I’m often asked by my Business Coaching clients how to write articles so they rank well on Google.

As you’ve heard me say before, our aim as Business Owners is to have the answer on our website, so it has the opportunity to rank well in Google when your audience type a question online.

Below are tips on how Small Business Owners can write blog articles to become discoverable on Google:

1. Write about what you specialise in

Simply writing blog articles with topics you know well. Once they are written, go back through the article and thread some of your keywords throughout the article before publishing.

• Choose topics that interest you (they are easier to write)

• Write evergreen topics that will bring in traffic for years. (they can be expanded or updated at later dates)

• Create educational blog articles for existing & potential clients. (If you answer the same question frequently, write an article on the topic which can also serve as reference material for clients)

• Write about case studies

• “How To" articles

2. Structure your article well

Blogs that are formatted well help with reader engagement.

• Format your text into headings, bold, underlines, font sizes, bullet points & images

• Write in short paragraphs

3. Optimise your articles for SEO

After you’ve written your article, revisit it inserting SEO elements before publishing. Elements to take into account include:

• Keywords — these are the words your audience is to find someone like you. (don’t overdo the keywords, otherwise Google will penalise you)

• Organic SEO — title tag, URL, image alt-text & headings

• Internal Linking — Link to relevant pages or articles within your site.

4. Headlines help

Headlines should be descriptive, clear & concise. For your blogs to perform well in search engines, your headlines need to use ‘clear, on topic’ keywords.

5. Call to Action

Always prompt your reader to take relevant action. This may include subscribing to a newsletter, purchasing a product in your online shop, making an enquiry / booking, downloading information …..

The key is…. make it easy for your reader to take action!

6. Publish & Promote

Don’t forget to promote your article after publishing it! Sharing your article on social media & via your newsletters helps to build links to your content. Promoting content can be just as time-consuming as writing.

7. Analyse & Revise

If your blog post isn’t performing, take a fresh look at how you can optimise your content.

• Perhaps make additions / revisions

• Target less competitive keywords

• Reconsider placement of CTA’s

Blog articles are ideally around 500 words, with posting ranging from daily, weekly or monthly; depending on what your business is.

The focus should always be on quality over quantity, keeping in mind how you would like to be found on Google (keywords).

Featured snippets on Google

When you create great content which is well-structured, it will rank higher in the SERPs.

You then also have the chance that Google may use your content as a “featured snippet”. Featured snippets are the answers to a Google search question which appear at the top of the SERPs (position zero).

To increase the chances of your content becoming a featured snippet, identify long-tail keywords searches & address a specific query (as well as following the points above).

Alison Morgan is a highly regarded Sydney 1:1 Business Coach  who consults online with clients in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and well beyond.

With 7+ years private Business Coaching, Alison has worked with over 500 Small Business Owners to help them set up, grow, evolve and become successful.

Alison also has a boutique Branding & Graphic Design agency, Sticky Studio.