Why does business blogging work? If you are reading this, you have your answer. Business blogging works because there are people who come to your website and read content in which they are interested.
Is your waiting keyboard trying to tell you something?
Why Blogging is Better than Sliced Bread
While you might have a long list of reasons (read "excuses") for dragging your feet about including blogging as part of your inbound marketing strategy, the bottom line is that blogging is great for your business. As experts in Inbound Marketing, we know the importance of blogging and preach it to our clients, however we confess to being the Kobbler's Kids and focused on you, our clients. We are getting better though!
Connection Model's "Why Business Blogging Matters" lists a number of ways blogging brings business benefits including: increasing website traffic, creating inbound links, and improving SEO. These things, in turn, lead to generating more leads and increasing your conversion rates. With benefits like that, what's not to love about blogging?
Hubspot, an undisputed leader in the world of inbound marketing, notes in its "2015 State of Inbound" report that companies that prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to be increasing ROI year over year than those companies that do not consider blogging a big deal. That difference is significant, by any objective standard.
The Relationship between Blogging and SEO
Much of the power of blogging for your business lies in its effect on your SEO efforts. A well-designed blog allows you to grow your brand and build your reputation because a blog can act like a magnet that pulls traffic to your site.
Search engine algorithms love blogs that are well-done. The beauty is that web visitors are also impressed. It's a win-win situation.
So, you may be wondering how to use a blog to build on your SEO strategies, generate more leads, and increase your conversion rates. What can you do to get your business blog noticed amidst the sea of business blogs out there?
Core Components of a Good Blogging Strategy
In order for your blog to be noticed, you must ensure that it adheres to some basic techniques that improve your page rank with search engines. Here are the cardinal rules of blogging for better SEO:
1) Provide fresh, relevant content.
Search engines operate on the premise of "What have you done for me lately?" Simply putting a blog up on your site haphazardly will do nothing to improve your image with search engines. Rather, you must maintain your blog consistently, posting regularly. To blossom, your blog must be regularly nourished with fresh, new content.
However, merely posting new content in and of itself is not the whole picture. You are writing your blog, not only to appeal to search engines, but also to appeal to a human audience. Therefore, your content must be interesting, and relevant to the needs and concerns of your target audience.
2) Make good use of keywords.
To use keywords properly, you must first figure out what those words should be. The rule is that keywords should be based on search queries that potential leads would enter. Ask yourself, if you were trying to find your company online, what phrases would you type into Google? Your answer gives you a good start for keyword selection.
Once you have chosen your keywords, it is important to use them correctly so that search engines and people will appreciate them. "Blogging and SEO: A Relationship It Pays to Nurture" offers these key points concerning keywords:
- They will likely be a phrase of several words, enabling the business to focus more precisely on the vocabulary their customers are most likely to use.
- They will likely be used only a handful of times throughout the content.
- They will only be used with a natural voice.
In times past, keyword stuffing was thought to be a great way to achieve SEO, but that is not the case. Keyword stuffing earns you a black mark with search engines, and irritates your readers. That makes it a huge no-no.
3) Internally link and cross-reference your blogs.
Blogging is a long-term strategy. The idea is to build a body of work that engages your audience over a period of time. As your web traffic grows, internal links and cross-references in your blogs encourage readers to linger over your content. The longer they stay, the more likely it becomes that conversion will occur.
4) Promote social sharing.
Add social media buttons to encourage readers to share, like, and follow your content. This creates a synergistic effect between your blog and your social media marketing, strengthening both parts of your inbound marketing strategies to best effect.
Promote your blog where possible by email or social media channels, creating an integrated marketing message everywhere your leads are found.
Blogging plays a significant role in search engine optimization.
5) Don't always be selling
Most business owners want to sell-sell-sell, need to generate a Return on Investment. Think about this from the readers perspective or put yourself in their shoes, if you were interested in a particular subject and/or company, would you want to consistently be bombarded with a sales pitch. We believe that a good business blog needs to have a mix of product benefits, case studies, company information and relevant curated information. Keep the blog interesting and readers engaged to where they want to share your information. That is the true benefit of a blog.
Blogging is Just the Beginning
There are, of course, a host of other things you can do to amp up your blogging strategy as time goes on. If you have not yet started a blog, the most important thing for now is to start one as soon as possible. If your blog is already up and running, analyze the results you are getting from it to see if there are areas where you can boost its beneficial effects.
When you are ready for more tips about how to boost your blogging power as part of your total inbound marketing strategy, contact us. Great inbound strategy is where Connection Model excels.
Written By: Doug Milnor
