blogging to build your business
DESCRIPTION
Blogging is one of the fastest and easiest way to increase the amount of traffic from the search engines. Each blog post helps to grow the size of your site and gives your visitors a unique piece of content to link to and share. For many small business owners however, blogging is an entirely new realm, and just getting started can feel like a daunting task. You might be eager to get started, but there are many things to consider before you do. Which blogging platform are you going to use? Will you let platform host it or do you want it on your site? What are you going to write about? How often are you going to be posting new articles? It’s easy to get overwhelmed in a hurry. In this presentation, you will learn: - Benefits of blogging for your business - How to get started blogging if you’ve never done it before - Optimizing your blogs for more search engine traffic - Free resources to help make your blog shine - And more! ThriveHive is a small business marketing software and solutions company. We have marketing experts with years of experience helping local businesses with increasing their visibility through blogging. This presentation will help any local business owners start blogging to promote their business, grow their website and their business.TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Blogging for the first time can be intimidating
What if I don’t do it right?
What’s the point of it anyway?
What do I write about?
Agenda
Benefits
Getting Started
Search Engine Optimization
Blogging Resources
The Benefits of Blogging
Publishing fresh, unique content gives visitors a reason to keep coming back
Every blog post is its own, new page on your site that you can optimize
Blog posts are great for sharing through social media to build buzz
The Benefits of Blogging
Blog posts give people a reason to link to your site, improving your traffic from the search engines
Blog posts are an easy way to add an entire page of content focused on a keyword you want to target
The Benefits of Blogging
Blogging regularly can establish you as an authority and thought leader in your field
Blogging is one of the easiest ways to grow your website traffic and leads without spending a single penny
Getting Started
Choosing a blog platformCost- free vs. paid
Ease of website integration
Support system
Ease of use
SEO
Getting Started
TopicsSetup a Google alert for your industry
Host a brainstorming session with employees or friends
Create a repository of blog ideas to pull from in the future
Use the AdWords keyword tool
Use ubersuggest.org
Getting Started
Editorial CalendarDecide how often to post- pace yourself!
Find reusable topics you can write about each week on the same day
Plan which topics you’ll be writing and when you plan to post them- commit to a date!
Download our free Marketing Calendar for 2014
Search Engine Optimization
Choosing keywordsThe Common Sense Approach
Start with a few high level keywords
Create more using modifiersLocation, quality, price, etc.
Search Engine Optimization
Choosing keywordsThe Advanced Approach
Use tools to find ideas and suggestions
Find relevant terms with a good number of searches
Google each term to determine level of competition
KEIKEI = (searches)2 / (competition)
Higher is better
Search Engine Optimization
Helpful habitsBlog often
Use images
Write engaging content
Share!
Things to optimizeTitles
Headings
Image alt tags
URLs
Search Engine Optimization
TitlesDetermines the headline of your post as well as the title tag for the page
Possibly the most important element on the page
Be sure to use a keyword you want to rank for in your titles
Search Engine Optimization
HeadingsSpecial bolded text for organizing and naming sections of a post
Use “Heading 2” or higher, or <h2>
Help reinforce the theme of the post
Try to include some phrases that are closely related to your main keyword
Search Engine Optimization
Image alt tagsSearch engines can’t see what’s in a picture, alt tags allow you to tell them
Look for the words “alt” or “description” when uploading your images
Try to incorporate your main keyword or closely related phrase
Search Engine Optimization
URLsSearch engines look at the URLs of your post for keyword cues
Make sure your posts have URLs that you can read
If the URLs are a bunch of letters and numbers, the main settings of your blog should let you to change it
Blogging Resources
Keyword ToolsGoogle AdWords keyword tool
Ubersuggest.org
IdeasGoogle Alerts www.google.com/alerts
Google Trends www.google.com/trends
Blogging Resources
ImagesStock images www.freedigitalphotos.net
Stock Photography Free Getty Image Embed
Free blogging platformsWordpress- our #1 pick
Drupal
Blogger
Tumblr
Marketing Resources
Call us now to schedule a FREE consult:
(888) 997-4183
Be sure to check out our Marketing Resources page for free eBooks,
templates, webinars, and more.