How to Start a Kickass Blog That Ranks in Search Engines
Is there a topic you know WAY too much about?
It could be that you are an experienced angler or just an absolute authority on everything war of stars or game of Thrones.
In any case, you should know that there is a way to benefit from your knowledge (even if you thought it was seemingly useless).
From start a blogyou can share your expertise, opinions and interests with the world, and if you play your cards right, you can even make money doing it.
You get what you put in, so it’s up to you whether you want to be a full-time blogger or make some extra money on the side.
But isn’t blogging dead? Does anyone even read blogs anymore?
This is a common myth because blogging is still alive and strong today, even alongside AI chatbots, TikTok shorts and YouTube videos.
In fact, you’ve probably read a blog in the last month or week and probably didn’t even realize it.
A shock 409 million Users read WordPress blogs every month, and there are more than 600 million Blogs online.
If you’ve Googled a question and quickly found an answer on a professional, well-written website, you’ve read a blog post.
By harnessing the power of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), you can get your blog posts to the top of search results and reap the rewards.
Are you seeing dollar signs yet?
Then stay here and learn how to start a successful blog now.
Develop a new blog step by step
Creating a new blog doesn’t have to be a painful process. That’s because you only need to complete a few key steps before you can start writing and publishing your first post.
However, it is important to plan a few things before choosing a CMS and paying for a domain name and hosting services.
Additionally, you should do your SEO homework beforehand to make sure your blog topic has a marketable audience and the competition isn’t too high.
Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up a new blog.
Step #1: Choose a topic or niche
First things first: you need to know what you’re going to write about.
Certain blog topics are more popular than others, which is something you need to take into account.
The Top Grossing Blog Topics are as follows:
- Groceries (average monthly income $9,169)
- Personal Finance (Average Monthly Income $9,100)
- Lifestyle/Mom (Average Monthly Income $5,174)
- Travel (average monthly income $5,000)
However, that doesn’t mean you have to choose one of these topics to start a successful blog.
However, if your passion and expertise align with one of these groups, you’re in for a treat (although you still need to find a way to stand out from the competition and build an audience).
Other topics are a little more niche, meaning they aren’t quite as mainstream, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build a loyal following with them.
To do this, you need to check the topic of your choice through SEO keyword research, which brings us to the next step.
Step #2: Conduct keyword research
Next, it’s time to consider the viability of the blog topic(s) you’ve chosen.
How you do that?
Through keyword research!
A keyword is a term or phrase that a user types into a search engine like Google to find information.
Using a keyword planner tool (like ours free offer from The HOTH), you can check that Search volume, keyword difficulty (how big is the competition), And Search trends for every topic.
Try entering a few variations on your desired topic to get a better idea of the interest involved.
If you want to blog about golf, search for keywords like “Golf techniques”Golf accessories,’ And ‘Golf News‘to see what’s out there.
Look for keywords with a high search volume (in the thousands), a relatively low keyword difficulty (less than 65%), and an increasing search trend (meaning search is still growing in popularity).
If your topic ideas have these metrics, it’s a strong sign that people want to read what you’re going to write about.
Pro tip: The keyword research phase can also help you refine the core focus of your blog. Let’s take golf as an example: LIV Golf News is a keyword with great metrics that could inspire you to provide your readers with the latest updates on the LIV Championship.
Step #3: Figure out how to make money
How do you want to make money with your blog?
You have a whole range of options including:
- Become a partner and promote another company’s products
- Show digital displays
- Offering coaching/consulting services
- Sell a book
- Online courses
These are all legitimate ways to make money blogging. You just need to decide which one you want to use before designing your blog.
Step #4: Choose a CMS, domain name and hosting provider
Now it’s time to make your blog a reality, which isn’t nearly as difficult as it sounds.
You need to choose a content management system (CMS) because that’s where you’ll design your blogs and publish them online.
After that, you need to choose a domain name and hosting service.
WordPress is one of the most popular CMS platforms today and is completely free because it is open source.
Other popular options include Wix, SquarespaceAnd Bloggers (which Google owns).
Popular platforms on the hosting side include:
Some CMS platforms like Wix also offer their own hosting.
The most important part of this step is choosing your blog name and domain name.
You must be:
- Catchy
- Unforgettable
- Rich in keywords
Don’t hesitate to be a little creative here because the more unique your blog name is, the more you will stand out from the competition.
Step #5: Design your blog
Now that you have a blog website up and running, it’s time to add all the bells and whistles to it.
Aside from making your blog look super cool, the colors, style, and layout you choose also serve as your official branding.
Most modern CMS platforms have tons of fully customizable templates you can use that serve as fantastic starting points.
From there, you can customize the colors, fonts, and buttons to your heart’s content.
Step #6: Create an editorial calendar and start writing
Now all you have to do is plan a few months worth of content and start writing.
If you encounter writer’s block or aren’t sure about a good topic, you can always turn to AI to boost your creativity.
AI copywriting tools like Copymatic are excellent secret weapons for bloggers.
Based on a few simple prompts, you can create entire blog posts that you can customize and add your own voice.
To plan your content, underpin your strategy with keyword research (similar to step 2, but for each post).
Once your first post is ready, it’s time to promote it like crazy. Share it on all your social media platforms, add relevant tags and ask all your friends and family to read it.
After that, you need to monitor your progress using free tools like Google Search Console And Google Analytics. Pay close attention to your average organic traffic and SERP rankings. If you’re not seeing the results you want, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and try something different.
Don’t wait and start captivating your readers today
Starting a blog is easier than ever these days, and you can even get AI to help you if you don’t have a gap.
Additionally, blogging is still very relevant and a great way to make money.
If you need help creating an outstanding blog for your business, don’t wait to give it a try HOTHour managed SEO services.