In a typical blogging roadmap for those getting started, as with any roadmap, there has to be a destination. If you continuously write for three months or so, you will probably rank for some of your keywords, and there will be a certain number of visitors on your blog. But is that what your destination is?
Whether you are blogging for business or for pleasure, being an authority in your subject should be your objective. Share unbiased opinions and let your articles be interesting and factual. Let people judge for themselves. Your blog will remain invisible without ranking, but successful blogging demands Sustained Ranking. You must survive the infamous Google Dance.
With that in mind, let us outline a blogging roadmap for those getting started.
Content
Decide upon your area of expertise. If you are writing a personal blog with a variety of subjects, do a bit of keyword research so that people find you in organic search results. In fact, you could simply take note of the keyword suggestions that Google offers.
Let us imagine you are going to write about your reflections on Faith. Typing ‘reflections on’ in the Google search box generates a number of suggestions including ‘reflections on trusting trust’. Now, that looks relevant enough. Consider if you can tweak your title or even your article a little to incorporate that exact search term. The point, here, is to focus on what people are looking for, and shaping your content accordingly without sacrificing your original ideas. This is not a compromise; you are, after all, trying to reach out to an audience. You could have maintained a diary otherwise.
The second thing about content is to scrupulously avoid typographical or grammatical errors. The latter may be difficult if English is not your first language. Exploring the numerous free resources on the Internet to learn a language may be well worth your time. Typos, on the other hand, are totally avoidable. Their presence represents a lack of respect for your readers.
SEO
Sooner or later, you will have to learn about Search Engine Optimization, especially if you are doing business with your blog. Again, there are free resources all over the Net.
Choosing the right Platform
Try out both major free platforms and then decide whether Blogger or WordPress is your thing. Reading up all you can find on either platform will help, but you can’t beat personal experience. It is perfectly alright to begin with two blogs on either platform and then shift to the one you are most comfortable with.
Be Social
Being social does not refer only to social media activities, although that is also what we meant. Find blogs that are in your area of interest, take note of the layout, the image placements, and how advertisements are placed. If you like the content, leave a comment. Getting to know your fellow bloggers is a big help in finding your own place in the blogging universe.
The Way Ahead
Soon, it will be time to take things a little more professionally. Please note the following with regard to the rest of the map.
Stick to a single blogging platform and explore it to the fullest
Regarding the look of your blog, make a good compromise between appearance and useability (read, loading time).
Find your own niche, business or personal, and always research your posts. Schedule your posts to appear at regular intervals – once or twice a week is quite enough, really.
Continue connecting with other bloggers, and respond to comments on your own blog as soon as you can.
Have Subscribe through Email and RSS options prominently placed, and make use of social sharing buttons.
Get your custom domain and hosting. This is how you will really own your blog instead of surviving on a sub-domain.
Connect your blog to all your social media profiles; create an email signature with the link of your blog in it.
We assumed while delineating the blogging roadmap for those getting started, that the journey will be as interesting as the destination. If you are into blogging strictly for business, what we have said apply, but you would probably want to get a keyword-rich domain name and paid to host, to begin with. The roadmap, in truth, is one that you begin to create for yourself after a while. Then, as you grow more experienced, you will learn to shape the knowledge that you have gained to adapt to your particular requirements and preferences. When you have reached that point, you will need a roadmap no longer.
