Is your small business blog taking up too much of your time and giving you too little in return? Don't give up and throw in the towel. Making a few simple tweaks can help you get better results from your business blog.

  1. Use keywords. Make sure that you know what keywords you want your business blog to be found for when customers and prospects do online searches. Then, use those keyswords in your headlines, subheads and the first paragraphs of your blog posts. You can use a WordPress SEO plugin (WordPress SEO by Yoast is an easy-to-use option) to simplify the process of choosing and using keywords.
  1. Add images. Some bloggers still don't use images in their posts. This is a big mistake, since adding visuals enhances your results in search engines. However, it's also a big mistake to use random photos grabbed from Google searches, since this can get you in hot water with the photographers who own the pictures. Subscribe to a stock photo service such as Thinkstock or iStock where you can get quality blog photos for an affordable price. Then be sure to use key words in the photo captions and alt tags.
  1. Provide value. Are your blog posts providing something your prospective customers want? If your posts sound like press releases, it's no wonder customers aren't reading. As you write, focus on giving your customers useful information, helping to solve a problem they have or just being entertaining (depending on your business).
  1. Post regularly. The best results are obtained by posting two or three times a week. However, if you can't do it that often, don't stress. Any amount of blogging is better than nothing-and regularity is more important than quantity. In other words, it's better to post twice a month than to put up six posts at once and then do nothing for two months. A regular posting schedule shows readers your business is up and running.
  1. Promote your posts. No matter how good your SEO, you can't just create a blog and hope people find it online. Promote your blog in all possible avenues. Add a link at the end of your email signature, link to your blog from your home page, and promote it on all of your social media avenues. You can also garner attention by commenting on other bloggers' relevant posts and including a link to your own blog (be careful this doesn't come off too pushy).
  1. Include a call to action. Invite readers to comment, click on a link for more information, contact you, download something or otherwise take action as part of every blog post.

By implementing these six simple steps, you'll soon discover that your blog is getting more viewers and more results.

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