Over the last few months I have had the honor of writing for Blogussion. It has been a remarkable experience working with Alex and participating in the community here. We have a lot of great readers who regularly participate in the comments section and a whole lot that don’t. I also believe that Blogussion has great content and amazing statistics for such a relatively young blog. In looking at where the blog has come since I joined in July, I have made some fun and remarkable discoveries.
Branding Matters
Yes I guess I already knew this point, but it became so much more real after looking through our statistics. The way I came to this realization is by looking at the #1 Keyword that brings readers to our site from search engines. The keyword is “Blogussion”.
We have lots of readers coming from other keywords, matter of fact 3,087 different keywords have been used from in the last 2 months alone. But what is astonishing is that out of all of these keywords the #1 is our own name. That means we are doing something right!
In developing any blog or business having a brand is important, and I am not talking about a logo or header. A brand, according to Seth Godin, is a formula including a [Prediction of What to Expect] times [Emotional Power of Expectation]. In other words you are promising to deliver something that customers/readers are hoping to receive. The better you fulfill your promise, the better your brand in people’s mind.
For example, I love In-N-Out. What was originally a California only hamburger joint has now been spread across the western coast of America. People where t-shirts, hats, and buy memorabilia to remember their experience there. You know that every time you go there you will get fries that have been peeled, cut, and cooked right there in front of you. There shakes will be thick and creamy and the hamburgers are always the highest quality. The promise and deliver and so customers keep coming back. Matter of fact I have never been to an In-N-Out without waiting in line or for a table.
At Blogussion we work hard to write content that is not only interesting but useful to bloggers of every level. That is why we put together the Guide to Blogging. We also try to make the environment friendly to readers by encouraging comments with Commentluv and dofollow. We also try to respond to every comment made on the blog. That is a big promise but I believe we are achieving it. Besides being #1, Blogussion typos were another 8 of the top 100 keywords. So people are looking for us. To build more branding on your blog, read some of these great articles.
How to Build Your Brand
How to Build Credibility as a Young Blogger - A guest post on Problogger which received so much attention that Darren also contributed to the subject. Not just for Young Bloggers, this article is a must read for every blogger looking to build credibility and blog successfully. If you have read it, I suggest you read it again.
Is Branding Dead? - Remarkable post on Copyblogger about the effects of branding and why it is changing. Worth reading to better understand the many elements of branding and how you can make sure to be part of it.
Personal Branding vs. Blog Branding - Ever wonder if you should have a blog about yourself? Maybe you wonder if it is good to include your life in with your blog? This article discusses the positives and negatives of adding personal branding to your blog business.
Problems with Diversifying Your Blog Posts - Writing a variety of blog posts can be fun and interesting for your blog readers but perhaps it is negative in building a solid brand. If you like to write a variety of posts on your blog, maybe you should read this article to see if it is helping of hurting your blogging.
Quality Content Matters
Another point I better realized is how important quality content is. I am talking about content written for “HUMANS” not for search engines. The better quality the content the more likely you are to get traffic to it. For instance Blogussion’s traffic is mostly derived from referrals. Nearly 50% of all traffic comes from other blog’s talking about our content. The buzz around social media and from readers widely distributes our blog helping to highlight our quality content.
Our major referrals come from a variety of high traffic blogs on varied subjects but the traffic is consistent and great at converting because it is relevant. When other blog’s link to your content from their own you are more likely to have these visitors stick around and subscribe. We believe a great reason we get linked to is because we freely link to other blogs. If we find great content we link to it and then our content is even higher quality because of the resources we are providing.
An additional content method for providing traffic is guest posting. We have found that a significant amount of traffic has come to our blog because of highly targeted guest posts on other blogs. This is another element of creating useful content. If readers on the blogs you guest post for like what you write, they are likely to check out your blog and subscribe. So write quality content. Don’t believe me, learn how with these great articles.
How to Create Quality Content
Why Content is Still King - If you are not sure why content is such a big deal, see for yourself and maybe you will finally be convinced.
Posting By Obligation or Freewill? - Posting is important but is quality more important than production? In other words, should you post because you have to keep a schedule even if the quality might be lessened?
From SEO to Social Media: Content is Still King - Whether you are writing for people (preferred), search engines, or social media sites content is still king. Learn how to produce it from these experts on quality content.
Content is King, Baby! - A funny way to look at producing quality content from SEOMOZ. The article is also a great example of what quality content looks like so check it out for a good example.
Conclusion
Reviewing the past two months of Google Analytics not only proved interesting but taught me 2 very valuable lessons. The first being that Branding is essential and secondly that Quality Content is still king in getting traffic.
20 Discussions
Good article. Branding is everything if it can be done to actually drive people to your site. I’ve heard people say that branding is sometimes an excuse for lack of actually accomplishing anything. For example, someone might say that they are not seeing any traffic but that is because they are more focused on just branding their website, themselves and their content. But branding that is not delivering visitors isn’t really branding. If people aren’t really searching for you like your getting in Google, then you aren’t really branding.
I very slightly disagree with the adage ‘Content is King.’ In fact, I’ve been writing about this recently at Site Sketch 101. I believe that at one time content was king but is no longer.
Now content is a mandatory part of the success formula but not all of it. I believe in the concept of a ‘total package.’ If you want to successfully brand yourself and your blog then you have to have great content, plus great design, plus great influence.
It’s not enough anymore just to have great content. If you don’t have a great environment for your readers to view your content then some may choose not to stick around. If you don’t engage with people personally (as you mentioned you try to respond to every comment) then the content may not mean as much to them. Some are looking for engagement or authority which in my opinion adds to our influence.
