Blog Writing is difficult, especially if you have to write new articles for your business at least once a fortnight.
Have you not yet launched a blog for your business? Why are you waiting any longer? If it’s the justification you need, then look no further. However, if you run a small business, you wonder if blog writing is worth the time and effort. The short answer is a resounding yes!
Blog writing is a relatively easy, inexpensive way to enhance your inbound marketing efforts, drive traffic to your site, and attract more prospective customers. However, remember that generating blog momentum takes time and commitment – not too different from investing; the sooner you start, the sooner you see results.
Does Blog Writing Help with the SEO of your Website?
– The Company Doctor
Yes, it does. That’s the simple answer. But having a blog isn’t in and of itself a ranking factor. Blog Writing is good for SEO because it helps with many important ranking factors. Having a website updated regularly with blog posts containing high-quality topics relevant to your audience can make a massive difference to how your overall Website performs in the search engines. Here are 12 Reasons why Blog Writing is Vital for your Business.
Blog Writing #1: Keeps your Website Fresh and Current
If you ever happen upon a website you realise hasn’t been updated in years, you probably immediately lose some trust in the information you’re seeing. The company it represents could have gone out of business, or the Website could be providing information that’s been wholly debunked or changed since that last update. Google doesn’t want to deliver its searchers’ outdated information.
Websites are regularly updated, signalling that the Website is alive and offering fresh content. It also gives the search engine algorithms more reason to index your Website more often, keeping it more on their radar over time. You’re probably not going to have reason to update your homepage frequently (and it wouldn’t necessarily be a good business move to do so), so a blog is a more practical tool for regularly adding new content to your Website.
Blog Writing #2: Keeps People on your Website for Longer
Google’s number one priority is providing the people performing searches with the information they’re looking for, so they’ll keep coming back to using Google again if someone who searches clicks on the first link finds it unhelpful and immediately leaves to go back to the search page, which tells Google that the first result wasn’t as helpful as they thought. When someone clicks on a search result and stays on the Website longer, it shows Google that your Website offers something beneficial.
We at The Company Doctor are focused on “Meeting our clients’ Customers and Competitors exactly where they are”. Through our Online Customer Behaviour Insights and Competitor Analysis, we can tell our clients exactly what people are searching for on Google.
While Google hasn’t said outright that search (dwell) time, or the time people spend on your site once they land on it, is a ranking factor, they’ve made other statements that make it clear it’s something they pay attention to impart value to. So, for example, someone who comes to your Website from a blog post that shows up in the search results will have more reason to stick around for a while and read the whole thing than someone who lands on a page with less text or information.
And that becomes even more, the case with longer, more comprehensive posts. SEO researchers have found that long-form blog posts tend to perform better than shorter ones – the average first-page result on Google is nearly 2,000 words long.
Blog Writing #3: As a Blog Post Writer, you Connect with your audience
This isn’t a direct linking factor, as with links, but it significantly contributes to linking elements. When your audience reads a post they love, they’re more likely to share it, drive more traffic to it, come back to your website again to see more of your content and maybe even sign up for your email list. When you get lots of traffic and repeat visitors, that shows Google that people like your Website and raises your authority level in their algorithm.
And while that’s pretty great from an SEO perspective, it’s ultimately more important to your Website’s success than where you are in the rankings. People in your target audience visiting your site, connecting with it, and becoming regular followers are more valuable than any #1 spot on Google (that’s the whole reason you want the spot on Google, to begin with). So let us share some free insights in our 5 Steps To Supercharge Your Customer Referrals article.
Blog Writing #4: Address a Topic in Depth in a Blog Article
You can hyper-focus on a keyword topic and long-tail keywords relevant to your business and of interest to your prospects. Then, go in-depth, be unique and thorough, add valuable resources and make the blog article truly remarkable in addressing the topic. The beauty is that it consistently generates traffic to your business over time.
Blog Writing #5: Attract Organic Traffic to your Website through your Blog
Publishing content on your blog enables you to attract organic traffic to your site. New visitors find you because of your content and not because they search directly for your business and company name. In so doing, you are expanding the circle of awareness and opportunity for your business. Remember that generating blog momentum takes time and commitment – not too different from investing; the sooner you start, the sooner you see results. Plan on a minimum of 24 to 50 articles before you can expect to see the traffic build-up.
Blog Writing #6: Become a Thought-Leader for your Industry
You can write about trends in your industry on your business blog. Then, as you analyse those trends and provide your perspective, you should include links to those trends and other resources to add depth to your article. Doing so gives you added reason to stay on top of the latest industry news. In addition, it can make you stand out as a thought leader.
Blog Writing #7: Boost Search Engine Optimisation
Search engines love fresh content. So what better way to provide frequent content than with blog posts? First, you consistently give Google and other search engines new content to index by blogging. Then, you create opportunities to plug those all-important keywords to increase your visibility on search engine results pages.
Blog Writing #8: Develop Relationships with Potential and Existing Customers
Blogging allows you to connect with your site visitors. You can accomplish this by asking your readers questions at the end of your posts to get the conversation going or merely allowing comments and feedback. Reviewing and responding to readers’ comments can create a rapport with your audience, build trust, and gain valuable insight into what your customers are looking for.
Blog Writing #9: Establish Your Business as an Industry Leader
No matter how small your business is, you can build trust and clout within your industry by providing valuable, expert information in your blog posts. Over time, you become a “go-to” resource for helpful, informative content, leading to higher customer conversion rates. This is especially important for small businesses looking to compete with larger companies to gain credibility.
Educating is far more powerful, more trustworthy and more relevant to website visitors than pure selling or even traditional marketing content.
– Dr Thommie Burger, Founder of The Company Doctor
Blog Writing #10: As a Blog Writer, you Connect People to Your Brand
Blog posting allows you to show your business a personal side that prospective and current customers won’t see through outbound marketing techniques. In addition, blogging gives others a sense of your company’s corporate standards, vision, and personality.
Blog Writing #11: As a Blog Post Writer, you Create Opportunities for Sharing
Every time you blog, you create an opportunity for your audience to share your blog with others. Whether they link to your blog post, tweet it, or email it to others, it’s free marketing and further validates you as a credible business.
Blog Writing #12: Educate your Prospects
A blog is mostly a publishing platform for your business. It allows you to speak directly to your prospective customers and educate them about what your company does. Note that I say ‘educate’ rather than ‘sell.’ Educating is far more powerful, trustworthy and relevant to Website visitors than pure selling or traditional marketing content. Education means you have thought about their situation and can anticipate their questions. It also says that you understand who they are.
