1. Set a Realistic Objective for Your Blog
- Purpose: Define why you are starting a blog using the “five whys” technique to uncover deeper motivations.
- Goals: Align blog goals with broader business objectives such as improving domain authority, increasing website traffic, or enhancing conversion rates.
2. Add a Blog Section to Your Website
- Integration: Incorporate the blog as a section within your existing website rather than creating a separate domain or subdomain.
- SEO Considerations: Subfolders generally perform better for SEO than subdomains according to practical experience, despite Google’s official stance.
3. Work on the Layout and Decide on a Style Guide
- Consistency: Establish a consistent style guide and layout to maintain branding and user experience.
- Elements: Consider image placement, title formatting, internal linking strategy, comment moderation, author profiles, social sharing options, and strategic placement of CTAs.
4. Analyse Your Target Audience
- Understanding: Use insights from sales teams and analytics tools like Google Analytics to define your target audience.
- Demographics: Gather demographic information to tailor content that resonates with your current and potential customers.
5. Do Keyword Research for Your Blog
- SEO Strategy: Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant topics and optimize for search engine visibility.
- Intent: Differentiate between transactional keywords (e.g., “buy iPhone X”) and informational keywords (e.g., “best phone camera 2019”) to align content appropriately.
6. Create a Blog Schedule
- Frequency: Determine a realistic publishing schedule based on your capacity, aiming for consistency (e.g., weekly or monthly updates).
- Content Quality: Prioritize quality content over frequency, aiming for posts that are at least 600-1,000 words long, well-researched, and engaging.
- Planning: Develop a detailed blog schedule covering topics, keywords, formats, and internal linking strategies for cohesive content development.
Overall Strategy
- Integration with Sales Funnel: Use blog posts strategically within your sales funnel, guiding visitors from informational content to engagement with products or services.
- Long-term Perspective: Plan for sustainability and growth by aligning blog efforts with long-term business goals and evolving audience needs.
This structured approach ensures that your blog serves its intended purpose effectively, whether it’s to attract new customers, enhance SEO performance, or build brand authority within your industry. Adapt these strategies based on ongoing analytics and feedback to continually refine your blog’s impact and relevance.
