Optimising your blog post for SEO
Creating great blog content and getting it onto your website is a solid start when it comes to improving your rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs), but unfortunately, it isn’t enough to ensure users are getting the benefit of your expertise. If you’re keen to share your knowledge with as many people as possible – and hopefully, in time, get the benefit of their business – you’ll need to think about optimising your blog posts for SEO. But what is blog SEO, and how can you give your content the best chance of being found and consumed?
What is blog SEO?
Blog SEO is simply optimising the content on your blog so that it’s more likely to rank for relevant search terms. You might, for example, write an in-depth post on Capital Gains Tax, but without the necessary optimisation, it may never get past page three in the SERPs for a search query such as, “Do I need to pay Capital Gains Tax UK”, and very few people will ever find it. To increase the visibility of your post – and your overall blog – you’ll need to carry out a number of tasks both within the content itself and behind the scenes. Here are our top tips for blog optimisation.
Determine your audience
The first rule of content marketing for accountants is to create your content with your specific audience in mind. Does the post relate to services tailored to businesses or individuals? Are you aiming to draw in start-ups or larger, more established corporations? How au fait are they with the kind of terminology you’re using? All these questions must be answered before you write a single word, and you need to bear them in mind throughout the writing process. Consider what your audience’s main concerns would be, whether they are likely to be familiar with industry jargon, and how you can solve the specific problems they might face.
Your target audience is also an important factor in where you share your content. If it’s large businesses you seek to engage, then LinkedIn is likely to be a better choice than Instagram, for example.
Conduct keyword research
Keywords are terms that you can include within your copy that relate to specific searches that your target audience is carrying out. These might be “bookkeepers in Kent” or “local accounting firm”. By finding out what your audience is searching for and what their pain points are, you can tailor your content to their needs, and include the relevant keywords in your copy, helping it to rank for them. Be sure not to stuff the content full of keywords at every opportunity though – Google frowns upon this and it’s more likely to damage your rankings than boost them.
Format the content appealingly
Accounting is thought by many to be something of a dry subject, so if a user requires the information in your blog post, it’s vital to present it appealingly. Don’t write huge paragraphs on the assumption that consumers are viewing the blog on a desktop – in fact, it’s safer to assume they’re viewing on a mobile device. By organising copy into smaller chunks separated by headers, you’re making it much more digestible for consumption through these devices.
Why is this important? Well, because over 60% of organic searches are conducted on a mobile device, and as of March 2021, Google began indexing and ranking mobile versions of a site above the desktop version.
To break up your copy, you can include visuals such as graphs or tables where relevant. This helps anyone scanning through the article for the sections they need to get the information they require quickly. That, in turn, translates into a good user experience, making them more likely to trust your site and revisit.
You can also add links to other content on related topics that users might find helpful. This not only adds value to their experience, but also cements your company as an authority, making them more likely to return to your brand for further information or advice.
Use meta data
Meta data is a great way to signal to the search engines what your particular post is all about. It also tells users what they’re going to find if they click on the link to that post from a search engine. So putting in an accurate title and description – preferably with a relevant keyword – is essential. Sometimes Google changes the meta title if it’s too long, too short, or irrelevant, but you can exercise more control with the meta description, which offers an opportunity to hook potential consumers in.
If you’re unsure about what to include in your meta data, or where to input it, a marketing agency for accountants can help.
Get an accountancy marketing agency on board
It’s not surprising that many people find blogging harder than it seems. You may know your subject inside and out, but unless you can make your knowledge accessible to those who aren’t familiar with the industry, your posts are less likely to resonate. With that in mind, you can consider engaging a specialist in SEO services for accountants, like Whitefish Marketing, to handle your content and marketing for you. This saves you the time and effort of conducting extensive keyword research and optimising your posts, leaving you free to do what you do best. To find out more about our services related to marketing for accountants, get in touch with the team today.
