seo blogs

February 11, 2023

6 Brilliant Ideas for Developing a Winning Blog Content Plan

Review Our Top 6 Brilliant Ideas for Developing a Winning Blog Content Plan

Want to learn how to create content that attracts readers and promotes your brand? If so, keep reading to know the secret to a successful blog!

Why should you blog?

In the digital marketing world, many believe that the big players, social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter are the only way to establish and promote their brand. They tend to neglect the long-term prosperity that a professional blog can bring to their business. When it comes to blogging, people first think of the old-fashioned way of blogging that was once popular because there was no other alternative available. 

What they don’t know is that none of these platforms can have as much impact on their brand as a well-planned blog. It’s like a root that connects all the other channels and holds them in place. So if there’s one area you need to focus on to get lasting results for growing your business, it’s blogging. All other channels usually lead to your blog in one way or another, so it’s basically the image of your entire brand.

But how can you present a polished and sophisticated image of your brand to your audience through your blog? The first factor you should consider is planning. You may think that there are many competitors in your niche that are already good at blog planning and there is no more room for you. On the contrary, there are some new brilliant ideas that can help you create a winning blog content plan that is spectacular and can take you to a higher place in this tough competition:

Be Clear With Your Goals

Clear and specific goals are an inseparable part of smart planning. The first step to creating a winning blog content plan is to set goals. You need to ask yourself a series of questions. What exactly do you want to accomplish, when do you want to hit them, how do you want to accomplish those goals, and who is your target audience? Finding the answers to these questions can be enormously helpful. They can help you identify the most effective approaches and apply them smoothly

how to write a winning blog

Focus on Your Target Audience

You probably do not want and cannot have all the people on the Internet as your audience. Find people who are interested in your niche and try to create content that will appeal to them the most. Once you figure out who your target audience is, you can start planning your blog content to be both useful and entertaining to them. You should keep this in mind at every step of creating a winning blog content plan.

Brainstorm Your Ideas

One aspect content creators usually struggle with is finding appropriate topics to write about. Start by fearlessly jotting down any ideas that come to mind for the various categories of your blog. Some people are afraid to put pen to paper and start writing before they have everything planned out in their heads. Brainstorming, however, is all about writing without thinking too much. Do not worry, at the end of the day, you will have a large number of different topics that you should go through carefully. Remember, it’s easier to choose from too many topics than to not have enough topics.

Create Flavorful Content

Think of the content of your blog as a cuisine. You need to use the best ingredients, follow each step of your recipe carefully, and add the right amount of spices to make a mouth-watering dish for your target audience. If people like the taste of your content, they will share it with their friends! This will help you grow your brand organically. There are some aspects you need to pay attention to if you want to create tasty content that your readers will enjoy.

In this case, your ingredients are different aspects of language like grammar and vocabulary. Your recipe is your writing style and the way you string words and phrases together and in what order. Your seasonings are amusing stories, funny jokes, or occasional metaphors to give additional flavor to the overall content. The content you feed your readers should also be nutritious, meaning it should provide them with new useful information. You want you blog to be relevant, fun and easy to read, but you also should focus on making SEO-Friendly Blog Content so that it ranks on Google.

Do Your Research

Closely examine successful blogs in your industry and find out what types of posts and topics can be found there. Of course, you shouldn’t copy their content, but you can get a rough idea of what’s trending. Try to use this in your own content. Reading comments is also very important because it helps you understand what problems and issues your audience is dealing with. If you find the solutions to their problems, you can win their hearts effortlessly.

Make a Schedule and Keep Up With It

A winning blog content plan is impossible without a careful schedule: a well-thought-out roadmap for consistently implementing your blog content plan. How many blog posts do you need per week? Depending on your business, competitors, goals, and your target audience, decide how much content you want to produce weekly. Put the topic of each blog post on a calendar. You should consider every single holiday and create content that fits each occasion. Also, you can run different campaigns on these special days to drive more traffic to your website.

Look at Examples from a Successful blog

Now that you’ve learned what makes a wining blog content plan, look at successful blogs for examples of the plan in action. Identify the steps listed here, written within the posts on the website. Let’s take a look at Lifehacker.com. Notice how the topics of many of these blogs are incredibly specific. So specific, that its safe to assume that a very low percentage of people on the internet will need to read about it. However, the few that are searching for this material will end up on this website because it is the only one writing about these niche topics! Lifehacker is able to create articles like because it has grown to be one of the biggest blogs on the internet. The website consistently uploads a new blog every 30 minutes, and these niche topics add up to millions of monthly visits!

how_to_start_a__blog_

Thanks for taking the time to learn about Improving your blog!

