Let’s face it, ranking on the first page of Google is getting increasingly difficult as time goes by. With just over 1 billion websites live on the internet in March 2016 it’s hard to know what’s the right thing to do in order for our content to rank and be discovered.

Google likes to change their algorithms and policies frequently which leaves us all in the dark and wondering what to do next. However, blogging is one thing that the search engines still reward you for. Follow these 5 points and see how your blog posts can help give your SEO a boost.

Fresh Content

Regularly updating your blog with fresh and relevant content will win you big points with the search engines. Each time you publish a new blog post, this will force the search engines to crawl and index your site which could improve your search engine rankings. This doesn’t mean to write any old blog post, you still need to write relevant content to encourage readers to come back for more. Using relevant keywords and engaging content will not only help with your search engine rankings but will help you to position yourself as an expert in your field.

Images

Using images in your blog posts isn’t just for visual purposes, they are another avenue for people to discover your content. By naming them according to your keywords and adding relevant alt-tags, your chances of being found online will increase.

Keywords

The use of keywords has changed dramatically in recent times – no longer do the search engines reward you for cramming as many keywords as you can into a blog post. Nowadays, using keyword phrases will increase your chances of ranking high. Instead of focusing on one specific keyword, think about the question your blog post is answering and what people will search for in order to find your content. This will help you to come up with a strong keyword phrase and could increase your chances of discovery.

Video

Just like images, video can play a bigger part for your SEO and help you to rank higher in the search engines. If you’re going to include a video in your next blog post, make sure it’s relevant and informative. The last thing you want is for people who have found your content to then leave your site as this will increase your bounce rates and could jeopardise your SEO efforts. For more information about Video Marketing and how you could use it for your business check out our blog post ‘Every Business Should Use Video – Here Are 5 Ways You Could Try!’.

Social Media

By connecting your blog to your Social Media accounts like Facebook and Twitter, search engines now reward you in search results. If your keyword phrase was searched and you shared it across your social media accounts you’re giving the search engines one more thing to find. They will look at both your website and your social media accounts which in the long term will help you rank higher for your specific keyword phrase. It’s a win-win situation!

We hope this post will give you some useful advice about the importance of blogging for SEO, but if you’d like a little bit more help with your blogging, do get in touch with us and together we can come up with an effective strategy and plan that will increase your search engine rankings and help improve your online presence.