Marketing professionals recommend writing two or more blog articles weekly for search engine optimization reasons but like most online marketing it should be done strategically and intentionally if you hope to see a return on your investment.   So, pull up a chair in a nice quiet spot and write a great blog. Your lead generation and resulting sales will make you happy you have undertaken this endeavor. No marketing tactic has the highest return and leads to more sales than blogging.

The foundation of good blog writing is to create articles that prospects find in search requests and enjoy reading.  The following is step-by-step processes for creating blog articles that turn more readers into leads and provide reasons for linking and sharing.

Blogging about your services improves the odds of your website getting found by prospects looking for information about your services. It allows you to build credibility and gives readers confidence in your capabilities so that you can convert readers into leads. 

Step 1: Choose a Title Using a Long Tail Keyword

To know for certain what’s relevant to the readers you would like to attract, research what topics your audience finds interesting and useful. Brainstorm ideas with your marketing partner and staff and then use a keyword tool like the ones provided by HubSpot and Google to choose a long tail keyword for your title that gets more than 100 monthly visits and has a difficulty score between 70 and 95. A lower score indicates fewer competitors are trying to be found for the same keyword.

Step 2:  Write Something Interesting 

The article should be about 400 - 600 words and your primary concern when writing is that the article is well written and interesting. You can add keywords, links, images, and a call to action after you’ve written something remarkable. Remember you’re goal is to write interesting content that your audience will respond to. 

Step 3:  Add Photographs and Illustrations

A couple good photos and illustrations will convey the deeper meaning and draw the attention of viewers. A great image will encourage reading the article. Choose an image that matches the image file name to the keyword you’re targeting. You also need to make sure the image’s alt text matches that same keyword. Many bloggers use Flickr and Creative Common as a source for images but frankly; I encourage the use of better quality photography. If time is short, use good stock photography. If you have lead-time, hire a professional photographer. Your choice says something about you. It’s your “image” we are talking about after all. Lastly, reference any image you use and provide a link back to the source.

Step 4: Add Keyword-Rich Anchor Text Links 

Include 1 or 2 links in your article that link to pages on your website and 1 or 2 links that link to an informative external sites. When creating links you want to make sure the text you’re using as the hyperlink is related to the page’s content that you’re linking to. For example, if you’re linking to a page about outsourcing your data center services, the links anchor text needs to be something like

Step 5: A Call to Action Will Get a Reaction

A blog post should have a call to action and the best call to action is somehow related to the article’s topic at the bottom of each blog post.  Promote a presentation, white paper, or webinar that helps your prospective clients.  Something like “The Ten questions to ask before hiring an architect”. Or “Ten interior design actions you can take to keep your home current”. This type of call to action will turn your blog into a lead generation tool and become a valuable asset for your business.

Step 6:  Create Concise Memorable Points – Takeaways

Takeaways reinforce what your reader learned or what action they should take. Include a few at the end of your article because they encourage comments, questions and link backs to your article. Write a summation at the end of the article with your most relevant points.

Step 7:  Design with Negative or White Space

Like great modern architecture, negative or white space should be embraced. The reason? People skim blogs. Most are looking for the specific information they searched for. Long paragraphs in large blocks of text deter the reader. Negative space makes it easier for readers to do what most blog readers do quickly scan the article. A great example of this is Seth Godin’s blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Step 8:  "Bold" Important Text and Keywords

Think of your readers and important bold keywords. This form of usability will help readers scan your post and allow them to make decisions quickly whether to devote the time.  Search engines place emphasis on text that’s bolded, so bolding those target long-tail keywords can help you rank higher in those terms.

Step 9:  Write a Strong Meta Description

Articles need a strong meta description. A well-written meta description provides a persuasive reason to click the link when a blog post appears in a search results page Think of the meta description as 150 character call to action. It should be noted that meta descriptions are becoming less important with recent changes to Google's algorithm. 

Step 10: Tag and Catagorize the Article

Make it very easy your readers to find what they’re looking for on your blog. Tagging each article with no more than three tags. The tags you choose should be broader than long-tail keywords. They are a summary of your blogs topic.

Final Step: What’s the Frequency (Kenneth)?

Blog weekly or more and never publish two articles on the same day.  More than weekly is good if you have something to say but twice a day is too much. Forget the search engine implications, the odds that someone wants to hear from you and your blog twice in a day is slim. 

Writing blogs well and frequently is an investment in time. Make the investment worth it by optimizing your blog for search engines and crafting it in a form that encourages readership. Blogs are marketing that will generate a return if done with intent. Do it well and be rewarded with customers.