When it comes to content distribution, there are a few rookie mistakes brands make over and over. Some are unintentional. Some are simple oversights. But one of the most common mistakes we see is one of the easiest to remedy: optimizing your blog.

It isn’t that hard to do, and yet there is so much great brand content hidden all over the Internet—simply because someone didn’t activate social sharing buttons. To make sure that doesn’t happen to you, we’ve compiled a handy checklist (and infographic) to help you optimize your blog for maximum visibility.

But First, Why Optimize Your Blog for Content Distribution?

When it comes to content distribution, you can’t control everything. You can’t force an influencer to publish your infographic. You can’t guarantee one Facebook ad will make everyone download your new e-book. That’s why it’s important to take control of your owned properties: your website, newsletter, and blog.

These are properties you do have more control over. They are the most direct link to you, and thus they should be optimized for maximum shareability and visibility. Your blog is especially important to bring in that sweet, sweet SEO traffic.

But just because you have a blog doesn’t mean it is optimized for content. Simply hitting publish won’t help you attract people. You need to enhance it in ways that make it easier for people to…

• Find your content
• Share your content
• Follow your content
• Get in touch

Luckily, there are a few simple things you can do to get better results on your blog. 

The Blog Optimization Checklist

Every piece of content you publish should make as much impact as possible. To do that, you need to make your content easy to find on your blog—and easy to share. Here are six ways to make that happen.

1. Add social buttons. According to a BrightEdge Technologies studies, sites with social sharing buttons generate 7x more mentions than those without. Place the social share buttons at the beginning and end of each post, unless you use an active scroll. Only give the option to share from a few social networks that are most relevant to your viewer. Tip: Select three platforms to suggest sharing on.
2. Use tweetable quotes. Keep readers engaged by including “tweet this” buttons throughout the blog post.
3. Optimize with keywords. Make sure to include keywords in image file names, alt tags, headlines, URLs, etc. to increase SEO. (Find out how to optimize your infographics for SEO.)
4. Include CTAs. Whether it’s a link to the next article or an e-book download, provide something to entice readers to click through. Test different copy, placement, colors, etc. (Unbounce experienced a 90% increase in click-through rate by changing one word in the CTA button copy.)
5. Use an email subscribe button or popup. Encourage people to subscribe by making your email/newsletter button highly visible.
6. Publish at the right time. According to the Science of Social Timing and our own data, the optimal time to publish a post is Monday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m. EST with most blogs being read at around 11 a.m EST.

Note: For any tools or buttons, double check that everything is working correctly. You should also periodically review the language used for CTAs or your email subscribe button to make sure it’s as impactful as possible.  

(For your convenience, here’s the infographic version of the checklist.)

Look for More Ways to Boost Content

Your blog is only one facet of your content distribution strategy. To get even more eyes on your content, we have a few resources that might help.

• Choose the right distribution channels. Find out how to determine which are best for your content.
• Know how to track your success. Find out which metrics will be most helpful for you.
• Repurpose content. Look for ways to reuse or remix existing content, whether that’s adding an infographic to a blog post, repurposing data visualizations, or turning an old e-book into an infographic. (Using a divisible content strategy is an easy way to do this.)
• Make microcontent. Get more mileage from your content by learning how to promote larger pieces through microcontent.
• Use the right messaging. Make sure all of your content lands with these tips to craft effective brand messaging.
• Work smarter, not harder. Bookmark these 100+ tools, tips, and resources to make impactful content marketing.

For more tips on distribution, check out our free e-book, The Ultimate Guide to Content Distribution. If you still need a little help with your content, we’d love to chat about your strategy.