What is blog writing for SEO?
Blog writing for SEO is the process of writing content that will rank on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) such as Google. This entails researching keywords, writing high-quality content that matches user intent, and optimizing your content, headers, and images for easy page crawling.
7 Steps to Blog Writing for SEO
1. Blog Writing for SEO – Identify and Set Goals
Identifying and setting goals is the first step in all marketing projects. It is no different with blog writing for SEO. I have outlined some common goals below for blog posts.
- Educate your audience
- Grow your brand’s audience
- Increase website traffic
- Increase brand awareness
- Generate sales or leads
2. Blog Writing for SEO – Define Your Target Audience
Knowing who you are writing to and for will help you when it comes time to plan your blog content. Developing personas of your target audience can help you to really understand the audience for your blog content. Important information to identify includes:
- What are people searching for?
- Who is doing the search?
- When are they searching? (Seasons, Trends)
- What platforms are they using to search?
- Why are they searching? (Motivation)
- What problem are they looking to solve? (Challenges)
- What are their interests?
- Where are they located?
3. Blog Writing for SEO – Complete Keyword Research
Understanding the keywords that searchers are using to find information is key to writing a blog post that will be found in SERPs. Also, knowing how competitive the keywords are will determine whether your content will have an opportunity to rank. Selecting keywords that will drive the right traffic and rank will determine the success of your blog article.
Free Keyword Research Tools
- Google Keyword Planner – https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
- Google Trends – https://www.google.com/trends/
- Keyword Tool.io – http://keywordtool.io/
4. Blog Writing for SEO – Plan Your Blog Content
Planning blog content can get a little complicated with all these SEO guidelines. Remember that you are writing the content to answer the searcher’s questions and to provide value.
The best way for you to improve your chances of ranking is by writing high-quality blog posts with user intent in mind that offer a solution to the questions being asked.
What does that look like?
- Thorough answers
- Scannable sections
- Organized subheadings
- Visual aids
Remember the target audience profile you created. Keep your buyer personas, and their motivations, challenges, and interests in mind. Choosing topics that interest your target audience and that offer solutions to their questions make a successful blog post.
5. Blog Writing for SEO – Optimize the Content and Images
This is one of the most important steps in blog article writing. The keywords that you want to be found for should be used in the article and optimized for important sections of the content.
- Make sure that the keywords are used in headings multiple times. Use the keyword in your h1. Then use it again in H2s, H3s and H4s to break up the content.
- Use the keyword in the first paragraph of the blog content.
- Include keywords in your meta title and description.
- Add keyword rich alt tags to all of your images (and make sure your images are compressed for fast loading).
- Link to high-authority websites.
- Plan for longer posts that can be scanned.
- Link to other posts on your website.
- Optimize content for featured snippets (answer the question thoroughly and succinctly).
6. Blog Writing for SEO – Distribute and Promote Your Content
Refer to your target audience profile again. This will help you to determine where best to distribute your content.
- Social media is a great way to push new blog content out as it is free to post. The channels that we recommend posting on include Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Profile, and Twitter.
- Adding your blog content to your corporate newsletter is a great way to distribute to your existing client base.
- If the goal of the campaign is to drive traffic to the website, you may want to consider a paid campaign to drive traffic to the blog post.
7. Blog Writing for SEO – Measure Your Success
Finally, you will want to measure the success of your blog article. The measurement strategy will be determined by the goal that you set. Google analytics is a great way to measure traffic that has reached your blog article.
https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/
Finding out your best performing blog posts will help you to determine what your readers are most drawn to and what they are engaging with. This will help you to determine what future blog posts will be useful to your audience.
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEO AND SEM?
Here’s the short answer:
SEO is the process of getting your website ranked organically (or naturally) within the search engine results pages (like Google). You cannot pay Google to rank organically. The results are based on their algorithms.
SEM is paying to have your website show up in the results. This can include paying for ads in Google, in directories, or on social platforms.
For a more detailed answer, and to find which is better (or right for your business) keep reading below.
SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING (SEM) & PAY-PER-CLICK
The online marketing world has changed dramatically in recent years. Google Ads is one of the platforms driving this change. Google Ads is a paid advertising or pay-per-click (PPC) service offered by Google. It is one of the most effective methods of paid advertising online.
