FRIDAY FOCUS #72

Hey Reader,

In order to get your next blog post found by more people on Google, you're going to need a handful of things.

Last week, one of our Snowbird articles started getting loads of organic search visits from Google and other search engines. It’s not setting the world on fire, but it effectively doubled our website traffic during the Thanksgiving week. It was read over 4,400 times in 14 days—without any extra promotion or input from our team.

So, I’d like to share a few reasons why it attracted so many readers—and how you can find the same success.

Yep, this blog post is reaching up to 450 people per day right now. Pretty crazy!

Here's a link to the article:

​25 Advent Hymns That Hope In Jesus​

By publishing articles that reach more of your target audience on Google, your business will earn crucial trust. And, trust pays dividends in long-term clients and revenue.

12 Things Your Article Needs to Get Found on Google

1. Clear Purpose for Your Reader

You need a solid vision, or goal, for your reader’s experience before you ever start reading. Decide your why first and and let that guide every other decision. There are a handful of great goals you can have, but pick one and stick to it as you work through these other steps.

2. Choose a Niche Subtopic

Choose a niche subtopic closely related to a trending topic in your primary industry or circle. If we had written a generic article listing popular “Christmas songs”, no one would care.

3. Proven Authority

Search engines like to see that you’ve already published content related to your broader topic. This is especially powerful if other websites link your content on their site as a reference (backlinks).

4. Unique Point of View

You’ve got to say something unique. Marketers call this your “spiky point of view”. Vague generalities get ignored, but hot takes and bold stands get noticed.

5. Interesting Reason to Share

If you want readers to share your content, you’ve got to give them a compelling reason. Are you making them look like a hero in front of their friends?

6. Multiple Media Types

People love articles that aren’t just written text. Your readers will click to watch, download, or listen to more content on your page. Those signals tell search engines you’ve created something valuable for people. After all, that’s your end goal right?

7. Do Your Research

Do your research, because most people don’t. You’ve got to find the interesting ideas, long-lost stories, and important info that others aren’t writing about.

8. Quality Writing

You don’t have to write like Hemingway, but your writing does need to engage your readers. If your opening paragraph has a run-on sentence or typos, they will bail faster than your kids when it’s time to clean up the Christmas dishes.

9. Clear Title (Better than Clever)

Write down 10 versions of your blog headline before picking the best. Your blog title is what gets seen in search (and shared on social posts), so you’ve got to clearly communicate what your content is about.

10. Organized Structure

People still read blogs, but they don’t read scattered ideas piled into long paragraphs. Outline your complete article before starting, then use that outline to guide your sections and length. A few bullet points always help!

11. Doable Distribution Plan

Never write another blog post without considering how you’re going to distribute the content. The simple truth is, your blog content is worthless (wasted time) if no one ever sees or reads it.

12. The Right Timing

Timing can make or break your marketing content. Keep a running list of holidays, events, or types of news stories your audience cares most about.

Keep Improving Every Time

Thanks for reading, I hope these notes are encouraging for you! You don’t have to do all of them perfectly to start getting more search visits to your blog posts. So, pick a few to apply to your next article or spend a few minutes improving a previous article.

Stay focused on serving your audience and help meet their goals. They will keep coming back for more!

Also — Did any of these items sound interesting (or difficult) to you? I'm working on a complete how-to article and would love your input!

Thanks, Reader! Have a good night! 😊

John

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