Why We Have a Blog and Why You Should too
February 8, 2024
I mean… it’s not like people are lining up to read a small-town freelancer’s thoughts and opinions. I know many of my clients haven’t even been on this page. So why do it? Well in addition to enjoying it and providing my clients with an insight into my brain and world, it’s about search engine optimization.
Search engine optimization(SEO) is a set of practices and techniques aimed at improving the visibility and ranking of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs). The primary goal of SEO is to increase organic (non-paid) traffic to a website from search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Essentially, it’s making your website show up higher on Google’s results. As an example, if you google “Freelance Web Developers in NH”, “Freelance”, “Web Developer”, and “NH” would all help my website show up above my competitions if I choose to target these keywords. If my site’s SEO was stronger than all my competition, I would show up before them, just underneath the paid ads. I currently don’t, but only because this is a new site.
So how does a blog help you show up before other businesses trying to index for the same keywords you are?
Fresh Content
Search engines favor websites that regularly update their content. Blogs provide a platform for consistently publishing new, relevant, and valuable content. Fresh content signals to search engines that the website is active and offers up-to-date information, potentially improving its ranking.
Keyword Optimization
Blogs allow you to target specific keywords relevant to your industry, products, or services. By strategically incorporating these keywords into your blog posts, you can improve your website’s visibility for those terms in search engine results.
Internal Linking
Blogs provide opportunities for internal linking, where you can link to other relevant pages within your website. Internal linking helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your site, and it can distribute link authority throughout your pages.
Backlink Opportunities
High-quality blog content is more likely to be shared and linked to by other websites. This can result in valuable backlinks, which are crucial for improving a website’s authority and search engine rankings.
Long-Tail Keywords
Blogs allow you to target long-tail keywords—more specific and longer phrases that users might search for. Long-tail keywords can be less competitive and attract a more targeted audience, increasing the likelihood of ranking higher for those terms. For example, my website is indexing for the keywords “Web Dev”, “Web Design”, “Freelance Web Developer”, “Web Developer”, “New England”, “New Hampshire” and some others. A blog post could target people searching for “Should I use a web developer or create my website with a page builder”. I’ve got a blog post coming out about that, so that post will be filled with these keywords and useful information.
User Engagement
Engaging and informative blog content can improve user experience, keeping visitors on your site for longer periods. Time spent on site and other engagement metrics are factors that search engines consider when evaluating the quality and relevance of a website.
Social Media Integration
Blogs can easily be shared on social media platforms, extending your content’s reach and potentially attracting more visitors. Social signals, such as likes and shares, can indirectly influence search engine rankings.
Answering User Queries
Blogs are an excellent way to address common questions and concerns of your target audience. By providing valuable answers, you not only enhance user experience but also increase the chances of appearing in search results for relevant queries.
Earning Featured Snippets
Well-structured and informative blog posts can be selected by search engines for featured snippets, which are displayed at the top of search results. This prominent placement can significantly increase visibility and traffic.
In summary, blogs contribute to SEO by providing a platform for regular content updates, keyword optimization, internal linking, and the potential to attract backlinks and social shares. They help create a dynamic and authoritative website that search engines are more likely to rank higher in their results.
While I’m not an SEO specialist, I do understand the importance of setting a website up for success. Implementing keywords and page structure that is SEO friendly is part of my standard dev process. There will always be sacrifices for the sake of design/animation, but when it comes to SEO, know that your site will start with a leg up compared to my competitors.