“Will blogging help my SEO?” It’s a question I get asked all the time.
And it’s a question that doesn’t have a simple yes or no answer, as it really depends how this “content” is done.
Simply posting a blog article every week without a plan or any goals set is most often going to result in wasted effort.
Forget “fresh content” and start thinking relevant content.
What Is Relevant Content?
Relevant content is answers provided by your content to questions that people are actually asking. So, how do you even know what questions are being asked? And how do you even answer those questions? This is where some SEO knowledge comes into play.
Google Keyword Planner is a great tool to see what type of topics actually have some search volume around them.
Often, finding search queries with 10 to 30 searches a month can be answered with a simple 300-400 word blog post and, providing the blog post is properly optimised, will usually rank quite easily on the first page of Google.
The reason this works is because a monthly search volume of 10-30 is quite low and they’re not purchase intent keywords, so it’s not something that your competition is likely gunning for.
Why Rank for These Keywords?
There’s a few reasons.
Firstly, they can often bring in genuine enquiries.
Secondly, it increases the amount of traffic being brought in from the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). Provided that people aren’t quickly bouncing off your article, it shows Google that your site is useful and satisfied a search – increasing your worth in Google’s eyes.
This worth then carries on to lift your website as a whole. So, even if we’re not working on our main purchase intent keywords; there is a knock-on effect.
Attracting Backlinks
Another benefit of ranking well for information seeking searches is that useful content will often get referenced in other websites, creating a link back to your website – otherwise known as a “backlink”.
Backlinks are an important factor of how well you rank in searches, as Google keeps tabs on what websites are referring to your website.
A website that has a lot of other websites referring to it shows authority and trustworthiness, which is a quality any top-ranking site should have.
Google can also distinguish the quality between different backlinks. Google knows if something is a bit dodgy and it will either not give you much credit for those links or even punish your website if it thinks you’re trying to game the system.
How Often Should I Be Blogging?
As often as possible, when you can write quality content. “But doesn’t Google love fresh content?”. Google doesn’t just rank the freshest content it can find first – quality always comes first.
My Client’s Industry Is Boring, We Can’t Blog about Anything
You don’t always have to write about the industry specifically as long as they’re loosely relevant and you can get away with it.
A skip bin company can get away with writing content about recycling at home. Or a limousine company can write content about the best places to score free Wi-Fi in Perth, sharing their local knowledge in a blog post.
So long as your content is genuinely helpful to search users and the content isn’t completely random to the theme/industry of your website, it’s a strategy that will help improve your SEO in the long-term.
For more reading on Search Engine Optimisation and Content Marketing check out these other Marketing.com.au articles:
Andrew Doyle, owner of Doyle Digital, takes his experience in Western Australia's largest advertising agency, digital agency and media publisher and combine it to offer the SME market one of the most well-rounded search marketing freelancers in the country.
