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The secret to writing great blogs

Blogging is a great way to get search engines’ attention. If search engines list your website in their search results, your potential clients can find your business.

But for that to happen, you need great blogs. So what’s the secret?

1. Write about things people want to know

What were the last three things you did on the internet? Was one of those looking for information? Probably – because that’s something millions of people do on the internet daily.

And they rely on search engines to point them to the information.

Just like you compete with other businesses, so do search engines. Their competitive edge is to give searchers the best answer, so they’ll keep using them. That’s how Google got famous – they started out by giving researchers more accurate answers than other search engines.

If someone types in a question: “What does a buyer’s agent do?” a search engine will check its database for the right keywords, try to find the answer and display that at the top of the page. But it doesn’t want just any answer – it wants the best answer, because that’s the search engine’s competitive edge. Thereafter, the search engine will list pages of websites that have also answered the question well.

In this case, a buyer’s agent wanting their website to rank on or near page one would need a great answer to that question. And probably a great answer to many other questions about buyer’s agents too, so the search engine recognises them as an expert on buyer’s agents.

Questions and answers are just one part of the equation; search engines also consider other factors. But they’re a good starting point.

2. Write about current events

Times and the business environment change. If you wrote your website content several years ago and just left it, your content may no longer be relevant.

That’s why you should keep updating your content by writing blogs on the current state of your industry or business.

For example, if a lender published a blog during a low-rate environment about why now was a great time to take advantage of low rates, and if that was still the lender’s most recent blog one year later when rates were significantly higher, consumers may still expect those low rates.

Blogs on current events also give you a chance to answer more questions people are asking search engines right now.

3. Write quality blogs

Search engine algorithms weigh the value of all content that is posted. Better content gets ranked above worse content. So quality is just as important as quantity.

4. Write with search engine optimisation in mind

SEO is no longer about stuffing your website with keywords. It’s about following the advice given in points one to three but using the right words when doing so.

The right words are those that people will type into a search engine when they’re looking for information on a topic.

For example, someone looking for a home loan might type in: “best interest rates” or “lowest interest rates”. If a mortgage broker wrote a blog saying they could find clients “unbelievable interest rates”, it might not feature in the search results. That’s because the word ‘unbelievable’ is not a synonym for ‘lowest’ or ‘best’, so the information wouldn’t appear to be relevant.

So think of the terms clients frequently use, and make sure you include the right words in your blogs.