media update’s Taylor Goodman examines three apps that you can use to optimise your blog.
So, why should you be using blogging tools? Well, they can make a
massive difference in the success of your blog. Whether you want idea inspo, to improve SEO or to build the quality of your content — there’s an app for that!
Without further ado, let’s dive into three blogging tools you need to start using today:
Coming up with engaging topics to write about is one of the main sticking points for bloggers. It may be especially difficult for those that have been blogging for a while, as the ‘idea well’ can very easily run dry.
When writer’s block hits, a tool like Hubspot’s blog topic generator can be a tremendous help as it does the idea generation
for you.
All the blogger needs to do is
enter keywords related to their topic; following which, the app will return a batch of topics that may work for them.
Simple, right?Additionally, if the first five topics the application has to offer aren't
quite what you were looking for, you can always try again.
However, this tool should be used as something to spark ideas and get the brainstorming process rolling; it is by no means something you should be overly-reliant on for content ideas.
It is essential that your content is of a high quality in order for your blog to be successful — content
is the backbone of your blog after all!
When creating this content, you will be doing a great deal of writing and editing, which can be a time consuming and tedious job. The Hemingway Editor can offer guidance in this regard; all you need to do is copy and paste your text into the app.
This tool helps to improve the readability of the text. It does this by highlighting areas in your content that are
too complex or ‘wordy’, use passive voice, or have too many adverbs.
The application will then return your readability score so that you can make sure that the content aligns with your readers level of education.
For example, it will display that your article’s readability is at a grade six level, meaning that a reader that age or older will be able to comprehend your piece.
While this tool can offer useful guidelines, you also need to take into account your particular writing style and the audience you are intending to reach. While a more simple and easily understandable blog might be preferable for SEO, it isn’t ideal if your audience includes industry specialists.
Yoast is a tool that assists in improving your blog’s on-page SEO. Similar to the Hemingway app, Yoast helps to improve the readability of your content by assessing grammar, reading level and sentence structure.
What sets this app apart from others is its SEO analysis. Yoast offers guidance by
adding keywords, optimising your meta descriptions and URLs, and adding internal links.
So how does it work? Users need to install the Yoast plugin and add their post. Following this, the app will conduct an analysis of your content and you can fix anything that is highlighted in red or orange
until you hit “good” SEO, or a green “Y” next to your publish button.
Why should you use Yoast? Well optimising keywords, meta tags and URLs would be useful to bloggers because making your blog more SEO friendly can help improve your ranking on Google and other search engines. This will help to expand your blog’s reach and attract new customers.
What are some of your favorite blogging tools? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
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Want to learn more about how you can improve your blogging skills? Be sure to check out these Five ways to combat blogger burnout here.
*Image courtesy of Vecteezy