If you aren’t writing a blog just like a journal, and are looking for traffic, sales, and to make money then you need to make sure that every few months you are running an audit.
What does a blog audit consist of?
There are a lot of things, one of the biggest is your SEO, but many people can tackle the basics, not the more in-depth SEO requirements to really generate traffic.
For that, working with a company that knows the search engine optimization process is the best option.
So here is where you will start.
Titles & Headlines
Your blog posts and titles should make sure that readers know what to expect. It is a good idea to add keywords into your headlines too. Use a headline tool to generate options and choose the ones that make the most sense.
People are more likely to click on numbers, anything with a question like why, where, who, what, and how.
But keep them short too, so that they can be fully seen in a Google search.
Introductions
If you don’t have introductions add them, and if they are too long or not optimized, shorten them. An introduction should have your keywords and discuss the rest of the article.
Your introduction builds on the title and links to the rest of the information.
Straightforward with the keywords to help you rank.
Visual elements
Lots of words are great for a research paper or a whitepaper, but for a blog post, you need a little bit of eye candy. Use your visuals to support the content, but make sure they make sense.
Infographics are easy to digest and super shareable. So if you are writing about facts and statistics, they can make the process to increase visibility easier for you.
Use high-quality images, and make sure that you take advantage of adding alt text and meta descriptions too.
Quality
If your shoes had holes in the sole, would you wear them?
Most likely not, because the quality isn’t what you need. You should be looking to create high-quality content from which the reader will take away something valuable.
While minor spelling and grammar are usually forgivable, you should try to make them as polished as possible.
Use a spelling and grammar checker like Grammarly, but just keep in mind they aren’t fool-proof. You’ll need to edit too manually.
Wrapping up
When you are blogging for fun, you don’t need to put a bow on the end of the piece. If you are blogging for a business, then you need to make sure you have calls to action, next steps, and a conclusion for the reader.
These small things will give the reader a direction to go after they have finished reading and will most often direct them to your products or services.
Make sure you have answered all the questions, offer a follow-up post, give them a download, ask a question and give the reader the opportunity to share too.
If you are new to the world of blogging and aren’t sure where to start, try this: Blogging Mastery: How To Turn Your Blog Into An Online Business.
