Would you like to write an effective SEO blog? You got it!

What should you write about? Where should you look for inspiration? How will others find your blog? Will they want to read it? And how do you attract new customers through your blog? If you've ever wondered about any of the above questions, this post is for you! Read how to create an effective SEO blog step by step.

Writing blogs promotes the growth of your business

What is blogging?

A blog is a space where you regularly publish and promote new content related to your business and industry; for example, here at the GROW blog, we write about marketing automation topics. The main goal of any blog is to help its readers. The content on your blog must relate to a specific topic, and visitors should be able to learn something new through the post. You should make them leave the site with a positive opinion about your brand or company.

Why should you blog?

It's probably better to ask: why not? After all, blogs guarantee a lot of benefits. Sure, it takes time to find a topic, gather information, create content for publication, optimize it for SEO, design the layout and promote the posts. However, once your blog is online, it will "work" for you on its own.

Blogs can help you do the following:

• build trust among your readers (by promoting you as an expert in a particular field)
• make it easier for your target audience to reach you, especially if you have created an SEO blog
• attract "strangers" and make them "visitors/customers" (known as inbound marketing)

If you don't have enough time to write a blog yourself, contact GROW and our specialists will help you!

Four tips on how to write an effective SEO blog

Deciding that you should blog is one thing, but writing an SEO blog yourself is quite another. If you apply the following tips, you'll be up and running in no time.

1. Blog topic and title

THEME: one topic in one post

When choosing a topic, think about your audience: what problems and questions do they face? You should present your readers with content worth saving or sharing further. Don't write about yourself, but write about your specialized skills related to your sector. And remember: focus on a single topic in a single post. To help you decide what to write about, create a list of potential blog topics. The following questions may be helpful to you as you brainstorm (as well as the HubSpot Blog Idea Generator).

• what questions are current and potential customers asking?
• what kind of help might your potential customer need?
• what would people like to know about your industry?
• what information are your competitors and the industry providing?

A very useful tip: link together topics that are designed to drive a website user to perform the same conversion or respond to the same call to action (CTA), such as content marketing blogs that offer downloadable content marketing eBooks.

Next, check which keyword combinations have the best results for the topics you've listed: what key phrases are your prospects and industry people using? What keywords are they searching for on Google? It's very important that you gather as much information as you can on these topics and make sure your blog appears high in the search results of your potential customers (you'll read more about SEO in point 2).

TITLE: the more specific, the better

The title is designed to attract the reader, so you need to make sure it's a good one

• the more specific the title, the better: this way your readers will know exactly what to expect from the text;
• clearly explain the benefits of reading your blog: what readers will learn from it;
• use a key phrasein the title that relates to the content of your blog. At the same time, always make sure that the title sounds natural: you are primarily writing for readers, not for Google;
• limit the number of characters in the title to 50-60, so that search engines like Google can display it, as a readable preview.

For example, note the title of this blog: "Would you like to write an effective SEO blog? Get it!"

• you know exactly what to expect: here are tips on how to write an effective SEO blog. The question in the title gently provokes, and the exclamation point at the end lures the reader (but be careful not to overdo it and come off as too "flashy");
• the key phrase is "SEO blog writing": this is the phrase our target audience searches for on Google, so this is exactly the combination of words that runs throughout the text;
• our title consists of 34 characters, so it will look perfect in the list of search results.

2. Graphic design and SEO optimization

Graphic design: structure, white background and photos

You want your blog to be read, so in addition to its content and writing style, you need to ensure that the layout attracts readers:

• start with a well-chosen, attractive good-quality photo at the very top – it often acts as a harbinger of what is contained in the text. Remember to use photos and videos in posts so as to separate longer paragraphs of text;
• leave enough white background between titles, paragraphs, etc. This will make the post clear, which will encourage readers to continue reading. Also, a white background helps your readers focus on what's really important;
• create a text structure using titles, lists, bold phrases, or quotes. Most readers will first run their eyes over the text before deciding to read it in its entirety, so make sure the most important phrases are highlighted and easy to catch.

