Laura ColeLet’s start with a basic assertion: blogging is great.
Not only is blogging great, but it also offers numerous advantages to writers from around the world. Whether you want to create a monetized and lucrative blog or simply hone your craft as a writer, blogging regularly and about a subject that you are passionate about remains an extremely effective past-time.
With Google adopting an increasingly aggressive approach towards driving a higher quality of online content, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult to create a compliant blog post that retains visibility. If you are keen to create a blog that ranks highly on Google and provides a suitable platform for your work, it is becoming increasingly keen that you pay attention to even minor details.
3 Small Details that Impact the Quality and Reach of your Blog Posts
These details can have a significant impact on the reach and ranking of your blog, while they also dictate how engaging each individual post is. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the following three factors and understand the best practice for ambitious bloggers: –
The Length of your Blog Post
Achieving the optimum length of blog post is extremely difficult to achieve, not least because industry guidelines are constantly changing. Bloggers may also write across numerous genres and content types, each of which will demand a specific number of words to do the subject matter justice. As a general rule, however, blog posts with higher word counts often correlate with a superior Google ranking. Posts with 2000 words or more tend to feature predominantly on the first page of Google, so you should use this as a general guideline when creating content.
What else can you do? Within this guideline, try to be flexible and create relevant content that articulates your point. Avoid using excessive language simply to drive up your word count, and focus primarily on earning and retaining the readers’ attention. You should perhaps aim to write one, 2,000 blog post each week, targeting one of your areas of expertise and exploring this in greater detail.
Use an Active Voice and Positive Language
Another small but significant detail for bloggers to consider is the tone of the posts. Blogs with positive or aspirational tones tend to perform better than those with an air of negativity, so regardless of your subject matter try to accentuate the positive elements of each post and empower readers with a sense of optimism. You should look to avoid writing with a passive voice where possible, as this tends to create dry and one-paced content that is less likely to engage casual readers.
What else can you do? While creating blog posts from a positive perspective may require a forward thinking outlook, this is easily translated through the use of an active voice. Active verbs infuse written content with energy and vitality, helping to engage readers quickly and for a longer period of time. This not only compliments a positive tone, but it also has the potential to generate excitement and bring even dry or commercial content to life.
The Need for Media-rich Content
When it comes to embellishing your content, it is also important to consider whether there are additional content types that can help you to articulate your message. Diverse and media-rich content also fares well on Google, while it also helps to engage readers on a far more meaningful level. This means that you should look to incorporate images and videos that add value to your post, either by adding context to your written content or bringing a particular vision to life. Once again, the key is to focus on relevance and integrating diverse content that adds value to the blog post.
What else can you do? Once you have written, edited and refined your content, you should highlight any areas that require either substantiation or an alternative visual element. For the former you can embed authority links, while the latter demands that you source a suitable video or image that enhances the visual appeal of the blog post without confusing the message. This way, you will negate the risk of including content that creates a disjointed or confusing layout.
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