“Since when is blogging really a necessary part of running a business?” I hear you ask. You have so many other things to do that blogging is probably way down on your list of priorities, and frankly you don’t see the point. But the benefits of a decent blog on your website must not be underestimated.
Investing in a good content publication strategy makes a huge difference in terms of search visibility, leads and sales. This strategy begins with the company blog. Your blog should definitely be hosted on your business website, as hosting it elsewhere negates many of the benefits of having a blog. For example, if you were to use a free blogging platform such as WordPress.com, your blog domain would be [companyname].wordpress.com. Many of the benefits I have listed here will only be achieved if your blog is hosted on your own domain [i.e. www.yourwebsite.com/blog]
Here are some of the benefits of blogging on your business website.
1. Humanising your brand
Blog posts give you a unique opportunity to share the personality and voice of your business, building up the trust of your clients and increasing the likeability of your brand. Basic website content, for example an ‘about’ page, doesn’t hold a candle to blogging when it comes to connecting with customers on a personal level. You can touch on issues of interest to your business, and also share things that you are passionate about.
2. An increase in search engine traffic
Blogging is a little like fishing, in terms of search engine optimisation (SEO). You are more likely to catch a fish if you have more hooks in the water. Think of content on your site like fishing hooks. As you add more content to your site, search engines index more pages from your domain. This will increase traffic to your website by improving the visibility of your website in searches. Every time you post more content, it’s like dropping another hook into the lake. The more hooks you have in the lake, the more bites you will get. In the same way, the more blog posts you have, the higher you will rank for various keywords.
3. Supports your social media presence
An active social media presence can be difficult to maintain without unique, quality content. It’s nice to share other people’s content, but you need some of those leads to be directed to your own site, otherwise what’s the point of having a social media presence at all? Linking to your relevant, topical and informative blogs on social media increases traffic to your business website.
4. Gives your business some clout within your industry
Blogging gives you a great platform to share industry-related information and insights. It’s therefore one of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert in your field. This breeds trust and familiarity with your brand, keeping you at the forefront of your clients’ minds when they require your service.
5. Gives opportunity for valuable discussion
Blogging gives companies the opportunity to connect with prospective clients by signalling to visitors to your site that you’re open to feedback. From a business perspective, having an insight into the thoughts of prospective clients is invaluable for marketing purposes. From this two-way conversation, you can gain an understanding of your customers’ needs. Ultimately, you can structure your content and marketing based on this newfound knowledge.
6. Improve your ranking for long-tail searches
If you don’t have a blog, you will struggle to rank for long-tail search queries. You might rank well for queries that are very specific to your business, for example, ‘Vic’s Vacuums,’ but without a blog, you won’t rank highly at all for highly-specific phrases such as, ‘How to unblock my Dyson.’
In summary
If you want to differentiate yourself from the competition, there is no better way to do it than a blog on your company’s website. It will naturally improve search traffic to your site, build your customers’ trust, and ultimately grow sales.
As a final note, if you can’t update your blog regularly, it might be better not to have one at all. If your blog is active, it shows that your business is alive and well. Therefore, an inactive blog could give the opposite signal!
I write copy and blog posts for a range of different industries, and can keep your blog updated with fresh, interesting and high-quality content that will give your business all of the benefits listed above. Give me a call or email me to discuss what I can do for you.
Written by : jo