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a type of internet marketing service in which the advertiser pays a fee each time their ad is clicked. Once clicked, the ad directs the searcher to the advertiser’s website. The goal of the advertiser is to get the searcher to perform a predetermined action.
Common Actions Include:
- Filling out a lead form
- Completing a sale
- Signing up for a newsletter
PPC is a way to buy targeted visitors to your website, rather than gaining visits through organic methods.
Primarily based on keyword bids and other relevancy factors, ads will be displayed on the top or on the side of the organic results. Through their search query, searchers reveal their intent to purchase.
Using the results and insights from Google Ads and Google Analytics, advertisers are then able to measure the effectiveness of their ads and the quality of the traffic. They can then refine their ads and make adjustments as necessary.
If Google Ads is a platform you would rather leave up to the experts, then visit our Search Engine Marketing & Pay-Per-Click page to inquire about pricing and to learn more.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
What exactly does SEO mean?
Search engine optimization is the process of designing, writing, and coding your website so that there is a better chance that your website will appear at the top of search engine results page, like Google, for your desired keywords. Ultimately, it is a way for your website to get organic traffic from the search engine results page on major search engines – for free!
How it works:
The simple version: Google reads the content on your site (and other elements) and determines what keywords your website should rank for.
For the techies: Search engines used web crawlers (sometimes referred to as spiders or bots) to crawl the web and build an index of web pages, files, news stories, pictures, videos, and other media. When someone types in a search query, the search engine scours its database and returns only the results it deems to be the most relevant. It then presents the results in the form of a list, ranked from most relevant to least relevant. Each search engine has their own algorithms that use mathematical equations which contain hundreds of variables to determine the relevance and popularity of web pages.
Our team uses proven and ethical search engine optimization strategies to get your website ranked in the top positions for your industry keyword phrases.
Are you ready to start driving more traffic to your website? Visit our Search Engine Optimization page to inquire about pricing and to learn more.
What’s better? SEO or SEM
There’s a simple answer to this, it depends on what your goals are.
With SEM you have a lot more control over your campaign. You control your budget, keywords that you want to be found for, geographic area to target, immediacy of rankings, among other things. The down side is that this platform is becoming more competitive so you will have to have a regular budget to accomplish your goals. Once you stop paying for SEM, you will no longer show up in the search engines.
With SEO you may have to be patient to see results. Writing good content, generating back links to that content, and getting reviews takes time. Not to mention that you are competing with everyone in your industry as well as local directories for that first page spot. Working with a professional to complete proper keyword research and selecting the right keywords to target will help you to move in the right direction. And once you do achieve results, the traffic tends to convert higher than SEM and your website rankings will generally be maintained for a period of time. SEO tends to be a long term strategy.
We usually recommend implementing both strategies at the same time to achieve maximum results.
Are you looking for a great SEO company in Coquitlam to work with?
Longevity Graphics specializes in SEO and SEM for small to medium businesses specifically in the trades, professional services, and health services industries.
With search engines like Google dominating the online user experience, it’s crucial for you to cater to the top platforms. To increase traffic, Longevity Graphics uses SEO and SEM techniques to help your website rank for relevant searches (keywords used by the person searching). This is done through organic keyword use, as well as paid avenues such as Google Ads. When used in tandem, these techniques ensure more online success.
Contact Longevity Graphics today for a free one hour consultation, and learn how SEO can make a difference in your business. Call 778-229-5383.
Local SEO is Dominated by Google Reviews
We know local SEO, and from our experience, more reviews and better ratings help you rank better in local search results. By harnessing the power of 3rd party online review sites, you will improve your website’s visibility and ranking in search. With multiple ways to add 1st and 3rd party reviews to your website, you can turn your website into a sales funnel.
Google My Business (GMB) is essential to a successful local online marketing strategy. With Longevity Graphics GMB management service, you’ll unlock the power of your GMB profile with an optimized listing that helps capture new leads and convert searchers into customers.
Maximize Your Local SEO & Online Reviews
We value our customers and would like to recommend a new tool for your business to Gain More Online Reviews at an exclusive price.
