7 Ways Blogging Improves Your Design Firm’s SEO

Can you believe that I haven’t written about blogging’s SEO benefits in O&B’s almost 3 years of business? Me neither. Proof that sometimes the most basic yet important concepts get overlooked. (What simple design topics might you be overlooking??)

This week, I am happy to dedicate an entire post to rectifying my oversight. SEO is a HUGELY important topic and one we focus on for all of our clients here. (You can see what they have to say about their SEO at the end of this post!)

Here are the 7 ways your blog can increase your SEO — and the likelihood of new clients finding you.

 

1. Blog Posts Help You Rank for Relevant SEO Keywords

The term “keywords” applies to those words that your potential clients are most likely to type into search engines like Google. These are the words that you can address in blog posts, usually tucked into questions.

For example, the keyword “kitchen renovation” could be presented in a blog post topic titled, How Long Does a Kitchen Renovation Take? Or 9 Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Kitchen Renovation. The more posts you have on topics like these — assuming that they are relevant to your dream client and the work you do — the greater your likelihood of ranking well in search results.

 

2. Properly Formatted Posts are Easier for Search Engines to Rank

There are several ways to format your blog posts for SEO. While this sounds a little daunting in principle, what you’re really doing is formatting your blog post for search engines like Google to be able to better “read” and categorize them.

I’ve written several articles on these SEO formatting principles before, so I won’t dive into them here. For now, it’s enough to know that these simple steps will help improve the SEO of your entire website over time.

 

3. Ongoing, Fresh Content Affirms Your Business is Active & Contributing

Publishing fresh, relevant content is another way that blogging helps your SEO. Search engines like Google are programmed to reward sites that offer consistent content creation.

For one thing, it shows that you are an active business. On the other hand, it shows that you are an expert contributing to your field. This is especially advantageous when compared to a competitor who doesn’t publish fresh content.

 

4. Blogging Creates More Pages on Your Website

Each blog post you write creates another page on your website. In technical jargon, these are called “indexed pages,” the pages on your website that search engines can catalog and potentially surface later within search results.

Search engines reward robust sites over those with only a few pages. The more pages on your website (again, assuming those pages are relevant to your business and clients), the better your SEO. In this blog post, I shared a study that showed companies who blog have 434% more indexed pages than companies who don’t (Hubspot). That’s a lot!

 

5. Great Blog Content Increases the Time Visitors Spend on Your Website

Another way that search engines determine your value to readers (and thereby rank your content) is through monitoring the amount of time people spend on your website. If most visitors spend only a few seconds on your blog posts, search engines will assume that the content is less helpful than a site on which readers spend a full minute.

If you have a beautiful and engaging blog, you are more likely to have readers staying to enjoy the content. As that on-site time increases, your SEO does too.

 

6. Blogging Gives You the Opportunity for Exposure in New Circles

When you have an incredible blog that offers valuable insights, a beautiful presentation, and your relatable personality, you open yourself up to the chance that other people will link to your content. To search engines, this is social proof that your content is relevant and valuable, so when this happens, search engines love it.

Not only does this linking help your SEO, it also introduces you to a new readership of people who will potentially spend even more time on your website.

 

7. Blogging Helps Increase Your Website Traffic

Just like time, the more traffic you have on your website, the better your site looks in the “eyes” of search engines. Literally all of the above situations I’ve described can improve your SEO, which can directly affect your traffic. However…

You also have the added benefit of being able to share your own blog content far and wide, as well. Yes, I’m talking about sharing your blog posts on social media, in newsletters, in nurture sequences, and even within your other blog posts (as I’ve just done in this sentence).

This broadens your discoverability, drives more traffic to additional pages on your site, and contributes to your overall SEO as well. In fact, a recent study that showed companies who blog have 55% more visitors to their website (Hubspot). You better believe that has a positive impact on SEO!

 

But don’t just take it from me…

 

“Thanks to Jaquilyn, I have an on-brand marketing strategy that starts with the blog and trickles down to the social media platforms. […] I feel like I’ve stepped up my game and I can clearly see it in the website traffic!”

— Kelley B., GA

 

“I truly love working with Ochre & Beige. I am no longer stressed about getting content out in a timely manner. It is clear, concise and creative and has increased the traffic to my website!”

— Jennifer T., NY

 

“Several new clients have surfaced because of my blog. It’s a real SEO asset online.”

— Susie N., CA

 

The #1 Requirement to Achieve all of the Above

And you know what’s at the heart of this incredible SEO-boosting goodness? GREAT CONTENT. Without valuable, relevant, and engaging content, none of the above can happen. And what makes content great?

A strategy.

Knowing who your dream clients are. Speaking to their needs. Connecting with them and creating a relationship that has them staying on the page and coming back for more — and eventually hiring you!

If you’re ready to take blogging seriously for your business, you need a fluff-free (though still gorgeous) content strategy that is actually going to move the needle for you. Just like a good design, you must put in the work upfront to create a plan that is functional for your business, fabulous to look at, and 100% you.

This is something O&B would love to help you with (seriously, strategizing is our jam), or you can download our Content Strategy Workbook here to start brainstorming yourself. Until next week, my friend…

Xo,
Jaquilyn