One of the benefits of business blogging is the SEO improvements it can bring to your main business site.  The  ways these benefits come about are diverse, but in order to use a blog to boost the traffic and ranking of other sites you have to be able to attract visitors to your blog first.  Targeting the keywords in your niche is one way to bring in search engine traffic.

There are 4 simple methods to optimize the content you publish on your blog for targeting keywords.  By combining all these techniques into your blog posting formula you will increase the likelihood of being found by search engine visitors for the keywords you are targeting.  Let’s run down the 5 ways you can target keywords with your blog:

1. Use keywords in the title of your posts – If you are wanting to target the keyword “XYZ Widgets” then include that keyword in the title of your post.  It goes without saying, but the words in the title of a blog post carry a lot of weight in how it is listed in the search engines.
2. Tag the post with your keyword – You should be tagging all of your posts.  Using a keyword specific tag on your post will give it a little more “oomph’ for the term that is being targeted.  Keep the tags related to your content though; it’s not a good idea to use tags that are not relevant to the article you published.
3. Include the keyword in your Category – You have an article about “XYZ Widgets” and you have used that keyword in the title of your post and you have also tagged it with “XYZ Widgets”.  How about having your article listed under the Category of “XYZ Widgets”?  Every little bit helps!
4. Meta description tags – Include your keywords in the meta tag description of your blog post.  Having a keyword specific description about your content is another little boost for the area you are targeting.

If you’re business blog is new, it will take some time before it begins to get good rankings from the search engines for the keywords or market you are targeting.  Given a little time along with effective optimization of your publishing techniques and you will eventually start to dominate the keywords you are after!

One of the most important factors you need to apply to your blog is consistency.  Consistency is a key to generating more traffic, more “buzz” for your business, and more interest from the search engines.

When I say you need to be consistent with your blog what I’m saying is that your posting schedule needs to be on a consistent basis.  For the best results, blogging needs to be about generating unique content on an even and dependable schedule .  The product of consistent updates and unique content will aid in increasing traffic and rankings for your website.

Benefits of Consistency

• Interest – Visitors to your blog will be more interested in what you’re doing if you consistently update your blog.  Blogs that publish new content on a monthly or even bi-weekly rate attract far less interest than blogs that post new content several times a week.  Keep your visitors interested with frequent posting.
• Customers – If you are using blogging to help boost your business (something I recommend), then it is imperative to keep a consistent schedule on your blog.  Potential customers visiting your blog want to see current information about your business or industry, not news that is old and stale.
• Search Engines – One of the biggest benefits of consistent blogging is how the search engines will treat you.  Blogs that publish new content an a consistent and frequent basis will get visited from search bots much more often than blogs that post erratically.  This benefit cannot be overstated! Getting indexed more often in the search engines will lead to more traffic and higher rankings for your blog.

One of the easiest ways to destroy a blog is with inconsistency.  Show interest in your blog and others will show interest in you!

Blogging with consistency is a very important principle to follow if you wish to obtain more business and higher rankings.  The consequences of inconsistency will include less interest in your blog and/or business, less readership, and lower rankings in the search engines.  It is crucial to pick a publishing schedule and stick to it.

The posting schedule you decide on has many options.  You can decide to post weekly, daily, every other day, or on some other type of frequent schedule.  For the best results do not post new content on a less than weekly basis.  Choose a schedule that is right for you and stick with it.  Your blog will improve with consistent posting and the traffic to your site will improve as well.