Are you happy with how your content is performing? Some content creators will answer “yes,” and that’s understandable. At least half of digital content goes unnoticed, and even those articles or blogs that garner a few clicks still make us want more.
Gone are the days of getting to the first page of the Google search results page (SERP) by writing a mediocre 500-word article.
If you are serious about breaking through the noise and building a lasting brand through great content and SEO, some hard and fast rules will help you get there.
So, you are working hard on your blog; you feel established. Now is the time to get serious about traffic. We are with you – here are six easy steps you can take to start increasing blog traffic!
1. Add a Section to Answer Related Questions
Anywhere, there is no shortage of questions people are discussing and seeking answers to. Make it a good habit to research quick questions every time you’re working on a new blog or article.
In general, answering popular questions on your Pages helps on several levels:
- Improve your odds for each page to rank higher (answering questions adds relevant content to your pages)
- Make it more featured, as well as better optimize your content for voice search
- Improve engagement by addressing popular questions (Questions are known to grab human attention and prompt them to take a pause and start looking for answers)
Additionally, for content creators who provide useful answers to specific questions, Google has introduced structured markup to help them stand out in search.
People also ask: Google has been displaying related questions (and answers) for a few years now within a particular search element called “People also ask.” These days, they show up for most search queries, and they give you a pretty good idea of the search journey of your target audience.
Text Optimizer: Text Optimizer has a great feature that allows you to research queries semantically relevant to any search query. Text Optimizer gives you a bird’ eye view of all possible questions for any topic so that you can get a keen understanding of the structure of your content.
Ahrefs: Ahrefs (as well as options) has a separate section where you can see all the search queries that are phrased as a query. There’s also a handy filter that allows you to group those questions by a keyword modifier.
Search Quora: While all of the above tools rely on Google, Quora is your key to seeing real people discussing their interests. Check out Quora to see the most popular discussions on your chosen article topic, and keep a record of the threads you’d like to participate in when your article goes live.
2. Be Strategic
If you want to boost blog traffic, the best thing is to create better content simply. You’ve probably heard it before: The term “content is king” is used more than funnels at frat parties. But creating “better content” isn’t just about quality. It also means being more decisive with your content marketing efforts.
The most successful contents are those that satisfy a specific need. Think about your audience and what they like. Content these days almost always falls into two categories: funny and cool or helpful and educational. Choose any, and you’re probably off to a good start.
If you need plans or ideas, check out Quora and see what questions are being asked about your industry topic.
3.Use Pictures, Infographics, and Videos to Break Out the Text
Again, breaking up the text with relevant images, pictures, and videos will ensure that people stay on your posts longer. You must put your target keyword in the image’s alt text – that’s how Google can understand what your image is about.
4. Optimize your Meta Description
The meta description tag is a summary of the post in less than 200 characters. Google may choose to show your description in results, so it needs to be informative and exciting to encourage users to click on your link and visit your blog.
5. Decide Your Target User’s Intent
When using a search engine, the user may have a different motivation, desired result, or intention. There are four main types of user intent:
Informational intent: Many searches on the internet are done by people looking for information about a given topic. People always have a specific question related to the topic or want to know more about it.
Navigational intent: People with this intent are trying to locate a specific website; e.g., people searching for “Zytal Info” know where they want to go; they just need to find the site.
Transaction intent: Users in this intent are ready to purchase, but they use a search engine to find the best deal.
Commercial intent: Some people intend to buy soon, but they use the web to do their research first. In this intent, users ask search engines, “Which smartphone would be best?” or “Which SEO tool is most helpful?”. These people also have transactional intent, but they need more time and convincing before buying.
As a content creator, you have to decide your target user’s intent and tailor your content to meet this intent.
6. Evaluate the Competition
Now that you have defined your intent, your next step is to increase your competition.
Open an incognito browser (that way, your search history won’t affect your search results), and type your keyword. Google will give you the top 10 results for that keyword. You need to read these ten articles.
These top-ranking posts will show you exactly what Google has decided regarding ranking for this keyword.
As you read, evaluate what these articles have in common and where they fall short. Your goal is to write an even more interesting, complete, useful, eye-catching, life-changing (etc.) article than these posts.
It may feel like a tall order, but this competition will help spark research ideas. It is an essential part of the process of writing a blog post that ranks #1.