Letter to the BlogPaws Community: Don’t Worry, Blogging is NOT Dead!

To our Dedicated BlogPaws Community,

After years, even decades, of work and effort, many bloggers and content creators feel discouraged by the recent challenges in the world of content marketing.

The not-so-helpful “Helpful Content Update” promised to reward helpful and original content. Yet, we saw so many AMAZING creators being penalized while 8-year-old Reddit conversations with blatantly incorrect or unrelated topics shot to the top of the search results. Combine this chaos with the many Gurus crying, “SEO is Dead!” and “Blogging is Dead!” and it’s a recipe for heartbreak.

But I wanted to take a moment to come to you today to clarify things and shut down one myth among our community members…

BLOGGING IS NOT DEAD!

The world of blogging and content creation isn’t hopeless. But it HAS changed…

Like any other industry, the digital marketing world is constantly changing, evolving, and reinventing itself. We’ve seen it time and time again with social media platforms closing, algorithms changing, and a shift in what is expected when visiting a blog. The current change is no different.

If you’ve been around the blogging world, you’ve seen it there to. Blogs started as an online journal. When that changed to a more educational focus, many creators worried about the future of blogging. 

But, guess what? We survived! 

For those hoping to see continued success in blogging, this means understanding the changes and being willing to change with them.

But what is actually changing? What does this mean for you?

Authority and Expertise are Key

For years, we were spoiled by the fact that you could write a blog post, carefully incorporate a list of predetermined keywords and keyword phrases, and count on your ability to rank on Google. But it’s not that easy anymore…

One of the biggest changes we need to embrace is that SEO is no longer focused primarily on keyword research.

Why? Society has grown and become smarter… We’ve learned just how easy it is to publish anything online, even if it’s completely fake. It’s not that people don’t want to read online content – they want to read GOOD online content from people they can trust.

This is why ensuring that your website clearly showcases why you should be considered an expert in your niche is so important. It’s not just about degrees and certifications (although those definitely should be included). Experience says a lot!

Consider this: Who would you turn to for questions about what to feed your dog – the person you know nothing about who randomly wrote an article on the topic, or the person you know has been caring for and loving dogs for the last 20 years?

Is Your Niche the Right Fit for You?

In addition to ensuring you can see WHY you should be trusted when someone visits your website, it also highlights the importance of choosing the right niche.

Gone are the days of lifestyle bloggers talking about anything and everything right out of the gate. Sure, if you’ve built a solid community (more on that later), you can expand to talk about a growing list of topics.

But as a “Joe Nobody” starting a blog, you need to pick a niche that reflects your expertise and experience in life.

Ignore the blogging coaches and “gurus” who tell you to choose your niche solely based on what is currently making the most money. If it’s not something you can demonstrate knowledge or experience in, it doesn’t matter how well it pays. You aren’t going to draw the traffic necessary to take advantage of that.

AI Means Losses, But Also Opportunities

One major concern many bloggers have is the use of voice search and AI summaries on popular search engines. And rightfully so… This shift will inevitably have an impact on all of us.

Website visitors searching for a quick, easy answer no longer need to click through to a blog post to find it. Instead, a quick search is going to give them their answer, and they will be on their way again.

After all, we live in a fast-paced society that wants everything as quickly and easily as possible.

However, this could also open the door to opportunities for bloggers who understand and consider this in their content creation. Blog posts that answer that easy question quickly while offering more in-depth information and first-hand knowledge will give searchers a reason to visit and learn more.

But to do this, you need to offer new and interesting information. What value are YOU adding to the topic to give people a reason to want to keep reading?

The AI Overview in Google incorporates links for further information:

This, of course, means finding topics where you can offer value and also those searches where there’s a reason to keep reading.

Questions like “How many teeth does a cat have?” simply aren’t going to drive the traffic they once did, no matter how you slice it… the answer is black and white. Consider, instead, more open-ended questions that could entice people to look for more information than can be summarized in an overview.

Finally, don’t forget – Google isn’t the only player!

The big news lately in the AI space is the fact that OpenAI has released ChatGPT search. This platform leverages Bing’s index for real-time web searches. This means that to leverage this opportunity and be included in the sources for ChatGPT searches, you must ensure you are being indexed with Bing (check out Bing Webmaster Tools).

Don’t Overlook the User Experience

As I mentioned above, our current society has very little patience. We want everything, we want it to be good quality, and we want it NOW. (Okay, maybe not all of us, but that’s the general consensus).

With that in mind, how will your website fare?

We’ve been talking about the importance of site speed for search platform algorithms for a long time now, but it also plays majorly into the user experience of those visiting your site. If it takes too long to load, they are closing out and moving on…

You also want to make finding what people are looking for as easy as possible. This means prioritizing:

• Easy navigation
• Clean and easy-to-read site design
• Search bars
• And much more…

Consider the elements that will improve the overall experience when visiting your website. You want people to spend time on your website, but you want it to be because they want to spend the time, not because they have to in order to find what they’re searching for.

Community, Community, Community

With trust becoming so important online, one of the best ways to drive reliable traffic is to build a solid community that knows you, trusts you and stands by you.

They are more likely to become return visitors and buyers (for your own products/services or any affiliates and recommendations you share) and also more likely to share your content with others.

People are far more likely to trust an unknown site if it’s being recommended by someone they know and love.

If you put the time and effort into building a community of people while prioritizing authenticity, transparency, and relationship building, it can quickly turn into an incredible source of traffic and leads.

In fact, I have seen websites firsthand where this approach drives not only more traffic but more engaged traffic than any other aspect of their marketing plan!

At the end of the day, there are still MANY opportunities for us. But for those who are holding onto the marketing advice of days past, let this be your warning… The online world is changing. Are you ready to change with it?

All the Best,

Britt

P.S. Let’s take a moment to focus on the positive… What are you most excited about heading into this new age of digital marketing?