![\"bar](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screenshot-2023-03-22-at-1.17.53-PM.png\")
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Websites with blogs are the driving force behind a great content marketing strategy, and research has found that content marketing is more effective than any other tactic.<\/p>\n
Your company needs a blog, and we\u2019ve created a step-by-step guide for making it succeed. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n
Quick Takeaways:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n We have looked at hundreds of the best content marketing examples<\/a>, large company blogs<\/a>, startup websites, we’ve also covered how to create an amazing company blog before. Here, we’re getting a little deeper and more specific with tips, tools, and actual plug-in you can use and settings you can configure!<\/p>\n \u00a0PS \u2013 I put together these 10 tips for optimizing your content marketing.\u00a0Watch Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Businesses that blog attract more leads, build brand trust, and have an easier time nailing revenue goals.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also what customers prefer \u2013 studies have found that about 70% of people\u00a0would rather learn about a company through its articles rather than advertisements.<\/p>\n When you look at the value a company blog generates, not having one is one of the biggest mistakes a business can make in the digital age.<\/p>\n Companies that practice blogging get\u00a097% more links<\/a>\u00a0to their websites. B2B marketers who blog get 67 percent more leads than those who don\u2019t. I\u2019ve seen it happen with our clients time and again, as well as with our company blog.<\/p>\n My own business depends on creating blog content that outranks my competitors<\/a>. While cultivating a winning business blog requires commitment and planning, it\u2019s not as hard as most business owners think. With a well-executed strategy, it\u2019s possible to get your blog at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) and compete with high-authority sites.<\/p>\n First things first \u2014 taking care of setup. One mistake companies make is diving straight into publishing content without spending time on the technical details. These details may not be thrilling, but they play an essential role in optimizing your blog for search, driving traffic, and growing your audience.<\/p>\n You can have your business blog<\/a> up and running in a couple of days or less \u2013 no technical ability required.<\/p>\n To get started, you\u2019ll need a blogging or website builder platform. I always recommend WordPress.<\/p>\n Your website\u2019s main navigation menu is the map that visitors (and search engines!) use to explore your content and ultimately decide if it can help them accomplish the goals you claim it can. Without intuitive navigation, even your best content can get lost in the mix. When that happens, your organic search traffic will suffer the consequences.<\/p>\n The takeaway: be sure your blog appears on your main navigation menu.<\/p>\n But what if you have an optimized landing page designed to send users on a path straight to conversion? Won\u2019t adding your blog potentially send them in the wrong direction?<\/p>\n It\u2019s a valid question, but the truth is that on average, web visitors only spend 15 seconds or less<\/a> on a landing page. Research estimates that up to 95%<\/a> of visitors will never return after their first visit. That perfect path toward conversion? Most people never take it.<\/p>\n Your blog may indeed divert visitors from the most direct conversion path, but it will also give them a reason to stay on your site and increase the time they spend there. Blog content builds trust with consumers and, when done right, provides more opportunities for you to put them back on that road to conversion.<\/p>\n Add more links to your blog on your homepage? Yes! Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n Blog posts that appear on your homepage establish brand authority even before your web visitors click through to read them. How? Because your blogs have killer headlines (duh) that tell people you\u2019re an expert whether they read the whole article or not. They show that your brand is covering timely, relevant content that matters to your customers.<\/p>\n And if someone does click away from your landing page to read one? Even better. You\u2019ve got awesome content and more strategies in place on your blog to help convert them into leads<\/a>.<\/p>\n PS \u2013 Check out our\u00a0latest case study<\/a>\u00a0that shows how we helped one company double their leads!<\/strong><\/p>\n Now that we know why your blogs page should be linked on your landing page, let\u2019s talk about what it should look like.<\/p>\n There are many different ways you can approach your blog layout. It should be consistent in design and theme with the rest of your website, but you can get creative about how you want to position and highlight content to emphasize what\u2019s most important for your brand.<\/p>\n Your optimal layout will depend on your industry and what exactly you want your blog to help you accomplish. A B2B consulting company would likely want case studies displayed prominently on their blog page, while design firms would be more focused on including feature images to highlight past work.<\/p>\n Here are some blog layout best practices<\/a> and examples to get you inspired.<\/p>\n Customize your blog theme to use a standard article page wireframe to make your blog more engaging and encourage higher conversions.<\/p>\n To make your blog more engaging and to encourage conversions, use a standard article page wireframe by customizing your blog theme. The wireframe design should include a featured image and invite readers to take the next logical step when they read your blog. The next step could be:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example of the article wireframe we use for Marketing Insider Group:<\/p>\n Hey! Do you want the entire presentation I created on what your blog page should look like? Contact me here<\/a> for more details.