be keeping your audience in your mind (but not in the obsessive stalker type of way). not everyone’s looking for the “perfect” blog. You’re not building the six-million-dollar man, you’re building a blog that has a relatively simple task: present the info your audience wants in a way that interests them. This should take priority over any of the SEO factors as this is an SEO factor: quality content.
Of course, there is always the question of how wide you should be aiming for: too broad and you're likely going to sound stale and boring because your imaginary audience is a bit too large and vague. However, too specific and you may make some potential customers feel unsure if your product is for them. You have likely already developed a buyer persona for marketing, now you just have to make sure your copywriters are familiar with them so they know how to deliver the material.
Links: Network Your Blog
Get your blog socializing with others blogs by adding external links. Reference other reputable blogs on your blog and link to their pages. These sourced facts will boost your blog’s credibility, and if your article is good enough, others may even begin backlinking to your article which could help you receive more site visitors. To help those visitors stay on your site, make sure to include internal links which link to other blogs or pages on your site. Check out this article by Business2Community for a more detailed breakdown of links and how they can benefit your blog.
Consistency: Your Blog’s Support Group
Your blogs consistency is its heartbeat. Obviously, you don’t have to post as much as a literal heart beats but only once every couple of months could cause some to think your website is flatlining. Regularly posting blogs is essential to boost yo
ur SEO. While two to four is ideal, it can be a tough ideal to live up to if your company is short-staffed. For an in-depth exploration of understanding the frequency of blog posts and what would be right for you and your business, then check out this article by Neil Patel: “How Often Do You Need to Blog? 5 Simple Steps That’ll Help You Know.”
Visuals: The Blog’s Fit
The visuals are like the clothes. They are technically separate from the words of the blog, but they help a lot with offering a first impression and catching people’s eye. Fashionistas don’t live in nudist colonies for a reason - how could people appreciate how they dress better than everyone else if they’re naked? We live in the digital era which is highly visual. Even pictures are not visual enough for some people - they want videos. Images are necessary to help break up the reading, amplify the vibe, provoke the mind, and help those with a lack of imagination to visualize what you’re talking about. But also, it can help with SEO when you add image alt text. Check out Hubspot’s Image Alt Text article to sharpen your alt text writing skills.
Update: The Blog Goes for a Check-Up
Everybody needs to get a physical sometime to help remind them they are getting old. Thankfully, you don’t have to turn your head and cough to keep your blog’s health in check. When you notice a blog has been around a bit and there are some facts that could be updated or there is relevant content that could be added, do so. This will keep it from growing stale and help it improve its ranking, especially if it is a compounding blog post that continues to increase in views over time.
SOURCES:
Feairheller, Courtney. “SEO Writing: 12 Tips on Writing Blog Posts That Rank on Google.” Hubspot 31 March 2022 (visited: 31 December 2022)
Brenner, Michael. “How Many Words Should a Blog Post Be?” Marketing Insider Group. March 9, 2022 (visited 31 Dec. 2022)
Hollingsworth, Sam. “What’s The Ideal Blog Post Length For SEO?” Search Engine Journal. November 22, 2021 (visited 31 Dec. 2022)
Gupta, Shiv. “The Only On-Page Optimization Checklist You Need.” Incrementors. July 9, 2022 (visited 31 Dec. 2022)
“How Often Should You Blog? The Answer You Were Looking For.” Rock Content.
15 August 2021 (visited 2 Jan. 2023)