Blogging and social media are core pillars of marketing. Not only do they help brands connect with clients, build brand awareness, and demonstrate brand value, they are also a core driver of SEO. As web and search have evolved, they’ve come to dominate the conversation, with brands all clamoring for first page position on critical search terms and looking for any way possible to boost SEO. Many things influence SEO, but one factor that helps a company get top billing is posting timely, relevant content. One of the best ways to do that is through blogging. But how often should your company blog to boost SEO?

What SEO Data Tells Us

The consensus among SEO experts these days is four times a week. Research shows that companies that post blogs four times a week, or roughly 11 times a month, see significant results in search rankings. That was regardless of company size and industry. Of course, this only takes into account frequency, and not any of the other factors that influence search, including relevancy, quality, and user habits, among other things.

Many people are turning out uninspired fluff . . .

We can’t control user search patterns and click habits, but we can influence the quality and relevancy of posts (which entices people to click and share). Depending on your internal capabilities and niche, it can be quite difficult to turn out four quality blog posts every single week. Feeling the pressure to produce, many folks have tried to meet the four a week minimum and are turning out uninspired fluff that is doing nothing to boost SEO, much less engagement and loyalty among prospects and customers. Worse, it's diluting their brand and their thought leadership.

What's the Goal, Really?

As so often happens when data is isolated, we can’t see the forest for the trees. It’s easy to get caught up in the “shoulds” and lose sight of the ultimate goals and standards that drive your content marketing strategy. But marketing isn’t just a sum of parts, it’s a way of building relationships. The how-to’s and tactics are just ways of getting there, but they alone won’t build a lasting connection with repeat customers.

So how often should your company blog to boost SEO?

However often makes sense for you to be able to deliver consistent, quality content that educates, empowers, or entertains your customers. For a small team of specialists, that may mean one in-depth post a month. For a company with a broad market, a marketing department, and a team of dozens of highly engaged thought leaders who want to contribute posts, four a week may be feasible.

Bottom line don’t feel pressured to produce volumes of content that your company is not able to produce well.

Every company is unique, and every company must engage in the market in their own way. But no matter how you choose to connect with your customers, do so in a way that presents the company in the best light and provides the greatest value for customers.