Getting started with a blog can be a fairly daunting experience. Not only do you need to start producing fresh content, but it needs to be search engine optimized, keyword researched, and adjusted/updated based on the success or failure of your promotional and marketing efforts. Fortunately, there are a number of web based tools to help you work smarter instead of harder to make a name for you and your blog. Take a look at these top 10 blogging tools for 2016, and start off strong with your blogging journey.
1. WordPress
One of the best-known and well-established content management systems, WordPress makes creating an online home for your content simple and efficient. A popular choice among businesses, WordPress is currently the powerhouse behind over 74 million websites. Best of all, if you already built a site with another content management service, you can quickly add it to WordPress with ease. All you need to do is get your web hosting company or current developer in touch with WordPress, and they do the rest.
2. Google Keyword Planner & Long Tail Pro
Every time you go to create new content, you will need to do some keyword research to find searchable terms to include in your writing. The importance of good keyword research cannot be overemphasized. Analyzing keywords and phrases that your target market will run through Google or other search engines to find the service or content your blog provides. Rather than try to make a lot of random guesses, you can use a web tool like Google Keyword Planner or Long Tail Pro. Both analyze search traffic on the major search engines and then give you a list of the most popular terms. Both apps are excellent, but if you would like more information and better results filtering, Long Tail Pro is the better web tool.
3. BuzzSumo
Once your keywords are picked out and peppered throughout your content, you will need a snappy title to headline your latest work. BuzzSumo allows you to find the most popular content titles currently online, and then lists them by popularity. All that remains is for you to start composing better renditions based on these existing titles and watch your content start rising to the top of search results.
4. Yoast SEO Plug-in
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is key to driving traffic to your blog. There are two major factors that impact SEO on your blog: on-page factors (meta titles, Web development, URLs,and actual page content and structures) and off-page factors (backlinks, mentions, social media likes/shares). Yoast SEO is a WordPress plug-in that allows you to improve both your on-page and off-page SEO variables by automating a lot of the SEO enhancements for a web page (meta titles, creating a sitemap, content descriptions, etc.).
5. Canva
Blogs that are all text are boring. Canva makes them not boring. Adding images, infographics, charts, and other visually appealing bells and whistles becomes the matter of a few clicks with Canva. Best of all, Canva has numerous templates to fit your blog’s style and design, and they can be configured specifically for any existing website or social media site. That means visually and spatially, all your content can be optimized for an Instagram post, a blog entry, or a Tweet.
6. Readability Test Tool
The average online reader scans and comprehends content at roughly an 8th grade reading level. The Readability Test Tool essentially analyzes your posts and text to let you know if you are writing above your average reader’s comprehension level.
7. Trello
If you work with a team of people to construct content for your blog, Trello lets you have a central place for managing the workflow and delegating responsibilities. This tool comes highly recommended because of its simple design and uncluttered interface.
8. Sprout Social
A social media management tool that lets you schedule your posts across multiple social media accounts and blogs in advance, automating yet another process that can be costly in terms of search hits and lost time.
9. Email Marketing Tool/Autoresponder
Don’t underestimate the power of an effective email campaign for promoting blog content. Sending blasts out whenever new content hits the blog increases your number of views, reads, and shares exponentially because email is a direct line of contact to your customers. Check out Constant Contact, MailChimp, Aweber, and GetResponse to see which one best suits your needs.
10. Google Analytics
After you are up and running online with fresh content and all your keyword and email marketing in play, you are going to want to see measurable results. Enter Google Analytics. This helpful tool can tell you who your visitors are, how they are finding your blog, and what they do during their visits. It’s a good idea to get familiar with the dashboard interface and check it often so you can monitor and adjust content to increase your traffic over time.
Hopefully after reading about these different tools blogging doesn’t seem as daunting. Blogging is a great way to inform your consumers and gain a wide audience, so make sure you focus on it as your company grows and we can help! Contact us today to see how we can help keep your blog posts flowing fresh and regularly.