WHERE BUSINESSES GO TO GROW

We all want to build our blog audience and get smarter with our content. One of the biggest challenges bloggers and content marketers face is writing content that’s optimized for search engines (i.e. SEO – which should always be taken into consideration when you write), AND that will also appeal to people.

According to one who has done it, Dave Schneider, in his article titled “How To Create A Post In A Few Hours That Gets 100’s Of Shares” he details a few pointers and lessons learned that are GREAT for us to share here as well. No one ever knows when an article post is going to be a killer idea and will be shared hundreds of times, but here are some tips.

Dave’s blog posts that have done the best have the following features:

1. They are lists, tips or round ups – basically massive guides.
2. They tackle a problem or a topic that people care about.
3. They have content that is unifying and broad.
4. They feature influencers or industry experts.
5. They use keywords related to the product and target audience.
6. They use keywords that also rank in a Google search (i.e. “traffic generation” vs. “generate traffic”).
7. They have social media icons on the webpage so people can easily share it. 
8. They are promoted aggressively. Such as through email, text, twitter, retweets, Facebook, G+, LinkedIn, tag/mention people in your post, reach out to key influencers to promote your content, share with those who already have similar content in your industry, send your content to specific target audiences and to people you’ve already built relationships with, etc.

How do you create content that ranks well with Google and also persuades people? Get started. Be helpful. Share expert tips. Include keywords. Make it easy to share. And reach out and engage in social media even after it’s posted.

So, make sure you ask yourself: does your post solve a particular problem? Does it answer a question or concern of your potential customers?

You can create content that works for you, for Google and other search engines, and for your audience! You got this!

This blog was written by our staff writers. If you are looking for a solid inbound marketing strategy, contact us today for a free consultation, we are here to help! Follow @cogomojo on Twitter, the COGO Interactive Company Page on LinkedIn, and subscribe to our blog, for more tips and resources. Thank you for reading! Your support is very much appreciated.