Introducing a blog to your business’ website can help your business grow in more ways than one. For far too long (especially for small businesses) those in charge of marketing have seen websites as strictly the place where people come to get some basic information about the business, and maybe make purchases. We refer to this as a digital brochure. But a website is really where people were directed to visit from other marketing efforts. And with a blog, the website itself becomes a marketing tool, bringing people in (inbound marketing), instead of only being used as a placeholder or online store.
Not blogging? You should be… Here are a few of the ways a regularly updated blog can help your business:
- Increasing your businesses’ rank in organic search engine results.
- Showing your business website in more user searches on a search engine.
- Helping to build your credibility.
- Exposing your business to others in related industries.
Increasing Search Engine Rankings
Having your website show up higher on the page in organic search engine ranking positions is extremely important, isn’t it? Local search engine results are even more crucial as people looking for businesses nearby are often looking to become a customer in the very near future. You can help yourself out in both general results, and local listings on search engines by regular updates to a blog, interlinking it with other blog posts, or other pages on your website. Better still, offer a conversion opportunity right on the blog, what we refer to as a call-to-action.
Appearing in More Search Engine Queries
The more subjects you talk about in your blog, the better of a chance your website will have of appearing in search engine queries related to that topic. Inbound marketing is all about getting as many people to your website as you can organically as opposed to having to use pay per click or display advertising efforts. This is what makes inbound marketing so much more cost-effective, since you can target your blog posts to specific words or phrases that might not be worth targeting with other methods.
Getting your website in front of more people, especially if they would have never otherwise found your site, delivers a return on your investment that you not only see right away, but over time as well. Your blog posts never go away, they stay indexed in search engines months and years after any paid marketing promotion would have ended.
Boosting your Credibility
By constantly posting valuable information to your website’s blog, you will gain a reputation of knowing the subject matter you are dealing with. This can help potential customers to feel better about buying from you and your business. Credibility is essential in business in general, but even more so online, since you don’t get to interact with a visitor personally until later in the buying process. Doing whatever you can, before they get in touch with you, to convince them that you are definitely the person they should be buying from, can lead to happier customers, and get those leaning on the fence to choose your business for their needs.
Industry Exposure
Gaining connections in related industries can help your business out in a big way both now, and in the future. As new products, services, ideas, and methods come out and start circulating throughout your industry, you will put yourself in prime position to be among the first to be aligned with them Manufacturers may come across your website by way of your blog and be more eager to share their new developments with you in order to get your opinion on it. People in related industries may start taking advice from you, or turning to your blog to answer questions, or gain insight about what is going on in your field. Or perhaps just invite you to lunch because they see possible referral opportunities.
Your blog needs to be focused on your industry and your specific products or services. Keeping a narrow focus on your blog will help set it apart from your competitors, especially those in your local area who may not keep their website or blog updated. Whether you just have one new piece of content a week added, or daily blog posts, any sort updating will help keep the site looking fresh in the eyes of search engines. Potential customers, and others in your industry, will be drawn into your site in order to get information they are looking for, and hopefully end up becoming customers as well.
So, these are a few of the commanding benefits of blogging, and why your business should be blogging. If you liked this article, the second in a series, check out Does My Business Need a Blog. And in our next article we’ll discuss how a blog can help get you noticed.
