I know that when I started blogging I didn’t really have a clue about “best practices” for writing that would make both Google and readers happy.
I want Google to love my blog post so that it appears high in the search engine results.
I want the reader to love my blog post so that I have an opportunity to do business with them.
Here are some of the best practices that i’ve picked up over the years
300 Words
This seems to be a sweet spot that both Google and readers can appreciate. If you write more than 300 words, make sure that you’re going to be able to keep the reader’s interest.
Maybe think about breaking it down into several blog posts about the same subject. This is actually a really good Google strategy as well.
75% Unique
Content is another sweet spot for Google. You can quote paragraphs or sentences from other new articles or stories to jump start your thought process, then elaborate and add your own twist!
Use Heading 3 to Break up Paragraphs
Break up paragraphs or short sections with Heading 3 headlines like I did above. Google reads headings as a road map to what content can be found in this blog post. Readers will appreciate the short, easy to navigate chunks of content.
Learn About Our New Ads and Leads Program - TRIBUS Engage
Draw Reader’s Eyes to important key words with Bold, Italic and “Blockquote” formatting.
I try to keep paragraphs to 2 to 3 lines. I know it’s not grammatically correct, but readability is more important than rules in this case!
Categories and Tags
Categories should be used to generally describe the subject matter of the blog post. In a past life, I have almost 50 categories on my web site. This has been reduced to under 15.
The fewer categories you use, the more focused your content will appear to Google. Examples of Categories I use on a real estate site would be:
- Market Reports
- How to buy a home
- How to sell your home
- Events and Activities
- Community Reviews
Tags do not do much to help you with Google or readability. There are some great advanced strategies for filting content by tag, but you can do that at a later date if you’re unsure about how to use tags now. If in doubt, leave them out.
Buy Quality Pictures
Having good pictures can help with Google searches as well as add a tremendous about of value to the reader. My favorite place to buy pictures is www.123rf.com
Best practices for adding pictures:
- Change picture file name to contain key words or description of post BEFORE uploading to WordPress
- Add title and Alt text with key words similar to, or the same as the file name. Google can read the file name and the alternate text (used when picture cannot display in a browser).
- If your theme allows for a featured image, ALWAYS add as featured image and insert into post.
Creating Your Content Strategy
A content schedule will keep you on track when adding new content to your website. Consistency is VERY important to Google. What types of topics you write about will also determine what kind of visitors you attract to your site as well as keep readers engaged with a variety of information about the community.
Here are a couple of good recipies:
1 Post a Week
- Market Data for the previous month
- Event or Activity coming up next month
- Restaurant or small business review
- Historical fact or place
2 Posts a Month
- Market Data for the previous month
- Alternate events 0r activities, restaurant or small business reviews, historical facts or places each month
1 Post a Month
- Market Data for the previous month
