This is a guest post by Jeff Gross. Should you wish to write for this blog, check out the guest post guidelines.
Trying to find the right formula to attract search engines and readers to your blog? There is no real big secret or mystery to the process. However, there are some points that are not necessarily obvious either. An absolutely integral part of building blog relevance and readership is consistency in approach. Stick with it and keep moving forward. It will pay off.
Improving Your Blog’s Appeal
The first point we would like to address is the number one, underscored, absolutely most positively important point there is- content is king. Make it your mantra. A blog that posts garbage posts with no real information or is stuffed with sales copy is going to get ignored. Readers do not visit business blogs to be sold to in a majority of cases. They are looking for quality information. Give them quality information for free. You will earn their trust, their eyes, and subsequently the attention of search engines.
Consistency in posting frequency
Are you updating your blog regularly? Definitely a must. A 400-500 word post once a week at minimum is a good rule of thumb. If you are pressed for time, outsource the work. Managing 2-3 posts a week is even better but not entirely necessary. Anything past that and you run the risk of putting forward a very erratic appearance to crawlers.
Engage in social networking
Get involved in more areas of your respective business community. Visit other peoples’ business blogs and take the time to comment on their posts. Inquire and ask if they would be willing to swap guest posting between your blogs. It provides an excellent opportunity for back-link generation and networking. How many more readers can you reach if you post an original article other blogs? Be open to allowing guest posts from other bloggers or your readers on yours.
Be an authority
Try and stay ahead of other bloggers in your chosen subject matter. Set up alerts through news websites that focus on your keywords. Being the first to comment on the subject matter will help reinforce your presence as an authority that cares deeply about emerging trends and news in the field. That is the kind of authority that people want to listen to and search engines want to send people to.
Image speaks a thousand words
A blogger needs to use pictures in their posts to help illustrate their points. The human mind responds far better to images than they do just text. There are a number of websites that offer royalty-free or credited use images. If you do not want to spend the time to find those, you can always just buy pictures relatively cheap from some of the different library sites floating around.
Offer freebies
A final tip is to offer something for nothing. Sit down and take the time to flesh out some documentation or an e-book that your readers can use. Giving away information is a proven method of developing trusting relationships with readers. A reader that trusts you is going to be more likely to do business with you. That’s a great way to get the ball rolling on building these meaningful relationships.
Making the Most Of Your Blog
Content is king, remember? Don’t be afraid to let some of your personality show through your blog. People are not interested in a cold, sterile dissertation on a particular subject. Being able to demonstrate there is a person behind the information with goals, hopes, dreams, likes, and dislikes will allow you to conquer one very significant barrier to online commerce. It is essential to get the reader thinking of you and your business as a real entity rather than just another website. Winning that battle puts you on the fast track to an appreciable reader base and the customers that come with it.
Author’s Bio:
Jeff has been blogging since 2007 & contributing on many websites since that time. He is a professional internet marketing and blogging consultant. In his spare time he guest lectures for business and marketing students at various colleges in New York. Currently, he is writing for a real estate company in queens that offers Queens luxury condos.
No related posts.
thanku, am going to work more on my content and let my personality shine through more on my future blogs!
Hi Julie,
you’re probably read many times this year that “Content is a king!”. That’s true, without genuine content you’ll not reach goals. Thanks on comment!
Yes thats a great idea, actually good content is the reason which makes people to come back to your blog.
Arjun Rai recently posted..Repo RV
Great tips. Posting on a regular basis is essential, especially for a business blog. A business blog that sits idle looks unprofessional. If you are going to start one, you need to dedicate specific time to it on a daily or weekly basis.
Yes, definitly. If I got to a blog a few times unless its something really special I will probably not go back again.
Marian recently posted..Snow socks
Hi Nick,
positive feedback from an expert like you means a lot to me. And, totally agree with all your tips. Thanks!
Good thinking jeff, i really appreciate your comment. People should think positive to show some positive results
Arjun Rai recently posted..Repo RV
Twitter: bloggersethics
writing regularly is something that is eluding me. My very rigorous and tiring daily schedule makes it difficult for me to write on those dates which i have thought before. This is hurting me a lot
Tushar recently posted..The Change in Blogging Scenario
Scheduling and promising posts to other bloggers gives obligation and motivate for work. I’ve read that many successful bloggers applies exactly this tactic. Tushar, I see that you’re on right way to became great part of blogging community.
Twitter: EBScribblings
Thanks for the tips.
Content is king, no doubt about it. Posting on a regular basis is also very important – but something that I sometimes struggle with due to other commitments. I admit that I must appear somewhat erratic. Something to work on in the new year I guess.
Hamish recently posted..10 Free Ebooks To Get You Into The Christmas Spirit
Hi Hamish,
some prominent bloggers told me that they didn’t think about SEO and link building when they started with blogging. Quality content bring them readers and readers, and links came as result of quality posts. But, in last 1-2 years situation is little different. It is recommended to build links in same time when producing great content.
Twitter: AdamPaudyal
Great tips here on attracting readers, search engines and business blogging. The funny thing is coincidentally my recent post is also related to blogging for business(O:
The final tip Jeff has mentioned is something that I really need to work on. Giving things away does help in building the relation and trust…I totally agree.
Appreciate it Jeff and Lye too.
You guys have a good one.
Adam Paudyal recently posted..9 Business Blogging Mistakes To Avoid Like The Plague.
Hi Boys,
Thought I jump in here to tell you that the Law of Attraction is at work. You guys blogging about similar things isn’t coincidental.
Recently, I also ran into a few bloggers writing about the same thing I was writing. It is really amazing how good things are in sync.