When we successfully build the total package of content, design, seo, and influence then we can really brand ourselves and our sites.
I hope you understand that my disagreement is a very minor one and in the greater sense I still agree with the spirit and determination to produce great content. It’s just that I think it’s mandatory as a part of something more than just that.
P.S. Great post. I loved every word of it.
Nicholas Z. Cardot´s last blog ..Relationships That Will Take You To The Top
I completely understand Nicholas. The package is really important and it is impossible to be successful without a complete package of design, environment and content. I guess the difference for me (and a tiny one) is that above all else, content brings visitors that create your environment and influence your design. I find it to be weighted a bit more than all other factors and see it as the first element leading to all else.
Hey Nicholas! I agree that content is no longer the “only” important part of building a successful blog. To say that goes against the branding point that Seth was making at the beginning of the post. You’re also right that influence is super important. Joe Schmoe could write a great post about waffles, but if Seth Godin wrote the exact same post, Godin’s would receive a lot more respect.
But like Seth, I’d still say content is the “most” important part of a blog. If people just wanted to see something pretty, they would spend their time on Flickr. If people wanted to read from authority, they would go to CNN.
Nice article, Seth!
Nick Tart | JuniorBiz´s last blog ..Don’t Buy a Book Without Finding Where It’s Cheapest
Thanks, I think you broke down both Nicholas and I’s comments very well into exactly what we were trying to get at! Great comment.
Seth´s last blog ..Google Analytics Reveals the Importance of Branding and Content
Yeah Nicholas, content is king but there should be many chiefs making the kingdom going, along with a useful site with great content, comes in great design to attract visitors, links to get the words out(all content reachable via links), writing great titles etc.
Branding is essential for online Mmarketers!
Web Hosting Blog´s last blog ..Windows 7, a month away (part2)
I’m on the bandwagon of the overall package is king as well. I would never put SEO over content, but I do believe design and usability are just as important to getting readers as content.
When I reach a page that is hard to read or navigate, I often leave before I even read a whole post (I try to avoid this since it’s probably bad karma, but i can’t always help it).
Time is valuable… If a site doesn’t look like it has valuable content, I’ll never know how Royal that content is… (Not to mention if i never hear of the site, I’ll never see if it looks good enough to stay on.)
Blake @ Props Blog Ideas´s last blog ..The Top 5 Make Money Sites You Should Visit
I am new to blogging and at the stage of experimenting with different concepts at different times and watching the results.
but I can definitely see how branding is absolutely necessary to being successful here.
The ability to make readers feel welcome and ‘at home’ is mandatory.
Great info, I will be referring back to this and the referred posts as well.
Thanks
Brigid
brigid´s last blog ..ITS RAINING BOYS
Thank you for the compliment and good luck in blogging. If you ever need any help with anything or just have a question let us know. We are happy to help and we love ensuring our readers blogging success.
Seth´s last blog ..Google Analytics Reveals the Importance of Branding and Content
Branding is important not because to get a better place for major search engine such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. The important of branding is to make people easy to remember our blog or site. Blogussion is an example of good branding and easy to remember. This can be seen from “blogussion” keyword use to search for this blog.
That’s another reason to have a good domain name as well. Make it brandable and easy to remember. Trying to use long or difficult names to be unique could backfire on you.
Seth´s last blog ..Google Analytics Reveals the Importance of Branding and Content
Great post. I’m a very big proponent of “content is king.” It’s tough to consistently produce content you think is your best, but I think it’s absolutely crucial to building a successful blog. You never know which post people will stumble on, and that post may be your only chance at resonating with both the individual visitor and their network.
Right, if you are always try to produce your best your opportunities are a lot larger for success!
How did you build backlinks? Are you both using a SEO service for link building? Or using PPC program to bring massive traffic?
Reza Winandar´s last blog ..5 Tips to Increase the Number of Subscribers for Beginner
We are building backlinks through organic or natural means. We do not use SEO services for link building and have never paid for traffic. We write content we enjoy and people like it and link to it. It also helps to write things that are extremely useful for others. Traffic is all about consistently producing the best content possible for your readers.
Seth´s last blog ..How to Create A Schedule You Will Actually Stick With
1.] I think that you have to determine your “brand” first. How can you create relevant content that will set you apart from the competition if you have not take the time to brand yourself properly. this creates professional trust from your readers and followers.
2.] Content, content, content…need I add to this?
3.] Study, learn, and practice proper SEO principles to work with the great content that you have created, so your SERP and ranking will improve. Have you ever had that perfect bone-in rib-eye steak? Content is the meat and SEO is the bone. The two work to perfection
Martin Casper´s last blog ..Mental Detoxification…Does It Matter?
Martin, you are right by defining who you are you can quickly start getting great traffic to your blog. The best part is your content largely defines your blog so keep writing great stuff.
Seth´s last blog ..How to Create A Schedule You Will Actually Stick With
Amazing piece of work. definitely branding matters, many of us still ask for Bisleri rather than a mineral water. That is the branding done by Bisleri. In same ways, one can brand his own blog depending on the niche. You have referred really good works done by giants of blogging. Nice info, Bookmarked.
Sanjeev´s last blog ..How To subscribe RSS Feed In Internet Explorer
Branding is so important to working in any form of business. Think of Google and the way they dominate the business of search engines. They made their business into a noun, verb, and adjective because of their simple but effective brand strategy.
Seth´s last blog ..The Content Debate: Finally Put Out Once and For All
You sound like my college marketing professor!
scheng1´s last blog ..Event planning ideas
Once plenty of submit. find that kind of information reading using groundwork for a customer, and continually looking for.
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