Are Blog Posts Still Relevant in 2023?
Before we dive into the juicy details of our best practices for writing stellar blog posts, let’s address a burning question that constantly comes our way. As SEO specialists, we hear this one all the time: Is blogging still relevant?
Blog posts can feel like an old and obsolete marketing tactic because they’ve been around for so long. Not to mention that other forms of content, such as videos and podcasts, have gained popularity and seem more appropriate for the way people consume content nowadays.
That said, we fairly believe that blog posts continue to offer unique advantages and are an integral part of content marketing strategies and shouldn’t be overlooked.
- Blog posts contribute immensely to your website’s SEO efforts. Frequent blog posting signals to Google that you are still active and on top of your industry as well as increases organic traffic.
- They help build authority and credibility as well as position your brand as a credible player in your industry.
- Their evergreen aspect attracts readership over an extended period without having to spend a penny.
Master the Art of Blogging With These Copywriting Best Practices
From writing slogans to crafting compelling ad copy to publishing a blog post, copywriting is part of almost everything we do in marketing.
And although everyone can write, not everybody can “write good copy.” Writing good copy is hard. It requires research, knowledge, and creativity. It requires understanding who you’re writing for and for which channel.
You can’t write a newsletter the same way you write a blog post or a search ad.
At Bloom, we’ve been blogging since 2008. We’ve published around 350 blog posts over the years. Several of these articles rank extremely well on Google, have been viewed thousands of times, and continue to drive steady traffic to our site.
Read on to discover our recipe for a successful blog post.
1. Be Mindful of Artificial Intelligence
Copywriting is a complex and time-consuming task. It’s no wonder marketers are turning to artificial intelligence to help them write copy that fits their never-ending needs.
There are now hundreds of tools that will help marketers and copywriting professionals create or improve content in a matter of seconds.
Tools like Grammarly will analyze your content and make suggestions for improvements.
WordTune will take a sentence you’ve written and provide ten new alternatives that might sound better.
It can even analyze a sentence you’ve written and enhance it with an analogy, a joke or an explanation.
ChatGPT can write a 1000-word essay faster than you can say “ChatGPT.”
You’d be crazy not to leverage those tools, right?
Yes, a little bit.
It’ll definitely save you some time, improve your writing, and you might come up with ideas you might not have thought of otherwise.
But there is a little bit of a catch.
Using AI tools to enhance your content, find grammar mistakes, help your research or find inspiration is great.
Exclusively using AI to research your topic and write content isn’t. Why?
1. The primary purpose of a blog is to answer a specific question or to educate an audience. What stops users from going to ChatGPT to ask their questions vs looking at your blog post? Authenticity and credibility. People are looking for real answers from real people, and AI can’t give them that.
2. There is a risk that your site will be flagged by Google for using auto-generated content, which would lead to the downfall of your site.
3. People are also looking for timely and accurate information; Remember that ChatGPT isn’t aware of events that happened after 2021. If you were to ask ChatGPT to write an article about the monarchy in the UK in 2023, you would be missing key information.
Side note: Are AI-Content Detectors Reliable?
As an agency, we write content for our clients every day. And over the last few months have realized that more companies are worried about their providers using AI-generated content. Which is understandable.
Businesses pay agencies and freelancers for expertise and best practices and expect their content to be relevant, well-rounded and original.
To verify if a copywriter used AI to generate an article, many businesses are using AI-Copy Detector. Our advice, be careful when using an AI copy detector. In our experience, they are far from foolproof. For example, I looked back at one of our blog articles written over three years ago, long before “ChatGPT” was part of our vocabulary.
I uploaded the copy to six different AI Content Detectors, and here’s what I got:
Open AI said, “It considers the text to be very unlikely AI-generated.”
Crossplag said, “It was mainly written by an AI.”
SEO.AI said, “The probability of AI was 50%”
Copyleaks said, “It was human text.”
Writer said, “It was 100% human-generated content”
So, we’d suggest not taking AI-Content Detectors too seriously. And, remember, what truly matters to Google is quality content. Focus on following the best practices mentioned in this article, and you’ll be on your way to creating great, SEO-friendly content.
2. Share Real-Life Experiences
Google uses four factors, known as Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness (EEAT), to evaluate the quality of a website’s content. While we have an in-depth article on this topic, I would like to specifically address the importance of “Experience” in this case.
A blog post should contain examples from real-life experiences. Add photos, comparisons, opinions, examples, anecdotes, personal insights and lessons, quotes, etc. People don’t want to hear from an AI; they want to hear from a relatable source.