Cheers
Jimmy recently posted..Beginners Guide to NLP – Part 2 (Pattern Interrupt in NLP)
Thanks Jimmy. You’re right, it works!
Hi Adam,
I’m glad that you liked my post. Giving something for nothing is great way to get readers loyalty. Everyone like to get something for free, it feels good and probably this person will return on you blog. Do some research and consider to write an eBook with “your personal tips” or something unique and offer free download. I am sure that you’ll find something original and tempting. I see that you have nice blog, maybe I give myself an assignment to write post for you. Thanks on comment!
Twitter: kaiser081391
Well said! As long as the content of a blog is relevant and informative reader as well as search engines which be attracted to visit the blog. Though creating high quality content is somewhat hard, we have to conduct several research and study for us to make a very good article.
Hi,
Nice post there is really lot of ways to get success in blogging world but in my opinion i would like to give much more importance to content because this is the only option to attract many but it should be original because after google panda updated you can see how many sites gone down.
sam recently posted..Goa Carnival 2012
Thanks for sharing the tips you listed above. Social networking is a big influence to attract readers. You can do it by leaving comments on other site.
TracyAnn0312 recently posted..Fab Defense
Hi TracyAnn0312,
recently I’ve published another post regarding influence of social networks on SERP and blog authority. Thanks on feedback!
Leave comments on the blogs of others and leave a link to your blog but avoid comments like “nice blog!” or “great work” because they writer will likely just delete your comment because of obvious link dropping. Write Hubpages related to your blog topic with casual links to your blog. Do the same with Squidoo. Keep adding links to your blog where you can without being spammy and the search engines will be able to find you easily and with those back links your work will begin moving up in the search results.
Bethany recently posted..PPI
Nice comment Bethany!
(just kidding)
Totally agree with your suggestions. If you can’t bring additional quality in comment, you rather not comment at all. In that case read same post again and do little additional research, this usually helps in my case.
You’ve offered some really great tips here. I absolutely agree that consistency is important. I don’t always subscribe to blogs but will just sometimes pop in to see what they have going on. When I find a blog I like I’ll pop in for awhile and then if I really love it I will subscribe. It’s disappointing when I pop back in and they haven’t updated their post in a month. Those blogs quickly get forgotten. I find that it works best to have a plan in place as to when you will post blogs and who will write them. If you know that you will post a blog every Monday then you’re more likely to get it done.
Being consistent in adding new genuine content is great challenge for every blogger. But, with scheduling and giving goals to your projects we can prevail that obstacle.
Thanks Jen!
Jeff – I agree! When we started offering a combination of completely free offers and opt-in offers on our site we saw the referral links to site increase almost immediately. And I’ll say that posting consistently is totally key. You’ve got to stay top-of-mind with your audience to gain their referrals, you’ve got to be in front of them to be remembered, and by showing up consistently an constantly, you’re showing them they can trust you.
Jennifer Bourn recently posted..Top Free WordPress Plugins List
Hi Jennifer,
thanks on positive feedback. I visited your website and think that you don’t need extra luck to succeed with this approach. Excellent work!
Twitter: SeoRizwan
Hey Jeffs!!
Writing on daily basis updates is hard and fast jobs for me.And its also make negative impact for my blog for weekly updates.
Thanks for great tips I agree with your word to make daily schedule updates for getting unique visitors.
Rizwan Sultan recently posted..Crohns Blog
Hi Rizwan,
it is really hard to produce something new on daily basis. Instead quantity try more focus on quality. 2-3 posts per week should be extraordinary for every blog (if you are the only contributor).
Hi Jeff,
I like your emphasis on content. That will be the main driving force of any blog. If I may mention, content with a great personality flavor is really powerful.
Jimmy recently posted..30 Empowering Questions for Emotional Help
Twitter: PizzaSpotz
Offering freebies is something I’ve not done yet for my blogs. I need to make sure to begin doing that with an e-book or two in 2012. Working on that now.
Hi Jeff,
Thank you so much for sharing this interesting and informative post, I’m going to try these tips for my site and i hope i will get some good traffic.Thanks again.
Arjun Rai recently posted..XRF analyzer
[...] How to Attract Readers and Search Engines to Your Blog This post includes tips for improving your blog’s appeal and making the most of your blog. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE [...]
One thing I learn in my 2 years of doing Online jobs is when you are creating a content from a blog starts with an intriguing question!!! and everything should follow with good information and answers…
JES recently posted..JES’ New Collab With Cosmic Gate “Flying Blind”
I think the best way to attract search engine traffic is to focus on timeless themes and keywords. Those topics which are relevant now and will be relevant many years later as well. This way each post becomes a traffic magnet and sooner or later an avalanche will set in.
I think the best way to attract humans is to simply provide amazing content.
Amanda Gordon recently posted..Hepa Vacuum Cleaners
Twitter: dmcihomesonline
Awesome tips. I agree that to attract many readers a blog post must be high quality and consistency. That is what readers look for. Design is also a thing to consider, but remember over design is irritating!
Reading and comprehension of the instructions is the first step to get the car train horns installed properly. Most of the guides that come with the air horn kits are simple and easy to use, step by step the issues that should be easy to understand. One therefore must follow the guidelines and pause at each step to make sure he did the right thing.
train horns recently posted..DepEd’s K+12 Program: Solution to education problems in the country?
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for your insight. I am just starting out and some of your tips such as networking and offering freebies are definately what I will try and improve on this year.
Cheers,
Elaine
Elaine recently posted..Finding Love In This Hectic Life