Get Better Results and Traffic with Content Marketing Part 2

In part 1 of this article, I gave you some advice for getting your blog working for your business.  Here’s part two of that with some tips to get you thinking about blog topics to cover for your business.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, you probably have topics you can easily cover in your blog, but don’t think to do so because the topics seem kind of bland to you.  That’s because you take this kind of information for granted.

Your potential customers are wanting to get at that knowledge.  They don’t know what you know and will likely be searching the web for an answer.  That would make this “no-duh” information you take for granted a good solution they really want.

So spend some time thinking about the questions you get every day from prospects and customers and cover those in your blog.

Thinking about blog topics to cover can take time, but let me give you some tips here.  These should be helpful in deciding which topics will help you attract new visitors to your blog.

1. Have a goal in mind. Each blog post you write should be written with a goal in mind, whether it’s attracting more leads or getting backlinks.
2. Mine your Frequently Asked Questions for blog topics. Look specifically at questions where you’ve provided a short answer to a question that could be fleshed out into a blog post. An example might be a question about how to use a product.
3. Use Google AutoComplete to find topics. When you type a keyword into Google, you’ll see a list of potential searches. These can be excellent ideas for blog topics.
4. Look at Google’s “People Also Ask” and “Searches Related To” sections on the results page. When you type in a question or keyword, Google will usually list 3 questions that people also ask about the topic you’re searching for. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see a box with related searches. Both offer potential blog topics for you to consider.
5. Use online tools to find topics. BuzzSumo is a good tool to learn what posts are trending and can offer ideas for popular questions and topics. Ahrefs’ tool can help you see which topics are ranking and which have a lot of searches.
6. Pay attention to the content format. There are some topics that simply won’t lend themselves to blog content. If the listings you see on a search results page are mostly directory listings, remember that you’ll need to outrank them to see any real SEO benefit. Choose a topic that will work as a blog post for the best results.

I suggest making a list of potential topics and creating a schedule. Make sure that you cover each topic thoroughly and break your post up with images and subheadings. If you can use related questions and long-tail keywords as headings, you’ll be likely to attract traffic for multiple searches.

Blogging can be the ideal content marketing tool for small businesses if you choose your topics wisely and have a goal in mind. The information I’ve included here can help you turn your blog into a lead-generating powerhouse.