Blogging is still one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website and attract new customers. But are you making the most of your local business blog? Maybe not.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not, the big question is what should<\/em> you be doing? The answer starts with numbers and ends with specific advice. So, let\u2019s dig into some statistics, and then we\u2019ll look at 5 tips you can use to put your blog to work for you.<\/p>\n Blogging by the Numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n A massive study of blogging<\/a>, which reviewed 912 million blog posts, revealed some helpful information that can help you improve the performance of your business blog. Here are some of its key findings.<\/p>\n Backlinks <\/u><\/p>\n Backlinks are still one of the most important ranking factors for Google. The blogging study found that long-form content gets 77.2% more links than short-form content. That\u2019s a huge difference, but it also has its limits.<\/p>\n The study also found that there was a sharp drop-off in links once a post crept over 2,000 words. But, that said, 94% of all the posts analyzed had no backlinks at all.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that some post formats and titles get more backlinks than others. The three most popular post types for backlinks were:<\/p>\n Those three formats got 25.8% more backlinks than \u201chow-to\u201d and video posts.<\/p>\n Social Sharing<\/u><\/p>\n You might think that blogging can help you out on social media, but the numbers don\u2019t bear that out. For example, there\u2019s no correlation between social sharing and backlinks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also interesting to note that very few blog posts perform well on social media. The study found that 1.3% of \u201cpower\u201d posts generate 75% of all social shares.<\/p>\n There were some specific findings about the length of headlines (longer headlines get more shares) and questions (blog posts with questions in the headline get more shares than those without questions.)<\/p>\n List posts are more likely to be shared than other posts, too \u2013 and by a significant amount. They get 218% more shares than \u201chow-to\u201d posts and 203% more shares than infographics.<\/p>\n The so-called \u2018sweet spot\u201d for getting your blog content shared on social media is between 1,000 and 2,000 words.<\/p>\n One final statistic to inspire you: one study found that blogging can improve your chances of getting a high rank on Google by as much as 434%<\/a>. How\u2019s that for an impressive number?<\/p>\n Tips to Improve Your Local Business Blog<\/strong><\/p>\n The data from that study is useful because it can provide you with a framework to improve your business blog. Of course, there\u2019s more to worry about than backlinks and social media, but other bits of data from the study point in a direction that may be useful.<\/p>\n With that in mind, here are 5 tips to improve your blog.<\/p>\n #1: Create (and Stick to) a Blogging Schedule <\/u><\/p>\n The first tip is to blog regularly and stick to a schedule. There\u2019s some evidence to suggest that blogging four times a week<\/a> is optimal. In fact, companies that blog at least 16 times per month get 3.5 times as much traffic<\/a> as companies that blog between 0 and 4 times per month.<\/p>\n 16 blog posts might seem like a lot. But what you may find is that creating a blogging schedule will help you be more disciplined about coming up with blog ideas and getting those posts written. And remember, you can always hire a writer to create blog posts for you if you don\u2019t have the time or inclination to do that much writing.<\/p>\n #2: Give Your Posts Compelling Titles<\/u><\/p>\n It turns out that titles make a big difference when it comes to generating traffic, social shares, and backlinks. Here are some pointers:<\/p>\n A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but when it comes to blogging, names matter!\u00a0 Need ideas?\u00a0 Check out HubSpot\u2019s blog topic generator<\/a> or Inbound Now\u2019s idea generator<\/a>.<\/p>\n #3: Check Your Word Count<\/u><\/p>\n Earlier, we mentioned that the \u201csweet spot\u201d for blog length is between 1,000 and 2,000 words, with longer posts getting more engagement, backlinks, and sharing than shorter posts.<\/p>\n Does that mean every post you write must be long? Of course not! But, if you\u2019re in the habit of cranking out 300-500 word blog posts, it can help you to write a long post occasionally. It might turn into one of those so-called power posts that generates traffic on social media and Google.<\/p>\n #4: Add Compelling Images <\/u><\/p>\n\n
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