By incorporating your personal experiences in your article, your readers will be able to connect with your brand on a more personal level. This will leave a lasting impression on your audience and increase your chances of being seen as a credible source.
3. Find a Niche Topic
In order to differentiate yourself from the vast sea of generic content available on the Internet, choose to write about a niche topic. Not only will it be easier to rank on Google, but it’ll also position you as a credible player within this niche.
A niche topic also enables you to speak to a specific group of people rather than a large broad readership. It’s easier to cater your content to their specific needs, which makes your article more relevant.
Finding niche topics can be challenging. My best advice: ask experts in your organization about new features, trends, pain points or solutions to find inspiration.
4. Add Value and Answer Burning Questions
Whether they are looking for a quick fact-check, troubleshooting a problem, seeking advice, or exploring a topic of interest, people turn to search engines like Google to find answers to their questions.
By quickly answering a factual question in your article, you’ll provide value and satisfy their immediate need for a solution, establishing you as a trusted and reliable source of relevant content.
Your article could also address a bold or controversial question, which would automatically grab your audience’s attention.
- Is… still relevant today?
- Why shouldn’t you be using…?
- Is… just trendy or here to stay?
I find these articles are great at generating buzz on search engines but can also start a conversation on social media, giving your brand even more reach.
5. Keep It Structured
A well-structured article is essential to improve readability, user experience and your article’s visibility in search engines.
Your article’s layout might change depending on your topic or your writing style, but a good article usually has four sections:
- Introduction: This section lets the reader know what your article is about.
- Body: This section is where you address different aspects of the topic. Each section should focus on a specific point or subtopic related to your main theme.
- Make sure to incorporate descriptive subheadings (and tag them accordingly); they make it easier for readers to scan your article and find the information they are looking for.
- Use numbered lists, bullet points, tables, images or bold text to highlight key takeaways or important details.
- Don’t forget to maintain a logical flow throughout your article. Use linking words and phrases to connect ideas and transition smoothly between sections and paragraphs.
- Conclusion: This is where you’ll recap the main points of your article to reinforce your message.
- Call-To-Action: Consider adding a call to action at the end of your article to keep your audience engaged. Link to similar articles or related topics or ask them to contact you for additional information.
The example mentioned above is pretty standard, but there are several other popular blog article formats that you can explore to keep your content fresh and engaging: Frequently Asked Questions, Expert Interviews, Case Studies, and even Listicles.
Listicles Are Here To Stay
Bloggers refer to articles written in a list format as “listicles.”
- “5 best practices for…”
- “9 products that will…”
- “4 examples of…”
- “7 steps to…”
- “Top 5…”
Their digestible format is incredibly reader-friendly and easily shareable. Our most popular blog posts are listicles and we highly suggest incorporating them into your blog strategy.
6. Write Short Sentences and Paragraphs
Unless you’re writing a scientific paper, you’ll want to keep your paragraphs and sentence shorts. A dense wall of text is intimidating for readers. They will quickly lose interest, become overwhelmed and leave your site.
Short sentences and paragraphs create white space on the page, making your blog post visually appealing and easier to read on desktop but also on mobile devices (which most people use nowadays).
7. Find The Right Balance for SEO
Your blog article should follow common SEO best practices to increase its chances of ranking well on search engines and driving traffic to your site. This includes:
- Conducting keyword research to identify relevant and high-traffic keywords related to your topic and incorporating them into your headers, paragraphs, meta-title and meta-description.
- Adding header tags to all your headings and subheadings.
- Using a clean and descriptive URL that includes your primary keyword.
- Linking to internal and external pages to provide additional value and support the information presented in your article.
- Optimizing your images for the Web by adding an alternate tag and using a compressed format for quick loading.
But remember, although these practices are great and we highly recommend following them, it’s important to prioritize creating valuable content for your audience. Strive to meet their needs and provide a positive user experience instead of stuffing your article with relevant keywords.
Writing a valuable article that’s well-structured and based on real-life experiences will lead to higher engagement and that will ultimately lead to better SEO performance.
The Golden Rule of Blogging: Always Put The User First
We hope these best practices will help you craft compelling blog posts and help increase your site’s organic performance. If there’s one key takeaway from this article, it’s this: search engines strive to deliver reliable answers to their users, and by aligning your articles with that objective, you’re on the right path.
If you’re looking to take your blog strategy and copywriting to the next level, but still don’t know where to start, let’s connect and make SEO magic happen! Contact us here.