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How to focus your blog writing for greater success

There are only 3 types of blog posts.

OK, this is quite a sweeping statement. Depending on how you look at it, there could be many, many more types of blog posts.

But we believe that all blog posts fit into three broad categories.

And that, by understanding these categories, your blog can become more engaging for your readers and more effective for your SEO objectives.

The three types of blog posts

News

These are posts which aim to:

  • Position your brand
  • Drive enquiries from new or existing customers

They tend to focus on your business and what’s going on within it.

They’re great for building a positive ‘personality’ for your brand, communicating important news and promoting special offers.

This type of post is really aimed at the people reading your website, rather than meeting your SEO targets.

Authority

Authoritative posts have these objectives:

  • Demonstrate your businesses’ expertise and authority
  • Provide interesting/useful information related to your products and services

We know that Google favours websites which have a wealth of unique, quality, relevant content. It shows Google that you’re an authority in your field and, as a result, Google should rank you above websites which demonstrate less authority.

This air of expertise is also important for your customers and potential customers, so they know they’re buying from an experienced company. Just like this blog post is telling you that we know what we’re talking about when it comes to blogging!

Finally, “Authority” posts will contain useful and interesting content which will appeal to people beyond your target market. You might wonder what the point of that is? So what if someone in Asia enjoys your blog post about pruning cherry trees? They’re hardly going to pop into your local garden centre to buy one!

Well, the point is, that person might choose to link back to the article from their own website. The number of websites which link back to yours is one of criteria which Google uses when deciding how high to rank you.

SEO

These posts are written to target specific Google search terms.

For example, if we find that one of our clients is ranking brilliantly in many of the locations they’re targeting, but falling behind in a particular town, we might write case study about their work in that location, in an attempt to push them up the search results.

You need to remember that even “SEO” blog posts still need to be well written and have genuine value for the reader. Start cynically creating content that’s just stuffing in keywords and Google will eventually suss you out.

“SEO” blog posts won’t get you to page 1 every time, but, sometimes, they can cause a significant improvement in your Google ranking for the targeted search term.

Overlaps

We’ve used a Venn diagram to illustrate the three types because often blog posts will fit into more than one category.

An “Authority” blog post, for example, might be written primarily to inform and engage, but with a secondary objective of targeting particular Google search terms.

Is one more important than the others?

Not really, no. A great blog will have a mix of all three types. Each of them is fulfilling important, albeit different, objectives.

Having said that, we do tend to lean towards the “Authority” articles as these are the most impactful: they appeal to both Google and your readership. However, these are also the most complex and time-consuming posts to write, so just focusing on this type will give you a blog with quality but not quantity. Ideally you need both.

You’ll have a natural preference

If you already have a blog, I bet you’ll find that there’s a natural inclination towards one type of post. Perhaps your blog is dominated by “News” posts, letting people know what’s happening in your business, how great your services are and your latest discount offers.

This is great. Some blogs will be sadly lacking in “News” updates. But you could be missing a trick.

If your blog posts are always about driving enquiries and talking about your business, they can be less engaging for readers. A special offer post is only interesting if you happen to want to purchase that item. An announcement about Bob’s retirement is lovely for people who deal with Bob and gives you a chance to show the human side of your business. But customers who don’t know Bob won’t even give it a cursory glance.

But add in some “Authority” and “SEO” driven articles, and you’ll expand the reach of your blog and find it can be effective in many more ways. Don’t stop the “News” articles – they are very valuable – but just add a little more variety.

What to write in the blog posts

Here are a few examples of post subjects you could write in each category.

News

  • Announcement of a new product launch
  • Welcoming a new team member
  • Business milestones such as anniversaries, office moves or signing your 100th client

Authority

  • Review of a new product from one of your suppliers
  • Tips related to your products or services
  • Tutorials to help people use your products/services better, or related to them in some other way

SEO

  • A case study about a customer in a location which you want to rank better for in Google searches
  • A detailed insight into a specific product which you want to be found in Google searches for
  • A glossary style article targeting a featured snippet

Example blog posts

These are examples of posts we have written:

Not got the time or inclination to blog? Then we can help!

We work with businesses who understand the importance of developing high quality, effective content for their website, but simply can’t make the time to write it.

Through our strategic partnerships we work with them to research their market, analyse their performance to date, recommend strategies for improvement and implement those recommendations.

Our strategic partnerships are tailored to each client’s needs, so we focus on what you want to achieve within the budget you have available. Contact us to find out more.