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Your blog categories or themes<\/a> are key to strategic content organization. They\u2019re important to help you stay on track and they provide a guide for search engine algorithms looking to figure out what value your content offers to its target audience. They organize your content and make it easier for visitors to navigate your website.<\/p>\n Think of these as your topic area sections, similar to the “Local News,” “Business,” and “Sports” sections in a traditional newspaper. These newspaper sections tell people where to go to get the kinds of articles they want to read, and your blog categories will do the same for your readers. Ideally, you should create 4-6 blog categories to organize your content and always assign an article to one category only.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t make your categories obscure or unique. They should clearly indicate what topics your blog covers. For SEO (search engine optimization) purposes, use keywords within the categories as much as possible.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll talk more about what makes for great blog categories later, but for now let\u2019s just note that you should create them when you\u2019re setting up your blog. Think of categories like you would the sections of a traditional newspaper \u2014 news, sports, business, classifieds, etc.<\/p>\n To reach even more of your target audience with more in-depth content, expand your\u00a0content marketing strategy<\/a>\u00a0to offer what content marketers call \u201cgated content.\u201d You could start with a newsletter with short, informative articles that your customers can put to use in their own businesses or lives and inside information about new offerings that can help your customers solve their most pressing problems.<\/p>\n As you get more comfortable with producing content, you can create detailed, highly technical white papers to provide your business customers with actionable information. Or, you can write an e-book that teaches your customers new skills or new information that they can put to use in their own lives.<\/p>\n Make sure that you require at least an email address to those that sign up for gated content. This step allows you to communicate with these people and build a relationship through valuable content.<\/p>\n Use a call to action at the end of your blog posts and social media posts that allow them to sign up for this more in-depth content. When you do move to offer gated content in addition to your blog, make sure that it\u2019s top-quality and offers real value.<\/p>\n This step is simple, but it ensures your blog will rank better on Google. What you\u2019re doing here is creating permanent URLs for individual blog posts. The permalinks will contain custom data to identify each post, rather than the date or a generic tag.<\/p>\n Instead of this:<\/p>\n https:\/\/example.com\/index.php?p=2278<\/strong><\/p>\n Your blog post URLs will contain information that makes it crystal clear to searchers \u2013 and search engines \u2013 what your content is about:<\/p>\n https:\/\/example.com\/content-marketing\/best-content-ideas-for-tech-startups\/<\/strong><\/p>\n To configure the right URL structure in your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings>Permalink Settings. Set your blog URL structure to include the keyword or category name along with the article title.<\/p>\n If you publish articles only when you have the extra time or when there\u2019s something interesting happing in your industry, you\u2019re not likely to get the results you\u2019re looking for. Posting regularly is the key to creating a successful company blog.<\/p>\n How often should you post?<\/p>\n What we\u2019ve found is that posting\u00a0two to four times a week<\/a>\u00a0will provide the best results. It\u2019s in this range that traffic steadily increases, and you\u2019ll start to see the benefits of compounding organic traffic.<\/p>\n HubSpot has also found similar results, with some variation based on blogging goals. For organic traffic,\u00a0three to four times a week<\/a>\u00a0will do the trick. If your priority is to build brand awareness, you may be able to blog between one and four times a week, depending on the size of your blog.<\/p>\n Spread your posts out throughout the week. For example, if you\u2019re publishing three times a week, post one article on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Another strategy is to post twice on Monday and once on Tuesday to\u00a0ride the wave<\/a>\u00a0of high traffic at the beginning of the workweek.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a blogging best practice to publish when your audience is usually the most active. This will vary depending on your industry, audience lifestyle habits, and the time zone most of your audience lives in.<\/p>\n You can find out the best time for your company\u2019s blog by looking at your Google Analytics. If most of your traffic occurs mid-morning, post at 9 am or 10 am. If there\u2019s usually a spike in the late afternoon, schedule your blogs to publish around 3 pm.<\/p>\n PS \u2013 Check out our\u00a0weekly blog content service<\/a>\u00a0to grow your website traffic and leads!<\/strong><\/p>\n To win at business blogging, you have two audiences to please \u2013 your customers and\u00a0search engines<\/a>. Identify the keywords that are relevant to your audience. Then, check out the top-ranking articles for a search term and make your blog posts better.<\/p>\n Create high-quality, useful content<\/a>. Good content will attract links from other sites. The goal is to post content that\u2019s so worthwhile and relevant, other thought leaders in your industry link to your content within their blogs. Meanwhile, it also needs to keep your readers more engaged. Great content will motivate them to sign up for your email list, download your white paper, or bookmark your blog to come back for more.