Do you find yourself constantly thinking about blog topics to write about? Or, maybe you don't give it any thought at all. In fact, you reckon the secret is to churn out stuff regularly, whether it's what your audience wants to read or not.
So you pick a title on a whim, and ask the Digital Marketing intern or Office Manager to bang out something quickly (preferrably something which reminds everyone what a “committed” company you are). Then, when you look through the Google Analytics report at the end of the week, you wonder why no-one is reading your blog posts. You believe you're doing everything the experts told you to. You published a weekly post, which included the keywords you think your audience uses to find you. You tweeted a link to the post, but still no-one came. The fact is, you're forgetting one crucial piece of the copywriting puzzle.
I know I've spoken previously about the importance of generating content consistently to boost your site visibility in the search engines. But it seems some people have mistaken this advice as an excuse for blindly writing content just so they can tick a box on their digital marketing plan (if they have one) before moving quickly on to the next SEO task.
When companies decide what content to publish on their blog, they typically take a very selfish view. They write about a new product they're about to release, or a new special offer they want to promote. But the sad fact is, nobody cares what you have to say. Really…they don't!
Nobody wants to read your shit
The writer Stephen Pressfield wrote a great post where he discusses the best advice he ever received as an up and coming writer. He talks about the advertising phenomenon called “Client's Disease”, where every client is in love with his own product, and naively thinks that because he loves it, everyone else will too.
This same principle applies when writing page copy or a blog post for your website. Just remember, nobody gives a shit about you, your company or what you have to say. All they care about is what you can do for them, and other selfish motivations such as:
- How you can help solve their problems.
- How you can make them richer.
- How you can make them more attractive to the other sex.
- How you can help get rid of their fears and anxieties.
So, how should you choose blog post titles that will appeal to and engage your audience?
The first step is to find out what topics your audience are searching for online. There are a variety of tools that allow you to do this. My personal favourite is keywordtool.io, but you will need the paid version to get the best results. The aim at this stage is to uncover question-based searches.
For example, an analysis of question-oriented keywords associated with “Hair Transplant Ireland” produced the following results (note, the search volume figure is the average monthly searches on Google Ireland over the past year):
| Keywords | Google Search Volume (Average) |
|---|---|
| do hair transplants work | 20 |
| does hair transplant work | 20 |
| are hair transplants worth it | 10 |
| are hair transplants painful | 10 |
| are hair transplants safe | 10 |
| are hair transplants permanent | 10 |
| are hair transplants noticeable | 10 |
| are hair transplants effective | 10 |
| are hair transplants dangerous | 10 |
| are hair transplants successful | 10 |
| are hair transplants a good idea | 10 |
| are hair transplants expensive | 10 |
| are hair transplants getting cheaper | 10 |
| are hair transplants tax deductible | 10 |
| can hair transplant thicken hair | 10 |
| can hair transplants fall out | 10 |
| can hair transplant fail | 10 |
| can hair transplant really work | 10 |
| can hair transplant cause cancer | 10 |
| can hair transplant be done twice | 10 |
| can hair transplants look natural | 10 |
| can hair transplant lower hairline | 10 |
| did sting have hair transplant | 10 |
| actors who did hair transplantation | 10 |
| do hair transplants last | 10 |
| do hair transplants grow | 10 |
| do hair transplants hurt | 10 |
| do hair transplants look real | 10 |
| do hair transplants look natural | 10 |
| do hair transplants actually work | 10 |
| do hair transplants always work | 10 |
| do hair transplants really work | 10 |
| do hair transplants grow back | 10 |
| do hair transplants work receding hairlines | 10 |
| do hair transplants work crown | 10 |
| do hair transplants leave scars | 10 |
| does hair transplant hurt | 10 |
| does hair transplant really work | 10 |
| does hair transplant last | 10 |
| does hair transplant leave scars | 10 |
| does hair transplant grow | 10 |
| does hair transplant actually work | 10 |
| zola had hair transplant | 10 |
| who has had hair transplants | 10 |
| has zola had hair transplant | 10 |
| actors who have hair transplants | 10 |
| when to have hair transplant | 10 |
| how hair transplant works | 10 |
| how hair transplantation is done | 10 |
| how long hair transplant last | 10 |
| how much hair transplant cost in uk | 10 |
| how long hair transplant | 10 |
| how much hair transplant cost in turkey | 10 |
| is hair transplant worth it | 10 |
| is hair transplant permanent | 10 |
| is hair transplant safe | 10 |
| is hair transplant painful | 10 |
| is hair transplant successful | 10 |
| is hair transplant effective | 10 |
| is hair transplant a good idea | 10 |
| is hair transplant expensive | 10 |
| is hair transplant dangerous | 10 |
| is hair transplant a permanent solution | 10 |
| is hair transplant surgery tax deductible | 10 |
| is hair transplant covered by health insurance | 10 |
| is hair transplant really works | 10 |
| what hair transplant is the best | 10 |
| what is neograft hair transplant | 10 |
| when do hair transplants grow | 10 |
| when to get hair transplant | 10 |
| when to do hair transplant | 10 |
| where to get hair transplant | 10 |
| which hair transplant technique is best | 10 |
| which hair transplant clinic is the best | 10 |
| celebrities who had hair transplants | 10 |
| will hair transplants get cheaper | 10 |
| how much would hair transplant cost | 10 |
There is no need to be overly concerned about the relatively low search volumes. The fact is, if you provide hair transplant services in Ireland, these are the people you should be targeting, and these are the exact search phrases they're typing into Google. Plus, the competition for these keywords in Google's search results is small. So, provided you include the phrases in your first paragraph, a few other times throughout the post and of course in your meta title and description, you have a good chance of ranking on the first page within a short space of time.
Planning and writing the blog post?
Once you have your blog title, the secret is to write with your searcher in mind. By this, I mean if someone searches for “are hair transplants painful”, it's very possible this is the one concern stopping them from going ahead with the procedure. It's therefore your job to explain the various transplant techniques, maybe focusing first on the least invasive procedures then escalating up the options to the ones that require a higher pain threshold. You could also talk about the various options to alleviate pain, such as local or general anaesthetic, pain-reducing meditation techniques etc. You could also include quotes from customers who've been through the procedure and who were initially concerned that it would be painful only to find it wasn't as bad as they had first feared. This is a great Conversion Optimisation technique.
I must stress, the trick is to write with empathy. You need to understand the thought process and motivations of your searcher when they typed their search into Google. When you can do this effectively, you will have mastered the art of writing content that is of value to the reader, not just another pile of shit!
So, what next?
If your website is struggling to rank for the keywords that matter, and you need guidance from one of Ireland's top SEO brains, click here for contact details and to send an online enquiry.
SEO obsessed, rugby-loving Welshman living in Ireland since 2002. Freelance SEO and Wordpress web design consultant based in Killaloe, Co Clare.
Hey,valuable info you provide in your articles about boring blog posts.
I am really appreciating you such a great information share here, easy to understand and good for beginner.
Thanks…
Great information.Thanks for sharing
Thank you for elaborating the importance of knowing the market’s wants. Such a great help!