Maintaining an active and engaging online presence is crucial for business success in the digital age. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is through regular blogging. A well-maintained company blog provides valuable information to your audience and significantly enhances your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. This blog will explore why blogging is essential for boosting your Google rankings and growing your business long term.

Why is SEO so important in digital marketing?

Search engines – like Google – created the lay of the digital marketing landscape. So, to thrive in their arena, we must follow their rules. Following those rules by utilizing the best SEO practices will earn you visibility, traffic, and prospects.

The Million Dollar Question: How do you get ranked on Google?

If you run a business, you’ve probably already done some SEO research to bolster your digital marketing and help you get ranked on Google. You might have used free site ranking tools or targeted some Google SEO keywords. The best SEO goes beyond keywords to become a marketing strategy.

You might think you need to rank on Google’s first page for your industry niche. However, if you’re a local nonprofit supporting animal shelters, ranking at the top of the national “animal shelter” search result might actually hurt you. Yes, you would get more traffic, but it would not be relevant traffic. Relevance is as important as achieving that rank on Google’s first page, and also one of the best SEO strategies is to rank locally.

Why get to the top of Google’s search results?

Let’s start with the most important fact. According to research from Semrush, the first organic result has an average click-through rate of 22.4%, the second receives 13%, and the third gets 10%. So, the top three web pages that get ranked on Google’s first page enjoy the majority of the traffic.

It seems inevitable that you need to rank on Google’s first page and get to the top of Google’s search results. Luckily, there are a lot of first pages. With a targeted, localized digital marketing strategy, you can rank at the top of the right first page.

How does blogging help me rank on Google’s first page?

Every time someone performs a search, Google searches through billions of web pages stored in its index. However, not all webpages are valued equally because of Google’s SEO keywords process. Google wants to provide reliable information from trusted authorities with proven expertise. For that reason, it assigns value to keywords and then rewards content that uses the keywords Google thinks are important while answering queries asked in Google. Good blogging does just that!

For starters, consistently posting original blog content shows Google your business is active. Companies publishing regular blog content attract eight times more visitors and increase their chances for higher rankings by 434%! That’s partially because blogs generate more indexed pages— more mentions in Google’s vast library.

Furthermore, most blogs repeat a business’s name, address, and phone (NAP), which provides huge SEO help. If your repeated NAP information aligns with your Google My Business Listing, it helps Google verify your business. It also improves your chances of appearing in local search and map results. The top SEO blogs use this geo-targeting to attract local visitors who are much more likely to convert into clients (see our blog on how Google adjusted its best SEO practices to better serve local queries).

How are the best SEO strategies changing with Google’s new generative AI?

Google is always changing, and with it, so are the best SEO practices to get ranked on Google. You’ve probably seen Google’s new Search Generative Experience (SGE). It uses generative AI to write concise, summarizing answers to some queries. But that doesn’t mean blogging isn’t important. To write its answers, SGE uses the top SEO blogs.

How Google determines which top SEO blogs to reference is very similar to the standard Google search engine optimization method. Google favors blogs that consistently demonstrate Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). You can achieve this with a strong backlink profile and content optimization, all of which we will explore in this blog.

Use keywords and long-tail search terms for the best SEO results

There are four types of keywords, and the best SEO strategies use a healthy balance of all four.

Topic keywords are broad general terms that can represent an entire industry or a blog subject. These work best as SEO research categories to generate blog topics. A local animal shelter might not get ranked on Google for “animal shelter.” However, by regularly posting blogs on that topic, Google’s search engine optimization process will gradually notice them as an authority.
Targeted keywords: These are focus keywords that directly relate to the content of a blog post. That local animal shelter might identify “foster programs” as a topic keyword and then generate “how to foster a pet” or “pet fostering tips” as target keywords. These targeted keywords can then become entire blog posts.
Semantic keywords: These keywords support your targeted keywords by demonstrating your content’s depth. These related keywords provide the best SEO support when written organically into your content. Examples: “steps to becoming a pet foster parent,” “benefits of pet fostering,” and “preparing your home for a foster pet.”
Long-tail keywords: These are much more specific. While they have a lower search volume, they enjoy a higher conversion rate. These keywords have great lead-generation potential because they reflect a user’s immediate intention. For example, when you read “step-by-step guide to fostering cats” and “what supplies are needed to foster a pet,” you know exactly what the searcher wants to do. Use these in your blog’s titles, H2 headings, and subheadings. However, they can also benefit you by being organically woven into the main content, similar to semantic keywords.

What free site ranking tools can help me check my SEO rankings?

Google Search Console: This is a free tool provided by Google. It can check blog rankings, but it provides much more SEO help.
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT): This free site ranking tool scans your website to find which keywords you already rank for.
Seobility Ranking Checker: Simply enter your domain to check your website’s Google ranking.
The HOTH Google Rank Checker Tool: Find the top Google SEO keywords already driving traffic to your site.