<\/p>\n In the age of AI-generated content, the best way to create content is to rely on content created by your own employees. Unless you\u2019re a solo entrepreneur, you probably have a sales team that can tell you about all the objections and questions they field from potential customers. Team members that design, develop, and test your products are a gold mine of ideas. They can teach your customers how to use your products and services to solve the problems they face in business and in life. Activating your employees<\/a>\u00a0to publish and promote content is one of the most effective ways to spread the word about your blog \u2013 and your business.<\/p>\n To ensure your blog content is worthwhile for your readers \u2013 and worth your business\u2019s time and money \u2013 plan your content with a\u00a0content calendar<\/a>. A calendar will help you develop blog posts your audience actually wants to read because you are figuring out ahead of time what, when, and why to post.<\/p>\n Blog content should be educational and informative, helpful, or inspiring. When coming up with blog topics, every post needs to pass the customer value litmus test:<\/p>\n Each one also needs to have a business goal:<\/p>\n And, it should be aligned with a stage of the buyer journey:<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong>\u00a010 Reasons Why Great Content Matters<\/em><\/p>\n Example:<\/strong>\u00a0Should You Create Great Content In-House or Outsource? A Guide to the Pros and Cons<\/em><\/p>\n Example:<\/strong>\u00a0How a Content Agency Can Turn Your Business Around in Six Months<\/em><\/p>\n With a calendar, you can keep track of all of these elements and execute a well-organized blogging strategy. It will also streamline content creation \u2013 create topic ideas and plan when to publish content months in advance. This tactic has several advantages:<\/p>\n And if you need a tool to help you, check out DivvyHQ<\/a>. This is the tool we use to manage the one we use to manage all our client’s content. They also just published this post on the DNA of an effective business blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n Integrate\u00a0social media<\/a>\u00a0into your business blogging strategy to gain even more traction with your posts. Social media is a great channel for spreading your reach and engaging more people with your blog.<\/p>\n For B2B businesses, your customers are probably on LinkedIn. Lifestyle brands should focus on Instagram. Twitter is useful for fast-paced industries such as technology, marketing, finance, and health. And, Facebook continues to be the most widely used platform and an integral part of any business marketing strategy.\u00a0Sixty-eight percent of adults<\/a>\u00a0are Facebook users.<\/p>\n Every time you publish a blog, share it on your social networks. This will attract more traffic to your blog posts and do wonders for your brand\u2019s online presence. As a business owner, you probably don\u2019t have time to do this manually. Nor do you don\u2019t have to. Use marketing automation tools such as Hootsuite, CoSchedule, or Buffer to schedule your upcoming posts. These tools also offer alerts and analytics to help you understand your campaigns.<\/p>\n There are easy ways you can encourage your readers to share your content. You can also automate the process for yourself and your team so that every blog post you publish is being shared on company and employee profiles.<\/p>\n To make content more shareable<\/a> for your audience, use social sharing buttons on your blog. I use the \u201cUltimate Social Icons and Share\u201d plugin to do this. I also use the \u201cRevive Old Post Pro\u201d plugin to automatically retweet 3 old posts every day to renew engagement and sharing.<\/p>\n My team also uses IFTTT<\/a> (short of If This Then That) to share MIG posts on their LinkedIn pages.<\/p>\n These aren\u2019t the only plugins and tools out there for encouraging and automating social sharing, but they have worked for our team. Do your research in WordPress and other places to find what works best for you!<\/p>\n Check out this 20-point checklist including an infographic for creating the perfect blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t fill your business\u2019s social media channels with brand content alone. Share articles from other publishers, videos, and other types of content that your audience would find useful or interesting. When you do this, you\u2019re sending the message to potential customers that your business social media page is a go-to source for valuable information, not just another promotional feed.<\/p>\n How often should you share on social media?<\/p>\n Ideally, you\u2019re posting daily. Share a blog post, a video, curated content from other thought leaders in your niche, or spark a conversation on a trending topic. With marketing automation tools, it\u2019s possible to maintain a strong social media presence and a growing business.<\/p>\n One of the benefits of posting well-written blog content is that it will persuade some readers to get more involved by signing up for your email newsletter. As you grow your email contact list, your business will have more opportunities to nurture leads and bring past readers back to your blog.<\/p>\n This is how things can start to really heat up for your business. You\u2019ll have more channels and interaction points for engaging customers as you build out your content strategy: more blog articles, more social media content, and more email campaigns.<\/p>\n The people who signed up for your email newsletter from your blog are warm leads. These are the contacts who you can send promotional content, news about product updates, early-bird specials to webinar and events, and more. You should also use email to share some of your blog posts.<\/p>\n Here are six useful tips for\u00a0email nurturing<\/a>:<\/p>\n Maintaining a successful business blog isn\u2019t a set-it-and-forget-it marketing technique. Measure performance to ensure it\u2019s always delivering the best marketing ROI<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tracking key performance indicators for your blog will reveal what its strengths are and where there are opportunities for improvement.