Blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your website. But if you’re spending time writing about your niche, you want to make sure you are optimizing them to get the information that you want. Typically, that is more information about your audience.

1. Use Scannable Formatting
   • The way Google scans content for search results has changed over the years. By answering questions or using featured snippets, Google will scan and pull out answers to the user’s search query. A concise definition, bullet points or a numbered list are great formats for Google to scan your blog content and be used to provide answers directly on the search results page.
2. Use Data
   • If you aren’t using data to track your website performance, you better start now. Google Analytics is full of statical information that can give you an insight:
     • Users – how many users are visiting your site, what pages they’re viewing, and how long they’re spending on your site? These metrics can help you determine if your content is relevant and engages your audience.
     • Acquisitions – Knowing which sites are sending referral traffic to your site can help you know where to invest your time and resources. If people are more likely to engage through social media, then you can spend time upping your posts, tease and share your blog and dedicate time toward engaging with your audience.
     • Engagement Time – Ultimately if you’re spending the time to write blogs, you want people to read the content. Knowing how long users are spending on your pages will help you get an indication of how they behave. Using the average engagement time can help you ask why there might be an increase or decrease in traffic if you notice any inconsistencies or patterns that seem to be out of the ordinary.
3. Focus On What Works
   • As you use the data to learn about your audience, next you need to take the actionable steps to focus your efforts on what works. If your audience is coming through social channels, incorporate high-resolution images and visuals that enhance your content and write stimulating social posts that will drive traffic to your blog. Whatever you find for your brand, be willing to test and adapt to what the data tells you.
4. Get Email Subscribers
   • When people come to your site and leave their email they are saying they are interested in the content you’re producing. By getting their email, you have a targeted audience that is primed for the content you’re producing and they’ll likely return when you post new content.
5. Improve Site Authority
   • As you create content for your site, incorporate internal and external links.
     • Internal linking allows you to send users to other pages on your site. You don’t want to spam your post with a ton of links, but if you’re referencing a certain topic, you can link to another page or post that offers additional reading.
     • External linking is similar to internal linking, but you are linking to a different website from your blog. When using external links, be careful to link to sites that are reputable and relevant to your content. When sending people away, do it responsibly.
6. Provide Value
   • Ultimately the point of your blog is to increase your industry voice and expertise. You want your content to provide value to your readers. Ask yourself:
     • Am I solving a problem?
     • Am I answering a question?
     • What is the benefit of reading this blog?
   • Hubspot shared a study of types of content that get shared the most. How to, lists, what-posts, why-posts, and videos. Finally, If you’re producing top content, then make sure to offer easy ways for your message to be shared. This will help extend your reach, while also actively engaging with your audience.

Get Found First is an award-winning agency that has helped hundreds of companies develop a strong brand message and establish a strong SEO presence. If your website needs updated content or helps with blogging, get in touch with us today.