In the industries, thought leaders and domain experts prefer to post blog posts regularly to demonstrate their expertise to interested readers. A good quality blog post can make an impression on the readers, giving them unique insights and helping them form a positive opinion about the brand. Even with an explosion of multimedia content like videos, reels, and images, the role of blog posts cannot be underestimated. Studies show that blog posts comprise of at least 1/3rd of all websites and at least 77% of web users still prefer to read blogs. So, in this blog, let us find out what is blog posting, recognize its advantages, and explore a step-by-step guide to create a blog post.
So, let’s begin-
What Is Blog Posting?
A blog can be considered as an online journal or informational webpage, which can be run by a writer, a business, or an NGO that provides consistently updated content related to a certain topic. Generally, a blog post is written to inform and engage the audience, and the style of writing can be conversational or informal. Using a blog, a brand can share insights, stories, and thoughts related to a particular topic or niche. Top-quality blog posts are important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies as they help in boosting credibility, awareness, conversions, and revenue.
Advantages of Blogging
Blog posting is extremely important for good SERP results, far-reaching visibility, and sustainable outcomes. The primary benefits of blog posting are given in the following points-
Improve Brand Awareness-
Research suggests that brands that regularly post blogs and articles get 50% more website traffic than brands that don’t. Thus, businesses that prefer blog posting naturally get higher revenue opportunities and brand awareness. In simple words, when you blog, you show up more on search engine results and offer value with your content. The audience notices your brand more and gets a hint about your credibility from the quality of your blogs.
Enhances Website SEO-
For comprehensive online visibility, a search engine optimization strategy is necessary. A better SEO directly results in improved traffic, higher Domain Authority, and more credibility in the market. Blogs are important not only for on-page SEO but also for creating backlinks (off-page SEO). As per Ahrefs statistics, as much as 68% of digital experiences begin from search engines such as Google. Furthermore, almost half of the website traffic is driven by organic search. When compared to social media, SEO drives 1000% more traffic.
Reach Out to New Clientele and Make New Customers-
Considering the widespread popularity of social media platforms, you might be tempted to focus more on social media. This is very natural as many brands do so all around the world. However, it is important to realize that Google has 3 billion more active users than Instagram. When you have a blog, you can extend your reach far more than what is possible on Instagram. Now, social media marketing has its own charm, but it cannot replace blog posting.
Differentiate Your Brand-
For making videos, top brands can use better tools and more skilled graphic designers. However, in blogs, there is a level playing field. Here, your creativity, uniqueness, and knowledge drive the best results. You can create top-quality content and leverage SEO techniques to beat even the top brands for a search engine result. Consider all the competitors in your domain. Do all of them have blogs? Which competitors have blogs but are not as engaging? Blog posting is an opportunity to differentiate your brand and establish a firm presence in the target market. Blogging helps you provide value, build trust, and nurture connections, which is vital for lasting brand awareness.
Share Business Updates and Valuable Information-
When it comes to blogs, most people focus on trending topics and helpful information particular to a specific niche. You can also target the pain points of the customers to capture, maintain, or improve their interest. But, you can also do blog posting to share information about upcoming company events, product launches or new services, or a rebranding update. In blog posts, you can write long content covering unique details about your business to make an impression on the audience.
Factors That Determine the Quality of a Blog
If you are considering starting your own blogging page, you must know about all the factors that are crucial for a top-level blog. Each blog can be unique, but you can expect to find a few common elements in all successful blogs–
Top-level Blog Content- Essentially, the blog post article must be aligned with Google’s framework called EEAT, i.e., Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The formatting must be neat and consistent, and the content must be readable and user-friendly.
Compelling Headlines- The title must be aligned with the content and should be engaging enough so that readers feel encouraged to read the blog. Blogs with more compelling titles often get higher click-through rates.
