by The Computing Australia Group | Blog content is a powerful tool to increase conversions, enhance brand awareness and build an engaging community. According to studies, marketers who invest in blogging are 13 times more likely to observe positive ROI than those who don’t. Our SEO team from Perth agrees. So, how to start a blog for your website? Where should you begin? Read on!
Blogging can be a valuable marketing tool for businesses for several reasons:
- Improves search engine rankings: Consistently publishing high-quality blog content can help improve your search engine rankings, as it shows search engines that your site is active and relevant.
- Builds brand authority: Blogging allows you to share your knowledge and expertise with your audience, which can help establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.
- Generates leads: Blogging can help attract new visitors to your website and can potentially generate leads for your business. By including calls-to-action in your blog posts, you can encourage readers to learn more about your products or services.
- Increases website traffic: Blogging can help drive traffic to your website, as it gives people a reason to visit and explore your site.
- Enhances customer engagement: Blogging can help foster customer engagement by providing a platform for you to interact with your audience and respond to comments and questions.
- Improves customer retention: By regularly publishing fresh and relevant content, you can encourage repeat visits from customers and help improve customer retention.
How to start a blog for your website
You will need to create a subdirectory to add a blog. For example, if your website is www.domainname.com, it’ll look something like www.domainname.com/blog. The process of adding a blog to your website will depend on the Content Management System (CMS). In this post, we talk about how to start a blog in WordPress – the most popular CMS out there right now.
1. Create a new page
2. Add the page title
Since this page is for your blog posts, you can name it “Blog”. ‘Insights’ and ‘Resources’ are other common names for a blog landing page. Remember to leave the text box blank as the page isn’t a static content page; it is more of a landing page from which individual blogs are linked out.
3. Hit “Publish”
Hit the Publish button, and the Blog page will be live.
4. Change your settings
Select Settings on your Dashboard and click on Reading. Now a section titled Reading Settings will load. Under the ‘Front page’ displays, click on the “A static page” option. On the Posts page drop-down menu, click on Blog (or Insights or Resources as the case may be). Be careful not to select the ‘Front page’ option as this will make the Blog a landing page for your website.
Now, decide on how many posts you want the readers to see when they are on the Blog landing page. Change the number accordingly for the “Blog pages show at most” option. You can also either show the full article or show just the summaries on the Blog feed. Once you’ve completed the settings, click on Save Changes.
5. Create and publish your posts
Your blog is officially ready! All that’s left to do is create high-quality content and post it consistently to build a thriving following.
Check out our blog landing page. Note how the titles are a summary of what the blogs are about, and the excerpts from each blog explain what the individual blog is about.
Need tips for that first blog post? Keep reading!
How to write blog posts?
Before you start writing a blog, you have to first know what kind of post your audience would like to see. Is your website content niche or multi-topic? Would they like to read short or long posts? Would they like fun posts or more serious posts? All these are questions that you will need to answer before you start your blogs.
Blog posts are usually of five types.
- Cornerstone Content or Ultimate Guides
- “How-To” Posts
- Informative What Is Posts
- Lists
- Infographics
The length of the posts will depend on the topic and the type of post. A good blog post should provide both, value and an element of interest to keep the reader engaged.
Here are the steps to creating a well-written blog post.
1. Choose topics that resonate with your target audience
If your posts don’t align with your brand and audience, they won’t positively impact your site traffic, even if written perfectly. So, do a bit of research and understand what your audience expects from you. Choose topics that will help showcase your expertise in your niche. Also, try to find low-volume topics since there will be less competition here, and it’ll be easier to rank in SERPs.
2. Create a strong title
You need a title that can capture the reader’s attention. It should provide enough information about your blog post without being too long.
3. Write a captivating introduction
The introduction can make or break an article. The first few paragraphs are critical in keeping a reader engaged, so make them your best! Explain the purpose of the blog post. Be clear on the problem you’re addressing and the resolution you aim to provide.
4. Come up with an organised outline
A long, 700-words paragraph will be too overwhelming for even the most avid reader. The trick to presenting a piece of detailed information without coming across as dull is to divide it into sections. Make your articles a collection of sections or lists with proper headings, subheadings, and paragraph breaks.
Pro tip – Write down the headings that you will address before you start writing. This is especially helpful while writing a long piece where it’s easy to stray away from the topic.
5. Start writing the content
Now that your outline is complete, you can start expanding the outline points into a full blog. Research for information to ensure that the content is current and accurate. Try to keep your language simple and engaging. Don’t forget to use your keywords regularly! Insert a CTA towards the end of your post. Before you publish the blog, make sure you proofread and edit any errors. Here’s a detailed guide to content writing for more tips. Remember to promote your post on social media.
That’s a guide on how to start a blog for your website. Of course, you may need to tweak the list to suit your business’s unique requirements. But you can start with these simple tips to build your brand awareness and attract the right website visitors. For all queries on content writing and SEO, you can contact us or email us at sales@computingaustralia.group. Our team at Perth will be happy to answer your questions any time. Our team at Perth will be happy to answer your questions any time.
Jargon Buster
SERPs – Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) are the pages a search engine displays in response to a user’s search query.
CTA – A call to action (CTA) is a text or graphic that points to the next step a marketer wants their audience to take.
