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A Business Blog Checklist for Higher Site Traffic

You slog away tirelessly at your business blog, rack your brain week after week for fresh ideas, and promote every post diligently across your social media profiles. Colleagues and friends say the blog looks great, but your website traffic hasn’t budged.

Is it working?

Businesses generally use blogs to build links back to their main website, while promoting their brand, cultivating trust, and providing customers with added value. These benefits go hand-in-hand. Higher site traffic from your blog is a sign that it’s working.

Getting higher site traffic from your blog to your website requires killer content- we’ll talk about that later- and on-page conversion tactics, some of which we have compiled below. Before you publish your next blog post, run through this checklist to make sure you’re on track for higher site traffic:

1. Social media buttons

Install a share bar on your blog to make it easy for users to share your brilliant content across social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Share bars move with the page as readers scroll through a post, so it’s always in the right place at the right time.

Social shares increase your blog’s visibility online and vastly increase click-through opportunities.  It’s one thing to promote your blog through your own channels; it’s another to put the power in the hands of your readers.

Just A Tip: Only include the buttons that work for you business, instead of the whole messy roster of colourful platforms.

Want to install a share bar on your blog platform? We can help!

2. Links, links, links

Craft your blog posts with information that offers links to other pages on your website, links to older blog posts, and links to referenced resources, to build the page’s credibility for search engine rankings, and help people move to naturally to pages on your site.  Anchor text adds value to the content, by providing quick access to relevant pages

3. Keyword-optimized titles & headings

Most users scan content to find what they need, looting around the page for keywords and phrases.  Catchy, keyword-optimized titles and headings alert users to targeted information, which compels them to stick around and read on. Keywords in titles and headings also impact search engine indexing.

Accommodate these preferences to make it easy for readers to find and digest your blog content.

Here are some basic tips for optimizing titles & headings:

  • Put the keywords for your content near the beginning of the title or heading. Users often scan left to right, so those first few words have the highest influence on their decision to read more.
  • Use a heading to break up paragraphs and summarize individual ideas or concepts within a blog post.
  • Use your title to show how your content provides the reader with a benefit. It should basically answer the question “Why should I read this?”, to assure them that your post is worth their time.
  • Offer numerical lists in titles when appropriate, such as “7 Easy Ways to Manage Your Money” or “Top 10 Mel Gibson Films of All Time” to appeal to time-hungry readers who want bite-sized information.

4. Pitch-perfect meta descriptions

When users scan search query results, they pay attention to meta descriptions. A meta description is the short summary underneath a search query link, which provides users with a concise, read-able explanation of the page content.  A well-crafted meta description compels users to click the link.

Write your blog post meta descriptions with as much care as you give the posts. Craft accurate summaries of the information with relevant keywords included (for those panicky scanners!)

5. Totally killer information

Blogs with high monthly traffic offer something valuable to readers, whether it’s bathroom tiling tips or pictures of puppies in baskets. They return again and again for killer information: information that kills the competition as being the best out there on a specific topic.

These blogs are reliable because they consistently deliver on their special area of authority (even puppy pictures). These blogs build a reputation on topic authority.

So before you publish the next blog post, perform an honest assessment of its killer-quota. Does it offer valuable information on a specific topic? Wait, do you write for a specific topic?

If you need help developing a focused blog content strategy, check out these tips.

6. Click-worthy images

An engaging, high-quality image underneath a blog post title attracts readers by giving them a visual summary of the content, which is a much quicker way to assess its value than to read the first few paragraphs.

Images also break up text on a page, encourage social sharing, and contribute to your distinct, recognizable brand identity.

Search engines approve, too. High-quality images diversify your content marketing mix, informing search engines that you’re serious about delivering awesome resources for a variety of learning preferences.

7. A call-to-action

Guide your blog readers to your flagship website (or landing page, checkout form, comment box, you get the point), with a clear call-to-action (CTA) that aligns with the content in the blog post.  Without CTA’s, your exhaustive blogging efforts are in vain.

Need inspiration? Check out these business blog CTA samples:

  • “Register for our free e-book”
  • “Drop us a line in the comment section below!”
  • “Click here for more resources”
  • “Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter”
  • “Read more posts like this”
  • “Find the ultimate __________ at our website”

Conclusion

Do you use any of these traffic-boosting strategies on your blog? Let us know in the comment section below!

See Also

5 Excruciating Signs It’s Time To Update Your Website

2 comments

10

  1. Herman

    June 5, 2013

    I enjoyed reading your list. Take a look at the list I created: "Web Design Checklist: 55 Things Every Website Must Have"

    1. Sarah Bauer BA English Literature

      June 5, 2013

      Thanks, Herman! You have created a very thorough checklist!
      Cheers,
      Sarah

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