Maybe you've spent hours upon hours posting valuable content on your blog and then optimizing it as well as submitting to multiple directories out there just to find out that no one reads it. Now why would that happen? It's most likely because of the content.
Over the last couple of years blogging has certainly become the number one way for people on the internet to keep in touch with others and then find new contacts while spreading useful information. However, there is no use in simply adding more garbage on top of what's already out there.
One of the most common approaches, especially one that people from the internet marketing community use (the get-rich-quick type) is to create a blog and then fill it up with duplicated and irrelevant articles. After that they do the same with more blogs and link them together. And even though this might work for a while and you get certain rankings within the search engines, your blog is still going to get lost soon enough.
And even though you might think that the problem here is with the search engine optimization side of things or the design, or maybe even the frequency of your posts, it really is far from the truth. It's in the actual content in it.
Return to the basics
The main reason why blogs were started in the first place was so that people could share valuable info. Remember that people look at your blog so that they can find certain answers to problems they're facing, and not necessarily to make you a millionaire even though it's still possible. The idea here is that you have to have a certain amount of knowledge within your field so that you can help others. The key things are providing good content - the informative type.
What is valuable content all about?
Well, like I said - it's the type that answers a question for people. It can be direct and you don't always have to try to be profound with it or go in depth at all. A lot of people that are looking for information out there are only in need of a quick solution so when looking for information on a smaller problem they don't want to know some of the less important details. All they're looking for is your expertise, so why not give it to them?!
Ask yourself, what are the things you know about a certain subject? If you think that you already know plenty about it then you'll be good right from the start, but if you don't then it's perfectly fine for you to do some research first. Fact of the matter is, it's good to use a reference at any time even when you know plenty and you're feeling certain about your opinion. This way your blog is going to be labeled for its value.
What does search engine optimization have to do with it?
Even though you might spend countless hours optimizing your blog and content for the search engines, it still will not attract others if it's not valuable/interesting enough. You should never forget of some of the basic search engine optimization principles, but do not spend too much time optimizing when you know you can be spending it on the actual content. Search engines are far more affected by the actual popularity of your blog than they are with all the SEO tricks you have under your sleeve. All you need is some basic keyword research and to utilize the correct key phrases to get noticed for a certain keyword.
How do backlinks affect your blog?
Now, even though these are very important as they are - you shouldn't just go on spending most of your time in attempts to bring your link out there through comments. Only a few well placed ones on sites of authority can bring you a log way. And as you're gaining additional readership the comments themselves will supply you with all the backlinks you're in need of. The key to gaining new readers is to provide them with useful content. And the better it is the more people it's going to attract.
Should you update your blog on the regular?
It's different for every blog actually so there are no formulas here. Even though some post on a daily basis, others might choose to so weekly. It depends on the subject matter of the blog you're writing. For instance, if it's about gossip then you might want to update it frequently in order to keep everyone's interest. However, if it revolves around a certain niche that not many things are changing in then you might want to think twice about posting on an everyday basis. It's good to make your audience know exactly on when to expect new content, and the key is that you should be on the lookout to deliver value within the posts and not quantity.
Even though the blogging gimmicks appear constantly and disappear just as fast, valuable content can last for years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment