As your blog starts to grow and you're adding more and more posts, chances are readers won't see every single post you write. Why not make it easy for them to find related content by cross-linking where appropriate. You can even do this across social media platforms.
Here's what I mean. Let's say you blog about social media marketing and a particular post talks about using images effectively on Facebook. You could link within that post to an older post where you talk about using images on Twitter, or a more specific post where you explained how to fix things when Facebook doesn't pull up the right image from your site. Do you see how this works?
Let's look at another example. Let's say you're writing a recipe blog and you're sharing a new recipe for an amazing BLT tomato salad. You could link to an older post where you shared how to cook bacon in the oven. This is pretty easy stuff, right? Or you can link to/from a post you did on Pinterest or Instagram or LinkedIn. What about a video you posted on Youtube? Sure, link them as well! The more ways you can connect your content, the better.
This strategy serves a few different purposes. You're engaging your readers more with your content. This gives them a chance to get to know you and your blog a little better. It also means you're getting more exposure and your visitor numbers will start to look better. It also helps you with search engines, believe it or not. They keep track of how long readers stay on your site and if they click around to read more. This is an indication of the quality of your content and your blog. In other words, if you can get readers to stick around longer, it will help your blog rank higher in the search engines.
Let's not forget about the positive influence this has on your readers. You're going out of your way to be helpful and share all sorts of great information with them. Not only does this allow your readers to get to know you better, it also builds credibility and trust which is exactly what you want.
Last but not least, the more pages your readers look at, the higher your chances that they'll comment or share your links on social media. That, in turn, will help you broaden your reach and grow your audience. So, let's see some cross-linking.
Today is the last day I am writing a "How to" type blog for the October challenge ( I will keep sharing blogging strategies, resources and tips with those in the October Blog-A-Day Challenge so you can sign up to keep getting this information – http://www.blogadaychallenge.com). I would love to hear what you have found helpful so far.
Starting tomorrow I will demonstrate other ways you can blog and create a relationship with your audience.
Hey gang! I decided to address my complete disgust with so many many MANY negative Facebook posts about the presidential candidates and combine it with my Blindness Awareness Month's goals to educate the public about blindness ALL IN ONE LITTLE POST! Enjoy!