A blog about blogs… seems redundant right? But hear me out.
Business owners know that it’s important to have a blog. Lots of people have tried it out and maybe decided that writing is not for them, or they felt like no one read it, or they don’t have the time to add one more thing to their already overloaded schedule. So for most business owners, blogs can fall off to the side.
So let me tell you what’s so good about blogging for your business and I hope by the end I have convinced you to start your blog up again or to create your first post.
Helps with SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization and is defined as the process of affecting the visibility of a website in a search engines unpaid results. Every businesses main goal should be to be ranked on the first page of Google because almost 30% of consumers click on the first organic search in Google. When you have a blog that’s updated regularly with blog posts that are high quality and on topics relevant to your audience, it can make a huge difference to how your overall website performs in the search engines. Google favours websites with lots of content!
Keeps your site current
When consumers visit a site that looks old or looks like it hasn’t been updated in years, they tend to use the back button to find something else. Sites that look outdated lack authority and give consumers the impression that the owner is not interested in maintaining it, or that they have even gone out of business. By creating a blog section it lets consumers know that you’re here and you’re relevant. You can even include a blog section in your website footer so no matter what page a visitor is on, they will be able to see your most recent post.
More traffic to your site
Sharing the link to your blog is great content to share! Share the link to your blog on all of your social media platforms, send it out to your client email list, or post it in a Facebook group that you’re part of. The more you spread the word, the more people will open the blog and be on your site.
Visitors will stay longer
Google tracks the time visitors spend on each site so the longer they spend on your site the better. Picture this: a consumer searches for an item on Google, Google brings up your site, they click on your page, and then they go directly back to Google. Google will assume it’s because your page is not as relevant as they thought in relation to the topic that they searched for. Meaning your ranking for that topic will go down. Maybe the consumer didn’t find the information they wanted even if it was the correct information. So if a Google search suggests your blog post, the visitor is more likely to spend time reading that post than if they click on a page with less text. More text=more time spent.
Helps establish who you are
As a business owner, you are an expert in your field. You have experiences, wisdom, ideas, a wealth of knowledge to share with others via a blog post. Talk about your brand, the image, your mission statement, who you are as a person and as a business owner. Having transparency with consumers has never been more important. Practicing transparency means being honest and communicating positive and negative information to your audience. Know your target market and share your story accordingly!
Creates a fan base
Going off of my paragraph above, once you establish who you are and start posting regular blogs, you will create a fan base. Even if that fan base is 5 people, it’s still a small victory! I always think that it’s still 5 more consumers that you have reached than no blog at all. This is your chance to give something back to your customers in the form of content and entertainment.
Target keywords
Blogs will allow you to continually add new search terms and keywords that are more targeted, easier to rank on Google, which will draw new visitors in.
Opportunities
Blogging can help put your business in front of more consumers which can lead to many different opportunities. This can mean more social media followers, mentions of your blog on other blogs, potential sales, and even opportunities within your community. It’s not traditional networking but at the end of the day it can open doors for you, big or small.
All of these advantages to having a blog will improve your SEO. Being able to engage with your audience and provide them with content is invaluable to your business. And remember, any content is better than nothing!