As a content writer who has worked for a marketing agency for years, I can tell you that blogs drive traffic to a business’s websites. SEO—search engine optimization—can be a finicky beast, and hacks and shortcuts often fail in the long term as Google changes its algorithms. But good content from blogs? That will bring in continual traffic from search (and social media and backlinks). But how do you make blogs a great SEO tool? It’s time to talk content writing and keywords.

A Bit of a History Lesson on Blogs and Keywords

Blogs as a marketing tool, to promote your brand or business, have always been useful when combined with keywords (phrases that are commonly searched for, hence the alternative term keyphrase). But both have been used (and continue to be used) as black hat SEO. Keyword stuffing, URL and metadata trickery, and other tools might give you short-term success, but driving people to a bad blog isn’t going to make them keep reading, exploring your website, and hopefully buying something – good content will.

Keywords in Content as a Marketing SEO Tool

So, how do you balance keywords and content writing to make blogs that drive traffic but don’t compromise the engagement of your writing and calls to action? There are two major rules when it comes to keywords: first, pick a single keyword to base your blog around—this should be present in the title, URL, and several times throughout the blog; second, create a list of complimentary keywords (secondary keywords) and include them organically in the writing at key points like headers, lists, and closing content. Organically is the keyword here: too many keywords (or using the same one too many times in the blog) will not only look unnatural but also can start working against you on Google’s search algorithms.

How to Get Started on Writing Business Blogs

So let’s apply these lessons to blog writing. Assuming you’re starting from square one, do a little research about blog writing in your industry. Make sure you (or someone on your team) have the writing chops to write engaging blogs. Figure out topics. Then:

• Start with Keywords: Brainstorm keywords around your topics. Use the most interesting keyword for your primary and the others as your secondary.
• Follow Up with Good Content: This is where many blogs struggle. You need to be able to write solid content with good use of headers, lists, and error-free writing.
• Know When to Use Links: Make sure to link to parts of your website (include other blogs) and know when to link to other websites – also known as backlinks.
• Use Other SEO Tools: Make sure also use tools to customize your metadata – the title, description, and images that will appear on search engines and beyond.
• Make Sure to Share: Blogs are also a great tool for social media engagement. Also, look at other websites where you can share your expertise.

Of course, you don’t have to go it alone. At Vision Advertising, we work with clients to bring their blogs to the next level, often pairing them with a new website and social media marketing. Learn if blog outsourcing is right for you and how we can help you by contacting us today.