Many businesses don’t have a business blog and are asking, “Is this something we should add?” The answer to this question is definitely YES! Blogging is good for your business. For your business to grow online you must use many platforms (Blogging, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, to name a few) to increase engagement with your brand. Having a business blog brings readers to your website…which generates leads…which translates to sales!
#1 Blogging improves SEO, while bringing more traffic to your website.
Many businesses have started a business blog because of SEO alone. Your business may have a great website but remember it means nothing if no one is visiting it. It is important for your website to “show up” in Google search results. A business blog post gives one more indexed page on your website which means more opportunities to show up on organic (nonpaid) Google and other search engine results. Websites that blog have 434% more indexed pages and 97% more inbound links. Links are extremely important in Google’s search algorithm. The more indexed pages you have, the more traffic you bring to your website. Also, once a blog post is coming up in search results, it can bring leads back to your website for months and years to come.
#2 Engaging your audience gets more customers to your website.
Blogging shows the personality of your business! The goal with blogging is to leave customers with a better understanding of the products and services you offer. Leave them intrigued and wanting to know more! Images and videos are also great additions to your blog. Be sure to link your new blog posts on all social media accounts. So with every new blog written by your business, potential new customers should find your website! A business blog also has the potential of being read by customers you have previously had no connection with whatsoever but that “share or like” connects them to your business by social media!
#3 Blogging builds your business credibility.
It is important that consumers see your business as credible. Blogging gives you the perfect opportunity to gain trust with your readers and to show them that you are an expert in your business and have a product or service that will benefit their lives in some way. This gives them a feeling of trust and confidence in you and your product or service. This is true for any business. Whether selling socks or dishwashers, to providing a service such as financial consulting or day care. It is very important to let your customers know you are committed to providing them the best product/service because you know your “stuff”!
#4 Keeping your employees current gives them confidence and improves sales.
It is important for your business to keep your employees educated and current on industry happenings. If you give your employees opportunities to write blogs, they will learn more on the subject they are blogging. When writing a business blog, it takes thought, creativity and much research. Employees learn more about the subject they are writing and other related topics which will help you in your business. Many times this will spark a new interest and passion for learning in your employees that was not present before.
Employees with a passion for learning and innovativeness is a huge asset to any business. Learning brings about confidence in your knowledge. As a result, employees feel comfortable when they are selling a product or providing a service to a customer. For example, a favorite source of information that helps us at Pizzazz Group is MozBlog. It is important that we stay current and passionate about our website design and digital marketing services to better serve you!
We’ve included a few tips for getting started.
How many blogs should I post per month?
The answer is simple. The more blog posts, the more traffic your website also brings. Companies that publish 16+ blog posts per month received almost 3.5 times more traffic than companies that published between 0 – 4 monthly posts. So do what you can do with the time, budget, and manpower constraints that exist. Try to stay fairly consistent with the number of posts you put out each month. Avoid blogging some months and not blogging at all in others. Keep it consistent so you don’t lose followers and readers.
What should I write about?
Your readers are your potential customers. Keep interest in your brand and always give them great content! Write about topics that are of interest to your readers and meet the goals you have for the blog post. Posts can have different goals such as to promote your brand or product line, discuss new trends in your industry, how to best maintain your products, increase social engagement, etc. Always try to leave the reader with how they can benefit by what your business is selling or service providing or even that your business would be a great place to be employed. Remember the reader is reading the blog because they are interested in your topic or they feel the information in the blog can benefit them!
How long should the blog post be?
There is no magical number on the perfect number of words for a blog post. If you have a lot to say and can keep it interesting longer posts generally fare better in search engine results. It is good to have a mix on post lengths. Some topics can be completely covered in shorter posts (200 – 300 words.) Others may be interesting and relevant enough to include over 2,000 words. Post length will also depend on how often you blog. Obviously it is hard to have longer posts if you are posting several times a week.
Track your blog posts using Google Analytics and social media monitoring tools to see which posts do the best with your audience and industry. Most of all, remember that your website is a picture of your business and what you are offering. Anytime you can add relevant data to your website that will bring in more traffic or convince readers to become customers, it is well worth your while!
If you’d like to learn more about blogging or how to grow your brand online, contact Pizzazz Group today at customer@pizzazzgroup.com or by calling (614) 350-1681.