September 13, 2012

The Power of the Blog Part 2: Formatting and Optimization

Sep. 13, 2012 at 10:15 AM | By Marlysa Connolly | Comment Count

Blogging isn’t new. However, over the years the manner in which blogs are viewed by both humans and search engines has evolved. These simple formatting and optimization tips can help increase readership and retention, and help improve your school’s search engine rankings (SERPs).

Use a Catchy Headline

Fact: According to a recent infographic featured by SocialTimes.com, the majority of blog traffic occurs anywhere between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.. Keep in mind that your blog is most likely not the only blog a particular reader will view.

The Solution: Grab their attention with catchy headlines that beg a question, include a call to action or act as a teaser for what is to come.

Subheadings = Happy Readers

Fact: The average reader skims a blog post for the most important information only.

The Solution: Use bold subheadings of three to five words to summarize crucial points you wish to make. This will increase the amount of information retained and your readers will thank you for it.

Get Visual

Fact: Millennials, your current and prospective students, “switch their attention between laptops, TV, smartphones, tablets 27 times per hour on average.”

The Solution: Tap into your readership’s visual thought processes with bulleted lists, graphs, charts and pictures. Try using bulleted lists for key takeaways; graphs and charts for benchmark data; and choose relevant pictures that tell the story of your post.

Harness the Power of the Blog for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Fact: With the latest Penguin release by Google, social media and blogs have gained in importance for growing your institution’s website rankings organically.

The Solution: As Rand Fishkin, founder and ceo of SEOmoz puts it, make sure your blog is “seo-friendly.” Here’s The Blogger’s Guide to SEO by Aaron and Giovanna Wall to guide you.

BONUS: Post Regularly and Respond to Comments

The primary objective of blogging is to express and connect, right? So, it is imperative to post on a consistent basis and respond to comments in a timely manner. For instance, if you post every Monday and Friday, then post every Monday and Friday; refrain from posting only some Monday’s and some Fridays. Once you stray from post consistency your following will stray from your blog.

The recommended response time for comments is at least 24 to 48 hours after a comment is posted. You don’t need to hyper-stalk your blog for comments, but you do need to respond in a reasonable timeframe to ensure the conversation remains relevant and valuable.