Do I Need a Blog On My Website? How to Use Your Squarespace Blog To Boost Your SEO
Over the past few years, we’ve seen more and more conversations about the relevancy of blogs, especially during the rise of video content. But, blogs are not only a fantastic way to keep your customers up to date with all that’s going on behind the scenes, they support your website in more ways than you can imagine.
Firstly, Google loves content-rich websites that do exactly what they say on the tin. So, if your Squarespace website is for beauty gurus and lifestyle lovers, but has nothing to indicate this in the body of the text, the likelihood of people finding you through searching is pretty low.
This is where a blog can give you the upper hand. And, as the internet becomes saturated with content, a Squarespace blog is the perfect place to ensure that you stand out. Not only will Google see that you’re offering fresh content and rank you higher during indexing, but, it can also be a huge part of who you are as a brand.
Let’s talk about SEO
SEO can be a scary subject, because often, it sounds more complicated than it is. When it comes down to it, to rank well in terms of SEO, you need to have a website that is regularly updated, and well-maintained with useful content. If these pillars are in place, you’ll find that ranking will essentially take care of itself.
Of course, there are additional things that come into play such as selecting relevant keywords, getting backlinks and site speed, but we’ll save those tips for another day.
Changes to your SEO can take months before you see any tangible change. And, while there aren’t really any quick fixes, there are a few ways that you can speed up the process.
Start by figuring out the keywords that work for your business. This could be your location, services or values. If you’re a personal trainer, consider who your target audience is. What gyms do you offer services at? Do you work weekends? Are you more into building strength or flexibility? Once you have the keywords that really work for you, make alt-text your new best friend and create a rich description of your business in every image on your site.
The next step? Create blog content around these keywords.
Squarespace blogs are probably the easiest and most time-effective way to build SEO-rich content that gives multiple value-touchpoints. And, if you’re not a writer, don’t fret. There’s also nothing wrong with outsourcing a copywriting expert who can do the heavy lifting for you and churn out content on a schedule. But, for most, writing content yourself is a free and easy way of bringing more visitors to your site.
How to start a Squarespace blog
Get your ideas down on paper
You’ve got to start somewhere, right? Map out your initial ideas. What do you want your business to talk about? This is your chance to think about how you can align your ethics, business purpose and knowledge into one central hub. For example, if you’re a sustainable business, perhaps you want to share your knowledge on your favourite brands or stockists with a monthly rundown. You may want to impart some simple steps to a more sustainable lifestyle or perhaps interview someone who’s disrupting the industry?
The purpose of this is to give your audience value. How do you do that? Your content needs to be inspirational, educational or entertaining, and as the old saying goes, if it’s none of those, then at least make it short.
It’s also worth having a ‘bank of ideas’. Simply write out some title ideas in a spreadsheet and add to them when you see interesting competitor content or you come up with something that could work. Then measure them up against the above pillars. Really ask yourself if the content you're producing is valuable to your audience.
Another great tool is awareness days. This lists any key dates in your industry that you might need to be aware of.
What are people searching for online?
It’s time to start researching your competitors. You should feel comfortable naming a few brands that you see as competition and if you can’t then ensure that regular competitor research is built into your schedule.
As well as this, you can use free tools like Google Trends to see where the gaps in your audience's knowledge are and create content that answers their question. This will help with your Squarespace SEO, but it will also align your business as one to keep returning to. Using programmes like this will also help you to figure out what your audience wants you to talk about, versus what you want to talk about. Defining what your audience and customers want will ensure that your content stays in line with your business objectives, as well as give you a metric for measuring success.
If you’re currently building a website, your web designer will also be able to give you some additional pointers about specific titles that will generate views for your blog.
Start with a bullet point and with a sentence
Once you’ve mapped out your ideas on your calendar, it’s worth planning a day for writing and editing content. And, if you’re not a writer, don’t stress. The work you will have done to get to this point will make it so much easier for a freelance copywriter to pick up and run. You can also ask a friend to proofread your work to ensure there are no typos or spelling mistakes.
Feeling up to the challenge? Plan your blogs with a beginning that poses a question, a middle that solves the problem and ends on a clear call to action, whether that’s a newsletter subscription or a shop the post.
Don’t forget to separate your blog into headings (H1, H2 and H3). Your copy will not only be easy to read and consume but, will also make your SEO score much higher.
Promote your blog via social media
Blogs are a great way for you to develop a cohesive content strategy for your social media too. It’s super easy to repurpose blogs as social media posts. You could create carousels jam-packed with information and clear call to actions from the blogs you’ve made, or even pull out quotes from the blog themselves to entice your audience to head over to your website and get the full scoop.
Using your blogs to signpost to your website will ultimately help convert your engaged social media traffic into mega fans. The best part is that you’ll be able to work in bulk too.
And there we have it, four ways to get your blog juices flowing and your SEO ranking improved!
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