1. Choose a blog niche : When creating a blog as a beginner, you need to have a specific focus or niche in order to attract readers. Ideally, you’ll choose a single, broad topic that you’ll be able to explore in-depth. But how do you decide what to focus on? First, think about your goals. Do you want to promote your business? Share information or explore your passion? Make money from your content? Whether you’re aiming to write about your industry, dive deep into your personal interests, or monetize your site, contemplating your overall objectives can point you in the right direction.
Whichever blog niche you choose, it’s going to become the defining feature of your online presence. With that in mind, make sure to focus on an area you’re experienced in and genuinely excited about. Based on your experience, you may want to niche down even further to cater to a specific audience. For instance, within the niches of European travel or cooking, you may opt to focus specifically on budget travel or vegan food. If you’re unsure of what niche to choose, browse these blog examples to help guide you.
2. Structure your blog by category : Just as you’d organize your closet by category, you’ll want to take a similar approach with your blog. If you’re just starting your blog, format it in a way that makes it easy for readers to find what they’re looking for. For instance, you may want to add overarching topic categories to the navigation menu. Google also appreciates this structure – in fact, its algorithms take website structure into account when determining which posts to rank among the top search results. So, having neatly organized blog categories is beneficial on all fronts.
3. Use a variety of visuals : Your writing is the core of your blog posts, but it’s not the only element to include. It also helps to add visual elements to your articles. In fact, articles get shared twice as much when they have one image per every 75-100 words. With that in mind, break up large blocks of text by incorporating images and videos. This keeps your readers’ attention on the page for longer and prevents them from getting bored or intimidated by so much text. Be sure to use unique, high-quality images to create a polished and professional piece. If you’re not able to use photographs of your own, you can get free stock photos from sites like Unsplash and Pexels. Once you upload the images to your blog, add alt text to optimize them for SEO.
4. Develop a powerful linking strategy : If you’re just learning how to start a blog, it’s crucial to understand the importance of links in your blogging strategy. In general, there are three main types of links you’ll need to pay attention to:
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Internal links: Links within your blog posts that connect to other pages on your website or articles on your blog. This type of linking improves the SEO of your articles, and compels readers to further explore relevant pages on your site.
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External links: Links within your blog posts that connect to third-party sites. These come in handy when you want to cite an important study or statistic from an external source.
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Backlinks: Links from third-party sites that connect to your website or blog. This is a core part of building your blog’s SEO. The more backlinks you get from high-authority websites, the more credible your own site is in the eyes of search engines.