This is a guest post by David Sneen from EarnMoreSpendMoreGroup.com
Whoa, with a title like that, what if this article turns out to be a dud? Pressure! My goal is to write a superior article–otherwise my content will contradict my heading. Therefore, I welcome your feedback (comment).
(I wrote this article with the written blog post in mind. You may find some of this information to be irrelevant if you are creating videos or Powerpoint content.)
Finding a topic
What am I going to write about? Everything interesting has already been said. What can I say that no one else has said?
Do you ever get those thoughts and ask yourself those types of questions before you begin? It is natural. Some of it is concern. Some of it is resistance to getting started. Either way, the solution is simple; make up your mind that you are going to write, and get started. If your goal is to write a superior blog post that your visitors and Google will love, keep reading!
Decide what category (for instance, blogging tips) that you wish to write about. Look at the news and trends. If you can tie your article to a current event, you may get a whole new set of visitors. Then brainstorm. What do you want to write about? Consider your options. Then, go for a walk, do yard work, or take a nap. But, have a pad of paper and a pen handy to jot down ideas that come to you. Your subconscious may very well take over; it could easily shower you with three or four great blog post ideas!
Writing your blog post
Once you have your idea, then it is time to brainstorm again. Write down items that you wish to include in your blog post. Then make an outline. You might be thinking, “Hey, wait a minute! I did this in English class when I wrote essays!” Exactly! And the technique that worked then will work now!
With your outline to guide you, you are ready. Don’t worry about saying everything right the first time. You can always come back and make corrections. Move from one topic to the next — get your ideas down. Just write like you are talking to the paper. If you are having trouble with writer’s block at this point, this recent SmartBloggerz’s blog post should help you.
Many people write their opening and concluding paragraphs after they have written their content. Your introduction (what you are going to say) and your conclusion (wrapping it up) are your two most important paragraphs.
After I am done with my draft, I ask myself, “Where can I insert keywords without taking away from the flow of my blog post?” Keywords are important to getting yourself ranked in the search engines. My keywords are goals, subconscious, and blog post. (I may have underused them–optimum use is between 3-5%. However, I would rather be a bit short, than force my keywords into my blog post and detract from its content.) Search engine visitors are likely to be your best visitors, because they requested your article.
Proofread your blog post; let your subconscious work for you if you get stuck
Next is the fun part. Proofread your article. Use your spell checker first and make changes as necessary. Make sure it reads well. It sounds hokey, but I recommend reading it aloud at this point. You catch far more mistakes when you read aloud than you do skimming or scanning your article.
When you think you said something wrong, think of an alternative way of saying it. When I had just started blogging, I would frequently ask myself, “Should this sentence be worded this way…or that way?” If neither feels right, don’t waste more than a minute thinking about it. Move on!
When I am at an impasse like that, I let my subconscious come up with the answer. And, I have found that the correct answer is almost always…neither way! My subconscious will deliver a third way of wording that sentence that is far superior to either of the options I had been considering.
Next, create your subtitles and links.
- You want at least three subtitles. I like bold Heading 2 or Heading 3 (WordPress) .
- At first, your links will be to authoritary sites. To get the most link juice, link to the topic that Google likes most. For instance, if I was going to link to the term “subconscious” from the previous paragraphs, I would Google “subconscious,” and link to one of their top choices. Once you have several articles, you will want to link them together. Google likes this internal linking and your visitors remain on your site longer, reading one blog post after another.
Always include pictures!
Don’t forget your pictures. People are likely to leave your site immediately if your blog post does not have at least one picture on it. I recently read an article about saying what you need to say with pictures. The article had multiple pictures on it. And, he had a good point—60% of us are primarily visual.
The title — last, but definitely NOT least!
Lastly, the title! You might say, “Oh, I created my title right away!” You could be right. But…there may be a better title. I am not going to say I have the best title in the world. But, what if I had entitled this blog post, Writing Great Blog Post Stuff? Would anyone read it? And, if no one reads it, why bother to write it? If you are at all unsure of how to create a great title, Google it!
You can Google blog post titles. Many top bloggers spend more time and effort creating a title than they do creating the material within their blog post. It is that important.
Writing an essay is a relatively simple thing. A blog post is a bit more complicated. But, when you create a great one, Google will love you, your readers will seek out more of your material, and you can reach your online goals!