Remember, most free site ranking tools have limitations that encourage you to purchase the premium version. If you are determined to use free and only free site ranking tools, it’s best to use multiple tools from your digital marketing toolbox to paint a comprehensive, three-dimensional picture. Rankings fluctuate, so check blog rankings regularly for the best long-term marketing strategy. Sometimes, we obsess over individual keyword ranking when we need to step back and see the whole strategy.

If all this SEO research and monitoring feels overwhelming, then you’re not alone! Many small businesses are better empowered to succeed when their SEO marketing strategy is supported by a marketing agency. Businesses that invest in local SEO lead generation enjoy a 40% increase in their online visibility. The best SEO strategies are not one-and-done tactics; they are a continuous effort, but they bring long-term results. A digital marketing agency can provide ongoing SEO research to ensure you always stay competitive.

How does off-page SEO help you get ranked on Google?

Off-page SEO is what you do outside of your website to help you get ranked on Google. The top SEO blogs use backlinks to prove to Google that their expertise is authoritative and trustworthy. Backlinks are when another piece of content links back to another piece of content. We’ve done that several times throughout this blog already. If Google was a traditional library, backlinks are citations, saying “We got this information from this source.” Google’s search engine optimization process sees these as endorsements—votes of confidence – effectively signaling the source must be correct and trustworthy if others are using it.

Ideally, original content organically earns backlinks over time by being competent and trustworthy. However, the top SEO blogs receive additional boosts:

Guest posting: Your blogger can repost or adapt your original blog content for other reputable websites. You’ll get the best SEO results by contacting industry magazines, local, new sites, or trade publications. Google’s SGE values backlinks as expertise.
Social media: Promote your content on relevant social media platforms. Engage with your audience, encouraging them to share or engage with it. Google is increasingly including social media posts at the top of its results. For example, year-old Reddit posts are getting to the top of Google search results because people trust them. You can even recycle blog content by breaking it down into more digestible social media posts like short-form videos. However, that kind of marketing strategy deserves its own article (stay tuned).
Influencer collaboration: The influencer economy is so vast that there are influencers for every business niche, including B2B. Reaching out to influencers provides mutual benefits. Your target audiences can “cross-pollinate” by amplifying each other’s content. You can save the influencer time and effort by providing them with content. Some branding firms go so far as to specialize in influencer marketing. That kind of marketing strategy may become increasingly important as Google evolves. Google’s SGE values social media and user-generated content as experience.
Good old Public Relations (PR): Before the digital age, PR was how companies promoted their news. A press release could carry newsworthy content from outlet to outlet across the company’s reach. PR is still vital in the SEO age. Today, digital public relations help small businesses grow their reach. Digital public relations can be especially advantageous in promoting content across a local region.

Occasionally, low-quality, spammy backlinks can harm your website’s Google ranking. If your links are associated with a “bad crowd,” Google might think you’re part of that crowd. Luckily, you can use Google’s Disawvow Tool to disassociate your site from those “bad influences.”

Let’s say our local animal shelter partners with a marketing agency to execute a robust SEO strategy. What kind of results might they get?

Their strategy would start with SEO research, guiding their biweekly blogs. If they publish consistently, then their indexed pages will gradually grow, increasing their chances of getting ranked on Google. We already know businesses that invest in local SEO lead-generation enjoy a 40% increase in online visibility. However, visibility takes time and persistence. The animal shelter won’t feel the full results until around six months.

During that time, for example, the marketing agency helps the animal shelter engage with its community. It promotes its top SEO blogs across social media and makes the rounds of guest posting. Its content reaches local newspapers and neighborhood newsletters. A high school volunteer even contributes an article to their school’s newspaper, sparking an influx of high schoolers.

Through social media, the animal shelter connects with a local cat café and dog training school. The three of them swap content and always repost each other’s blogs. The marketing agency discovers a few cat owner influencers in the same region and fosters excellent collaborations.

With patience and persistence, this local animal shelter could generate 67% more leads each month than it did without SEO help. Those leads are also 61% less expensive than leads generated through outbound strategies.

Conclusion:

Incorporating an active company blog into your digital marketing strategy can be a powerful tool for improving your Google rankings and attracting more visitors to your website. Regularly publishing high-quality, keyword-rich content can enhance your lead generation and SEO efforts, build valuable backlinks, and establish your business as an authority in your industry. Take advantage of the numerous benefits that blogging can bring to your digital marketing strategy and long-term lead-generation efforts.

Ready to elevate your business with a strategic blogging campaign?

Our expert digital content marketers will design a customized blogging strategy that boosts your Google rankings and drives business growth. Let’s get started on your path to digital success! Schedule a FREE consultation today!

About Loud & Clear Marketing

LCM was founded in Leesburg, Virginia, by Sharon L. Wright in 2012. Joined by Deb Haynes Swider in 2019, Loud & Clear Marketing is a woman-owned, integrated marketing agency specializing in brand-led lead generation. From branding and public relations (PR) to digital and social media marketing to web development, our team of community builders helps businesses and nonprofits grow so our communities will prosper.

Let’s get started on your path to digital success! Schedule a FREE consultation today!

Aaron Loveland

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