An age-old question that has crossed the minds of both bloggers and content creators is “how often should you write blogs?”. As it turns out, there is no one-size-fits-all answer, and several factors should affect your decision. Ultimately, the answer really depends on the nature of your business, so if you want to find out more, read on!
Business Factors
Firstly, we look at the nature of your company, in particular, its size. Do you have a large in-house copywriting team who work full-time creating content for your business? If the answer is no, then naturally the frequency of published blogs will be slower.
Secondly, you will need to consider the type of content that resonates with your target audience. Does your company produce mostly evergreen content or is it involved with current affairs? If your blog posts or articles entre around topical news, as it would for a news publishing business such as NZ Herald or Stuff, you will have to post regularly if you wish to hold a high ranking on search engines. This applies to Google in particular because of an algorithm called the Query Deserves Freshness (QDF) algorithm.
The Query Deserves Freshness (QDF) Algorithm
A lot of the information regarding the frequency of posting centres around the Google algorithm “Query Deserves Freshness (QDF)” and the type of content that it affects.
The Query Deserves Freshness algorithm first released in 2007 and finally updated in 2011 as Google’s response to more users now looking for “fresh” content. QDF aims to rank content based on its “hotness” or newsworthy rating. Google recognised that people were digesting content more than ever before, so they found a way to reorder the search results so that the most relevant and up-to-date information appeared first.
Interestingly, in terms of blog posts, the QDF works in two different ways. If your blog content is based solely on what is happening in current affairs, then the QDF will be of great importance to your ranking on Google. However, if your blog posts reference evergreen topics, your ranking isn’t massively affected by the algorithm.
What is evergreen content?
Evergreen content is precisely as it sounds. It is the type of content that is evergreen and never withers, containing universal advice, tips, and information that is relevant at any point in time. It is the opposite of news or trending content, and ultimately it should never go “out of style”.
Evergreen content tends to be:
- Thoroughly researched
- Unique in Its insights
- Easily refined and modified
This type of content appeals to marketers and content creators, as the results are often:
- Consistent traffic
- Constant high rankings for relevant queries
- Generation of leads for long periods
For the same reasons, most companies opt for evergreen blog content because the information is not affected by the passage of time – often spanning over one or two years for many industries.
The Priority Factor
So, it seems that blogs that reference evergreen topics over current affairs will naturally need to post less frequently to gain consistent high rankings. However, we are left with the original question of frequency. How often should we be posting blogs?
We look at this question from the perspective of priority.
If you are a smaller business, then your priorities should lie in producing good quality blogs over a plethora of sub-par content. This tactic is known as blogging strategically over frequently. Google’s algorithm will recognise your higher-quality content as valuable to its user and will ultimately rank you higher on the search results page.
If you can post high-quality content frequently, however, then your website’s organic traffic would certainly be positively affected. But if you do not have the resources and skills to sustain a higher frequency, we recommend creating consistently valuable and engaging content at a slower publishing rate.
Consider other content marketing options
While blog posts and articles bring plenty of benefit to your website and organic search results, they are not the end-all-be-all of content marketing. If you don’t have the time to write hundreds of words for a blog article, consider other avenues of short-form content—in particular, social media.
Whether it’s posting on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, making the most of these social media platforms will help ensure consistent engagement with your customers and keep your brand top-of-mind. Make sure to use high-quality images and videos, and get creative with character limits, emojis, and hashtags to create the best impact.
At the end of the day, when it comes to content marketing, the important thing to remember is that you need to reach your audience where they are. This way, you can make the most of your finite resources. Whether you’re blog writing, social media posting, uploading videos, sharing infographics, or a mix and match of all these options, publishing content that resonates with your target audience on a platform they frequent will get you the results you’re looking for.
Reach out to us today
If you are looking for more information on quality copywriting and its effect on your company’s SEO rankings, reach out to our digital marketing agency for a free consultation today!