This new software uses advanced features to help your company gain more online reviews, making the feedback process easier. It will create personalized text messages and emails that will request reviews from your customers. You will receive detailed reports of feedback statistics and notifications for new reviews, allowing you to interact with your customers.
With this software, we can track all of your online reviews on Google, Facebook, and more.
We can then use these reviews to be implemented onto your website as verified reviews. This helps substantially with building credibility and authority on your website.
Local SEO is highly influenced by Google reviews. This software will help you:
- Gain More Online Reviews
- Interact With Your Customers
- Improve Local SEO
- Direct More Traffic To Your Website
We truly think that this is an exceptional tool and highly recommend it to help manage and grow your business online. Cost of software $75/month.
There is a management fee of $250.00 / month.
Let us know of any questions that you may have.
Why are title tags important?
Title tags are shown on search engine results pages (SERPs) and are important for usability, SEO and social sharing.
Title tags are a large part of search engines understanding what your page is about. It is the first impression that people have of your page.
Title tags are found and used in:
- Search engine results pages (SERPs)
Even if your site ranks high, a good title may determine if someone clicks on your link.
- Web browsers
Unique, easily memorable titles with important keywords will help people follow your message. Especially when they have multiple tabs open.
- Social networks
Websites like Facebook will have their own meta tags. This lets you specify titles different than your main title tag which allows you to optimize each network and provide longer titles where they’re needed.
How do I write a good title tag?
- Watch your title length
When a title is too long, search engines may cut characters or words off. Because of this, if you are not careful, you could lose important words. It is generally recommended that titles are under 60 characters long.
- Don’t stuff keywords
This means that you should not overuse a keyword in a title. Avoid titles that repeat the same keyword over and over. This looks unprofessional for those looking on a search page and could also potentially get you in trouble with search engines.
- Put important keywords first
Keywords closer to the beginning of your title tag will probably give more impact on search rankings.
4. Take advantage of your brand
Adding your brand name to the title may help boost click-through rates. Especially if you have a strong and well-known brand. There are cases such as your home page or about page where you want to be more brand-focused.
We keep hearing about the importance of “S.E.O.” Debunk some of the SEO myths revealed by industry expert Hubspot.com.
Some of the myths that stood out are the following:
- More links are better than more content
A link to a website is more than just a link. It’s a way of saying “Here is a source that I trust. Check it out.”
It’s essential to focus on quality links rather than just the quantity of them. Less can be more if you know how to build links the right way.
Remember that one of the best ways to generate quality backlinks is to start by creating content of quality.
- Keywords matter more than anything
When Google introduced a new search algorithm in 2013, the analysis of phrases instead of keywords alone marked the switch from keyword to topic-focused SEO.
Simply dominating a few keywords is not enough anymore to produce successful results. Hubspot recommends marketers explore a topic cluster strategy.
- Meta descriptions don’t have a huge impact
Meta descriptions influence whether or not your page is clicked on. What makes a good meta description is keeping it under 160 characters. Mobile meta descriptions cut off at 120 characters. Also, include your entire keyword or keyword phrase.
- My home page needs a lot of content
Your home page is the gateway to your business. It’s the time to make a first impression and to convey what your business is about.
But, for marketers, there is a need for a bit more content and context.
Your home page should clarify who you are, your service, your location, your value proposition, and what visitors should do next.
- The more pages I have, the better
Just like link-building, creating content just to have more pages isn’t enough. If you don’t have good content, you won’t rank well and those pages you created won’t help.
- I don’t need a mobile optimization strategy
In 2015, Google updated an algorithm called the “Mobilegeddon.” The update rewards mobile-friendly websites and penalizes those that aren’t optimized fully for mobile.
Google is taking mobile very seriously these days. Over 60% of searches on Google are done via mobile devices!
“Responsible web design, dynamic serving and separate URLs serve as three implementation methods for creating a mobile-friendly website.” – Hubspot
Use Google’s Mobile-friendly test to see the status of your website and discover resources for improving mobile usability.
Reputation management is the practice of shaping the public’s perception of a person or an organization. What was originally a public relation term, has grown to encompass online search results as a core part of an individual or entity’s reputation.
