How Small Business Owners Can Improve Their Blog Posts
If you’re a small business owner who writes your own blog posts, we applaud you! You clearly appreciate the value of content marketing enough to dedicate time to this important task.
For small business owners, blogs are one of the most affordable ways to reach their audience, establish authority, and build trust. Additionally, when your posts are optimized for search engines, you’ll find that your rankings will continue to improve over time.
But it’s important to remember that blogging isn’t about just “getting content out there.” For a post to be effective, it needs to fulfill a dual role: it needs to connect with readers and show up in search engines (preferably within the top 10 listings) when prospects search for products like yours.
If your blog is not currently achieving the results you were hoping for, you could hire a content editor for help. However, if you’re not ready to hire additional help yet, there are a few easy steps you could take to improve your small business blog posts. In this post, we’ll go over seven steps you can take right now to get better results.
Write your post to a specific person
Most blogs fail to connect with readers because they sound like they were written for a broad audience. A more effective way to create posts that engage readers is to write with one specific person in mind—say, for example, one of your favorite customers. Think about what problems your customer faces and how your expertise can help make that client’s life easier.
For example, if you provide IT solutions for small businesses, write to the office manager tasked with setting up a secure system for her firm even though it’s not her specialty.
2. Keep your blog focused on one key topic
Sometimes, when you know a subject well, you may be tempted to explain everything you know about the topic. This may end up diluting the effectiveness of the post as your readers may be getting information that is not as relevant to them. Instead, keep your topic focused on addressing one of your client’s questions or problem areas. If you find that a related topic warrants further discussion, create a new post and set up a link for readers to learn more (which is also helpful for SEO).
For example, instead of creating a post with a broad topic, such as “The Top Tech Trends of 2025,” choose a more specific topic, such as “How Small Manufacturers Can Prevent Costly Downtime with a Simple Backup Plan.”
3. Write like a human, not a policy manual
Frequently, in B2B content, writers tend to create stiff—and if we’re honest, boring—content because they are trying to make it sound “professional.” Most readers prefer clear, direct writing simply because it’s easier to understand and takes less time to decipher.
Personally, I have always found jargon-filled articles with long, “professional-sounding” words frustrating, because they force me to read at a significantly slower pace to understand it. Why put your readers through that? Their time is valuable.
Another way to make your writing more human is to use contractions. If you listen carefully to verbal conversations, you will notice that we primarily speak with contractions. You can use this in your writing as well to make your readers feel as if you’re having a conversation with them. For example, look at my previous sentence. Instead of “you are having a conversation,” I used “you’re having a conversation.” Without the contractions, your writing will feel stiff and formal.
The final check to ensure that your writing sounds human is to read your article out loud. When you do so, phrases that sound awkward or stiff will jump out at you. And if you feel weird about reading your written pieces aloud, use the editor function in Word, which will read it out loud for you.
4. Break up text with useful headings and subheadings
Every page in a website needs a hierarchy—a system that directs and guides site visitors so that they can quickly find the most important items on the page. Creating a page without headings is like offering someone a roadmap without the street names.
For example, if a site visitor finds your blog post and sees a wall of text without headings, they will likely feel overwhelmed and leave. Headers allow readers to, first, see if the article has the information they are looking for, and second, allow them to go directly to the item they are looking for.
While we all hope that our blogs are read from start to finish, the reality is that most people just don’t have the time. Most of the time, they are looking for a specific answer to a problem they have, and we want to be the ones to provide that solution for them.
Headers also need to be specific. Vague headers, such as “The Solution,” do not help readers find the information they are looking for. Instead, use a more descriptive heading, such as “What a 5-minute audit revealed about a local firm’s security gaps.”
Additionally, headers play a vital role in both SEO and AI searches, with both search engines and AI preferring highly organized content. Ensure that your headers have H2 settings, and your subpoints have H3 and H4 heading tags.
5. Focus on one long-tail keyword phrase
To figure out which phrase to use, think about a phrase that a prospect might type into Google when searching for your product or service. For example, “data backup solutions for small manufacturers.”
When you have your phrase, use it in your title, headings, first paragraph, meta description, and URL (when possible). Try to incorporate the phrase naturally into your content—but be careful—readers can tell when a phrase is being forced into the writing because it sounds awkward.
6. Include a clear takeaway or call-to-action
At the end of your blog post, make sure to mention what step readers should take next. Do you want your reader to schedule a free discovery call with you or download a guide or checklist? Maybe you’d like them to view a related post. Whatever it is, make sure to state it clearly and provide whatever links they need to take that step.
This does not have to be a hard sell—keep it friendly and focus on what would be helpful to your reader.
7. Add a relevant image with alt text
Visuals help to catch the reader’s attention and give them an idea of what the blog is about. When selecting an image for your article, make sure it’s relevant to the topic and include alt text.
The primary purpose of alt text is to improve accessibility for people with visual disabilities—it is, after all, just a written description of the picture. However, there is a second reason for including alt text for your images: it helps optimize your post for search engines.
When you create alt text, try to include your keywords or your keyword phrases when possible. For example, instead of “a man talking with a customer,” try to incorporate some of your keywords, such as “An IT consultant reviewing a backup system with a manufacturing client.”
So, when you’re looking for ways to improve your small business blog post, remember that a few intentional changes can make them more compelling. Using these seven tips will help you to connect and build trust with your readers, establish authority and credibility for your small business, and improve your AI and search engine results.
Need help polishing your posts before you publish?
As a content editor who specializes in helping B2B small businesses, I can help you sound clear, credible, and confident—without spending hours rewriting. Let’s connect if you’d like a second set of eyes.