9 simple tips for optimising your blog content

You may have decided to develop a blog as part of your content strategy. Simple on paper, it nonetheless requires a tactical approach both to set up and to keep alive in order to extract real value from it.

Below we have gathered 9 tips to bear in mind to ensure you are effective in your content production.

1. Write useful content

This point may seem obvious — and yet it is less so than you might think. The first question you must ask yourself before writing is: will my article provide answers to multiple people? If the answer is "yes," you are on the right track.

Searching the internet has now become a reflex. Gone are the days of waiting for answers to our questions for days, months, or even years — sometimes never finding them at all. Gone too are the long minutes spent searching through manuals that were not necessarily up to date. Today, the internet — and Google in particular — enables instant access to knowledge in just a few clicks, whether some people like it or not.

And it is that same Google that could well give you a helping hand in terms of SEO if your subject is relevant. To put it simply, the more your site or blog contains elements that answer the questions internet users are asking, the more Google will direct those users towards you.

Think, therefore, about the relevance and usefulness of the topics you develop for your visitors.

2. Write content for your persona

The objectives of content marketing include achieving better SEO, gaining visibility, and consequently attracting new clients and prospects.

What better way to ensure you are producing relevant content — capable of turning readers into potential clients — than knowing your target audience well? You need to make sure that the internet users who click on your article are among the people you want to reach, in order to maximise your chances of convincing them and making that first connection.

To get to know your target audience better and thus better orientate your content, we encourage you to reflect on and build a persona. This fictional character will incorporate all the traits and characteristics of what your core target audience might look like. It is a somewhat painstaking exercise, but one that will give you a clear line of conduct to follow.

Finally, if you are struggling for inspiration, start by searching Google for the first questions you imagined your target audience might ask. You will almost certainly find articles and content that address the subject more or less directly — as well as numerous related questions that stem from it. There is absolutely no harm in doing this type of research to see what has already been done and draw inspiration from it. Google is infinite, so it would be a shame not to make use of it.

3. Write evergreen content

Once you have your persona clearly in mind — along with their challenges and the type of answers you can offer them — you have two options:

• You write an article on a current topic (an event, buzz, news item, etc.) and can generate a lot of traffic over a limited period of time.

• You write a somewhat less "hot" article whose content is not time-limited and which will likely generate less immediate traffic but over the longer term.

Of course, if the "moment" presents you with a burning topic you are able to address and provide answers to, by all means seize the opportunity.

But if that is not the case, always prioritise topics whose information can be read and used in the weeks, months, and years to come. This will, as mentioned, generate visits more sustainably; be shareable without any time limit (with social media sharing in mind — by you or anyone else who finds it interesting); educate new readers; and reinforce your image as an expert.
Of course, this content should be updated as soon as possible if changes or developments occur relating to it. If your content becomes outdated, your credibility may suffer.

4. Write long-form content

The longer the content, the more favourably Google will treat you and the more it will promote it on its search engine. Google interprets long-form content as a relevant source of information — because it is more likely to contain a maximum of detail and to be comprehensive.

This is very likely what readers think too. When they see a long article, they know that with this single source they can potentially find all the answers to their questions on a given topic.

But when we say long, we mean long AND OF HIGH QUALITY! Quantity will never replace quality — and your readers know this. The content must remain relevant, well written, and up to date.

If your article is both quantitatively and qualitatively strong, that will work in your favour when it comes to turning visitors into potential clients.

5. Write compelling titles

We are not telling you anything new here — yet the title of an article is not always the most polished and representative part of the work that went into it. This is understandable: it is not uncommon to hastily name an article just before publishing it… a serious mistake.

The goal of your article title is multifaceted:

• It should be simple and concise (get straight to the point without overdoing it — the reader should understand in a few words exactly what the article is about).

• It should be understood by everyone (avoid jargon and overly technical terms; use the vocabulary your target audience uses).

• It should be compelling (play with words, create feelings in the reader — suspense, surprise, provocation…).

• It should demonstrate the benefits of your article.

6. Write content in list format

Oops — that is precisely what we are doing here. And for even greater impact, make that list numbered. For example: "The 12 reasons why…", "3 misconceptions about…", and so on.

Including a number in the title of your article allows the reader to get a sense of the length of the content upfront and to judge whether it fits the time they have available (though this will also depend on how each point is developed). It is a type of article that presents itself as easy to read, with ideas clearly stated and organised.

By virtue of its clarity of presentation, it also has the advantage of making it easier to pick out only the information you are looking for — a specific point, for instance. Depending on the topic covered, this type of article can also take the form of a to-do list to follow for a project. It saves the reader the trouble of working out the steps themselves, presenting the complete checklist directly. Trust us — they will appreciate it.

That said, despite the quality and interest of this type of content, be aware that it will not be the format most likely to convert readers into potential clients.

7. Write according to a coherent action plan

In order to keep your blog alive and make it a persuasive tool, it is important to put a strategy in place regarding how you publish.

As with social media, the best approach is to draw up an editorial calendar that gives you a view — short or long term — of what will be posted, whilst also keeping a record of topics already covered.

Publishing in a logical, consistent manner will help you both ensure you are reaching the audience you want without losing your way, and signal to Google that it should consider you a reliable source. By publishing frequently on related, relevant topics, Google will highlight you as you will be identified as an expert.
Choose whichever tool suits you best for building your publication schedule — the most important thing is to stick to it and keep it up to date.

Once again, posting prolifically will not automatically improve your SEO or your number of visits. What matters is regularity and quality.

8. Write reusable content for other formats

If you take the trouble to write quality articles, you might as well keep them alive and exploit them for as long as possible. Various options are available to you.

Of course, sharing your content on social media is now indispensable and within everyone's reach. But you can go further, by transforming the very format through which you deliver your information.

Turn your articles into varied formats. Use the elements you identified when writing your article to compile a white paper, a guide, and so on.

At http5000 we also decided to repurpose content in video format for YouTube, for example. Identify the topics that lend themselves best to video, rewrite a brief script using the key elements, and hand the floor to a member of your team. Seeing a person speak about the subject in a more "conversational" tone can reach a wider audience. And above all — let your creativity run free!

9. Write synthesis articles

If your blog addresses the same topics from multiple angles, aspects, and types of information… do not hesitate to bring it all together in a synthesis article.

This technique fits perfectly within the "long-form article objective" that will demonstrate your expertise. Having a wealth of articles related to a given topic is excellent — it means readers can find the specific information they want within your blog.

But why not make the most of all that material and create an additional synthesis article covering all the information? Yes, it may feel like a guide and seem a little daunting, but it will ultimately become a reference piece on the topic.

On your side, this type of article requires work — but a good portion of the content is already there, right in front of you. You most likely wrote it yourself. All you need to do is identify the relevant articles, extract the key points, and insert them, logically, into the synthesis.

Take care to structure this article well, as it is likely to be dense. Clarity is essential so that readers can find their way through it without feeling discouraged.

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You now have all the cards in hand. Try to organise yourself around these 9 strategic points to create or evolve your content strategy. They will certainly require a great deal of thought, but they will give you a solid foundation from which to produce profitable articles.