With user-friendly platforms, such as WordPress, and plenty of free or low-cost hosting options available, just about anyone can start a blog. However, starting a blog that gets read is much more difficult. Here are the best five tips for creating a successful blog.
1. Choose Your Domain Name Wisely
Your domain name, which is the address readers will use to navigate to your blog on the internet, can be almost anything that isn’t already being used. However, you shouldn’t just choose any random name. If your blog is going to be for your business or your personal portfolio, choose something that closely matches your name or your business’s name. This will make it easier for people to find you and help you rank better in search engines when people search for your name. If someone is already using your exact name, try a close variation or a domain with a different top-level domain that isn’t in use.
2. Use WordPress
WordPress isn’t the only blogging platform out there, but it is one of the easiest to use and most popular. You don’t have to know much about making webpages to use it. There are tons of plugins available to make your blog do whatever you need it to do. There are lots of great themes out there to improve the look of your site, without having to do any coding. Most web hosts offer one-click installations of the software for free. If you do know how to code or want to learn, there are plenty of ways to customize your site. WordPress makes it possible to focus the majority of your efforts on creating content and promoting your blog, instead of figuring out the technical details of running your site.
3. Customize Your Theme
WordPress comes with a standard theme that looks pretty good, but you probably don’t want your site to look just like everyone else’s. You can use WordPress to search hundreds of free themes created by WordPress users, but if you are serious about your blog, consider purchasing a professionally designed theme, uniquely customized for your brand. You can find plenty of shops online that sell professional WordPress themes or work with a web designer to build a theme just for you. Choose a theme that is user-friendly and matches the image you want to promote for your brand.
4. Add Some Plugins
There are hundreds of free and paid plugins available to use with your WordPress site, but the two you should consider installing right away are Yoast SEO and Google Analytics for WordPress. Yoast SEO is packed with features that will help your blog posts rank better in search engines. The Google Analytics plugin makes it possible for you to use the Google Analytics tool to discover how much traffic your site is getting, which posts are the most popular, where your visitors are coming from, how long they spend on your site, and more. This data will be invaluable for your marketing and SEO strategies.
5. Create Compelling Content
There are lots of bits and bobs to tweak to help your blog perform its best, but the heart of any blog is the content. If your content isn’t compelling, it will be difficult to attract readers and achieve high rankings in search engines. To keep readers interested and improve your search rankings, employ frequent SEO content creation. Making sure your site has fresh, high-quality content will keep readers coming back.
Starting a blog is easy. Starting a successful blog is not. These five tips will help you on your way to creating a blog that your readers will love.
