SEO TIPS: Blogging Away!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Do you know what people are looking for when it comes to blog content? There are a  ton of gurus out there who will tell you there is a single magical formula you can follow that will bring in doves of readers and make you an overnight sensation. If you don’t buy that kind of thinking, you’re not alone. There are things we can do to make our blogs more attractive, but there is no secret, magic formula. It boils down to providing good content people have an interest in and then getting it in font of some eyes.

Let’s look at it this way – sometimes you can stand on a street corner and play your own weird brand of music and no-one shows up. That is what the scenario usually plays out as at least. Then again, you can play and make hundreds in folded dollar bills dropped in your instrument case. That is not the norm, but it does happen fo time to time – if your brand of “weird” is what people are looking for and enjoying. It all boils down to what people are interested in – and you can stand on your own ‘integrity’ and refuse to be diluted – or you can bend a little and get more foot traffic. Your choice. Neither is right or wrong, but it is something to think about.

Blogs are not really any different.  If you don’t blog about stuff people are interested in, no-one will ever find you. You’ll basically be blogging for your own amusement – which is fine if that is all you care about. However, if you go where the bloggers are, listen to what the hot topics are and find a way to dive in to the conversation, you might be able to bring the conversation around from pop to jazz with a few interconnected posts, and then branch out into your particular brand of eclectic rock. There is always a way to steer things in your direction with the right amount of subtlety and a little persistence.

If you want to get serious about bring in some traffic, subscribe to blogs in the same general genre of your interests and do keyword research and see if you can’t find common ground. If you can become known as an articulate, knowledgeable blogger, you can acquire a following, and that is when you can sit back and let the traffic start coming your way. Large followings rarely spring up over night so don’t neglect to do the footwork to build the thinking people will come just because you blogged.

You also can’t slap any old thing up and expect it is going to work. Don’t forget to write truly interesting, useful content instead of keyword stuffing – in the blogosphere, it’s the traffic that comes from other bloggers that counts even more than the search engines! That is what is going to make or break you. If you ignore other bloggers, they will ignore you as well and you will pay the price for it.

Don’t stress over building an audience and don’t freak out if it isn’t building as quickly as you are hoping for. Give it a little time and keep offering up quality content. Continue to network with other bloggers and pay attention to what is trending. Just take it easy, get people to your street corner first by playing to them, and then you can play for yourself and they will listen to your own passion! People will come – if you give them a reason to and an invitation.