All valuable blog posts start with the proper research. The research we conducted included using SEO tools like Semrush, connecting with our clients directly and through industry news, and paying close attention to the content our competitors would post.

1. We first had to keep a close eye on the industry; What questions were our audience asking? What information were they looking for? What words were they searching?

2. Then, we had to determine the opportunity in these areas. Is the volume of existing content too high for us to rank? Will these topics get enough searches to be worth our efforts? How can we diversify our content to ensure individuality?

3. Finally, we had to figure out how to increase reader stickiness. How do we turn a reader into a lead? How do we capitalize on this added traffic as much as possible?

In addition to our other responsibilities in the company, we began writing optimizing, and publishing our blog posts.

1. During the writing process, we used SEO tools to determine the desired length of each post.

2. We used SEO writing assistant tools and AI to optimize the reading level of our posts; ensuring that our content would be increasingly accessible to individuals our desired audience's industry.

   For instance, in order to reach a larger audience in the construction industry, my team had to write at a lower reading level than what we had been trained to write in. This is because the construction industry is very accessible compared to others. This is often due to (but not limited to) lower education requirements to enter the construction industry and more opportunity for individuals who speak a primary language other than English.

3. We used SEO tools to ensure proper keyword density standards.

Soon after we began to notice an increase in traffic to our website, we introduced easy ways to gather information from clients.

1. My team member, Alex, performed research to identify gaps in free and downloadable resources.

2. He then presented the initial ideas to our team member, Cody, to begin the drafting of the free resources. Cody created easy-to-use and downloadable templates like free Estimating templates, a Scope of Work template, a CRM Tracking template, and a Project Health template.

3. Our readers would then be required to input their name and an email address to receive the free template.

4. From there, it was my responsibility to personally reach out to each of these leads to provide them with more information on our software. After a defined cycle of outreach, these contacts would be added to our regular email marketing cycle.

Only half of the work in blogging is writing and publishing. The other half is monitoring progress, making updates, and adding more information as needed. For instance, linking blogs to one another is a crucial part of a successful SEO strategy. Interlinking directs readers to other pages which improves your site's credibility, and ultimately implicitly outlines the reader's cycle throughout your site.

1. Our executive team wanted us to add content in our strategy that we could send out to our current clients that would also be optimized for our SEO strategy.

2. As we started to see results and more aspects to track, I saw that we needed a holistic reference point to easily see any gaps in our own content, and updates that needed to be made along the way.

3. I am an incredibly organized person, so I immediately got started on a spreadsheet for our team to be able to track internal links, included resources, internal campaigns, different purposes, dates, and more. See the spreadsheet below.