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The ‘holy grail’ of most businesses is to get their website on the first page of Google so it smacks potential customers between the eyes (so to speak).

This blog reveals how to do it.

West Yorkshire-based Urban IT Support’s sister company One Click has built over 150 websites for businesses across Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford and Leeds – and all are set up to help you power up the Google rankings. They’re fully integrated with social media so you can promote them instantly through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Behind your One Click website is a content management system featuring easy-to-use drag and drop editing tools so you can make changes to your website whenever you want but when it comes to doing well on Google, content really is king. You need good quality content using the keywords your potential customers will use while searching for you on Google.

Words count for everything – if it’s not well written it’ll struggle on Google – so everything on your website from your About Us page through to your eCommerce section has to be written with the potential customer very much in mind.

One of the best ways to drive people to your website is through blogging and a great blog can send hundreds of potential customers your way.

There is a skill to it and we can sort out a professional blog writer for you if you want, but if you want to have a go yourself then follow these blog writing tips from our expert.

Customers. Blogs aren’t there to be just descriptions of the products and services you sell. You need to step back and look at everything you do from your customers’ point of view. Ask yourself what’s in it for them and then write it that way. This could range from how it will make their life easier to how it will save them money.

Keywords. These are the words and phrases your customers will use to search for you on the internet so make sure you include them in your blog so they are picked up by Google.

Research. We can’t stress this highly enough. Look on Google to see what your rivals are writing using the keywords and phrases that your customers use … and then write something better.

Headlines. The title is all-important as research suggests only 2 out of 10 people go on to read a blog after reading the headline. Typical eye-catching headlines start with How To or 10 Tips For.

Catch the reader’s attention. Give your blog a powerful introduction and tell them what you’ll be covering in the rest of it so it’ll tease them into reading it. Perhaps pose the kind of question you know your customers would ask and then tell them how reading the blog will answer it.

Make it readable. Don’t write a huge mass of text. Break it up with bullet points, sub-headings or small paragraphs with the vital words in bold (like this) so the blog can be quickly read and easily understood.

Photos and videos. Every blog needs something to illustrate it so a photo is an absolute must although Google loves infographics and video so if you can include either or both of them then so much the better.  Watch out for copyright on photos – if you ‘nick’ one from the internet the photographer has the right to chase you up for payment. You can download photos for free from websites such as Unsplash, Pexels and Pixabay and devise your own infographics for free on Adobe Spark (https://spark.adobe.com/sp/).

Make every word count. Keep your sentences short, sharp and punchy with only 2 or 3 in each paragraph. No-one will plough through long rambling sentences filled with gobbledegook or technical jargon. Write simply and pitch it so a 10-year-old would easily understand it.

Website backlinks. Add in links to other websites which are relevant and add important information to what you’re saying. You may then end up with backlinks from these websites and remember that Google absolutely loves backlinks which will go a long way to pushing you up its rankings.

Call to action. Finish your blog with a conclusion that neatly summarises what you’ve said and include what’s known as a call to action. That could be asking them to share on social media, click a link to buy a product or click to get more information.

Blog length. Always make sure it’s more than 350 words – Google doesn’t like them any shorter – and the ideal length is around 600 words. If it’s getting too long, think of a way of splitting it into 2 separate blogs.

Blog dangers: Just an important word of warning. If you publish anything at all it must not be defamatory or you could face legal action. Make sure everything you write can be supported by evidence. People think they can say anything online and get away with it and it’s only the media that can face action for libel. It’s not. Anyone can end up in serious trouble and face huge financial claims for damages. Once you put your blog online you’ve published it to the world and the law of defamation instantly applies.

So there you have it – a template on how to a write a blog. If this was helpful then please let us know by emailing us at support@one-click.co.uk

That, of course, is our call to action.

Blog written by Andy Hirst from Huddersfield-based AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/)