5 Star Reputation – Digital Experts for Independent Dealers

Can Blogging Improve My Dealership’s SEO?

The short answer to “Can Blogging Improve My Dealership’s SEO?” is yes! A business blog can have a significant impact on your website’s search engine performance.

But, it is not enough to just have a blog, as this isn’t in itself a ranking factor and therefore will not on its own earn you a better position in search results. To actually make your blogging effective in improving your SEO, there are certain tactics you should be using.

Having a Blog Is Not a Ranking Factor

The position of each website on search engine results pages is determined by certain ranking factors, for example, page load speed and keyword usage. Having a blog is not a ranking factor, and I must stress this point because if you are expecting to climb that SEO mountain simply by having a blog, you aren’t going to get very far.

 

So, if blogs aren’t a ranking factor, how can they help your SEO? While a blog will not directly affect your search engine ranking, it will create opportunities for you to develop things which are ranking factors, such as content, time on page, internal links and external links.

Current Content

Imagine typing the following question into Google’s search bar: “What is the cheapest car to insure?” Two web pages are returned, one last updated in 2018 and one that hasn’t been updated since 2010. Which would you choose to get the most accurate answer to your question?

You’d choose the most current option, it’s a no brainer really. Search engines operate with this same logic, prioritising newer content on regularly updated websites, as this is likely to be more helpful to the user. A blog gives you the opportunity to create a flow of fresh content.

Unique, Relevant Content

Content is widely acknowledged as one of the most important ranking factors. This is because it is the easiest way for search engines to learn what each web page is about so that they can judge how relevant it is to a search query.

It can often be difficult to incorporate the specific keywords that search engines will look for on your product pages, especially long-tail keywords, but with a blog, this is easy.

Time on Page

Search engines want to provide users with the information that they are looking for so that they will return to use the service again, and a key indicator of how useful someone finds a website is the amount of time they spend on it. If a user leaves the page within seconds of arriving, it probably didn’t contain what they were looking for.

The more text there is to read on a page, the longer a visitor will stay to read it, which is another reason why blogging is so effective for SEO. It is also why I’d recommend writing no less than 300 words per blog article.

Internal Links

Internal links are a ranking factor because they help search engines gain a better understanding of what your website is about and emphasise your keywords.

As they are created by you, internal links are also one of the easiest SEO tactics to use, though they are often overlooked. The more blog posts you create, the more opportunities you open up to place internal links to other posts and pages within your site.

Backlinks

External links are another highly important ranking factor, but unlike internal links, they are sufficiently difficult to gain. This is because they must be supplied by other websites.

For an authoritative website to link to your own, you need to provide something of value to their visitors, such as expert knowledge or industry insights which can be communicated through a blog.

Plan of Action for Your Blog

In summary, simply having a blog is not a ranking factor, but it offers plenty of opportunities to raise your ranking. So, here is what you need to do to make your blogging effective:

  • Post regularly so search engines can see that your site is active (at least three times a month)
  • Create a list of keywords for your SEO campaign and use them to form your blog topics
  • Make your blog posts a minimum of 300 words long
  • Think about where you can add internal links with every blog post
  • Make sure you write valuable, high-quality content to encourage backlinks

If you are unsure about how to optimise your blog or simply don’t have the time to manage it, get in touch with Click Dealer today to find out about our in-house managed blog packages. Call 01782 454354, email marketing@clickdealer.co.uk or message us through our contact page



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