Taking The ‘Blah’ Out of Blogging

Kevin Ray - @KevinRayLaura Willson - @LauralooPeacock

Just a few short years ago the definition was something like this :

A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.

Today the description might be similar but with the addition of the words :

…to help increase Traffic to your Website and Organic Search Engine Optimization

What is Blogging

Simply put, you should blog to position yourself and your company as an authority, as well as, to increase traffic to your website, increase your online visibility, feed your social media engagement and to get your

phone ringing.

The best traffic to your site is always organic. Organic traffic searches are by people who are specific about

what they want and therefore serious clients.

Blogging is on your time and it’s something you can do. Paid advertising like Adwords can be equally time consuming but also very expensive even when hiring

a professional

Why Should I Blog

How does Blogging Increase my Website Traffic

Google’s most recent major algorithm adjustment, called ‘Hummingbird’, works

with long tail searches rather than keywords. More than that, it determines relationships

between words and parts of a sentence.

A long tail search is a keyword phrase, for example “What is the best city to live in the

West?”

The more good content you produce which answers and addresses this question, The

more Google will notice and reward you. This is called “Relevance”.

Google’s #1 Priority is to provide relevant content

How does Blogging Increase my Website Traffic

Blogs and social media are made for each other. Blogs are easily shared on all social

media platforms and foster engagement. That builds the audience for the blog as well as strengthens your social media presence.

Social Media Engagement

30 Day Social Media Traffic to http://real-estate-spokane.com

FAQs for your industry

Hyper-local topics like local events, attractions and restaurants

Tips

500 words or more, 1000 to 1500 is betterInclude your title in the first paragraph where possible

Write it as you’d say it to someoneDon’t be too formal, make it easy to read and

engaging

What Should I Blog

Video Blogs : Try making some short video blogs on your smart phone (no need for big productions). Then add it to your written blog. Don’t forget to upload it to your YouTube Channel first!

Share : You’ve put a lot of effort into your blog so be sure to share it on all your social media sites. Watch for comments on your post and where you’ve shared it.

Respond : Both on your blog comments and on social media, respond to EVERY comment, it makes people want to come back and comment and share again.

Current Events : Piggyback on relevant current events. Get your content found in the frenzy.

Blog Smart : There are numerous free plug ins available for Wordpress. Yoast we mentioned earlier for SEO optimization. Simple Share Buttons puts share buttons at the bottom of every blog you write to make it easier for readers to share it on their sites. Social allows you to share your blog as you publish it to Facebook and Twitter.

Have Fun : As with social media, to engage your readers and followers you have to keep it interesting, local and light reading.

Be Controversial : Often this can prompt more conversationand more sharing giving more exposure.

Blogging Tips

Plugins

Google Analytics : Pay attention to what posts get the most/least visits. Look for trends in traffic that you can capitalize on

Social : Automatically shares to Twitter & Facebook when you publish

Tweetily : Share posts automatically on a pre-determined schedule

WordPress SEO by Yoast : Gives you a green light when your post is SEO optimized

Secrets to Blogging Success

Thank You! Questions?

Kevin Ray - @KevinRayLaura Willson - @LauralooPeacock