Do I Need a Blog?

A blog may not be necessary. However, you do need to add content related to what is trending in search. Why? Because Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is delivering what search engines want and need from a website to help them rank. The pandemic has totally changed how search engines, like Google, select content and websites. The types of content you can and should post vary based on your goals and target audience.

What is content?

Content can be any updates to your website that set you apart in search engines. That said, it would be wise to rope in an SEO to talk about your goals. Your goals will help determine the type of content you should focus on first.

Types of Content:

• Blogs
• Restructuring your menu to allow search engines to read easily (examples below)

• New website pages – All pages should have a minimum of 300 words
  • About page
  • Building out your services pages
  • FAQs page
  • Locations page
  • Contact page
  • Resources page
    • Featuring related businesses
  • Click to schedule button
• Podcasts
• New photos of you and your staff treating patients
• Any other updates designed to bring in traffic

Why is content important?

Despina from Institute of Excellence provided a wonderful analogy, comparing a website to a garden. She said, “Every piece of content you post is… [like] watering your garden or pruning your favorite plants so that your website will stay healthy and grow… A website which does not get updated regularly is deemed by search engines and visitors as ‘dead.’” The websites with new content posted regularly are selected and search engines remove web pages not serving them.

In two years, Google has changed how they select content for search countless times. SEOs help you keep up to date on what types of content are being selected for. The most recent changes level the playing field for smaller businesses. However, that doesn’t mean you can post anything and expect it to bring you the traffic you had in years prior.

Above are 5 websites that have a listing on the first page of Google search results for one or more cities in the Greater Seattle Area. You’ll notice there is a small blue dot in the middle; ptdynamix.com. They are one of my clients with a small physical therapy company. Physical Therapy Dynamix is capitalizing on a small amount of current trending keywords to sustain their business. However, trending keywords change. Because the circle is so small, the business has much less room for error than other websites.

Let’s look at each of the websites above like gardens. Ptdynamix.com is the smallest and getluna.com is the largest. A larger garden needs more visitors and employees to sustain their business model. While a smaller garden needs a smaller percentage of both, when you rely on less keywords, you have to make sure you’re focusing on only the important ones; otherwise they could detract from your desired traffic.

Will I steal all the traffic from my competitors for keywords we target?

The short answer is no. Keep in mind, an SEO uses the best, most visible websites as a template; you cannot get to their visibility level with one piece of content. The goal is to take a piece of their percentage of search for that keyword. The piece of the pie that you need to sustain your business is a lot smaller than larger clinics, and it will take 1-3 months to show the fruits of this labor, because search engines need time to find this data on your website.

Why Do I Need New Content?

You can’t simply rearrange the same content over and over, Google will catch on. Then, you will be removed from top searches and be replaced by a website that was more recently updated.

New content doesn’t have to be articles, but it does have to be something to help you get closer to your goals. An article from In Motion Hosting stated, “When visitors come to your webpage, they hope to find something of interest – whether it’s a great how-to video, or a recently added blog. But what happens when they don’t find anything new? They might come back to check one or two more times, but after that, they’re likely gone forever.” An SEO can get you views. If you need to increase your web traffic, Google and website viewers are telling you your website needs “watering and pruning,” or more content tailored to your audience; I’m just translating.

Even if your goal is to simply coast on the amount of people you currently have from your website, you will fall from search entirely if you’re not releasing new, optimized content. No one is safe from creating new content in 2022; it’s needed now more than ever. Google’s algorithm has a new goal; to remove stale content from top searches and replace it with credible, reliable sources.

Why you need content on your website

When you include new content on your website, it helps you to stay in search. Google is removing content that is stale, and entire websites with it. I recommend new content to be posted monthly in order to stay in search, climbing is another thing. Your SEO should give you a list of keywords or areas to target on your website, and a monthly trending topic.

How does an SEO predict if Content will trend?

Research. A good SEO will find and assess the content bringing potential patients or clients to your competitors websites. Once an SEO finds what content is bringing competitor websites your desired traffic, then they will apply those findings to your digital strategy. This should give you a direction that’s most likely to funnel a portion of your competitors traffic to your website instead. An SEO will use this data to create a 12-month plan for your business that reflects your goals.

Now that I have a 12-month calendar, do I still need an SEO?

I give all my clients a tailored 12-month digital marketing plan. Online traffic changes monthly, and quarterly. This data is based on humans typing in searches. While they’re predictable, they’re not robots. With how fast Google’s data turns over, changes are bound to occur every 3 months, or quarterly. That said, I select the keywords that have the most stable trend lines for your competitors’ websites over time, and are trending upwards. I don’t project keywords out more than 3 months in advance, but I do list relevant holidays and topics that are predicted to trend and be featured that month on Google to help us prepare for the year ahead.

It’s much easier to look at a list of keywords and a monthly trending topic than it is to create a topic out of thin air and hope for the best. Even if an article like this has brought your website traffic in the past, it gets harder and harder to hold your position online with how competitive the digital real estate is these days. Your best bet of holding your current position is releasing content monthly, and if you want your website to do better than it is currently in terms of bringing in clients, more optimized content and more optimized Google reviews are required. If you want to keep your blog clean with one post a month, services pages to back up your article are another avenue.

Do I need a Blog?

No, but it won’t hurt. Blogs are a good way to tie in keywords and bring in outside resources to build links, also known as backlinks, to reputable websites to tell Google (and your readers) that you are a credible source of data. If you have an authentic article sharing patient or personal experiences on a topic your SEO suggests, supported by a relevant services page; you know that you will have a sustainable amount of online traffic coming your way and you’ve given them a reason to stay a while.

Now, digital traffic shouldn’t be the only traffic your business is receiving, because the key to sustainability is diversifying. However, if you post one article and one services page monthly that is making strides towards your goals, then you can expect the traffic online to continue monthly as you post consistent content. If you want to increase your traffic, more content is required to make that happen, but posting two forms of content is the bare minimum. You can add podcasts, videos, photos, or any other suggestions from the list above to help you reach these goals faster.

Conclusion

No one is safe from creating new content in 2022, it’s needed now more than ever. Google’s algorithm has a new goal, to remove stale content from top searches and replace it with credible, reliable sources of content. However, you can be creative and still rank in Google with the help of an SEO. If you’re releasing optimized content, you can secure a competitive spot in search more efficiently, now more than ever.