SEOs and internet marketers continuously strive to get blogs
and websites to rank as high up the SERPs as possible for their keywords, in
order to get traffic from Google and other search engines. In addition, an
integral part of SEO is to attract direct traffic, and come up with ways to keep visitors on your blog through various
different means.
However in most cases, all this is easier said than done.
Here’s how you can have a profitable blog that ranks well on Google, gets
plenty of traffic from search engines and remains Google-safe:
1. Choosing a Niche
One of the first steps towards having a successful blog is
identifying and choosing a niche for it. Your blog’s niche defines its purpose,
and what you want to achieve through the blog. It provides you with direction –
in terms of the kind of content you’ll create, as well as were your marketing
efforts will be directed.
The niche that you choose needs to be something that you’re
interested in, have plenty of knowledge about, is popular enough, will continue to be popular in the foreseeable
future, is not very competitive, and of course, is popular.
Choosing the right niche sets up a great foundation for a blog
that gets plenty of search engine (as well as direct) traffic.
2. Quality Content
Quality content is the name of the game when it comes to getting
organic traffic, and building a base of highly-engaged readership.
Try providing people in your niche with information that
will be valuable to them. Some of Google’s recent algorithm updates have meant
that websites that provide the best, highest-quality information rank on top of
the SERPs.
Remember that you need to give your visitors a reason to
stick around, and return to your blog in the future as well. The best (and
arguably) the only way to do this is through your content.
3. Traffic over Links
Concentrate your efforts on getting more traffic, rather
than building links. Yes, you build links in order to get more traffic however
focusing on getting traffic, through various means – including those other than
simple link-building, is usually much more efficient and fruitful.
For instance you could try your hand at guest posting, blog
commenting, press releases, and sharing links to your articles on social media.
Try engaging and interacting with people on the blogosphere and building a
rapport and a name for yourself. As get more exposure, you build authority.
With the passage of time, you will start getting more traffic as well!
4. Be Regular with Updates
One of the secrets to success, when it comes to blogging, is
that it is essential to be regular with updates. This is essential, because
your visitors expect fresh content and regular updates from you, and it is
unrealistic to expect that an inconsistent blogging schedule or irregularly
updated blog can build a base of loyal visitors, followers or traffic.
If it is important to produce quality content, then it is
equally important to do so regularly. Whether you choose to do it on a daily,
weekly, fortnightly, or monthly basis is your call. My advice would be to
develop a blogging schedule and stick to it.
Remember that (depending on your niche) you are probably in
direct competition with many different big (authoritative) blogs. The only way
you can get there is by providing readers with quality content regularly. If
your readers expect a new post form you every day, make sure that happens. If
you update your blog on Saturdays, for instance, your readers will expect a new
post on Saturday.
Regular updates will also allow you to rank well on Google,
as Google prefers to rank regularly updated blogs higher up the SERPs.
5. A USP
A USP refers to a Unique Selling Proposition – it is a
marketing term that refers to having a certain something in your arsenal that
no one else does. Something that sets you apart from the competition and the
other blogs in your niche, something that is your strength, and defines your
blog and what it does.
For many blogs, it might be essential to determine their USP
before starting off. For other blog, they might discover where their strengths
lie along the way. Whatever the case, having a unique proposition, along with
quality content that is regularly updated is a sure-shot recipe for success!
6. Avoid Blackhat SEO
Using blackhat SEO techniques to either manipulate Google’s
rankings, or in an attempt to get a large amount of traffic or visitors
overnight is never advisable. It will almost certainly land you in trouble, and
once you’re banned from Google, it’s pretty much game over for you!
It is instead advisable to build links and traffic as
naturally as possible, using legal and white-hat SEO techniques only.
7. The Interface Matters
It might or might not matter to you, but how well and how
attractive (or not) your blog looks to an average visitor actually has a big
bearing on the visitors and the traffic that it gets.
Understandably, a blog that looks good and has an attractive
and a user-friendly interface will be more appealing to a visitor. They would
want to browse through the blog, spend time on it, and if the content is
useful, bookmark the blog as well. If the interface is designed well, and your
CTA is laid out the right way, it will also give you a higher CTR.
Some of the most successful blogs out there are also some of
the most well-designed ones, and that cannot be a coincidence! As a blog owner,
what you could do is either have someone design your blog for you, or use
Wordpress and pick up a good theme for your blog, depending on the niche it
belongs to.
8. Social Media Integration
This is a two-part process:
(a) The first part involves actually having a presence on
social media. As a blogger, you should have a totally separate page/account for
your blog. Set up a Facebook and a Twitter page for your blog, and maybe even a
Pinterest or a LinkedIn page, depending on the niche of your blog. It is
essential to keep these pages updated and send out updates regularly.
(b) Simply having a presence on social media is not enough;
social media needs to be integrated with your blog. What this means is to add
‘share buttons’ (Facebook ‘share’ and ‘like’ buttons, Twitter ‘retweet’ button,
and so on and so forth), and perhaps a Facebook ‘like’ box on all your posts
and pages, allowing your visitors to share your content easily.
Doing so is great for exposure, and it lets you drive more
traffic from social mediums as well.
Over to You
What are the things that you think are essential to having a
profitable and successful blog?
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