Starting a Blog is Considered to be an Excellent Way to Help Improve Ranking …
There is no denying that Google is the most popular search engine out there. For most people, it is their first step when searching for just about anything and that can be attributed to the vast information that it indexes.
If you want people to find you, regardless of the type of site or campaign that you’re running, you will need it to show up on Google, and this gets harder by the day. Well, starting a blog is considered to be an excellent way to help improve your ranking in the search engines, but does it really help and if so, how?
Well, blogging actually helps searching engine optimization, but having one is not in and of itself a ranking condition. Blogging is excellent for search engine optimization as it helps with an array of things that are essential ranking factors. When you have a blog that is regularly updated with posts that are helpful and of high quality, it can make a significant difference in how your site performs in Google and other search engines. Here are the primary reasons why:
A Blog Makes Visitors Stick to Your Site for Longer
The primary goal of Google is to give users the information they are looking for in the first search so that they can come back and use the engine again. If a person clicks on the first link, finds the information irrelevant or unhelpful and instantly goes back to the search results page, Google gets an impression that the result was not as helpful as they thought. On the contrary, when a person clicks on a link and stays on the site for a while, Google gets the impression that the site is actually helpful. The company has not stated outright that the time people spend on a site is a ranking factor, but they have certainly made it clear that it is something that they pay attention to.
A visitor who comes to your site from a blog post that appears in the search engines results pages is more likely to spend more time on your site reading the article compared to one who lands on a web page with little information. The dwell time increases with more comprehensive or longer posts. According to statistics, long-form content tends to perform better compared to short-form content and the average first-page result on the search engines is around 2000 words long.
Blogging Keeps the Site Fresh and Up to Date
If you have visited a site that has not been updated for a while, chances are you instantly lost interest and had a hard time trusting the information you read. That is because the information could be no-longer relevant or the company the site represents could have closed business a long time ago.
The last thing that Google wants to do is give their users outdated information. Sites that are updated on a regular basis show that they are in business and offering fresh and current content. It ideally gives the search engines more reason to index your site more often.
Chances are you will not have a reason to update your homepage on a regular basis (which would make no sense), and so, blogging is a better way to add fresh content to your site regularly.
Blogging Offers Internal Linking Opportunities
Linking is an important aspect of search engine optimization and internal links are the easiest to get as you can create them on your own. Failing to include inbound links that point readers or users to other pages on the site is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in regard to SEO.
You will come across some ideal inbound linking opportunities on the main web pages, but once you start blogging, the opportunities tend to increase. As you add more pages on related topics, you get more chances to link those pages to each other in a natural manner.
You can strategically use the anchor text to tell the search engines what the page you are linking to is about. This strengthens the page’s connection to your primary keywords, thus helping it rank higher.
It Helps Target Long-Tail Keywords
Most people embark on SEO campaigns aiming for the most relevant key phrases for their products or services. For instance, if you are dealing with hunting gear, you will certainly want to rank first for the keyword ‘hunting gear’.
This is not a bad goal but given the competition out there for such a niche, you are going to have a hard time ranking as the top spot. Search engine optimization is very competitive nowadays as every business wants a piece of the pie. The best thing you can do for your brand is to look for longer and more specific terms that individuals are searching for and that are relevant to your business and attempt to rank for those.
Such terms are known as long-tail keywords and they are quite essential for any SEO campaign today. According to research, about half of all searches are for terms that are made up of four words or longer. However, such terms tend to appear awkward and confusing when put in product pages, but perfect when put in a blog post. Using the example mentioned above, you can publish posts that give information on things like ‘how to choose the best hunting gear’ or ‘the top hunting gear for winter’.
Of course, these searches do not drive traffic as much as ‘hunting gear’, but they come from individuals who are almost guaranteed to be your target audience. If you find a way to incorporate them in the first page, you will attract more traffic than you would on page seven or eight for broader and more popular terms in the same niche.
A High-Quality Blog Gives Other Websites More Reasons to Link Back to You
Internal links are imperative, but so are external links (which are perhaps the hardest part of search engine optimization). For your site to be deemed authoritative and trustworthy, other websites, particularly the respected need to link back to you. Getting external links is not a walk in the park, but it becomes easier when you have a blog.
By blogging, you fill your site with valuable and relevant information. Any time another site decides that it is valuable to their audience to point them to helpful information on a different website, there is a chance that your site will provide that information if you have several excellent posts.
According to research, companies with a blog on their site get up to 97% more links. It simply makes sense that more sites will link to a helpful post about how to find a perfect birthday gift for a loved one than to your homepage.
Blogging Helps Your Connect More with Your Audience
This is not a direct linking factor, but something that contributes to linking factors in a substantial way. When the audience finds a blog post helpful, they are more likely to share it via social media, maybe sign up for your email list and come back again for more content. When you gain more traffic and repeat readers, Google and other search engines will know that people like your site and as a result, raise your ranking and authority level.
From a search engine optimization perspective, this is great, but it is ultimately more crucial to the success of your site than the spot you are in regards to ranking. It is more valuable to have people that are visiting, connecting with your site and becoming regular visitors than having the top spot on Google.
Blogging is an excellent way to make these connections and create a continued relationship with your target audience. There is no denying that blogging is an excellent way to ensure you stay ahead of the game. With the competitive landscape, you’ll want to ensure that you keep your audience engaged by offering relevant and useful information. Get Blogging!
