A blog is a powerful tool for SEO promotion, helping you sell services natively and share news about a project.
Finding ideas for article topics
Analyze competitors
Observe competitors' headings, formats, and popular materials. Study issues in visitors' comments for potential topics.
If you have access to the SEMRush service, enter a competitor’s website or a webpage with a similar topic into the search bar, and you’ll get the top 10 key phrases that bring traffic to that site.
Subscribe to newsletters of specialized publications
If there are such resources in your area of specialization, subscribe to their newsletters. This way, you stay updated of industry news, events, possible studies, and reports that can form the basis for future articles or lead to other ideas.
Analyze search queries.
This can be done in several ways:
Tools: Such as Wordstat for your product’s keyword (for example, surfing, glamping, hiking, etc.) — see which phrases most frequently include this word.
Search engine hints: Start entering a query into the search box and see which options the system suggests for continuing the sentence.
Google Trends: Access large unfiltered samples of actual search requests made to Google for ideas. Try it now.
Study forums and groups centered around specific topics
Look at popular topics and questions in forums, social networks, and Telegram groups. Pay attention to which questions are aksed and which queries remain unanswered.
Use your analytics
Check feedback and reviews on your social networks and feedback forms for topic ideas.
Become familiar with the literature and podcasts about your topic
It’s not necessary to read every book or listen to all the podcasts — reviewing the headings and summaries will provide insight into which topics are trending.
Find experts
If you know experts and outstanding representatives in the industry related to your product, subscribe to their profiles on social networks.
Monitor industry events
This is an excellent way to understand community interests and see which experts are speakers. Many conferences offer free online live streams.
Engage your target customer group
Directly ask your social media followers or newsletter subscribers what content they want to see on your website through a simple survey. Create a survey using Google Forms or any other similar service. It’s best of all to give the opportunity to choose an answer from several options.
Include questions about their favorite travel publications and platforms to better understand their preferences. Consider offering a small incentive, like a discount or gift, to energize survey participation and gather meaningful data. Use these valuable insights to create targeted, compelling content that caters to your audience's interests and empowers their travel planning.
Consistency is key
Determine a realistic, sustainable article publishing schedule based on your niche, resources, and channels. Whether it's weekly or monthly, avoid long gaps between posts. Prioritize quality and deliver on your promise to keep readers engaged.
Leverage RateHawk's tools to maintain consistency and build audience trust.
How measure content performance with analytics
Connect your website to analytics tools such as Google Analytics. This will allow you to track key metrics such as:
Page views
Unique visitors
Time spent on each page
Conversion rates to purchases or registrations (if set up)
For content distributed via other channels like social networks, newsletters, forums, or partners’ blogs use UTM tags to identify top-performing platforms and topics.
Conduct a monthly analysis comparing various content pieces across channels and indicators. Let data be your guide in understanding what drives the most traffic and conversions to your blog or website.
Maximize RateHawk's powerful tools to streamline your content analytics and uncover actionable insights to supercharge your content strategy.
Mistakes to avoid while blogging
Don’t ignore the strategy
After a strategy has been created, stick to it constantly and not just when you’re compelled to do it. For example, unexpected, lengthy breaks in posting can negatively impact organic traffic and your website's reputation.
Don’t create low-quality content
Avoid grammatical errors, factual inaccuracies, and poor-quality images. It only takes a few bad comments on social networks to damage your reputation. Respect your audience by providing well-written, verified, and valuable information information that is simple and convenient for them.
Don’t forget about SEO optimization
Don’t neglecttitles, descriptions, H1 and H2 headings, and keywords to improve searchability. Proper SEO helps potential readers find your content and services. Learn more about best SEO practicesl here.
Don’t ignore text formatting
Readers don’t usually read a text from top to bottom, but rather scan it, pausing at the paragraphs that drew their attention. Only about 45% of readers read to the end of a text, therefore, it’s best to place the important information at the beginning.
Ensure your content is:
Organized with a table of contents.
Structured with informative headings and subheadings.
Interconnected with relevant cross-linked such as other articles that expand upon some or another topic in-depth.
Formatted using color, text styles (bold, italic, underlined), lists, and notes (quotes and inserts).
Illustrated with tables or infographics when applicable
Enhanced with visuals such as photos and video content. If it’s possible to show something instead of describing it, it’s best to do precisely that.
Don’t forget about copyright
If you want to download and use an image, study the terms and conditions. The copyright holder usually spells out what can be done with their image in a special license. We recommend subscribing to an image bank (for example, Shutterstock and DepositFiles). This way, you will receive access to a big database of images that are available to download legally. It’s also possible to use resources like Unsplash, where images are displayed according to Creative Commons licenses, in other words, they are available to legally download for free.
If you violate copyright laws you may receive both a fine and a more serious penalty.
Content Marketing
Keeping a blog is just one aspect of content marketing. To truly supercharge your travel business, consider repurposing your content across various channels:
Provide an excerpt from your blog post as an expert comment in an article by one of your brand’s allies or a subject-specific media publication.
Engage in cross-promotion, as mentioned in the social networks section, can also apply to blogs.
Exchange expert articles with partner platforms and include offers like a discounts for ordering products on each other’s websites.
The more organically this is done, the more positively users will perceive the advertising.
For instance, if your product is hiking backpacks, you could collaborate with a travel adventure company that organizes hiking trips. The partners could prepare an article about trendy destinations for hikes, while offering your target customer group a promo code to book places in the next group trip. In return, you will create a review of different backpack models, explaining which ones are best suited to specific hikes, and offer a discount on those products.
Such placements can be done unilaterally or for a fee, making it a potential way to monetize your content.
Given the various areas of content marketing, it's crucial to have a structured approach. Develop a clear strategy and define specific actions to leverage this marketing channel effectively.