How much should you be updating your blog?
To post, or not to post, that is the question. Should you post short, topical posts at a high frequency, or is it better to post in-depth posts with only the most highly targeted information less frequently? The answer lies somewhere in between.
What you want are quality blog posts in a quantity that drives traffic to your website, converts that traffic into leads, establishes your brand as an authority and drives long-term results. But, with an increasingly click-free organic search experience thanks to AI Overviews, generating quality, rich and informative content is likely going to help support your brand awareness and thought leadership position. These strategies are going to be constantly evolving as our culture continues to adjust to AI, but in the meantime, here’s our stance on website content publishing.
Blog frequently.
Frequent blogging is admittedly a subjective term, but when you’re constantly going to your website to publish new content, you’re keeping your site active and making it a resource for your audience that gives them a reason to give you a click in the future. There is nothing worse than a stale website, because it leaves a reader answering questions like, “Why haven’t they posted since 2023, is it still an active business?”
But no matter how much you post, always keep your audience in mind. Content strategies should help create valuable ideas to cultivate your audience. Blogging about random topics just for the sake of blogging more, isn’t going to get the job done.
How long should your blog posts be?
There is no perfect length for a blog post. Instead of trying to adhere to specific word counts, focus on getting your message across in a descriptive – but concise – way. In other words, the number of words it takes for you to make your point is the length your blog post should be. This brings me to my next point…
No one blog post will double sales.
While it’s no secret that in-depth posts may perform better in search engines, every post on your company blog doesn’t need to be an analytical or in-depth long-form piece. Quick and easy blog posts can be enormously effective. As long as you provide your audience with valuable information that addresses its needs, helps it achieve its goals, or clears up any confusion it may have, your site will be rewarded with visitors that convert into leads.
There’s no such thing as too much testing.
Google is constantly changing its search algorithm. That means you need to analyze your site traffic, subscribers and leads on a continual basis to see what works best for you. What keywords are driving the best (most qualified) traffic and leads? Google Analytics can be a good place to start. You can use it to:
- Create your own reporting dashboard
- View traffic sources and metrics
- Measure the quality of traffic
- Identify slow-loading page times
Frequent testing is one of the most effective ways to make significant improvements to your online user experience.
What’s working? Focusing on content that performs.
Once you’ve reviewed your Google Analytics and analyzed page performance, look for patterns within your blog content.
Which keywords and blog posts are driving the most traffic and converting quality visitors into leads? Those are the topics you should focus on writing more about. Performed properly, these tests give you concrete proof of what changes you can make to drive more traffic – and conversions – to your site.
Getting the most bang for your blog buck.
Make sure you’re getting as much out of your company blog posts as you should. After all, if you’re taking the time to write great content, you should maximize its value. Share blog posts across your social chanels to get more bang for your buck.
Over time, you’ll find the quality vs. quantity debate is replaced by what really matters: does your audience like what you’re writing, and does it convert them to buyers and loyal customers?
This blog post was originally published in September 2018. It has been updated and republished to keep you up to date.
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