Let’s be honest, blogging about your home care business can be a lot of work. It’s hard enough just to gather your thoughts and express them in a coherent manner. But how do you even know if your blog posts are effective?
The truth is, most businesses don’t — the Content Marketing Institute found that 60 percent of businesses struggle to produce engaging content. The four tips listed below will help you improve your blogging strategy and create posts that people will actually want to read.
1. An effective, eye-catching title
According to Copyblogger, eight out of ten people will read your title but only two of those ten people will go on to read the rest of the post. So clearly, coming up with a great headline is a top priority if you want anyone to read your content.
Ideally, a great headline should include these two elements:
- Specificity: It should show your audience what they will gain by reading your blog post.
- Targeted keywords/phrases: This helps to optimize your blog post for search engines and it helps you target your ideal audience.
One great way to ensure that your headline is up to par is by using the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer. It analyzes your headline length, word choice, and readability.
2. Make sure your post is SEO-optimized
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an absolute must for every blogger. It’s important because it doesn’t matter how great your content is if nobody ever reads it. So to make sure your post is SEO-optimized you will want to include specific long-tail keywords.
A long-tail keyword is important because this is the specific phrase you think people will search in Google. For instance, “home care” is a pretty general keyword but “home care in Jacksonville” is more specific. The second example will be easier to target and you will face less competition to rank for it.
You can use the Google Adwords Keyword Planner to help you do keyword research and test out the words and phrases that will work best for you.
3. Internal links
This is fairly straightforward — it just means that in every post you should include links to other blog posts and resources on your website. This is helpful for your readers because it gives them additional information about the subject. It also means they spend more time on your website and will engage more with your home care company.
4. A call-to-action
If you don’t include a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of every post, your blogging efforts may be a waste of time. Because if you don’t include a CTA you aren’t engaging with your ideal customer and you will almost certainly miss out on potential business.
Unfortunately, 70 percent of small businesses don’t use a CTA. This is likely because most people do not understand how to create an effective CTA. (Hint: “Sign up today” is not an effective CTA!)
To create a CTA that will actually work, you first need to know your audience, what their pain point is, and what will motivate them to action. Your CTA should benefit them in some way and create a sense of urgency.
Blogging can be a great tool for your business but it does take some time to figure out. If you need help with blogging or creating a content marketing strategy, feel free to check out our blogging services.
