We have a previous article on business blogging best practices, and although those best practices still stand, there are plenty more that can and ought to be practiced. There have also been changes to Google's algorithms and search engine optimization that affect what business blogging best practices are, and what business blogging tips really apply. So, in addition to the previous best practices we've offered, here are five more business blogging tips to help you keep your business blog the best that it can be:
- Write Naturally. Don't Worry about Making Keyword Quotas. - As you're writing your blog post, if you're worrying about inserting a certain keyword or phrase a certain number of times in certain parts of the blog post, then stop right there. Do not worry about any of those things and just write the blog post as if none of those rules matter (because they don't). Search engines are discouraging creating content that meets their algorithms so it'll be favored in results. Instead, write naturally, in your own voice (or the brands) as the words come to mind. Write for humans. Write something that a person will find excellent and engaging. It's the human that buy your stuff, not the search engines.
- However, Put Keywords in These Five Places - Just because you shouldn't be meeting quotes doesn't mean that keywords don't mean anything. They still do, but great content is much more meaningful. Anyway, keywords are most meaningful when placed in these five places: the URL, the blog post title, the image title (please include images with all blog posts), the image ALT tag, and naturally throughout the body. To ensure the last one, what you can do is write the blog post first, and then review it looking for good spots to insert the keyword. This way, the blog post reads naturally, but includes that ever-so-important keyword.
- Use Formatting - Formatting is anything that organizes your blog post so its easier to read and to digest. This can include bullet points, a numbered list like this one, subheadings, or a combination thereof. Formatting not only makes your blog post look better, but formatting also makes it easier for the reader to find the takeaways or to get through the article quickly if pressed for time. For example, with this article, if a reader just wanted the five business blogging tips, they can easily be found without having to do a lot of scrolling or reading. This way, the reader can get the information needed, while having the option to read more if necessary.
- Categorize and/or Tag - This is an either or because some business blogging platforms only have one and not both. Whatever the case may be, make sure add categories to your blog and blog post. Organizing your posts not only looks like you care to potential readers, but it also makes it easier for readers and potential customers to find blog posts on topics they care about. If you don't yet do this, start. You'll be surprised how much difference this makes in bounce rate and in search engine rankings (each category or tag ends up being a page on its own, meaning one more page for search engines to index and rank. Just a thought).
- Write Content of Value to Potential Customers - After all, the blog is for potential customers. So, it only makes sense to create blog posts and other content that they would find valuable and want to read. If you're creating content for any other reason, such as to have content for a particular keyword or to improve your search engine rankings, then you're creating content for the wrong reasons. Create content that's of value to potential customers, then everything else will fall into place. This rule applies to blog posts as well as web pages, white papers, newsletter content, and any other content you create.
If we were to put these five business blogging tips into one big business blogging tip, it would be: Blog for your readers and not for the search engines. Search engines are merely the means to an end. The reader is the end. Create content that gets you to the end.
