Why is a blog good for your business website?

Having a blog on a website is no longer a new thing. Blogging is now becoming a popular marketing technique and most new websites come complete with out-of-the-box blog pages. But why is a blog good for your business website and what’s the best way to use one?

We’ve got news for you

Let’s start with the most common misconception that we come across. A blog is not a news feed, or rather a news feed is not a blog. If you post industry news and articles from your business’ area on your website in a news feed that’s good… but it’s not a blog, because it’s not about you!

A blog is an online story about you or your business. A blog is designed to share the journey, tell a story, or offer advice and expert tips like this one does. A blog is not just a load of photos (unless you’re a photographer) it’s not a load of copy and pasted stuff from elsewhere (Google will penalise you for that). A blog is certainly not something you type the odd special offer in to and leave dormant the rest of the year.

Why is a blog good for your business website?

A blog is one of the most important parts of your website, and here’s why…

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

Ok don’t panic! I’m not going to start talking in complicated terms and abbreviate everything. SEO is simply helping your website be found online. You want that, right!? Good. Having a blog will help your website rank higher online because Google loves blogs, and it’s no surprise when you consider that the main Google man is a blogger himself.

Having a blog on your website does many great things for your search visibility:

• Regularly updated content – Google gold!
• Keyword-rich copy – talk about you and your services and Google will see you and your keywords and share you in the search results.
• Fresh content – just blog to freshen up your site and show Google something new and updated.
• Keep moving – Google wants to know which websites are active. No one wants to be sent to a ghost website that’s only there because it’s got another nine months left on the website hosting. Google looks for signals that a website is active – blogging is one of them.

Make yourself an industry expert – show off!

I’m not gonna lie to you – blogging has got me work because I show off. I show people that I know my field of expertise and people tell other people and eventually someone who needs me contacts me – simple.

If you’re an expert or are passionate about your trade, service or hobby then blogging is a fabulous way to show it. Put a blog on an architect’s website about architecture and people can see that you know about architecture, and more importantly that you’re passionate enough to write about it.

Positioning yourself as a ‘go-to’ person in your area is not an overnight task and by no means simple, but it works if you put in the effort.

Something to share on social media

What? Why would you bother spending hours writing something just to share it on social media when you could just tweet, post or +1 a news article written by someone else?

Because Google wants to see a live website and by sharing your articles on social media you are sending people to your blog (and website) and that sends a signal to Google that your website is alive, it’s breathing, it’s social and people go there – think about it…

Why wouldn’t that be a good thing?

Share your recent successes

Yup, I’m talking about showing off again. If you don’t shout about your successes then you’re going to have to wait for someone else to. Why wait, why risk it not happening? Your blog is your own newspaper; you’re the editor and you can set the print running whenever you like.

Sharing your successes not only shows potential customers that you’re good at what you do, it also shows how often you do it, how well you do it, and that you’re passionate enough about your subject to write about it. It also helps people to build a bond with you by understanding you and your business. Relationship building is a powerful force in business.

Todd’s top five blogging tips

1. Blog regularly: The more you blog, the more you put on your website, the more Google has to look at, the more Google has to share, the more chance you have of being found online. Less is never more! How often is up to you, but I try to post at least once a fortnight for our clients.
2. Write great titles: Yes, I’m still banging on about titles. Your title is the most important part of a blog post. Titles need to be descriptive and sell your content. Read my recent blog on this.
3. Use headings: The Heading 1, 2, 3 styles found in Microsoft Word are also found in your blog’s tool bar. They look pretty nice on a page but they also tell Google “look here, this is what this page is about”. Use keywords in your titles for better search ranking.
4. Re-share old posts: Especially useful if you use social media. It’s a busy world and people you’re connected with now may have missed blogs you wrote before you connected.
5. Have a plan: Plan your blogging as this will ensure you get point one right. If you don’t schedule your blogging in then you’re likely to only do it when you have time. Trust me, there’s never time to blog if you do that. Block out your diary, add a calendar date, add it to your CRM. Whatever works for you – just make sure your set your plan to update your blog. Remember to ask a proofreader check it too!
   

Blogging is important for your website’s visibility and for your business’ profile. We’ve proven it this year by attracting some fabulous new business from it. It does take time and focus, and of course you need to be able to create great copy from virtually nothing at times, but you get better at it the more often you do it.

If you’re convinced but really don’t know where to start or seriously have no time for tapping on keys, then call us – we can blog for you from as little as £100 a month, which could dramatically help your website and business show up in search results on Google.

Why do you blog? Why don’t you blog? Please comment below as we love to help, listen or chat about blogging. 

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