People like new information. If they are interested in your topic, they want to see more information about it as often as possible. Search engines mimic people in that regard. They absolutely adore frequently updated sites. They reward blogs that provide frequent updates with better locations in search results. Providing regular content is one of the best ways to appeal both to your human readers and the search engine robots that will lead even more real people to your blog.

There is no magic number of posts per week you must add to your blog. However, the general rule of thumb is that more is better. Some bloggers will update their blog several times per day. Others will provide one weekly update.

Finding the right patterns will be a byproduct of experimentation, combined with your own personal time limitations and interest levels. I personally recommend updating a blog at least a few times per week. If you can update more frequently, do so. However, make sure these updates offer something of value. Writing for the sake of writing may help with respect to fooling search engine spiders, but it will undoubtedly antagonize real readers so much as to render the strategy useless.

Those who make a living online will tell you that “content is king.” Content is what brings people to any site. It is what keeps them there, too. It is also the favorite discover of every search engine spider. The more content you have, the better off you are going to be.

Some niches may be so underserved that a blog can continue to successfully generate traffic with infrequent updates. However, more competitive fields will require more and more content to stay afloat.

Updates can vary in length. Generally speaking, however, extremely short posts will have less value (both to the search engines and readers) than more involved writing. However, the desire to provide more lengthy and meaningful posts will need to be balanced against usability considerations, which we will discuss later. Many will argue that content additions that “weigh in” between 250-600 words are optimal.

KEYWORDS & CONTENT

Search engines operate on keywords. Put simply, keywords are the words for which people are searching. By making sure you use these keywords in your content, you are more likely to be discovered.

Thus, you can produce some pretty remarkable traffic jumps by using the keyword phrases people are typing into Google. This is obvious, but it does bring up a few interesting questions.

How do I find which keywords are popular for searches in my niche? There are a variety of free online tools available to help with keyword research. Earlier, we mentioned Nichebot, which does an admirable job of showing what phrases and keywords are in “high demand.” A quick Google search for “keyword finder” and other similar phrases should provide you with some other options. There are paid services, like WordTracker, that also assist in keyword research, but free options remain available.

How should I use the keywords once I have found them? This is a subject of some debate. The question about how many times keywords should appear in order to trigger a positive response from search engines is a constant topic of argument in the search engine optimization field. Some will argue that a keyword should be used enough to comprise 3-5% of the total text in any post.
Others will argue that a higher density is necessary. Some will maintain that keyword density is not as important as producing content that contains the keyword and related relevant terms.

There are a few ways of making sure your content does its job when it comes to keywords. One is to carefully monitor your use and to write posts around popular keywords related to your topic. Another is simply to focus on turning out good, relevant content and assuming the volume of your output and its overall quality will produce desired keyword results. Generally speaking, the best strategy for most bloggers probably lies somewhere in the middle of those extremes. By producing content with an understanding of keywords while not compromising its integrity in an effort to stuff every post with popular search terms, one can usually be relatively successful.

One should strive to make use of their primary keywords in the titles of their blog’s posts. They should also attempt to use those words and phrases, along with keywords of secondary importance within the posts themselves. There are free keyword analyzers available online that will give you breakdowns of keyword density for your posts. It makes sense to check your work against these at least occasionally to make sure your content is working its hardest to get you that coveted search engine traffic.

One should beware of overusing keywords. Search engines grow smarter all the time, and the days when one could get real results by stuffing keywords onto a page without rhyme or reason are gone. Remember that the search engine algorithms are designed to reward sites that are using keywords in a valuable context. They are able to discern that an endless stream of keywords is probably nothing more than an effort to fool their robots.

CONTROVERSY

Nothing gets noticed quite like the controversial. If you are looking for a way to get some attention (and, thus, traffic), it is possible to do so by taking controversial stands on issues related to your topic. This can get you noticed in a hurry!
However, utilizing controversy as a means of generating traffic is not usually a reasonable long-term strategy. First, how controversial can you be on a regular basis? If your blog’s success is based upon your willingness to take outlandish or controversial positions, you will put yourself in a position where you are forced to either constantly one-up yourself or becoming boring by comparison.

Second, intentionally taking a non-mainstream perspective just to get some attention risks alienating a portion of your potential audience. You want traffic, but you would probably prefer that not all of it came from people who want to argue with you! If you have a strongly held position that might create some controversy, don’t feel as though you have to hold back. Self-expression, after all, is what blogs are all about. However, you probably should not fall into the rut of using wild claims or inflaming rhetoric to drive traffic to your blog. Instead, concentrate on authoring relevant, quality, thought-provoking content.