If your company mainly relies on content marketing as a digital strategy, then a blog is your main money generating asset. There are many things a regularly updated blog can do for a company: it can bring you more customers, increase your brand value, help you build brand reputation and spread the news about the company.
But a blog can also become a nightmare for its owner. Everyone knows having a blog is beneficial but no one can create a fail-proof plan to ensure the blog’s success. Sure, we’ve been told to publish regularly and promote content in social media. But what does “regularly” entail? And how often should you change the design of your blog? In this article we’re going to explore some of the best practices in WordPress blog management, that will bring you visitors, conversions, and a first place in the search rankings.
Writing new content
There are different ways to look at new content:
First of all, you need to be mindful of your regular readers. Loyal readers are the backbone of your blog and you want to keep them happy with regular updates. Readers expect new findings, research, thought leadership pieces, and news updates. It’s very difficult to maintain the same level of interest considering the current attention spans. But by posting on a weekly basis you show the readers that you’re active in the field and they can trust you to remain their main source of information.
Another thing to keep in mind is SEO. Trying to beat other competitors in the search ranking game is a respectable endeavor but it can’t be achieved without posting at least once a week. For search engines, the more quality content you publish the better. Blogs that publish 16 posts per month or more see four times as much traffic as blogs who only update their content 0 or 4 times – this was confirmed by research from Hubspot.
Publishing more content than others is one part of the SEO equation. Another two parts are engaging in link exchanges and creating high-quality content. When you publish guest posts on other sites and link them back to your blog, it tells search engines that others trust your blog and your reputation among industry professionals is high. Remember to always create high-quality content because it affects how readers perceive your brand.
Sometimes it’s impossible to publish 16 blog posts a month simply because there is nothing to write about. When you create content for your blog think about your sources of inspiration and news updates. Forced ideas often end up being terrible blog posts. So always make sure you have something new to talk about or you have discovered a new angle to the problem. Blogging is like journalism – you need to constantly seek new ideas and keep your blog interesting and fresh.
You have published an amazing blog post on your website, but competitors are still way ahead of you as far as the quantity of content? The number of blog posts on your site is an important metric even though it’s a superficial one. This is due to the fact that the amount of content often serves as an indication of the company’s reputability. The more blog posts the company’s blog has the longer it has operated in the industry. If you want to stand out in a highly competitive space, make sure you have more content than your competitors.
Lastly, you can have tons of ideas and be in a constant state of writing flow, but if you don’t have the time and budget for producing posts then the inspiration is worthless. You need to have a dedicated person who is as passionate as you to create mindblowing content. Alternatively, you can write posts yourself, but for an entrepreneur wearing many hats this might be tricky since adding content production to your tasks might overload your to-do list. Consider your budget and time when you plan your digital marketing strategy.
In short, you should publish a blog post every week. Yet, make sure that the content is valuable for the readers and don’t try to produce something simply because you want to reach your weekly publishing target.
Changing the design of your blog might also help with bringing new readers and maintaining current readers’ interest. But design is a more complicated topic. Here is what you need to keep in mind when changing the design of your WordPress blog:
As technology is evolving so are the tools and standards for web development. It pays to stay aware of the trends in the technology field and update your site accordingly. This refers to new features as well as security and user experience. There is nothing more frustrating than navigating the site that isn’t aligned with new user behavior and browsing habits. For example, instead of clicking on menu tabs people now simply scroll the pages. Make sure your site adheres to new standards and monitor technology and web development trends.
Branding is another aspect that affects how your website looks and feels. If the company changes its branding, your site and blog should reflect the changes. A website is the face of the business and you want to keep it updated and attractive. Also, review your offers, pricing, and sales copy. Having outdated information on your blog affects your expert image so make adjustments as your business grows and evolves.
Design and fashion trends can make even the most advanced WordPress site seem outdated. This is because people are social creatures and some of them religiously follow the trends. If something isn’t in line with what’s fashionable, readers tend to categorize the website as old school. There is a commonly accepted understanding that if the design isn’t modern then the company is not creative enough, productive enough or innovative enough. Track design trends and while you don’t have to necessarily apply them all, try to keep your blog’s design in line with modern realities.
Every business owner wants to see their insights populated in all the search engines and their website to gain first rankings. This is, essentially, the main reason for blogging – to gain customers and increase sales. As a business owner, you want a good return on investments. But blogging also has some other benefits – blogging builds loyalty and trust, which has a huge implication on millennial consumers who put these two sentiments at the top of their decision-making pyramid.
When you update your blog on a regular basis you contribute to knowledge gathering and dissemination, provide valuable information to your readers, and keep a fresh perspective on business and the world. Make sure you spend the time each week to update your blog and schedule design revisions every year.
And how often do you update your blog? Leave the comment below!
