Blog FAQs
Choosing Between the Same or Different Domains for Your Blog
Deciding on the domain for your corporate blog is crucial for brand consistency. I recommend hosting the blog on the same domain as your main corporate site. This approach typically fosters greater trust among clients, as it aligns with common web practices. Straying from this norm can often lead to scepticism.
For small businesses, however, having the blog on a separate domain is more feasible than it is for larger corporations. The expectations in the market are not as stringent for them, partly due to their more personalized customer interactions. Large corporations, which often lack this level of personal engagement, need to rely more on established norms to build trust.
If you do opt for separate domains for your blog and main website, consider using similar domain names to maintain a connection, like “ClickBucks.xyz” and “Click-Bucks.xyz”. Alternatively, you could use a keyword-focused domain for your blog while keeping your business name for your main website domain.
2. Implementing a Silo Structure Through Categories
Blogs are generally used in two ways:
a) As a primary website.
b) To supplement an existing website.
Each approach requires a different silo structure. Since this guide focuses on using blogs to support websites, I’ll outline the best silo structure for this purpose.
- Start by setting up your blog in the usual manner, with the homepage displaying a dynamic list of your latest posts.
- Adjust your permalink settings to include the category in the URL path. The format should be: /%category%/%postname%/. (Refer to the image on the right for guidance).
- Organize your blog content into silos that mirror the main themes of your website’s silo pages.
- Assign each blog article to a relevant silo category.
- Install a ‘related posts’ plugin, and if possible, configure it to link posts by both category and tag. This will strengthen the thematic consistency within each category.
Avoid using widgets for ‘categories’, ‘recent articles’, or ‘tags’, as they can weaken the focus of your thematic silos.
3. Effective Management of Tags
In the realm of SEO, tags can often be problematic if not managed correctly. To ensure that tags don’t negatively impact your site’s SEO, it’s essential to use a reliable plugin. Options like SEO Framework or RankMath are highly recommended. These tools enable you to effectively control the indexing of both tags and category pages, mitigating potential SEO issues that can arise from improper tag management.
4. Creating and Managing Sitemaps
For an effective blog sitemap, I recommend using the “Google XML Sitemaps” plugin available on WordPress. You can easily find and install this plugin through the WordPress dashboard (Plugins → Add New → Search for “Google XML Sitemaps”). It usually appears at the top of the search results. Once installed and activated, its default settings are generally adequate.
As a side note, the SEO Framework is my preferred choice for a comprehensive WordPress SEO plugin.
After installing the Google XML Sitemaps plugin, you can access it via the “Settings” menu. Look for the ‘XML-Sitemap’ option. Initially, you might see a message indicating that the sitemap has not been generated. Simply click the provided link to initiate its creation.
By default, the plugin creates the sitemap at www.yoursite.com/sitemap.xml. This location is optimal as search engine bots typically search for sitemaps at this address.
5. Maximizing Blog Impact with Theme Mirroring and Strategic Keyword Use
A common question is how to optimize the effectiveness of a blog. The key is to mirror the thematic structure of your main website, using well-aligned categories that correspond with your products or services. This synchrony enhances the coherence of your content across platforms.
Additionally, be strategic with your keyword placement within your articles, ensuring these critical points are met:
- Variety in Title Keywords: Regularly alternate the keywords in your blog post titles. Use synonyms, supporting keywords, and occasionally other “LSI” (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords to avoid repetitive use of the same keyword.
- Keyword Modification in Anchor Texts: Adjust the keywords used in your blog post’s anchor text links.
- Consistent Links to Targeted Website Pages: Your blog posts should link to corresponding pages on your main website that target the same keywords.
The goal is to reflect your website’s theme on your blog. If your website page targets multiple keywords – including the main theme, synonyms, and supporting keywords – your blog post should focus on one or a combination of these, ideally within the same thematic silo. While it’s not always feasible to stick to one silo, especially in cases like breaking news or sales promotions, it should be more of an exception than a norm.
Ensure that the primary keyword of your blog post is included in the title and modified in the anchor text. Place it in the correct silo and then link it to the corresponding page on your website. If your blog post encompasses terms from several pages on your site, identify one primary keyword for the post and link it to the relevant page on your site.
When multiple keywords are involved within the same silo and you wish to link to all related pages, that’s acceptable. However, it’s crucial to have a clear call to action for your readers to guide them effectively.
6. Leveraging Video for Enhanced Conversion
Videos are not just engaging content additions; they’re powerful tools for converting sales. It’s highly beneficial to include a video in as many blog posts as possible. Depending on your resources and creativity, try to maximize the frequency of video content.
Here are some best practices for using videos on your blog:
- YouTube Publishing: Host your videos on YouTube. Make sure to include a full link to the corresponding blog post in the video description. Placing the link at the beginning ensures better visibility, as YouTube tends to truncate longer descriptions.
- Linking to Your Main Site: Along with the blog post link, add a link to the relevant page on your main website in the YouTube video description. This not only drives traffic but also supports the SEO ranking of that page.
- Optimized Video Titles and Descriptions: Incorporate the primary keyword of your article in the video’s title and description. A detailed description is beneficial – consider using a transcript or key parts of the video content for this.
- Tag Usage: Utilize relevant keywords in the video’s tag field. These can mirror the tags used in the blog post, although they don’t have to be identical.
- Local Business Focus: If your site represents a local business, set the video location as your business address.
- Managing Comments: For most business-related videos, it might be prudent to disable comments.
- Embedding in Blog Posts: Instead of just linking to the video, embed it directly in your blog post. This not only aids in faster indexing of your post but also enhances the page authority (PA) of the post.
By following these steps, you can effectively use videos to augment your blog’s impact and drive conversions.
7. Enhancing Blog Post Engagement with Images
The inclusion of images in blog posts is not just about aesthetics; it significantly impacts the time readers spend on a page. My experience has consistently shown that posts with images retain visitors’ attention far better than those without. The images don’t always need to be perfectly aligned with the content; even abstract visuals can add the necessary splash of colour to make the post more engaging.
To maximize the SEO benefits of images, follow these tips:
- Descriptive Naming: Name your images using variations of the primary keyword of the post. This helps in aligning the image more closely with the content from an SEO perspective.
- Alt Text Optimization: Use a different, yet relevant, target keyword for your image’s alt text. This not only improves accessibility but also contributes to the SEO value of the page.
Remember, the right image can transform the visual appeal of your post and enhance reader engagement, while also serving as an additional SEO tool.
8. The Importance of Including a Call to Action
A call to action (CTA) is an essential element of every blog post. It guides readers on what to do next, aligning with the overall objective of your site and the specific goals of each post. Whether you want readers to subscribe to a newsletter, contact your business, download a resource, or simply follow your RSS feed, a clear and compelling CTA is crucial. Even if the action you seek is as simple as encouraging subscriptions to your RSS feed, make sure it’s explicitly stated. A well-placed CTA can significantly boost reader engagement and conversion rates, making it a vital component of effective blog content.
And once you have got through these points you should begin to add the fuel to the fire by building out your content footprint throughout your categories. Next start building links to your content and powering up your pages.
If you can do this your momentum will start snowballing and you will see growth on your blog. This is an overlooked tactic that still works, Content and links = Rankings it’s that simple. I hope you found this useful.
