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The blog is nothing new. It's been around for a while now, with the trend taking off in the mid-1990s — think back to your friend's travel-blog-slash-online-journal.
Today, many question their relevance, especially with an increasing focus on social media and email. Blogs can sound like an outdated format. People want quick reads and short content.
This is a shame, because blogs are valuable. They provide deep dives into topics. They help brands drive traffic to their websites. They allow meaningful connections with target audiences.
So, is blogging still relevant? Do people still read blogs?
Here's the good news: Blogging is still very much alive. Blogs help with a company's search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to ensure their content is found through search engines. Orbit Media research found that 80% of bloggers find the format still drives results.
Investing in your blog in 2024 is worth the effort. Let's dig deeper.
This post examines the state of blogging today, blog importance, and how big brands like MyFitnessPal are leveraging the format.
How Has Blogging Changed Over the Years?
Think back to the late '90s or early 2000s, when you or someone you knew had a blog. Maybe they posted updates about their travels to keep family members in the loop. Perhaps a local mom wanted to share tips about child-rearing. Or someone just wanted an outlet for their daily thoughts, like an online journal.
These were key reasons blog popularity soared when it first emerged. Then, corporate use came a little bit later, along with the global increase in business websites. Today, brands are all but required to maintain an up-to-date, visually appealing website that uses blog posts to keep traffic coming in.
Here are a few ways today's blogs have changed:
- Length: Today's blogs are longer and provide much more detailed information. They're more like well-researched articles.
- Vlogging: With the increasing dependence on video content, more marketers are mixing the two formats — blogging and video — to create "vlogs."
- Social media: Blogs are posted in conjunction with social posts so brands can get even more traffic and engagement.
- Influencers: Many big brands today depend on influencer bloggers to promote their products on sites that already have a following.
What Are Some Outdated Blogging Techniques?
Not only have online readers' preferences changed over the years, but so have search engines. Search engine algorithms inform how marketers leverage their SEO content so it performs well.
Today, content is ranked higher if it's well-written, succinct, and lengthy. It should provide expert-level details on a topic because — you guessed it — that's what Google is looking for.
Blogs also have to incorporate keywords. These are tactics that didn't really exist when blogging first came onto the scene, but they're key when considering the importance of blogging in business.
What's more, traditional bloggers probably didn't prioritize linking to other online content. Today, links and anchor text are both key components that drive traffic and help Google recognize trustworthy content.
What Does the Future of Blogging Look Like?
How blogging has changed gives us some clues about the future of blogs. For example, video isn't going anywhere. So, you'd be wise to incorporate video content within or in conjunction with blog posts, alongside social media.
Blogging also requires a deep understanding of SEO — and how it changes. Google continues to update its algorithm to provide more relevant, high-quality results to search engine users. This means that content marketers need to keep a careful eye on what's happening with SEO and best practices for optimal visibility.
Finally, the future of blogging will be centered around mobile. Pew Research found that 97% of Americans have a cellphone, and 90% have a smartphone. In 2024, more than 60% of all internet traffic comes from mobile devices.
Thinking from a mobile user's perspective requires a different approach to writing and formatting blog posts. It also means checking text, design elements, and graphics so everything's functional on a mobile device.
Making a Case for Blogging: Results From MyFitnessPal
The best way to understand blogging's potential is to look at a real-world case. MyFitnessPal, the successful calorie and fitness tracker app, shared helpful information about how it leverages blogging to conquer its content goals and what the company learned in relaunching.
How MyFitnessPal Leveraged Blog Content To Achieve Their Goals
MyFitnessPal was looking to create blog content that resonated more with its audiences. The brand has always believed in its content marketing strategy, and as the company was shifting focus to becoming a lifestyle brand, leaders saw potential in blogging.
The app's blog was originally designed in 2010. By today's standards, the user experience was not up to par, with low functionality and ads everywhere. It needed some TLC — especially because in 2024, people are more critical of brands, and they don't give their trust easily. After hiring a new editorial director, the brand created a plan to refresh its content.
The MyFitnessPal team still has a lot of work to do with its blog content strategy. But in just a few months, the team has seen amazing results:
- Total clicks have increased 9%.
- Search ranking placement has increased 4%.
- Views per user have increased 11%.
- Engagement rate is up 25%.
- Average engagement time is up 55%.
The team has seen immense value in the blog. It drives organic traffic. It delivers helpful content. The company can repackage informative content across channels — a popular post in the blog can be used in newsletters, social media, and paid media strategies.
MyFitnessPal also uses blog performance for testing. How is the audience reacting to the topic of high protein, for example? If it's good, they can put that content on their other channels.
The blog has helped MyFitnessPal get more information about its target audience — an invaluable win.
Tips and Tricks Learned From MyFitnessPal's Blog Relaunch
Let's dig a bit deeper into lessons learned from MyFitnessPal that point to the reasons why you need a blog. Here are a few tips the team would share to make the blog a powerful tool:
- Conduct an initial audit: A higher-level audit immediately provides info about the user experience, what the blog is trying to do, and what the pieces of content say as a whole. Figure out if people are bouncing and how long they're spending on a page.
- Create a goal for content creation: Set goals for the purpose of the blog. For MyFitnessPal, the goal was to become the most trusted online source for nutrition and weight loss content. To do this, the team saw a need for better SEO, content, and back-end tech tools.
- Bring in competitive analysis: The MyFitnessPal team also looked at other websites and talked about what they liked and didn't like. Inspiration helped the team start fresh.
- Leverage other teams: In a cross-functional effort, MyFitnessPal brought in its customer happiness and research teams to fully understand what was needed as far as website navigation, menus, and topics.
- Challenge the status quo: For content marketing to succeed, teams need to challenge what's always been done. Just because it was done one way in the past doesn't mean there isn't a better method. It's possible to overcome limited thinking and push back. Stay curious. Get out of your comfort zone.
- Prioritize readability: Today's online readers want the option to skim. Bring in features like bullet points, engaging headlines, summary boxes, and article highlights. People don't always have time to sit and read your complete post. But that doesn't mean you both can't get something out of it.
MyFitnessPal saw impressive results in relaunching its blog and implementing current best practices. Find out more about these successful blog outcomes by viewing the full on-demand webinar with Compose.ly.
How Compose.ly Can Help You Boost Your Business Blogging Efforts
You've probably been wondering: Are blogs still a thing? The resounding answer is yes — and companies can see blog profitability when they invest wisely.
Compose.ly helps MyFitnessPal and other brands access the high-quality content they need with professional content writers. Get those enviable results like MyFitnessPal when you partner with Compose.ly for more effective blog writing.
Find out more about our blog writing services that drive results.
