Have you set up a blog for your business? If so, congratulations on leveraging your internet presence! Running a content blog is one of the best ways to get more attention your way, even if those clicks don’t lead to sales. At the very least, more people will know about you and will recommend your content to more people.
However, there is only one small problem to deal with: there is little or no ripple coming out of your internet pond. You are not correct an influential person, sure, but you have an online presence that you’re proud of. So why doesn’t anyone notice or react to it? What did you do wrong along the way? Well, we have some good news for you: you haven’t done anything that you can’t undo and/or plan to deal with!
Because the online world takes a lot of effort to get into, and staying relevant over time is becoming harder and harder to do. You want to attract mass, you want to make an impact, but you just can’t seem to get started with it. And that’s what this post is here to help with.
First, check what people read
Before you start changing things up and coming up with a whole new content strategy, make sure you know what people like about your blog. There’s always something that pulls in more numbers than anything else, so check the analytics your website host will always have. ready to go for you. What are people clicking on? What are they spending time reading through? And where do these people come from?
These are the 3 big questions you’re trying to answer here. You want to know what people like so you can write more about it, and you want to know what they might like next. And when you know what they’re clicking and where these clicks are coming from, you’ll be able to build a personality that will answer all of your future questions. You’re simply looking to promote the ‘average’ reader here, as it will help you form more direct strategies for SEO and general content over the next few months.
No one really knows you’re blogging
Okay, how long have you been telling people that your business has a blogging business? Maybe you mentioned it once or twice? Well, it’s time to post a few more posts about it on social media, because people don’t know you’re blogging and that’s why they don’t visit! It’s rare that your customers and/or followers go through your posts entirely on their own, and they need a gentle push to stay on track.
Every time you publish a new article, take turns posting about it. Talk about how you wrote it, the challenges you faced, what interests you about the particular topic, etc. Make your own announcement posts easy and fun to read through and every people are more likely to notice it. Use multiple hash tags if you feel the need – just get your blog info on the net!
Your SEO is everywhere
Do you know what niche you are blogging in? Do you know what SEO keywords you are targeting? Because if not, it’s time to rethink this part of your strategy. It’s easy to fall into the pattern of not really focusing on what you’re writing and only publishing things related to your business, but this won’t generate any backlinks to benefit from.
Google wants to know what you’re up to, and with the right keywords used consistently in your posts, it can be quite difficult to index you. Do yourself a favor now and consider what terms people are searching for in relation to a company like yours. How can you use this information? And what can you specifically target to stand out from the crowd? Take your time to do this research and come up with a strategy that you are really proud of.
It’s a potentially dangerous site to visit
Some sites can be a little nervous to click on if security is a bit lax. Maybe the browser tells the user that there is no SSL layer, or maybe the anti-virus software on their computer completely blocks the site – either way, some people stay away because your site has can put malware on their tails! And for small businesses with small budgets, this outcome is more likely than you think.
After all, running a blog is one thing, but making sure it’s safe to read through is another. It’s not just your content that you have to thoroughly edit and always have access to, it’s the website itself. So, once you’re all set up and publishing content, it’s best to look into hosting plugins that will help weed out things like spam comments and potential phishing intrusions. For example, this replacement akismet very easy to download and use, and your comments will be really worth reading through afterwards!
Your website is difficult to use
And if your site isn’t safe to use, it can also be quite unwieldy! Indeed, if a person can’t even open a website due to potential malware, they’ll never come back. But these are not mutually exclusive and you should always think about the end user when you set up a new tab or include a new image on your homepage. At the very least, the site should load quickly and allow people to enter it within seconds.
People click away when their browsing experience slows down, unless they’re absolutely certain they want to shop with you or read something you’ve published. And if you’re not an established brand (like Amazon or Facebook), they simply won’t be around to see what’s on offer. Keep navigation simple, use tags on everything for easier search terms, and keep bandwidth in check.
No hot images
And finally, does your blog catch the eye? Does it look like a place you would click if you hadn’t been? And what do you think is good about it, if you are someone who knows nothing about your business? Because all these factors are important and they are much more important than running with a design theme you have always liked.
Indeed, you need to change the look of your blog from time to time to simply draw eyes. You’re always putting new content out there, which is great, but you also need to figure out what layout, formatting, fonts, and colors will bring you the best success.
For even that last element, choose a color that causes false emotions that can lead people to make a quick review of your blog. For example, if you want to write about topics that make people happy, you don’t want a red or blue background ruining your image! If you want to be more brand-focused, tweaking your website design with your logo colors will help reinforce your business’ successful image, especially if you use blue!
Your blog is ready to go and now you just have to focus on its appeal. Change a few things, improve your SEO and think about the overall purpose of your website. These factors can make a real difference.
