How to Write a Blog Post That Actually Gets Traffic | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Learn how to optimize your blog posts to attract and retain readers, focusing on strategic topic selection and workflows.

Key Insights

• 🔍 Optimizing content for search is crucial to drive consistent readership and traffic to a blog.
• 🔎 Different traffic sources, such as organic search, social media, direct, and referral, contribute to the discovery and consumption of content on a website.
• 💰 Paid ads and email marketing can bring traffic to posts, but the effects are temporary.
• ✅ Organic traffic, which is free and passive, is the primary strategy to grow a blog's readership and traffic.
• 📝 Writing "me-centered" posts is a common mistake among new bloggers; instead, the focus should be on providing solutions to readers' problems.
• 🔍 Conducting keyword research using tools like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer can help generate topics that have proven traffic potential.
• 🔐 Assessing search intent is crucial to understand what type of content, format, and angle will resonate with readers and rank well in search results.
• 📝 Creating a data-driven outline that incorporates relevant keywords and subtopics allows for a comprehensive and effective blog post.
• 📚 Feedback from colleagues and peers is essential to refining and improving the quality of a blog post before the final draft is created.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: Why is organic search traffic considered the primary strategy for gaining consistent readership?

Organic search traffic is considered the primary strategy because it is free, passive, and can continue to grow over time. Unlike paid traffic or email marketing, organic traffic does not fade over time and can attract a steady stream of readers to your blog.

Q: How can you find topics that people care to search for and have high traffic potential?

You can find topics by using tools like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer to search for generic keywords related to your niche. Analyze the search volume and traffic potential for each keyword to determine which topics are worth creating a post on. Additionally, you can find topics that are generating traffic for your competitors and create content around those topics too.

Q: Why is it important to assess search intent before targeting a keyword?

Assessing search intent helps you understand the reason behind a searcher's query and ensures that your content aligns with their expectations. By analyzing the content type, format, and angle of the top-ranking pages for a keyword, you can tailor your blog post to meet the needs of searchers and improve your chances of ranking.

Q: How can a data-driven outline help optimize your blog post?

A data-driven outline helps you identify the keywords that the top-ranking pages for your target keyword are ranking for. By incorporating these keywords as subtopics in your outline, you can ensure that your blog post covers relevant information and targets a wider range of keywords. This can increase the visibility and search ranking of your post.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Consistent readership comes from driving traffic to your blog, which can be achieved through organic search traffic.

• To generate traffic, focus on topics that are proven to generate interest and search volume, using tools like Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer to find keyword ideas.

• Assess search intent by understanding the content type, format, and angle that the top-ranking pages for your chosen keywords use.

• Create a data-driven outline by identifying the keywords that the top-ranking pages are ranking for and using them as subtopics in your blog post.

• Write a first draft efficiently using techniques like the Pomodoro technique, and then edit for spelling, grammar, flow, and readability using tools like Hemingway Editor.

• Seek honest feedback from colleagues or friends to improve the quality of your blog post.

• Create a final draft incorporating feedback, and then publish and enjoy the results.