According to research from Ignitespot, 61 percent of consumers bought something because they read about it on a blog.

Here are 5 things to consider for your small business blog.

1. Write Quality Content

Google’s recent Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird updates were all focused on placing quality content at the top of search results and pushing lower quality content down the search rankings.

So, what is quality content? Quality content gives searchers what they are looking for. It solves problems and gives answers.

2. Help People Scan

People read 25 percent slower online than in print. As a result, people scan for the information they want rather than read every word. Methods for making text easier to scan include:

• Use headings and subheadings
• Keep your paragraphs short
• Use bulleted lists

3. Publish Consistently

92 percent of companies that blog more than once per day received a customer from their blog, according to HubSpot. Google loves blogs because it loves fresh content.

The best blogs are updated frequently to keep the stream of fresh content flowing. Even if you can’t update your blog daily, you should at least keep to a consistent schedule. For instance, if you only have time to write a blog post once a week, try to publish on the same day each week and don’t skip weeks.

4. Include your Location

The purpose of your blog is to help potential customers find you online. Google’s Hummingbird update does have some ability to surface results based on the searcher’s location but it does not hurt to include your location(s) in your posts. This becomes essential if you want to show up in search results to consumers that are not in your immediate area. For example, if you have a beauty shop in Ridgewood, a good blog post title might be “Fixing Hair Coloring Mistakes in Ridgewood, NJ.”

5. Try to Start Conversations

You know that you have to gain your prospective customer’s trust in order for them to buy. Blogging can help you form the relationship you need in order to ultimately make a sale.

You can do this by making your blog as interactive as possible. Ask questions in your blog posts and always respond to comments. Once you get into an online discussion you have the chance to take the conversation offline and start a real relationship.