First, What’s a blog?

In very simple terms, blogs (short for web logs) are websites where a series of messages, or posts, on particular subjects are posted in chronological order—newest to oldest. Most have an area where blog visitors can post comments as well. Blogs are intended to be updated and read often. They are no longer considered personal diaries. Some are solely informational, others are sales driven, and others are somewhere in between. This flexibility is just one of the reasons to choose a blog over a more traditional site more and more often.

Other blog advantages

• Easy to get up and running quickly
• Inexpensive to maintain (Example: $3.95/month hosting fee or FREE from WordPress.com)
• Search engines—and people—like them because they’re wonderful vehicles for sharing ideas, videos, educational content, photos, etc.
• When maintained regularly, one of the best ways to move up in the search engine results

Search Engine friendly

When Internet users are looking for a particular product, service, subject or information, how do they do it? They “Google it”, in other words, they use a search engine to find it. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be a complicated subject, learning the inner workings of each search engine, bots, spiders, crawlers, etc. can be nauseating.

By using a WordPress website you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of the game.  WordPress helps automate this task by showing you exactly where to put your keywords and keyword phrases, your meta description, your blog post’s title tags, etc.   WordPress makes it easy to make a search engine friendly website. Here’s what you want to define about your company or organization before you start your site.

1. Determine the keywords or keyword phrases that your target market is using in the search engines to find what you have to offer

2. Assign those keywords to specific pages throughout your site and blog posts.

That sounds easy, but where do you start?

Keywords Are Critical

Keywords are important because the search engines use keywords in determining your site’s ranking, and these are the words people are most likely to use when they’re searching for a solution.

• When creating your keyword list, don’t just use nouns. Think of descriptive words. For example, if your site offers weight loss info, then some of your keywords might be “weight” and “weight loss”, “diet”, “exercise” or “nutrition”. You can also describe the advantages like “thin”, “slim”, or “healthy” and so on.
• Always keep your target market in mind. How would they find you if they didn’t know you existed?
• Try not to use generic terms like “business”.
• Use the plural when forming your keywords. If you list “garden” as your keyword, you’ll miss people who search “gardens”. If you include “gardens” and someone types “garden”, your site will be found because “garden” is a part of “gardens”.
• When you make a post, organize your keywords to put the most important first, most sites will pick up the first 200 characters of keywords.
• Use your keywords in the first 200 characters of the page or blog post. You can repeat them up to five times, but make sure the document still reads well.
• Make your post 200 words or longer to get the maximum benefit. That’s about a half page of typing.

What do I blog about?

Start by making a few posts related to the keywords or keyword phrases. For example, if you are a realtor and you want to capture more buyers in a specific city, then you might use the keyword phrases, “moving to Anytown MN”,  “homes in Anytown MN”, or “Anytown MN homes”.

Use those keyword phrases in the Title of your blog post, in the first 200 characters in the body of the post and again in the keyword fields. You might write one blog post on this subject now, and another in a few weeks. Or, you might want to write three posts with a slightly different focus. One aimed at families moving to town, one for relocation buyers, one for singles and students.

You want to write about the topics that people are searching for. You want to provide a solution to their problem, provide them with educational information, position yourself as the industry expert.

Do a Google search and see what comes up yourself. If you had a problem and wanted to find a solution, what would you type? How would you say it? Do the search and see what comes up. Then, choose your keywords and make a post.

Elements of a WordPress Blog Post

I always add a special SEO Plug-in to the WordPress websites I develop for my clients. It looks just like the box at the right and asks you specifically for a Title Tag, Description and  Keywords. A good title might be Minnetonka MN Window Treatments, Waconia MN Chiropractor, Chaska MN Wellness Consultant. Describe your post in 1-2 sentences. Include your business name and some prefer to add a phone number here. This is where you are “selling” your post, you want them to click on your listing. Include 5-6 keywords or keyword phrases in the Keyword field.

How Quickly Can I expect RESULTS?

Results. Results. Results. Isn’t that what it’s all about? I have made a blog post and then did a Google search an hour later and my post was the #1 search result! The key is the keywords. Blog posts are found faster by Google than a static website. The more frequently you post, the more valuable your site is. Google likes fresh content. Your results will vary. Avoid deleting a post and reposting the exact content. Google doesn’t like that. And they don’t like it when people post the same content on various sites, word for word. Change it up at least 50%.

Ways to Promote Your Blog Post

Take advantage of your LinkedIn and Facebook networks. Create several unique status updates over the next 2 weeks listing the reasons to visit your new website and include a link to your site.

To create a “link” directly to your blog post, be on your specific blog post, then copy the URL address in your browser at the top of the screen. Then, go to Facebook or wherever, and paste the URL link. Add a comment about the link. It will drive traffic to your site and users will land specifically on our post vs. your HOME page.

Ask your friends to SHARE with their friends. Remember the power of viral marketing!

Consider buying an ad on Facebook. You can create a specific daily budget.

Announce your new site to the groups you’re affiliated with on LinkedIn, Facebook, and other professional organizations. Make posts directly on their sites and blogs. Again, you want to position yourself as the expert and provide a solution to their problem.

Final Thought: The Keywords and Keyword Phrases are the “key”!

If you’d like to learn more, set up a free 45 minute brainstorming consultation with me.

I can explain the benefits of a good blog post and how to create one that will WORK for your business. Thanks for reading How to Make an Effective WordPress Blog Post. Let me know if you have any questions!

Michelle Aspelin
952-484-6015
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services
www.growyourmindshare.com