SEO: key phrases and links

Find out what information your target audience is looking for on the Internet: what questions do they have, what key phrases do they use, what is the combination of terms they type into a search engine? You can only get very far with common sense! In addition, use the following tips to figure out what specific keyword combinations (the so-called long tail) you should use:

• type some keyword combinations into Google. See what results Google presents, pay attention to both the suggested phrases in the search box and the search results below: these are the most frequently searched word combinations. Take a look at the sites that appeared high in the search results - they are run by people who have mastered the art of SEO to perfection;
• check the popularity and competition for various keywords or phrases using such online tools as Google Ads keyword planner, Yoast, Ubersuggest (a tool created by SEO guru Neil Patel), orMoz, or ask an experienced professional for help.

Once you've decided what keyword to use, you can start optimizing your blog, using that keyword phrase (or bits or variations of it) in strategic places::

• in the page title
• in the URL
• in the blog title (H1)
• in subheadings (H2, H3, etc.)
• in the body of the post
• in the ALT attribute (alternative image description, displayed when the image fails to load).

Make sure everything sounds natural. Otherwise, readers will lose interest. In other words: don't overdo it. You don't have to write the exact same keyword in every title or paragraph. Use variations or synonyms of the key word to keep the text flowing - Google is smart enough to pick up these terms.
It's also important that you include some links to interesting content on your and other blogs in the text. This will help Google display your site higher in search results, as such a procedure proves that you want to help your readers.

• Internal links: to content published by your company, such as blogs, white papers, or e-books.
• External links: to reliable (preferably also popular) sources. This will signal to Google's search engine that you have gathered the information you need.

3. Using CTAs on blogs to attract leads

What have we learned so far? Readers always come first: you write a blog to help the people who visit it. Of course, you also need to promote and sell your brand and product - there's no need to hide that. However, you can't make it too obvious. Show your readers that you know what you're talking about and trust that they're ready for the next step.

Strategically pushing your readers forward - in the form CTA (call to action), that is directly related to the topic of your blog - can help them take the right path. You should, therefore, find an offer that both interests your readers and fits with the content of your blog. Then keep the following tips in mind:

• choose a subtle CTA, such as an embedded link in the text, which you will include after the first few paragraphs of your blog
  . This is exactly the same procedure we used at the end of the section entitled "Why blog?". The passage " “contact GROW and our specialists will help you!”
  is the link;
• include a clear and prominent CTA at the end of each post. In our case, it's a suggestion that you download our Content Marketing e-book, which will give you content marketing skills - check it out for yourself at the end of this blog (and don't hesitate to click the link under any circumstances!);
• experiment with different types of CTAs to see which work best: try different forms (text, buttons, images, etc.) and positions (top, bottom, on either side, in the middle, etc.). Remember to analyze the results.

4. Social media plugins on your blog

Helpful blogs will be shared on social media faster than you think. For this reason, you should make sure to have visible social media plugins to make sharing your posts as easy as possible. This way, readers will only need one click to share your content.

Remember: every blog is designed to attract visitors, so take your time and make sure each of your posts is worth reading. Also, try to post regularly and make sure your writing style is consistent.

If you would like notifications of new posts on your blog to go directly to your readers' inbox, this must be in full compliance with the Data Protection Regulation, RODO.

A list of elements needed to create an effective SEO blog in a nutshell:

1. Have I chosen the right topic?

• informative, specific and clearly defined
• related to the interests of my potential customers/readers
• about our industry (not about our company)

Does my title attract readers?

• does it signal why the post is useful?
• does it stand out in terms of language and layout?
• does it include a specific keyword phrase (under 60 characters)?

2. Does my blog look attractive?

• a photo at the top
• lots of white background
• clear structure (titles, lists, etc.)

Is my blog optimized according to SEO?

• page title
• URL
• ALT attribute for images
• subheadings and content

3. Do I promote my offerings?

Is the CTA related to the theme of the blog (e.g., "download e-book")?

4. Can visitors easily share my blog on social media?

Are the social media plugins visible?