Introduction
Working on the SEO of a company’s blog can be challenging, especially when visibility continues to decline despite consistent efforts. It appears that for about six months, you’ve been optimizing articles, focusing on technical SEO, and creating high-quality content, but the blog is still losing visibility. In this article, we’ll examine possible causes of declining visibility and present actions that may help improve your blog’s SEO.
Understanding Your Current Situation
Algorithm Updates
Google frequently updates its search algorithms to improve result quality. Such updates as Spam Updates can negatively impact websites that previously had good results. Even if your content is high-quality, past problems or associations may still be affecting rankings.
Common Problems and Their Solutions
Subdomain vs Subfolder
One key decision in structuring your blog was placing it on a subdomain instead of a subfolder. This might impact SEO in several ways:
- Authority Splitting: A subfolder (e.g., example.com/blog) may more effectively split the authority of the main domain than a subdomain (e.g., blog.example.com). Subfolders generally use the general link strength and ranking signals from the domain. Solution: If possible, consider migrating your blog from a subdomain to a subfolder. This process requires technical steps and may carry risks, so it’s crucial to carefully plan and execute migration, ensuring proper 301 redirects from the subdomain to the subfolder to retain as much link value as possible.
Content Quality and Relevance
Despite optimizing articles and caring about their usability, content from the past year hasn’t achieved high results.
- Freshness and Depth of Content: Google values fresh, relevant, and in-depth content. Regularly updating old articles can help, but new content should also be detailed and valuable, surpassing existing materials. Solution: Conduct a thorough audit of your content. Identify gaps and opportunities to create long, in-depth guides or analyses on current trends in the industry. Ensure each piece is optimized for appropriate keywords without excessive keyword stuffing.
Technical SEO
Ensuring technical SEO correctness is crucial but often overlooked aspects can still harm performance.
- Loading Speed and Mobile Optimization: Free loading of pages and lack of responsiveness on mobile devices can significantly affect rankings and user experience. Solution: Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and Mobile-Friendly Test to identify and fix problems. Optimize images, use browser caching, and ensure your site is responsive.
- Internal Linking: Effective internal linking can help distribute authority throughout the site and improve indexation. Solution: Implement a solid strategy for internal linking. Ensure all new and old articles link to relevant content on your site, using descriptive anchor texts.
Backlink Profile
A strong backlink profile is crucial for SEO. However, acquiring high-quality links requires continuous effort.
- Built Links: Focus on obtaining reciprocal links from reputable sites in your niche. This can increase the authority of your site and improve rankings. Solution: Conduct outreach campaigns, publish guest posts on other blogs, and build relationships with influencers in your industry. Use tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush to analyze your backlink profile and identify opportunities for improvement.
User Engagement
Metrics of user engagement, such as bounce rates, time on site, and CTR (Click-Through Rate), can affect SEO.
- Optimizing Engagement: Improve the user experience to lower bounce rates and increase time spent on-site. Solution: Enhance your content with multimedia elements such as video, infographics, and interactive features. Ensure content is easily readable through proper formatting, headings, and subheadings.
Advanced Strategies
Data Structure and Snippets
Implementing a data structure can help search engines better understand your content and increase the chances of it being displayed in rich snippets.
- Schema Markups: Use schema markups to provide additional context for your content. Solution: Implement appropriate types of schemas, such as Article, BlogPosting, FAQ, and HowTo, to increase the visibility of your content in SERPs.
Monitoring and Analysis
Regularly monitoring site performance can help identify problems and track the effectiveness of SEO strategies.
- SEO Tools: Use comprehensive SEO tools to gain insight and monitor performance. Solution: Tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can provide valuable data about site performance, traffic sources, and keyword rankings.
Conclusion
Improving a company blog’s SEO requires a multi-faceted approach. From addressing technical issues to considering the structure of your blog to optimizing content quality and building a solid backlink profile, there are many strategies to implement. Regularly monitoring performance and staying up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and algorithm updates is key. By adopting a comprehensive and proactive approach, you can increase your blog’s visibility and attract more traffic and revenue.
