Hundreds of years before the dawn of history...
As we look back on the history of blogs we are privvy to a fascinating and game changing evolution. The late 90's saw the initial, measurable emergence of blogging and it's subsequent rise in popularity. At the time, blogs were mostly:
Written by non-technical people
Created with newly available web publishing tools.
Crafted in a diary-like manner
How many of you were guilty of that?Time passed and as all things do, blogs evolved. They shifted into a more interactive medium as popular blogging software allowed readers to leave comments and begin conversations about the posts. Blog content became more compelling as the number of bloggers interested in engaging in online forums began to grow. There was no shortage of people having something to say, that's for sure.
Did blog content change search algorithms?
It became very clear that a large percentage of internet users were engaged in blogging themselves or at least in reading blogs regularly. This was fertile ground for finding information from experts on an endless array of topics. Google wasn't about to miss out on this opportunity. So much quality content was being produced and such a massive amount of traffic engaged in this content that one of Google's biggest ranking algorithm changes, Panda, shifted to put much more emphais on content. While we can't say for certain that Google made this change solely on the basis of blogs, one can't help but look at the facts and discern that it must have played a substantial role in their decision making process.Naturally, over time Google began to notice the volume of blogs appearing on the scene and the quality of the content within them. Also paying close attention was Facebook and other social media sites. These social sites developed tools which allowed these articles to be easily shared across multiple platforms instantly and, in turn, created an entirely new motive to write articles online - business promotion and local internet marketing.
By now you should clearly see how blog content has become so valuable and how it can be used as an internet marketing solution. With the introduction of blogging software such as Wordpress, each individual blog post becomes its very own web page. Google catalogs each of these web pages in their index and the content begins to contribute to your overall search engine ranking.
There's strength in numbers
A recent Hubspot study showed that companies that blog have far better marketing results. Specifically, the average company that blogs has:
55% more visitors
97% more inbound links
434% more indexed pages
This type of evidence is overwhelming. Blogging is no longer just for the aspiring author trying to vent their personal struggles to the world. This is a necessity for all business that wish to succeed in our digital lives. Your blog content must be informational, easy to read and your audience needs to feel compelled to share it.
Local Internet Marketing's Golden Opportunity
As blogging continues on it's evolutionary journey, it is a great time to take advantage of it's ability to effect your marketing efforts. Use this opportunity to blog about local, geographically relevant topics.
Use local terms in your blog
Reference events in your community
Make your blog title stand out
If your blog post is optimized well for your geo-targeted keywords your local SEO strategy benefits immeasurably. When the content is unique and compelling you will begin to see the article being shared in online communities as well as seeing your search engine exposure grow.
After writing a number of these blogs you may find yourself scratching your head thinking of new topics to blog about. You're not alone. We have a great tool for you and it's FREE!. Download your copy of "20 Great Ideas For Bloggers
Let Us Know What You Thought about this Post.
Put your Comment Below.