Hiring an SEO firm is the fastest, most cost-effective way to build an online presence. However, no two internet marketing campaigns are the same. Your brand, business, customer base and goals will work together to dictate the best marketing strategies. The SEO firm will help you determine who your ideal customers are, where they hang out online and how you can reach them effectively.
Just about every web development firm is going to recommend an active blog. While you probably know what blogging is, do you know how blogging is used to promote a business? Blogging consistently is actually one of the most consistent ways to boost your presence online.
Let’s take a look at how blogging impacts your business, and what to expect blog-wise from an SEO agency:
Do I Personally Create My Blog?
You won’t have to personally write your blog. Instead, the SEO firm will handle every aspect of the blog section on your website. A team of professionals will select topics, create articles and handle all of the publishing. They’ll even interact with readers in the comments section!
Of course, your input is always welcome. If your brand already has a voice, the marketing team will be able to replicate it. The most important thing is to keep your brand’s voice consistent across all content, social media platforms and everywhere else online.
What Will My Blog Posts Be About?
People don’t want to read endless promotions or keyword-stuffed posts. They want information they can use to improve their lives. No matter what product or service you sell, your business is part of a larger industry. Your blog posts should provide information about that industry.
For instance, suppose you sell vacuum cleaners. Your blog posts shouldn’t focus on the how great your vacuums are. Instead, your posts should provide information that can be used by many. Some topics could be:
- A Pet-owners Guide to Vacuums
- Vacuum Maintenance for Everyone
- Summer Cleaning Tips
Providing information increases your reputation as an authority in your industry. Search engines will rank you higher and potential customers will associate your brand with expertise.
What’s Popular in My Industry?
You’ll approach this from two angles. The SEO firm will use keyword research tools to determine what content is consistently popular in your niche. There are several keyword-ranking tools available that make identifying current trends a data-driven process.
But beyond the numbers, the business owner can play a helpful role when creating content. Even the best SEO agency won’t quite have their ear to the ground of your industry the way you can. What topics are you hearing mentioned by your customers, peers and competitors? Fill in your SEO agency to trends you’re noticing to better assist them in developing a content marketing strategy.
Business owners and SEO pros can work together to spot emerging trends.
Promoting My Blog
Your brand’s social media channels are a great place to promote new blogs. Similar to the blog topics themselves, social media posts also avoid direct heavy promotion. In most cases, this will be handled by your internet marketing company. Different social media platforms attract different demographics. Your brand might perform better on Pinterest than Facebook, for instance. And remember to ask any social media influencers you’re in touch with to help you promote new posts and spread the word.
How Often Is a New Blog Published?
There’s no set answer and is often dependent on the amount of time or budget you have to put toward it. Remember, though, that the less you post, the longer it will take to notice shifts in your keyword rankings. Posting more frequently will build an audience faster and will foster SEO growth much faster. Either way, you want to provide fresh content on a regular basis. So whether you post once per day or once per month, stay consistent. Even if you don’t have many readers at first, a steady supply of new blog posts is looked on favorably by the search engines.
Advertising and Paid Promotion
Some business owners are a bit hesitant to buy ads through an internet marketing company. But doing so usually makes the most financial sense. SEO pros will understand the best keywords to bid on. An agency can work with any budget, prioritizing certain keywords in order to get the most mileage out of every paid click.
How Can I Help?
If you really want to take your blog to the next level, you have a few options to be more personally involved. Don’t worry — these efforts don’t take a ton of time (you do have a business to run, after all).
First, you can help film some video blogs. People connect with other people. If you put up a few short videos introducing yourself and your business, you’ll likely increase trust and likeability.
Another option is to sign up for Help a Reporter Out. This is a free web service where you can make yourself available as a source for a reporter. You’re an expert in your industry. Obviously, some industries are more in-demand than others. But you might get lucky and be featured as an authority in a news story. That can boost your credibility and position in search engine results pages.
Your Blog Is an Important Tool
Pretty much every long-term SEO campaign involves an active blog. While you won’t have to do any of the work yourself if you don’t want to, you’ll want to check on your blog regularly. The more input you can provide regarding your customers and industry, the more successful your blog will be.
Do you know what blog topics are popular for your industry? Let us know if you’d like some recommendations as to how a professionally created blog section can help your site.