Top 10 Search Terms:
• how to write blogs on google
I agree with alot of your replies. The days of reading keyword stuffed articles are behind us, I hope. As a consumer I do not like it when I take the time to visit a company website only to read garbage content. Thank you for the great read.
You are welcome, Orlan. I think search engines have done us a huge favor by cleaning up all the spam within the sites.
Those that hate the changes forget that for every loser there is a winner. Just keep doing the right thing, and check the search engine algorithms (criteria for ranking blogs) to make sure you are on track.
Great post. Pictures has a big impact to attract people. Hope your ideas will help me more to get better position in Google.
Good luck to you in your quest for a higher Google ranking, Arman. Pictures do attract people. They bring a personality, a liveliness to the page.
So far, it looks to me that by number of comments you are getting, this blog post is not a dud.
Your tips are great. You even make it look so easy. For me, when I blog, it is the content writing that always proves to be the hardest. It’s hard writing for an audience already, then add Google on top of that then writing just becomes stressful. Anyways, keep blogging David since it looks like it is working!
Thanks for the encouraging words. Right back at you with your advice for the last sentence.
Regarding writing the content of your post, I find a good outline is helpful.
Many people who feel they cannot write good content are good talkers. Simply talk to the paper (or keyboard).
Hi David,
I really appreciate your efforts! Your showed a path for followers and here the question is not making Google only happy but also the followers who read the blog and are really satisfied with provided information just like i am with your article. Keep sharing your knowledge. =)
Thanks for your comments, Belle. I am honored by your, “showed a path” portion of your comment. If I can show someone how to write better blog posts, I can go to bed with a smile on my face tonight.
Its all about informative writing. Create informative content rather than promotional, Google will sure be happy with your content.
Google likes such content, which is unique and informative make sense for the ultimate users or readers. Late night writing can also help you to write blog in better way.
There is nothing worse than a shameless self-promoter. He/She just smells like spam!
I agree with your point about creating informational content, Jayesh. I spend much of my time visiting blogs seeking information. Even when I do not visit for that purpose, I am always ready to jot down or “favorite: a key morsel of information.
As for late night writing, it may work well for you. Others will fall asleep!
I have always thought that Titles were the most important part. I always set there for a minute trying to figure out what I am going to call it. Also, do not forget about the description of the post either. This is what people are going to read in search engines if you posts happened to be ranking for a set of keywords.
Agreed, Gary! Titles are the most important part. Without a good…or great title, people will move on.
I always like to let my inner self or subconscious help me pick a title. I think very hard about several possible titles. Then, I go for a walk, sleep on it, or do mindless chores. Voila….the title comes to me, gift wrapped, when I least expect it!
Thanks for sharing David,
I am a new blogger in this tech world I am just struggling to get better position in Google and I hope your ideas will help me in this.
I am always striving to improve my posts. Interesting comment on the pictures. ITs true, I always skip blogs without them.
Best regards, ATYQ
Hey, ATYQ…keep at it. Striving to learn more is a very healthy attitude. It can be frustrating at times. Traffic can be hard to come by.
Regarding getting a better position in Google and the other search engines, keep reading this and other blogs. There will be many helpful posts that will help you get the traffic you need.
I like your insights on choosing the proper title. I have a background in journalism, and writing for the newspaper, and even when we were formatting pages and assembling the paper itself, we would leave article titles blank. A title arises organically from the content of an article (ensuring the title directly relates to the main content) and in the case of editorials, also comes from the available size on the page, though that has a lesser application in the online blogging world.
Thank you for the comment, Paul. I have written down your statement regarding leaving the article titles being left blank, and will use that quote in the future. It is good to have validation from a source as knowledgeable as you.
I am curious, did any of the articles go to print without a title?
Google wants you to provide good, useful evergreen content that your potential customers actually want. Good for your customers, good for your rankings.
You nailed it, Becca! When Google is happy, your customers are happy; and vise versa. So, the Penguin algorithm is working; because that is Google’s goal.
Great post. Learn lots of new things from your post.David, what you write first-the post or the title?Because without a catchy title, people will not read a post.
Yes, Lakhyajyoti. When I finish my blog post, the last thing I do is create the title.
But, the ironic thing is that the first thing I do is make a title–I usually know the title of my post before I type my post. Then, I create a blog post built around that title. But, that original title is rarely used.. I change it, to make it more exciting, and bring in more readers.
The actual title is only chosen at the end.