As you have probably noticed, creating a winning blog content plan is not as confusing and complicated as it sounds. It just takes a good strategy, discipline, and patience to succeed. Some people assume that their blog content plan is sacred and should never be adjusted. This not true at all. 

You want your blog content plan to be flexible and adaptable as needed. Sometimes unexpected events occur and you need to create relative content for those events and add blog posts to your schedule, other times you need to remove some topics from your calendar, and all of this is normal and part of the natural process of your blog content plan. If you have any questions or need more tips for your schedule, do not hesitate to reach out to our team of experts.

Other Marketing Tips!

I’m always promoting myself and Momentum Digital with various blog updates, social media posts, graphics, podcasts and videos. Check out some of my social channels to stay up to date with Momentum and some big moves we’re making in the industry.

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April 18, 2021

How to Build Citations for a Business

How to Build Citations for a Business

Have you ever wondered why some businesses rank at the top of the Google Map Pack and others don’t? Your answer is probably yes and here is my explanation: Local SEO. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that ranking in the top 3 of Google is a huge advantage for businesses. So how do you do it? You capitalize on the three main aspects of Local SEO: Google My Business optimization, Location Specific Website Pages, and Local SEO Citations. In this article I’m going to explain how to build citations for a business.

 

 

Why Build Citations for a Business?

Learning How to Build Citations for a Business is necessary to growing your Local SEO and ranking at the top of Google. Think of citations for a business like this: it’s the year 2000 and you’re in need of a local service so you head over to your stack of 3000 page phone books. One of the books is Yellow Pages, another one is DEX, there might even be a Pacific Bell Directory. Luckily, the business you’re looking for is listed in all three of these books. Now, fast forward 21 years to today; those phonebooks are now what we call Online Directories and those business listings are citations for a business. 

What Are Business Citations?

Citations are an online reference to a business that features things like business’ name, address, and phone number (NAP).

Typically, when an SEO refers to citations, they are talking about a group of individual business listings on various sites. From our research on citation building we reviewed key outlets like Search Engine Journal.

Why Are Citations for a Business So Important?

But why are they so important? Let’s go back to 2000 for a moment. What if you were choosing between two businesses and one of them was listed in all three phone books and the other one was only listed in one book? Which business would you choose? Probably the one listed three times. You get the idea? The more Online Directories your business is listed on and the more Local SEO Citations your business has, the more likely Google is to rank you #1 in the Google Map Pack search results. Just like we are below.

Best Digital Marketing Agencies in Philadelphia

How Do You Get More Citations for Your Business?

Before you learn the trick to getting more citations, I recommend you perform a Local SEO Audit for your own business right here. Now, let’s get started. Here at Momentum Digital we like to use a tool called Bright Local to organize and track all of our citations. Essentially it’s a very simple five step process.

  1. Set up and optimize your Google My Business listing
  2. Sign Up with Bright Local right here
  3. Import your Google My Business listing to Bright Local
  4. Click “Citation Builder” in the left sidebar
  5. Pay $75 to automatically update 25 key business citations (or pay more for more)
  6. OR save money by following the process in the video above

Momentum Digital chooses to manually work through each key directory adding and correcting citations. This way we have the ability to add backlinks, remove duplicate listings, and spice up the profiles. In fact, we highly recommend working through the process manually so you can ensure everything is being done correctly. There have been numerous instances where on of our clients have used a paid-for Business Citations service like Yext and we’ve had to go back and fix EVERY citation. However, it’s a long and tedious process…that Momentum Digital would be more than happy to help with!

How to Get Your Business to Rank Locally

By now you know that the key to rank high in local search results on Google is to get as many citations for a business as possible. Assuming you have a Google My Business account, the next step is to set up an account with Bright Local. From there, you know what you have to do. Dig into those citations and get your business ranking higher! If you run into any trouble along the way, don’t hesitate to send us a message here.

how to build citations for a business
By Mac
March 20, 2021

How to Create Local SEO Citations

In this Marketing Blog You will learn How to Create Local SEO Citations!

What happens if you search “(Your Industry) near me” on Google? Seriously, do that search right now. You’ll see search results similar to the screenshot below. However, do you see your Google My Business listing? If not, then you need to learn how to Create Local SEO Citations.

How to Create Local SEO Citations GMB

What Are Local SEO Citations?

