Your small business is constantly competing for attention online. Online, your website represents your business. It needs to attract viewers, engage visitors and tell the viewer why they should choose your business over a competitor. Blogging is a free marketing option that has a myriad of benefits for your business. These are the top three reasons why your small business needs a blog.
Drive traffic to your website
There are millions of articles online. Every topic is covered. From backyard gardening to astrophysics, everyone can find information about hobbies and interests. As a small business owner, you have the knowledge to write blogs about topics related to your industry. With more than 2.3 million Google searches happening each second, there will undoubtedly be a number of people searching for content related to your area of expertise.
Every time you create a new blog post, you create a new indexed page on your website. Research has shown that more indexed pages leads to more traffic. Search engine bots are constantly putting new content into their systems and running it through their algorithms. The bots look for keywords and topics in your posts to categorize the content and serve it to those viewers searching for it. The more keywords and phrases you use properly in your content, the more often your posts will show up in search results.
Establish yourself as a thought leader
You’ve got knowledge and consumers like it when you share your knowledge. Think about the businesses you interact with on a daily basis, your insurance company, your favorite restaurant or the local garden nursery.
You frequent these businesses because there is a level of trust. From their actions and service, you have come to trust that they have helped you choose the proper insurance policy, keep a clean kitchen or know what fruit trees will flourish in your sandy soil. This trust is built over a number of face to face interactions.
A blog gives a business the opportunity to start building this trust before the consumer ever visits the business. If a consumer finds an answer to a question in a blog post on your website, she is more likely to trust you before meeting you. What’s more, she comes to your business more educated than the average consumer and possibly more ready to buy.
Beef up your social media presence
Blog content is perfectly suited for use on social media platforms. Use Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest to posts about and link to your blog post, thereby putting it in front of your existing followers. These people are already interested in the services you offer or the industry you represent. What better way to increase the reach and effectiveness of your blogs than to serve them directly to those whom you know are interested?
If the viewer finds the blog particularly helpful and informative, he is likely to share it with his friends and followers. Each share is free marketing and additional traffic to your website.
Include social media buttons on your blog to remind readers to share your posts to their own pages and to make it easy for them to do so.
To get started blogging, create a list of the top 10 questions asked by your customers. Write blog posts that answer those questions. This simple exercise will help you get in the habit of creating posts that are helpful to your audience.
For blogging support, please contact our team at 510-680-3300 ext. 130. We are experts at formulating a plan to get your blog off the ground and working for you.