Does every business website really need a blog? What kinds of topics should you be writing about to attract a larger audience? How can blogs help increase traffic to your website? These are all valid questions to ask about business blogging. When it comes to growing your business, there are four core benefits that blogs provide to increase traffic and engagement.
The biggest advantage of having a blog on your website is that it improves search engine optimization (SEO). When it comes to being found on the internet, Google searches rule all, which makes SEO a – if not the most – vital part of your online marketing strategy.
Updated Content
Fresh, frequently updated content helps let Google know that your site is alive and well, with consistent attention to keep it relevant. While regularly updating the core content on your website is not something you would typically do – and it would not necessarily be advisable – blogs offer a platform to routinely update content.
For example, if your homepage boasts your products, services and reasons to choose your business over a competitor, this content helps readers learn more about your business, and therefore it’s something you’d like to keep intact. You still want to make sure search engines see frequent activity on your website, however, which is where blogs come in handy.
Related: Content Marketing – 6 Tips for Success
Increase Session Duration & Lower Bounce Rate
The amount of time a visitor spends on your site and their level of engagement can also factor into your SEO. If someone comes to one page on your website and then does not interact further, this is called a ‘bounce’. To Google’s algorithm, a high bounce rate can make your website appear less helpful to viewers, and therefore it is likely to rank lower on search results.
Blogs can help to lower your bounce rate by increasing the amount of time a visitor spends on your website, also known as session duration. Because blogs tend to have more content than a typical webpage, those who view the posts are more likely to spend a greater amount of time reading them.
Creating Links
Links are also a huge plus for SEO. Internal links from one page or blog post to another on your site helps to deliver a flow of content to visitors and keep them on your site longer, further increasing session duration and overall engagement with your website.
External, or inbound, links from other sites to your website are even better than internal links, but much harder to accomplish. Building up your blog repertoire to position yourself as a go-to resource for other businesses will undoubtedly take time and effort, but with statistics like “businesses who blog are 97% more likely to receive external links to their site”, it is time well spent.
Blogs are a great way to increase leads. In fact, B2B blogs receive 67% more leads than businesses without this platform, making it an exceptional tool for building your quality leads.
Email Lists
Great quality content that aims to resolve customer problems, educate consumers and position you as an industry expert helps to build a following of people interested in what you have to say and coming back for more.
Blogs offer an easy way for people to opt-in to your content and have it delivered directly to them. An additional benefit of this for your business is that you can build an email list to use for other pieces of your marketing plan, like e-blasts and promotional offers.
Long-Tail Keywords & Targeted Audiences
Because ranking high in search results can be challenging, focusing on long-tail keywords and more specific topics can greatly help to boost your visibility. For example, if you’re a sporting goods store, ranking high in search results for ‘running shoes’ will be extremely difficult. But extend this to something more specific, like ‘best running shoes for outdoor training in winter’, and you have a much better chance of ranking higher.
Additionally, because long-tail keywords are so much more specific, the visitors coming to read these types of blogs are already interested in this niche market you’re producing content around, making them a higher quality lead that is more likely to interact with your business.
Blogging on topics that pertain to your business allow you the opportunity to display your knowledge. Continue to produce relevant, helpful content that visitors and your peers keep in high regard to position yourself as an industry expert.
Valuable Info that Solves Problems
Accomplish this by writing blogs that your audience will find helpful. What are some common questions from your customers? What are people searching for on the internet? How can you solve problems for your target market? These are great questions to ask yourself when brainstorming what to write about on your blog.
Related: How to Choose Blog Topics Viewers Want to Read
Clout
Blogs can help you become a leader in your industry by making your website a go-to for resourceful information. Being sought for your information gives you increased traffic to your website and therefore a growing audience to share your messages with, putting you a step ahead of the competition lacking this platform.
Blogs also give you a platform to open lines of communication between you and your audience, which can be extremely beneficial to your business.
Two-way Communication
Having a space for open two-way communication is a great way to get feedback on your content from viewers and create a dialogue with customers. This helps to make your business more personable, as well as providing you with opportunities to answer questions which can provide you with more blog topic ideas that are useful to your readers.
Increased Engagement
Customers who enjoy your content and have a positive experience connecting with your business are much more likely to share it with others. This increases your overall reach and customer engagement, which helps to further grow your audience and get more people coming to your site – the main goal of your content marketing efforts.
For more information on everything from content marketing and SEO to websites and marketing budgets, subscribe to our Stray Media Group blog.
