Best Practices: 5 Tips for Elevating Your Blog Content
Blogging continues to be a cornerstone of digital marketing. For most businesses, understanding and implementing the best practices in blog writing is not just beneficial, it's essential.
Here are the top 5 best practices for structuring blog content
- Plan keywords and understand search intent
- Make your content easy to read and scan
- Add images with alt text
- Add links with strategic anchors
- Optimize page title and meta description
1. Plan Keywords and Understand Search Intent
The foundation of any successful blog is providing the reader with value by aligning your content with what readers are searching for. This starts with keyword planning and understanding search intent. Knowing the right keywords to target isn't just about incorporating popular search terms. It's about interpreting the motivations of your audience and understanding the 'why' behind their searches. Use tools like Google's Keyword Planner and other SEO tools to find relevant keywords with high search volumes and low competition. Then, craft your content to answer the questions around those search criteria. This approach can increase the likelihood that your blog will not only attract relevant traffic, but engage readers with content that resonates with their interests.
2. Make It Easy to Read and Scan
Readers often skim through content to find the information they need quickly. Making your blog easy to read and scan is crucial. Break down your content into manageable sections with clear and concise headings. Use bullet points, lists, and short paragraphs to enhance readability. Employing a conversational tone can also make your content more relatable and engaging. Remember, the easier it is for your audience to digest your content, the more likely they are to keep reading, and even share it.
3. Add Images with Alt Text
"A picture is worth a thousand words," and this holds especially true in blogging. Visual elements make your blog more engaging, help break up text, and make it more approachable. When adding images, don’t forget to include alt text. Alt text (alternative text) is a crucial component for SEO and accessibility, providing a text alternative for search engines and visually impaired users. This enhances your blog's reach and inclusivity, ensuring a wider audience can benefit from your content. Incorporating imagery within your blog post is also an opportunity to do brand storytelling. Using photos, illustrations, and design elements that reflect your brand’s style will also complement the voice and tone of your written content.
4. Add Links with Strategic Anchors
Links are the lifeline of the internet, connecting your content to a broader context. It offers readers additional resources to provide them with more value. When incorporating links into your blog, use strategic anchor texts – the clickable words in a hyperlink. Instead of generic phrases like "click here," use descriptive and relevant keywords that give readers and search engines an idea of what the link is about. For example, if you want to share a valuable piece of research with your audience that you’re referencing insights from, you may want to use the phrase “this study” and hyperlink that text. This not only improves user experience but also bolsters your blog's SEO.
5. Optimize Page Title and Meta Description
Optimizing your page title and meta description is a strategic way to boost your blog content’s discoverability. These elements are often the first interaction potential readers have with your blog on search engine results pages. Your title should be catchy, compelling, and include your primary keyword. The meta description, a brief summary of your blog post, should provide just enough detail to pique the reader’s interest while also incorporating key, memorable phrases. A well-crafted title and meta description can significantly increase your blog's click-through rate, and help you compete with other similar content online.
As a marketing agency, Modera understands the power of well-crafted content. By implementing these five best practices, you're not just writing a blog; you're creating a gateway that connects your audience with the heart of your brand. Contact us to talk about elevating your content today.