<\/p>\n You may also find that what worked well in the past is not as effective today. There are external factors that can impact your blog\u2019s performance. Google algorithm updates, changes in audience sentiment, a new formidable competitor on the landscape \u2013 none of these factors are under your direct control. The reality is, you can create an amazing company blog and execute a killer strategy year in a year out, and still meet a few surprises along the way.<\/p>\n Use blog metrics to quickly spot trends. Then, instead of chugging along with what used to work, adapt, test, and keep optimizing your content.<\/p>\n Here are four metrics you can use to\u00a0measure blog performance<\/a>:<\/p>\n OK \u2014 you\u2019ve got your blog set up. Now it\u2019s time to think about how to make it awesome. Here are 7 things to incorporate into your blog to make it more organized, engaging, and effective for you and your audience.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start by going back to blog categories. Why are they so important? Mainly because they provide a guide for everyone that uses your website \u2014 your consumer audience, search engines, and you as the publisher \u2014 for navigating your content. Here\u2019s why categories matter to each of these groups:<\/p>\n Dates and blog authors may seem like insignificant additions, but they can be important to your audience for a number of reasons. First, including dates shows your publishing frequency, which can play a role in drawing in subscribers.<\/p>\n Second, dates show that your content is timely and relevant. The world is changing fast and so are the facts and statistics we use to support our content.<\/p>\n Including dates on your blog posts tells your audience they can trust the information to be true at the time they\u2019re reading it. Dates also matter to other brands and content creators who want to backlink<\/a> your content in their articles.<\/p>\n And what about authors? Including the author of your blog (and ideally a photo and short bio somewhere on the page) builds trust with your readers.<\/p>\n It helps to show the author\u2019s experience and credentials related to the topic they\u2019re covering, and it\u2019s okay if they aren\u2019t an established expert or leader in their field. Just putting a name and face to your content makes it more authentic and tells your audience it was created with care by a real person.<\/p>\n Learn more about how to find volunteer authors<\/a> for your website.<\/p>\n Visual content is an absolute must for every company blog. Statistics tell us that 90%<\/a> of bloggers currently use images in their posts and blog articles with images get 94% more views<\/a> than those without. People also process images more quickly and completely than they do text content.<\/p>\n Adding visuals to your blog posts breaks up text and makes your content more digestible. Here\u2019s our guide on finding engaging images<\/a> to include in your posts.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t stop with images either \u2014 video is the fastest-growing and most-preferred form of visual content right now. It\u2019s predicted that by next year it will make up 82%<\/a> of all internet traffic! Infographics are currently the most shared type of the content (shared 3x more<\/a> than any other type).<\/p>\n Get creative with your visual content! Search for different types of visual content that best support your topics, create your own visuals, and choose engaging images and videos that make your content more compelling.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason your top-performing posts are performing so well \u2014 they\u2019re resonating with your audience! Highlighting your top posts on your blog page drives more reader engagement on posts you know are already yielding results.<\/p>\n You can easily highlight your top posts using the WordPress \u201cPopular Posts\u201d plugin. Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n\n
Why Do You Need a Company Blog?<\/h2>\n
![\"start](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/conversation.png\")
<\/p>\nSet Up and Configure the Content Management System (CMS)<\/h2>\n
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Add the Blog to Main Navigation<\/h2>\n
![\"Example](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screenshot-2023-03-24-at-12.50.31-PM.png\")
Add Recent Articles to Homepage<\/h2>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screenshot-2023-03-24-at-12.53.52-PM.png\")
<\/p>\nCreate the Blog Page<\/h2>\n
![\"example](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Screenshot-2023-03-24-at-12.56.10-PM.png\")
<\/p>\nCreate the Article Page Template<\/h2>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/article-wireframe.png\")
<\/figure>\nCreate Keyword-Rich Categories<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/CATEGORIES.png\")
<\/figure>\nExpand Your Content Strategy But Narrow Your Targeting<\/h2>\n
![\"content](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/content-set-intersection.jpg\")
<\/p>\nUse a Clear URL Structure<\/h2>\n
Publish Frequently<\/h2>\n
![\"Blogging](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/blogging-frequency-1.png\")
Write for Customers and Search Engines<\/h2>\n
To write for customers:<\/h3>\n
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To write for search engines:<\/h3>\n
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To write for both:<\/h3>\n
Create a Content Calendar<\/h2>\n
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Share Regularly on Social Media<\/h2>\n
Figure out which social media networks your audience prefers<\/h3>\n
![\"Social](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/social-media-facebook.png\")
Share your blog posts<\/h3>\n
Encourage others to share<\/h3>\n
![\"social](\"https:\/\/marketinginsidergroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Social-buttons-300x169.png\")
<\/p>\nShare other content<\/h3>\n
Nurture Your Audience with Email<\/h2>\n
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Measure Performance<\/h2>\n
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The Essential Components of a Great Blog<\/h2>\n
Categories<\/h3>\n
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Dates and Authors<\/h3>\n
Engaging Images<\/h3>\n
Top Posts<\/h3>\n