Think of Local SEO Citations like this: it’s the year 2000 and you’re in need of a local service so you head over to your stack of 3000 page phone books. One of the books is Yellow Pages, another one is DEX, there might even be a Pacific Bell Directory. Luckily, the business you’re looking for is listed in all three of these books. Now, fast forward 21 years to today; those phonebooks are now what we call Online Directories and those business listings are Local SEO Citations. 

Why Are Local SEO Citations So Important?

But why are they so important? Let’s go back to 2000 for a moment. What if you were choosing between two businesses and one of them was listed in all three phone books and the other one was only listed in one book? Which business would you choose? Probably the one listed three times. You get the idea? The more Online Directories your business is listed on and the more Local SEO Citations your business has, the more likely Google is to rank you #1 in the Google Map Pack search results. 

How Do You Get More Local SEO Citations?

Before you learn the trick to getting more citations, I recommend you perform a Local SEO Audit for your own business right here. Now, let’s get started. Here at Momentum Digital we like to use a tool called Bright Local to organize and track all of our citations. Essentially it’s a very simple five step process.

  1. Set up and optimize your Google My Business listing
  2. Sign Up with Bright Local right here
  3. Import your Google My Business listing to Bright Local
  4. Click “Citation Builder” in the left sidebar
  5. Pay $75 to automatically update 25 key local citations (or pay more for more)
  6. OR save money by following the process in the video above

Momentum Digital chooses to manually work through each key directory adding and correcting citations. This way we have the ability to add backlinks, remove duplicate listings, and spice up the profiles. In fact, we highly recommend working through the process manually so you can ensure everything is being done correctly. There have been numerous instances where on of our clients have used a paid-for Local SEO Citations service like Yext and we’ve had to go back and fix EVERY citation. However, it’s a long and tedious process…that Momentum Digital would be more than happy to help with!

How to Get Your Business to Rank Locally

By now you know that the key to rank high in local search results on Google is to get as many Local SEO Citations as possible. Assuming you have a Google My Business account, the next step is to set up an account with Bright Local. From there, you know what you have to do. Dig into those citations and get your business ranking higher! If you run into any trouble along the way, don’t hesitate to send us a message here.

November 16, 2020

Optimizing Blogs for SEO Content

This week Learn about Optimizing Blogs for SEO Content & Internal Linking.

Welcome back to another Momentum Monday Marketing blog! If you have a WordPress website or blog then you’ll want to learn more about Optimizing Blogs for SEO Content.

For a visual representation of what we go through in this blog, watch our video tutorial. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram, and subscribe to us on YouTube.

Getting Started with a WordPress Blog

To get started, log into your website provider or builder. In this tutorial, we’ll be using our WordPress website. You may have a different provider such as Weebly or Wix. While these builders have different infrastructure and setup, you should still be able to follow the steps that we take as long as your website has basic features such as blog posting and plugin capabilities. These are great and common web design platforms for small businesses.

Once you’ve logged in, navigate to your blog posts and choose the specific blog that you want to optimize. This blog should fall under a topic cluster.

Creating a topic for your SEO Content

A topic cluster is a main topic that houses various content on your blog. 

The specific content that is grouped into a topic cluster, referred to as cluster content, all falls under one topic shared among the cluster content, which is called pillar content.

Cluster content is beneficial for SEO mapping as it falls under pillar content that is related to keywords. Using an SEO and user-friendly cluster content blog will allow you to more easily rank under keywords on Google.

When you’ve chosen your cluster content blog, you can start optimizing it by tailoring it for SEO.

To rank on Google, make sure that you have your keyword located somewhere in the blog title. You need search engines to understand the topic when Optimizing Blogs for SEO Content.

SEO Topic Cluster

HubSpot is a great resource to learn more about Inbound Marketing using SEO Cluster Content.

Optimizing Your Blog for SEO

We recommend implementing Yoast SEO premium, a WordPress plugin that aids in SEO optimization by providing additional features to make your content SEO friendly. 

The core principles we recommend to focus on when optimizing your blog include:

  • Metadata, Title, and Description
  • Image Tag and Compression
  • Internal and External Linking
  • Keyword Focused Content
  • User Experience
  • Conversion Actions

Use the SEO analysis provided by Yoast SEO premium to make sure that you’re optimizing each principle accordingly.

When revising your metadata, title, and description, be sure that your targeted keyword is located in your blog title and description. Keep the content of your blog keyword focused. Make sure the keyword that you want to target is effectively used throughout your blog.

yoast seo metadata

Be sure to compress any images in your blog. Images smaller in size allow for faster page loads and take up less space on your website. You can tag your images as well if they’re location-based.

