5 Things to Consider When Selecting Blog Topics

We hear it time and again – strong and consistent content is the key to driving new search traffic to your website. But how do you create content that brings the right users from search?

Once you’ve started your blog, it’s all in the topics that you choose to write about. When selecting blog topics, to attract readers who would be interested in your business, you need to write content that:

1. Finds your ideal customers naturally
2. Is related to your industry
3. Provides value outside of your brand
4. Encourages the reader to learn more about you
5. Can stand the test of time

That’s a long list! It may seem daunting, but if you think through each piece, you too can be King of Content.

Appeal to Your Audience’s Interests and Needs

In order to create content that attracts your ideal customer, you need to know your audience! Spend some time writing down who your current customers are. What makes them tick? How do they spend their time? What brings them to your product or service?

Once you are able to answer these questions and figure out the why behind your customers’ actions, you can start to develop topics for your blog that you know your ideal customer would read.

Knowing your audience deeply means that you can write posts that would resonate with them. Choosing blog topics that explore the readers’ interests, solve their problems, or introduce them to something new and exciting are great ways to draw in your ideal audience.

Relate to Your Industry

Writing a blog post that attracts invested readers is a great start, but you also need to make sure that the topic fits your website as well. This will increase the chance that your readers would show interest in your brand.

Writing off-the-wall blog posts may bring in large volumes traffic, but it will most likely bring in the wrong readers. For example, if your business provides residential cleaning services, you would not want to write a post about tips for building a deck. For the most part, someone looking for information about building a deck is going to have no interest in the cleaning services that your business offers.

At the same time, when your content is not related to your industry, it seems less credible. Using our example above, how likely are you to take DIY and woodworking tips from a cleaning company? Not very. Chances are when there are disconnects like this, your readers will leave your site, looking for a more reliable source – causing you an above average bounce rate. Your time is better spent selecting blog topics that resonate with your readers and your business.

Provide Benefit to Your Reader

It’s tempting to simply blog about your business day in and day out. While it is good to post exciting news about your brand sometimes, the majority of blog posts should offer content that provides more value to your readers.

Whether you are providing helpful tips, a solution to a problem, or entertainment value, your readers need to be wowed. Their free time is valuable, and they are not looking to read a sales pitch. Your content needs recognize this.

Let’s say you run a women’s boutique. Think about it – are your ideal customers more likely to search for, and click on, an article that says Buy our new spring line! or Top ten fashion trends for Spring? By selecting blog topics that your ideal customer would be interested in (fashion trends) that is broadly related to your industry (fashion apparel) and providing value (fashion advice) you are giving your readers reason to not only read your article but also to click around on your site – potentially leading to a sale.

By selecting blog topics that your ideal customer would be interested in (fashion trends) that is broadly related to your industry (fashion apparel) and providing value (fashion advice) you are giving your readers reason to not only read your article but also to click around on your site – potentially leading to a sale.

Encourage Your Reader to Learn More

Although your content should not be a sales pitch, if it is related to your industry, there will be ample opportunity for some internal or lateral linking. Take advantage of this by pointing your readers to related products, services, or blog posts.

Note of Caution: This should not be an overt operation. Your links should flow naturally in your writing, and should only be included where they are relevant. Don’t compromise your writing just to stick in a link. Write valuable content first, and find organic linking opportunities in your post afterward.

Stay Relevant Over Time

Ideally, your selected blog topics should continue bringing new search traffic to your website months, or even years, after they are posted. To achieve this, you need to write evergreen content.

Every once in a while it makes sense to write a post about a trending topic – as long as your post is timely and relevant to your business. However, your ongoing content strategy should focus on pushing out long-lasting content regularly.

The key to writing content that stands the test of time is selecting sustainable blog topics. What has been relevant in your industry for years already? What questions does everyone ask when they first get acquainted with your industry, product, or service? What resources are missing in your industry? Asking these questions, you will find the most enduring blog topics.

Evergreen content is like the Energizer Bunny for your blog. It will keep going and going to bring in new search traffic longer than you ever expected. And even better, if the topic ever goes out of style, you can update and refresh the post to keep the party going.

What Are You Waiting For?

What you’ve heard is true. You need top-notch content to attract the right readers from organic search. When you bring in an interested audience, it is much easier to keep them engaged and clicking through your site. These are the users that become your potential customers. So start writing today!