Some interesting statistics:
- 91% of adults use search engines to find information online
- 93% of searchers never go past the first page of search results
- 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business
- 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation
Here’s the bottom line – people are looking at you and your business online and making decisions based on what they find.
Why does Reputation Management Matter?
How you look online directly impacts your personal and professional life. Here are some of the main reasons why building and managing your online reputation is so important.
Freedom of Speech
Anyone can say anything about you online without getting in trouble. Whether the information they share is true or not, it is out there for other people to see. Some review sites have the option to open an investigation, but many places on the internet simply do not have this option. Unfortunately, there are very few laws in place to protect people who have been affected in these situations.
Everything and Everyone is Online
We do everything online these days and we have the technology in place to track and store all of this activity. That means everything we post on Facebook, everything we search for in Google, every website we visit, every online transaction we make, and every conversation we have through text, exists somewhere online.
Let the Good Outweigh the Bad
Your digital reputation creates significant opportunities. In an increasingly competitive economy, more and more customers are looking for positive information about you online. If you aren’t taking advantage of what your reputation could be, people aren’t seeing your best foot forward.
Why might someone need an Online Reputation Management Specialist?
A reputation management specialist will provide you with the maximum control possible over what people can see about you online.
Our Reputation Management services include:
- Create review generation campaigns
- Provide a review conversion funnel
- Monitor online reviews
- Manage online review sentiment
Contact Longevity Graphics to learn more about the Reputation Management services we offer. We provide a FREE 1-Hour Consultation.
It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You’ve exceeded your customer’s expectations and they’re full of praise. So, then why won’t they write a review?
Happy customers are typically open to the idea of writing a review. On the other hand, unhappy customers are far more motivated to write a negative review. However, both of these customers are in the minority.
A majority of customers never leave reviews. There’s a variety of reasons why they choose not to, but it all comes down to a few common barriers. How do you get more customers to leave reviews? You must eliminate the barriers.
Some of the common barriers include:
- Customers don’t remember what exactly you did
- They find it too hard to write a review
- They don’t know what to say
Customers don’t remember what you did
When you’ve done your job correctly, customers have a tendency to be happy, then forget. However, if you make a mistake or do you job incorrectly, customers never forget.
Humans are always on the lookout for problems. This stems back to an important survival mechanism that we have depended on since we were born. Research shows that we’re far more attuned to the negative events that take place in our lives than we are to the positive events.
How can you ensure your customers remember the great product or service you provided them? You must ask customers for their feedback immediately or shortly after they’ve purchased.
It’s too hard to write a review
Great! You have a customer who’s willing to write a positive review about their experience with your company. Now, you have to make the process straightforward and easy for them. If they’re unable to find the right profile and it’s too time-consuming, they’re going to give up. In order to address this issue, you must make the process ridiculously simple for them.
Here are some instructions you can provide them with:
- Write your review
- Copy the text
- Click on the URL provided
- Paste your review and select a rating
- Click submit
Customers don’t know what to say
The biggest barrier by far is that many customers simply don’t know what to say. Rather than struggling to write a review, they choose to do nothing.
We recommend guiding customers. Now, what does this mean? If you ask the right questions, you’ll provide your customers with the fuel they need to write an amazing review. Here are some example questions you can start with.
In the case of a new website design, we would ask:
- How satisfied are you with the front-end design of your website?
- How satisfied are you with the usability of your website?
- Would you recommend Longevity Graphics?
- Was our team knowledgeable and professional?
- What would you rate us out of 10, based on overall performance?
- Would you be willing to do a Google Review for us?
Do you want more Reviews for your business and for your website to appear higher in local search engine queries? Ask us how we can get more Reviews for you!
Spring Into Action –
Mobile Optimization Coquitlam
Global data reveals that mobile devices continue to ingrain themselves into consumers’ daily lives. Here are some interesting statistics about mobile device usage:
- 80% of global consumers own a smartphone
- 50% of global consumers own a tablet
- 85% of Google searches are performed on a mobile device
The fact is, if you are not optimized for mobile you’re ultimately losing sales.
