When it comes to securing a top spot in search engine page rankings, one of the key elements search engine algorithms look for is quality, relevant content. In the early days of search engine marketing, webmasters got away with throwing up tons of spammy, poorly written articles stuffed with money-making keywords that may or may not have pertained to the content written. Though this technique used to rank sites, as Google and other search engine algorithms have become more sophisticated, tactics like this no longer work for getting SERP results.

“Content is King” is a phrase that rings true when it comes to search engine marketing. Blogging is a great way to keep a consistent flow of quality content on your site.

Google wants to provide users with results from real businesses who demonstrate expertise in whatever field to which the searched keyword relates. Now, the Google algorithm is able to detect keyword stuffing and other spam, punishing sites who attempt to employ these tactics and rewarding sites that offer users quality content. To boost rankings, many SEOs now encourage their clients to regularly publish new content relevant to their business as a way to both engage customers and ensure that search engines pick up on their expertise in a particular subject. Now many businesses keep regular blogs as a means of helping improve their search engine rankings and to keep their customers coming back for more.

When it comes to blogging as part of a SEO campaign, it’s important to think through your strategy to get the most out of your efforts. Here are some tips for a blog that is both attractive to readers and SEO-friendly.

 1. Get to Know Your Audience

As a blogger, you need to focus your writing on things your target audience cares about. If you are writing for a local roofing company, for instance, your audience might want to know about topics like how to assess damage after a hail storm, what roofs are best for different climates, or how a roof can cut down on energy bills. Stay away from topics that are tangential or completely irrelevant to the service you provide. If someone comes to your site looking for information on roofing but instead finds information on pools, they will probably be confused and quickly bounce from your site. Not only will writing to your intended audience’s needs keep customers engaged, it will let search engines know you are an expert in your field.

 2. Write for Yourself

In order to garner the motivation to write on a regular basis, you need to love what you are doing. The more you love blogging about topics in your areas of expertise, the more you are going to find yourself churning out material that reflects your enthusiasm. Write to followers while writing for yourself.

 3. Give Your Blog Posts a Boost

A blogger without an audience is just some poor schlep posting on a website. As a side task to your blogging, you want to always be on the prowl for new places to post your material. Many companies use IFTTT syndication, which is a helpful tool for automatically publishing new content on your blog through various social media channels. Publishing through multiple channels will increase the odds that readers see your articles, and ultimately, that they check out your site.

Try using a service like IFTTT to syndicate your blogs across all of your social media platforms. This is an easy way to gain a broader audience for your blogs.

 4. Promote Yourself Through a Call to Action

Every time a reader enjoys one of your blogs, you want to provide them with the opportunity to stay connected to you for future material. The best way to achieve this is by calling on your readers to contact you through Twitter, Facebook, email or contact form. This can lead to increased traffic to your site and important leads for future business.

 5. Post Regularly

Creating a content posting schedule will help ensure consistency and regularity with your blog posts. This is critical to amassing a large quantity of content and keeping consumers constantly engaged. Some experts recommend posting fresh content once a week, while others recommend greater frequency to keep readers coming back for more.

 6. Use Headlines and Subtitles

Your loyal followers will always look for your byline and stay connected. For the benefit of the readers who don’t know about your talents, you should use headlines that inspire people to read beneath the byline. A catchy headline will capture more readers than a reputation. After you’ve caught their attention, keep readers engaged by using subtitles throughout the article. Subtitles are a great tool for summarizing information and driving home key points. Not only are headers and subtitles great for human readers, as Yoast suggests, they also help search engines determine the main topics of your post. As search engines better understand what your site is about, the better it will rank.

 7. Be Patient

The path to SEO rankings can take months, but employing well-planned, white hat tactics can help you get there. Generating quality content through a blog takes a lot of time and effort, but ultimately, may drive traffic and secure the rankings you are looking for.
These are just a few of many ways you can start climbing the rankings through your blog. As Bill Gates once said, “Content is King”, so now is the time to hone those blogging skills and get your site ranked.