How to use articles effectively in a blog.
-
I wanted to start a blog so I could get some longer tail search term results. I am a knowledge expert in my area but am very busy as an entrepreneur so I had been putting it off for some time. It occurred to me that I might be able to outsource the article writing and I have started doing that. I have either come up with or have approved the topics. I am a very critical editor and demand high quality writing. The articles are all original. We are proofreading everything to make sure the articles are of high quality and inform readers about the subject. I plan to only put external links in the articles that link out to the sources for the information that was used to write the articles. We are also using pictures info graphics and video where possible. I plan to close the comments because, while we have had a website for some time and get some visitors (2500 per month) we are new to blogging and do not have a following that would post comments. My questions is this.......will these be viewed negatively by Google? I think this will be good content but I don't want to do anything to negatively affect us.
-
Thanks for your comments, I will keep that in mind.
-
Thank you for your comments. I do hope to someday be able to write full time instead of running the business. Operations, compliance, payroll, taxes, strategic planning and other daily tasks now dominate my time and compete with the demands of raising a family. Right now it is more feasible for me to farm out this task than any other. I am using my knowledge to come up with the relevant subjects then to review the works to ensure they are on point and making necessary adjustments. It is my highest goal to put up great content, but I do understand your position. I will write a few, and am working on a couple that I cannot farm out. But for now it is a solution I wanted to try as opposed to pushing off making the move in this direction. I don't know that it is always possible for the most knowledgable person to do everything, but I do understand and appreciate that I am responsible for everything. I will be careful. Thanks.
-
Self-serving content is when the author thumps the corporate chest by using their brand name in every sentence, surrounding it by superlatives. A step lower is using possessive pronouns such as "our product" accompanied by hyperbole.
If you offer generous, genuinely altruistic, informative content without inserting yourself, your brand or marketing then you don't have to worry about being commercial or self-serving.
A good goal would to build the "go to" place for information about your niche where your internal links provide a self-contained Bible about your topic niche.
One thing that surprised me about your post is that you are "a knowledge expert in your area" yet you are farming out the writing. That's like a race horse letting a donkey take his place at the Kentucky Derby.
Competition on the web is usually won by creating the very best content anywhere rather than turning the content into a commodity.
If you really want your site to succeed, consider doing this important batting yourself and making the site the best it can possibly be.
I know you are busy... but if you don't have time to do this right then your sharp edge as a content expert is made dull.
====================
As for using the content in a blog... you could do that if you don't have the ability to build a custom website. However, a blog is a way to publish mass produced content. Departing from that to create a format with custom pages where you can cross-promote other content exactly at the point where it will be most effecttive.
It will also enable you to create custom topic pages to organize the site for visitors who arrive through search instead of arriving through subscription. These can be done with a blog but it takes extra effort and planning.
-
The best piece of advice I would give with a blog is dont sit back and hope it happens and generates traffic. Be proactive and make it happen.
Create lists of people that would be interested in the particular postings and form relationships with people.
Once you have a good stock of contacts you can move on to other contacts via RSS subscription, social sites (facebook fan pages etc)
-
Thanks for the tip. I want to use internal links but I want to avoid making the content of the articles seem commercial, self serving, or not genuine. The blog is the same URL as my main site. Can you suggest some way to use internal linking without appearing to be a self serving sales article?
-
No it won’t be seen as negative assuming they are relative to your main content.
But what do you want to achieve with your blog, you may get some long tails but how do you intend to convert them to sales.
I ask because you say you will only have external links. I would assume you would be attracting traffic, therefore you need to get them to click a link to your main content, or attract links, there for you would want to funnel that link juice to your main pages, either way you need to think about internal linking.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
From a company perspective; would you recommend using a service like postloop to acquire additional blog comments through paying users.
I’m always hesitant when it comes to purchasing comments but it seems like a natural approach. Is this something that Google would take notice and/or frown upon? - Anything we should avoid? Any additional information would be helpful. Thank you in advance.
Content Development | | Ben-R0 -
Moving from Blogspot to blog hosted on our domain
Hi there, I work for a furniture retailer in the UK and I have a question about moving our blog. We have had a blog at www.ourcompany.blogspot.co.uk since 2012 and it was last updated mid 2014. There are about 100 posts and the content is actually really good, not spammy in any way and not stuffed with links to our site. The content is essentially guides to buying the right furniture. We have now launched blog functionaility on our website at www.ourcompany.co.uk/blog as I feel this is a better long-term solution to increasing site traffic and page rank. I want to pick your brains on the best way to handle the old content. A: Copy all the Blogspot content across and back date it to the same date it was originally published and then delete the old Blogspot account? Or will Google see this as duplicate content. B: Backup all the Blogspot content now, delete the Blogspot account and then repost this content at a later date? Will this still be seen as duplicate content? 😄 something else. Thanks for reading.
Content Development | | Bee1590 -
How much do you pay for a 300+ word blog article?
I am considering outsourcing some of the blog writing and would like to get some idea of what is a reasonable amount to pay someone for writing say a 300-350 word article? Also any recommendations on where to find good writers? Thanks!
Content Development | | Clicksjim0 -
Wanted to buy Blog
Hi Everybody, I wanted to buy few blogs of Home improvement, office furniture and artificial flowers.But I do not know from where we can buy blogs.If anyone have idea about this please let me know.
Content Development | | Alick3000 -
Should I delete old or unrelevant posts in my blog? (Panda Update question)
I have a website where I post articles every few weeks.. Should I remove the outdated and unrevelant posts? I fear that google might punish my website in the Panda update.
Content Development | | wellnesswooz0 -
If I write a article for a client and use Social Book Marking software, will this add value (or does the value depend on how ofen it gets shared)?
I'm about to start experimenting with bookmarking software. My first step is trying Ping.com (because it's free), but I am also keen to try Onlywire.com (which comes at a cost- darn). My questions are: when I create an article for a client and post to all these social sites will this make a difference? Or will it only make a difference if people share the article? Has anyone been experimenting with social bookmarking software that can tell me what results they have had and how they got there? Thanks a mil!
Content Development | | 2Stroke0 -
Where can I find places to guest blog?
I have done a couple of guest blogs but I have come up dry as of late. Any tips on where to find blogs interested in linking for content?
Content Development | | ibex0 -
Connecting facebook and twitter to your wordpress blog?
Does anyone know a good plugin for connecting facebook and twitter to your wordpress blog? I’d like it so when i make a new post on my blog it automatically displays on my facebook/twitter
Content Development | | christinarule0