In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, one question that often arises is "How can I get more organic SEO traffic from Google?"
The most direct way is blogging, to cover topics that internet users are actively searching form. A study by hubspot show that business blogging leads to 55% more website visitors. And in my own businesses, while I don't quantify the direct impact, I've seen enough traffic growth from blogging to make it a top marketing priority. The bottom line is...
When done properly blogging primarily helps your SEO by creating more content that satisfyies search intent keywords thus giving Google more opportunities to serve your site in search results. On a deeper level it will help build topical authority and earn backlinks which will further propel your site higher in the search rankings and grow SEO traffic.
Other things I cover in this post are how many blog posts you need for seo, how often you should publish them, and the sales nurturing benefit of business blogging.
Let's Jump into it!
1. Keyword Opportunities
One of the fundamental aspects of SEO is optimizing your website for specific keywords that are relevant to your niche. Blogging provides the perfect platform to target and incorporate these keywords into your content. By creating blog posts around these keywords, you increase your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
To be successful with blogging for SEO growth, you must publish content that directly satisfies the search intent of these keywords. This means doing keyword research and identify relevant search terms and writing specifically on those topics. For example, I am writing this blog post to directly satisfy search intent for 'does blogging help seo'.
Another example might be a roofing company finding the search term 'types of roof tiles' and creating a piece on the '9 Types of Roof Tiles Homeowners Should No About'.
Keywords like this may not be covered in a brochure style website and blogging provided the opportunities to get them on your site.
2. Topical Authority
Search engines value expertise and authority in their ranking algorithms. Consistent and well-informed blogging on specific topics within your industry or niche helps establish your website as an authority in that area. When search engines recognize your site as a go-to resource for valuable information, they are more likely to rank your pages higher in search results, ultimately driving more traffic your way.
This not only propels your blog content but the search rankings of your site as a whole. Let's consider another example with a roofing company trying to boost SEO. The roofing company ultimately wants to rank for search terms that are location specific such as 'Tampa roofing company' and 'roofer in Tampa'. Publishing on the topics of 'roofing tiles' and other informative type blog posts doesn't directly get them traffic for the location specific queries but it does establish topical authority which will boost the rankings of the pages that do have location based keywords (most likely the home page).
3. More Indexed Pages
If you just have a small website that has your home page, 5 pages about your services, an about, and contact page... there's not enough meat for Google to index!
Search engines need content to index, and each new blog post you publish creates a new page for search engines to crawl. The more pages you have indexed, the better your chances of showing up in search results. Blogging regularly ensures that your website continues to grow in terms of indexed pages, increasing your overall online presence and visibility. In fact, websites with blogs have an average of 434% more indexed pages than websites without them!
4. Fresh Content
A website needs to breathe.
And that metaphor means that it needs to be updated regularly with fresh content. Search engines love fresh content. By regularly updating your blog with new posts, you signal to search engines that your website is active and relevant. This can result in more frequent crawling and indexing of your site, leading to improved search rankings. Fresh content also keeps your audience engaged and encourages them to return to your website, which can reduce bounce rates and boost your SEO efforts.
5. Internal Linking
Effective internal linking is a crucial part of on-page SEO. When you create blog posts, you have the opportunity to naturally link to other relevant pages within your website. This not only helps users navigate your site but also spreads link equity throughout your domain. Proper internal linking can help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your content, which can positively impact your SEO rankings.
6. Attract Backlinks
Research by Demand Metric found that Blogging can result in 97% more links.
How it that? Well think of it like fishing, each blog post that you publish is like a baited hooked in the water that a fish could bite. The more hooks you have, the higher your chances of getting bites are.
The same concept applies to blog posts. Each post is an opportunity for another publisher to link to you. As with fishing better bait gets more bites, so better content gets more links.
Backlinks, or incoming links from other websites to yours, are a significant factor in SEO. High-quality blog content is more likely to attract backlinks from other websites in your niche or industry. When authoritative sites link to your blog posts, it not only drives referral traffic but also signals to search engines that your content is valuable and worth ranking higher in SERPs. Building a robust backlink profile through blogging can substantially boost your SEO efforts.
7. Social Media Synergy
Blogging and social media go hand in hand. When you create engaging and shareable blog content, you can promote it on your social media channels. This synergy between blogging and social media can amplify your content's reach. As your blog posts get shared and discussed on social platforms, it can lead to increased visibility, more traffic, and even potential backlinks from social media profiles.
Sales nurturing; another benefit of business blogging.
Sales nurturing is another valuable benefit of business blogging. By consistently providing valuable content to your audience, you can establish trust and credibility with potential customers. As they engage with your blog posts, you have the opportunity to guide them through the sales funnel. You can strategically create content that addresses their pain points, answers their questions, and showcases the benefits of your products or services. Over time, this nurturing process can transform interested prospects into loyal customers.
Furthermore, through business blogging, you can tailor your content to specific stages of the buyer's journey. Whether it's informative articles for those in the awareness stage or detailed product comparisons for those in the consideration stage, your blog becomes a versatile tool for nurturing leads and ultimately driving conversions. This personalized approach helps build lasting relationships with your audience, increasing the likelihood that they will choose your offerings when the time is right, making business blogging a powerful sales enablement strategy.
Pro tip: in my businesses use an email sequence to direct lead to relevant blog content as they move through the sales process. It has been a winning formula!
Now how many blog posts do you need for seo...
More is better. As a rule of thumb, 100 blog posts is a suitable amount to capture a good bit of search traffic. Remember though the posts need to be relevant, so with only 100 posts you need to make sure they are tightly woven. For example if you are a SAAS business that is useful for dentists, eye doctors, and orthopedics, it is advisable to cluster all of your topics into one of those niches.
To put some numbers behind it, Traffic Generation Cafe found that once you publish 21-54 blog posts, your blog traffic can increase by as much as 30%. My own experience correlates with that. Don't expect to see a movement in the needle until you have at least 20-30 posts. And once you publish those, keep the momentum going until you reach that first 100.
So how often should you blog to keep SEO traffic growing...
According to Hubspot Publishing 16 posts/mo gets 4.5x more leads than those that publish 4 posts. Publishing 16 posts per month can be a tedious task. For that reason it is important to consider your websites current performance.
If you're a new business with a website that doesn't have much content, it's probably worth it to prioritize blog post publishing and get at least 2 per week published to build semantic relevance and topical authority and kickstart your SEO. On the flip side a business website that has achieveied topical authority and extensively covers most topics related to their business, one blog post a month may be all that is necessary to keep the traffic growing.
Blogging is a powerful tool for enhancing your SEO efforts and growing your organic traffic.
It provides numerous opportunities to target keywords, establish authority, create fresh content, and build a robust backlink profile. When combined with effective internal linking and social media promotion, blogging becomes an integral part of your overall SEO strategy. So, if you're looking to boost your website's search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic, start blogging today. Your SEO efforts will thank you for it.
Remember, successful blogging takes time and consistent effort. It's not just about quantity; quality and relevance are equally important. By focusing on these seven ways blogging can help with SEO, you'll be well on your way to achieving your traffic and ranking goals.