If you include images or YouTube videos in your blog, consider the plugin, Lazy Load. This plugin can help your website load faster, which is another important feature for SEO ranking.

lazy load seo

Internal and external linking involves implementing links to other pages on your blog as well as to pages outside of your blog. This is essential when optimizing blogs for SEO content by giving authority to your post.

Add conversion actions, CTAs (call to actions), to further engage your audiences. Present service-related actions that you would like potential business customers or clients to take, such as email or newsletter opt-ins.

When you’ve fully optimized your blog, use the Yoast SEO Analysis to review it. You want every principle on the plugin to appear green. This means that each component has been optimized to its full potential.

Analyze WordPress’s innate Publish side panel. Its Readability and SEO features should also appear green. This means that your blog is SEO and user friendly, which will allow it to rank higher.

When ready, save your changes and publish the blog. To add the blog to your website menu, navigate to the Appearance tab on WordPress. Under this tab, navigate to the Menus tab, and then Posts. Once you’ve located your blog, drag and place it where you want it.

When ready, save your changes and publish the blog. To add the blog to your website menu, navigate to the Appearance tab on WordPress. Under this tab, navigate to the Menus tab, and then Posts. Once you’ve located your blog, drag and place it where you want it.

publish seo blog post
Thanks for Learning about Optimizing Blogs for SEO Content

If you want to learn more about Optimizing Blogs for SEO, Local SEO, or general Digital Marketing then join our Email List or schedule a call or demo with us. We also provide a free marketing audit and more!

Welcome to the Momentum Monday Marketing Blog!

Every week we share marketing tips and tricks related to helping small businesses grow online.

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    By Mac
    June 23, 2020

    How To Add Google Tag Manager To A Squarespace Website

    How To Add Google Tag Manager To A Squarespace Website

    Welcome to another Momentum Monday! Today we’re going to look at how to add Google Tag Manager to your Squarespace website. Google Tag Manager allows you to oversee all of the tags featured on your website under one platform. Using features called containers, GTM can track data on your website such as conversions, remarketing, site analytics, and the like.

     

    Getting Started with Google Tag Manager

    To begin, you will need to create a Google Tag Manager account. You can easily do so using an existing Google Business account or Gmail account. If you already have an account, simply login. Once inside GTM, you will see that it gives you the ability to have multiple manager accounts. You can make different accounts based on what you intend to use them for. In this tutorial, we’re using an account to place, what is called a GTM container, on a Squarespace website. A container is code that includes all of the tags, triggers, and variables on your website.  You will be placing a GTM container on the backend of your Squarespace website.

    To create a new account, select the Create Account button in the top right corner. When creating your account, be sure to fill out the information, such as account name, location, and container name. Since you are creating this for your website, when choosing the target platform, select Web.

     

    google tag manager creation

     

    Finally, hit the Create button, and accept the GTM Terms and Conditions. Immediately after accepting the Terms and Conditions, the GTM installation code should pop up. This will need to be copied and pasted into your website’s header and footer.

     

    create gtm account

     

     

    Finally, hit the Create button, and accept the GTM Terms and Conditions. Immediately after accepting the Terms and Conditions, the GTM installation code should pop up. This will need to be copied and pasted into your website’s header and footer.

    Installing GTM on Your Squarespace Website

    Login to your Squarespace website, navigate to Settings, and then Advanced. From there, navigate to Code Injection. On the left sidebar, you should see the header and footer of your website. To install the GTM container on your website, copy and paste the header code from GTM into your website header box. After, copy the body code from GTM into your website footer box. Finally, save your Squarespace website.

    adding gtm code

    Testing Your GTM Code

     

    To make sure the container is up and running, you want to test it. There are two ways you are able to test if the Google Tag Manager container is working properly. 

     

    Head back to your Google Tag Manager account. Navigate to Workspace, and select the Preview button in the top right corner. Now, simply refresh your website page. You should see the Google Tag Manager preview on your website, which means the container has been properly installed.

     

    You can also test the container by using the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension. This allows you to verify Google tags that have been placed on pages. Download the Tag Assistant extension. This only works on the Google Chrome browser. Once the extension has been downloaded, make sure to enable it. Refresh your website page. The tag assistant should display that the GTM container is active.

     

    We hope this helped! If you have any questions or comments, be sure to leave them down below. 

    Happy Monday!

     

    Thanks for taking the time to read and learn How to Add Google Tag Manager to a Squarespace website. This is part of our SEO marketing blog series with our Momentum marketing blogs. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave them in the comment section, or contact us.

     

    Happy Monday! 

    Mac Frederick

    mac@needmomentum.com

    (215) 876-2954

    By Mac
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