Consistently-updated Content- Businesses follow a strict publishing schedule so that audiences always find new content to read whenever they visit a website. Search engines such as Google also prioritize new and updated content for rankings. Thus, regularly posting content improves ranking and website traffic.
Streamlined User Experience- Other than creative design, top blogs usually have a smooth page experience, as it is an important element for on-page SEO. It includes aspects like HTTPS, user-friendliness, and loading speed.
Simple User-interface- A blog requires a creatively-pleasing website design to make a profound first impression. This includes typography, layout, and icons. Bloggers also need to make sure that the design is intuitive, user-friendly, and consistent throughout the blog.
Pro Tip: Combine your blog posting strategies with guest-posting opportunities to create backlinks and maximize your visibility. For instance, if you are in the tech industry, you can easily look for write for us + technology websites to find reliable websites within your domain that welcome guest posts from talented writers.
What Are the 7 Most Important Types of Blogs?
Now, since you know what is blog posting and the factors that determine the quality of blogs, let us go through the 7 most important types of blogs-
Personal Blog- A personal blog is like an online diary where the blogger shares insights, opinions, and ideas. Personal blogs do not intend to reach a wide audience or sell products through them. However, personal blogs can cover a range of subjects, including family events, subjects, self-reflection, and work projects.
Niche Blog- It provides insights and information related to akparticular niche. The niche can be related to the blogger’s skillsets, area of expertise, and passion. The main examples of blogs include food blogs, book blogs, and lifestyle blogs.
Multimedia Blog- Here, the brands focus more on multimedia content like videos, shorts, and podcasts instead of written content. Essentially, the primary focus is on the overall engagement level of the audience.
Company or Business Blog- Here, businesses post blogs related to their domain or industry. In these kinds of blogs, businesses can focus on providing unique details about their workflow and process. Moreover, brands can also choose to share information regarding new products, product launch details, or rebranding updates.
News Blog- Businesses can also choose to cover all updates related to their industry, including all the latest happenings, regulatory changes, and new releases. Here, the focus is on delivering accurate information, and the blogs do not include opinions or personal details.
Affiliate Blogs- In affiliate marketing, websites can publish blogs related to services and products of third-party. Affiliate blog owners will get a commission when someone buys from their custom links. The type of affiliate blogs you can write include best-of listicles and product reviews.
How to Start a Blog Post?
To write your first blog post, you need to rigorously follow a few steps, as mentioned below:
Understand Your Audience:
Before you begin writing your blog, determine who will read it. Here is how you can figure out who your reader is–
Ask Questions- Ask some exploratory questions to yourself. Who is your target audience? What are their needs? What would they like to read about? Consider all attributes about your audience as well including age, background, challenges, and goals.
Carry Out In-depth Market Research-
You can leverage market research platforms to discover or confirm more underlying details about your audience. For example, if you want to write about job opportunities, you will figure out that millennials and Gen Z professionals would love to read a blog on work-from-home tips. However, you can confirm this hypothesis through in-depth research.
Create Buyer Personas-
Buyer personas give you insights to tailor your content as per the target audience. You can also run your personas with your sales and marketing team. The possibility is high that your target audience will be exactly similar to your existing clientele.
Conduct Competitive Analysis:
Explore top-ranking blogs to understand how the strategy and implementation of credible brands in your domain helped them in improving their credibility. Here, keep in mind that you are not trying to emulate someone else’s work but rather gathering insights on what audiences prefer.
Find out whether or not the brand is a Direct Competitor-
The website’s audience, niche, and target keywords determine whether the brand is your competitor. The most important part of the competitor analysis is recognizing the audience. If the brands are serving completely different audiences, then they are not a competitor.
Look for details such as themes, color palettes, and branding of the blog-
It is important to ensure that your blog looks like it belongs to a particular niche. Here, themes and color play a significant role. For example, if you are writing a blog about environment-friendly products, then you must utilize earthy and light tones instead of unnatural and sparky colors.
