With the proliferation of internet, information has become more accessible than ever. Everyday we are bombarded with tons of information and this has turned us into a society that is of short attention span. Let’s be honest. When browsing on Google, I am pretty sure none of us look past the first page. Even looking past the first 5 links is rare.
Therefore, if you want your blog article to be seen by your target audience, you have to make sure it is ranked high on the first page of Google.
Want to drive more traffic to your blog but have no idea how to go about it? Look no further for I have 4 Search Engine Optimising (SEO) tips to drive more traffic to your blog.
Tip #1- Use keywords
Do you know that Google handles over 40 000 search queries in one second? Without SEO- driven blog posts, finding your company will be like finding a needle in a hay stack. We have to cut through the clutter and make ourselves visible! This means that we need to use relevant keywords that our target audience inputs into the Google search engine.
So, your next question may be, “How do I know which keywords to use?”. Fret not, for I will be talking about it in a second! To identify these trending or popular searched keywords, you can visit social media platforms that your target segment market frequents to see what are the words or phrases they are using.
You can also use Google Trends. Google trends shows you what are the popular words at any given point in time. If you see a declining trend in the popularity of certain keywords, you should probably not adopt the keyword in your blog post.
While your competitor can be your greatest enemy, they can be your greatest friend. You can go to your competitors’ social media platforms or blog posts to identify these trending keywords.
Tip #2- Keyword insertion throughout your post
Now that you have your lists of keywords, the next thing would be to write out your blog posts and ensure that these keywords appear throughout the posts. Your primary keywords should also appear in title, headings and subheadings, URL if possible, image alt text (search engines cannot read images), meta description.
It is important to note that people read blog post for information. You do not want to overuse your keywords and diminish your readers’ experience at your site. This bad experience may translate into a decrease in potential customers.
In addition, keyword stuffing may lead to a website being penalised in the search engine pages. So, focus on a writing naturally and take their needs and interests into consideration. Put yourselves in their shoes as a reader.
Tip #3- Backlinks- Internal and External
Backlinks refers to links that direct readers from another page to your site. There are 2 types of backlinks- Internal and External.
Internal backlinks are links to previous relevant posts on the same site for easier navigation and more information. External backlinks, on the other hand, are links from external sites and this contributes to your site credibility since you are being referenced.
Some more common examples of creating backlinks include:
- Newsletter and social media
- Participate in the community
These campaigns are one of the best ways to attain organic links. Newsletter and social media help increase your brand awareness to the public and drive traffic to your content. Participating in community through involvement in online discussions also increase your brand awareness in the marketplace as people will remember you with the numerous interactions.
Linking to applicable and reputable sites shows Google that you have done your homework. It also positions your blog as a credible one in your readers’ eyes. When you gain your readers’ trust, you may become an authority in time to come, and this means you have successfully retain your viewers and increase your loyal customer pool.
Also, the sites you linked to may sometimes return the favour by linking back to you. This helps in your ranking points and enhances your SEO as well.
Tip #4- Long, yet readable posts
Search engines prefer longer posts. The longer your posts, the higher your chance of appearing in top search. The reason is simple. The longer your posts, the more clues the search engine have to identify what your posts is about. An ideal blog post should have around 1000 words to ensure enough keywords in order to rank high in search engines!
Do you know that the average human attention span today is 8s? Just so you know, we are less attentive than a Goldfish! They have an attention span of 9s.
My point here is that it is increasingly difficult to capture the attention of fellow humans. By having long, wordy posts, you are actually telling them, “We have no interest in grabbing your attention. Please leave the site.”
The pitfall of longer posts is that your readers may not stay with you entirely. This is especially so today’s short attention- span society. To engage them, you have to ensure your posts are readable.
You can do this by keeping your paragraphs short- use more spacing, use short sentences. You can also use bulleted points and play around with fonts to make your posts easier to read. Given that people tend to read on-the- go, such posts would make it more eye- friendly as well.
However, the best way is still getting a professional copywriter to help with your content to ensure quality and hence conversions to sales! Not sure where to get good copywriters? You can get 5 free quotations from copywriters here.
Conclusion
The bottom-line here is that if you want to rank your blogs in the top searches of page one of Google search engine, you have to create blogs that meet the interest of both worlds- the users and the search engine. This will get you more qualified web traffic and increase conversions.
ThunderQuote is the most comprehensive business services portal in Singapore, Australia and ASEAN , where hundreds of thousands of dollars of procurement contracts are sourced every month by major companies like Singapore Press Holdings, National Trade Union Congress and more.