Navigating with a mobile device on a website that is not optimized for mobile use can be very frustrating, and most people today do not have the patience. Research shows that 57% of mobile users will abandon your website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. On e-commerce websites, 30% will abandon a purchase transaction if the Shopping Cart isn’t optimized for mobile devices.
Not to mention, Google and other major search engines are giving you the hint, too.
“If you haven’t made your website mobile-friendly, you should.” – Google
What is Mobile Optimization Coquitlam?
A desktop version of a website can be difficult to view and navigate on a mobile device. It may require the user to zoom in order to read the page content. In comparison, the mobile-friendly version is readable and immediately usable. This is demonstrated in the image to the right.
The Mobile-First Index
In late 2016, Google began testing its mobile-first index. This index primarily looks at the mobile version of your website for its algorithm and ranking signals, falling back on the
desktop version when there is no
mobile version available.
If your website is not mobile-friendly, that will have an impact on where your website appears on the Google search results page.
Regular Price $1250
Spring Promotion $625
(Available until May 15, 2017)
If you are looking for an expert in Mobile Optimization Coquitlam, then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for your business. Contact Us Today to learn more!
Search Engine Optimization Coquitlam
What is search engine optimization?
Search engine optimization is a way for your website to get traffic from the results pages on major search engines – for free! How does it work? When someone types in a search query, results like websites, photos, videos and local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers to be the most relevant to the searcher.
Paid ads appear at the very top of the page, followed by the organic results. You will want your business’ website to be appearing as high as possible on the search engine results page. The higher you are, the more website clicks you will receive and consequently, the more leads and customers you will obtain. Search Engine Optimization Coquitlam is the key!
How do search engines rank websites?
Search engines use web crawlers (sometimes referred to as spiders or bots) to crawl the web and build an index of web pages, files, news stories, video and other media. When someone types in a search query, the search engine scours its database and returns only the results it deems to be the most relevant. It then presents the information in the form of a list, ranked from most popular to least popular. Search engines assume that if a site is more popular, it is probably because the information on the page is more valuable.
Search engines each have their own algorithm. This algorithm uses mathematical equations that contain hundreds of variables to determine relevance and popularity.
How should you get started with search engine optimization?
- See what your competition is doing online
- Figure out your best keywords
- Add meta tags
- Start a blog
- Create an active social media presence
- Sign up for free local listings
What are some best practices when getting started with SEO?
- Create good content
- Use your best keywords
- Include linkable content
- Tag your titles
- Create URL’s that make sense to your viewers
- Describe your content
- Link to other popular websites
- Create a sitemap
- Monitor your rankings
What are some SEO mistakes to avoid?
- Keyword stuffing
- Broken links
- Content that is copied or duplicated
- Complicated website navigation
- Not optimizing your website for mobile
- Using flash
- Cloaking
Are you ready to start driving more traffic to your website? Longevity Graphics can help! We use proven and ethical search engine optimization strategies to rank your website at the top positions for your specific keyword phrases. Get in contact with us today, and have your website ranking in the top position during the busy, summer months.
Do you want more Google Reviews?
In the 21st century, Google is the first point of contact between many customers and businesses. From finding businesses nearby to looking up a forgotten phone number, we search keywords in Google to help us find anything and everything we want to know. And if we want to find out how one business compares to another, we Google them to learn about other people’s experiences.
Why should you care about Google Reviews?
Local search engines love online reviews for one primary reason – consumers love online reviews! Did you know that Google uses these Reviews as a factor in their ranking algorithm.
So, let me start with a very simple example. Let’s say you’re looking for a Website Designer in Coquitlam.
Right away, you can see the user ratings and the number of reviews prominently displayed in both the search results and the accompanying map. If you click on the place pin of one of the businesses, you can also see brief summaries of the latest reviews shown alongside the businesses information including the address, hours of operation and phone number.
This example illustrates the fact that customer reviews are among the first things people see when they search a business category on Google or Google Maps. It has also been shown that positive reviews provide your website with a greater boost to conversion rates compared to any other local SEO effort.
For local businesses, online reviews help increase the degree of trust felt, based on feedback from other people with similar needs. A 2014 study discovered that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family.
Do you want more Google Reviews for your business and for your website to appear higher in local search engine queries? Ask us how we can get more Google Reviews for you!