Check what writing styles and tones your competitors use-
Take special note of the quality of copywriting that your competitors use. Does it appeal to you? Figure out whether you can actually emulate the writing style or even further improve on it. Notice the tone that they are using and figure out whether it is authoritative, conversational, or inquisitive.
Conduct Advanced Analytics:
As you grow more in SEO, you can also conduct advanced SEO analytics covering areas like technical SEO strength and weaknesses, social media performance, content strategy, and approach toward guest posts and blog posts.
Find Out What Topics You Will Write About:
Before starting your blog, make a list of all the topics that are vital in your niche and that you would like to cover with your blogs. It is a good idea to start simple on a general topic as you experiment with your niche and decide your domain. Here is what you should take care of-
Find out the main topics that your competitors are covering-
Explore the archives of your competitors and category pages to discover the top topics that your competitors often publish about. From that point, you can create a tentative list of the most popular topics to explore further.
Focus on the topics you have some knowledge of-
Ensure that you select the topics that you have some knowledge of. From your professional experience, educational background, or hobbies, you can uncover a topic about which you have good knowledge and passion. What are you most passionate about? What is your main area of expertise? These are questions that will help you find out the topics to write about.
Ask Your Sales and Marketing Team
It would be a great idea to interview your marketing and sales team to get writing ideas. You can ask what are the most common questions that they generally face. They will also let you know what basic knowledge a customer should know that will make the job of the sales team easier. Prefer not to roam in the dark and choose to pinpoint the exact areas that your customers are interested in. Writing on the wrong topics can waste your effort or even attract the wrong audience.
Do Basic Keyword Research
Find a keyword research tool and research top search demands. Discover the gold topics that exactly align with your skill sets and audience needs.
Find Your Unique Value Proposition:
Your niche might already have thousands of published articles, so why should a customer listen to you? If you find out the right answer to this question, it can determine the trajectory of your blog.
Write a Good About Me Page
Introduce yourself well to the target audience. Highlight your unique propositions, milestones, experience, and values. Fill your “About Me” page with these details to stand out in a crowded niche.
Figure Out a Special Problem That You Can Solve for Readers
Analyze the topics that you have selected and then closely observe the challenges that pose a hurdle to the audience. Then, create a blog offering practical solutions to these problems. For instance, as an SEO agency, you can guide your readers on how to monetize your website within 6 months.
Name Your Blog:
Give a unique and innovative name to your blog so that your audience knows what to expect. Essentially, while naming the blogs, you must make sure that:
- Your blog name is easy to say and spell so that your audience can find you easily on the internet.
- The blog name is personalized to your brand and audience’s interests so that it captures the audience’s attention.
- Choose a unique name that differentiates your brand in a competitive marketplace that already has thousands of blogs.
Customize the Appearance of Your Blog:
When it comes to online visibility, visual appeal matters as much as content quality. Audiences with a reducing attention span like to read neat and organized content. Moreover, ensure that your blog page is customized as per the theme of your brand and niche. For instance, if you are writing about the environment, then green will be the most preferred colored choice.
Other than that, the format and fonts must be cohesive so that the blog is easily readable. You must also focus on the name and logo of your company as they are vital to the overall brand awareness. Make your blog compatible with all platforms so that your audience can read it wherever they are.
Write Your Blog:
After ensuring the fundamentals, you can begin writing your blog. Keep in mind that though themes, colors, and design are necessary, content matters at the end of the day. Your content will decide how much time your audience will spend on your website.
Conclusion
Blog posting is still a key marketing strategy in a world that is becoming more and more visual. If done correctly, it still drives results, traffic, and revenue, helping brands in enhancing their online presence. The key to blog posting is understanding an audience, creating helpful content, and consistently delivering unique insights. The blog focuses on what is blog posting, the fundamentals of blog posting, and discusses its advantages, types, and the process of starting a blog. To get more information on other areas of SEO, like off-page and on-page SEO, forum backlinks, and backlink profiles, check out our website!