I get asked a lot of questions about business blogs. So I thought I’d take a few moments to talk about Blogs and try to explain why I believe your business and every business needs one.
Some points I’d like to make before I present five reasons your company needs a business blog.
- Every day, I speak with clients and prospective clients.
- Most days, we speak about blogs and copywriting.
- Many customers don’t understand the point of blogs.
- Many customers don’t read blogs.
- Some customers refuse or are reluctant to start a blog.
What is a blog anyway?
A ‘blog’ or weblog is two things.
1) A special news section of a website. Whether it is written by an individual or a business.
2) An online Journal where the user or a group of users can collaborate to curate information on topics that they like.
One of the points that clients make to me the most is that they “don’t see the point of writing a blog“.
Five reasons to start your business blog
1) Creating a record of past achievement
You should be writing a blog without being compelled to. Why? If you have a business, it can provide a written record of your achievements and day-to-day operations. This is valuable learning material for both you and your staff.
2) Writing a business blog demonstrates your openness and transparency.
Many businesses think in the “old school” way, keeping all their knowledge a secret. What does that do for you in today’s knowledge-based society, except make you look like a paranoid curmudgeon? You don’t have to share everything that you know, just the core principles of your good practice and your success stories. Your clients want to know you and they want to trust you.
3) Think ‘Brand Identity’.
We live in an age where small brands can develop themselves online in a way that they never could before the broadband revolution. Musicians have been discovered online by creating blogs where they showcase their talents. Comedians, filmmakers, singers, and actors have all launched careers via YouTube. They put in the work to create valuable content, and then they worked hard to market that content through their blogs and Social media.
4) Add value for your customers and potential customers.
It gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge in your subject area. You should be passionate about your business, so whether you sell bathrooms or sports equipment, there must be a reason why you think your business is better than your competitors. So “work your USP” and demonstrate the same passion that got you into your business in the first place.
5) You want your website to rank better in search engines.
By creating, plenty of high-quality, relevant content you can start to attract quality links as well as demonstrate to the search engines that you have a wealth of relevant information to offer searchers. Furthermore, once you establish a following, people may use your blog to provide product background before making purchases.
Marketing your business takes work
The world of SEARCH is changing dramatically. As early as 2012, we saw Google roll out its biggest changes to the way that it ranks websites. The Panda and Penguin updates meant that many websites suffered dramatic changes in their rankings. Panda affected websites that had “thin content”, ie little or no use for page information. Penguin affected sites that used underhanded tactics to rank, and those that used what Google saw as spammy link-building strategies in order to create an image of credibility.
Since then, we’ve seen hundreds of updates by Google as it strives to find the best way to answer people’s queries. So you’re going to want to employ a little expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust E.A.T
Otherwise, how can you convince Google and the other search engines that you are relevant to what users are searching for?
Business blogs can add quality content
Create quality content. Quality content will, over time, by its very nature, attract links. These links are links to your domain (web address). The type of people and businesses linking to your quality content is most likely to be sites that are relevant. People and businesses who found value in your offerings and those who regard you as a relevant expert.
At this point, I want to say that you still need to promote your content. You also need to create your blog posts to add value to your product or content pages You need to share your content on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked in and any others you favour.
What happens if I don’t add a business blog?
Well, that’s a difficult question to answer. Lots of companies are reluctant to start blogging. Here is a list of excuses people give me for NOT starting a blog.
“I haven’t got the time.”
Really? We are all busy people, but this excuse doesn’t wash. What is more important than promoting the business you slaved to build? It’s not messing around on holiday, it’s not watching TV soaps or playing Golf. You don’t need to blog every night. However, promoting your brand takes time and effort. That is why I am still writing this article at 11:40 pm.
“It’s Impossible to make the topic interesting.”
Nonsense, if you make or sell something that is of use to someone, otherwise, you would be out of business. This means someone or some niché is interested in your opinion and expertise.
“Our client base isn’t interested in reading blogs.”
Says who? I’d accept this argument if it were based on data from a detailed client survey based on statistics. In the past, there has been a tendency for some businesses to churn out blogs focusing on “buy this” or “buy that”. I’m not talking about creating junk articles, I’m talking about adding real value. Showing your customers that you understand the topic around your goods or services and that you know how to address their problems.
“I can’t afford the investment.”
There are some businesses that invest very little time and effort in Marketing. They only acquire their business by word of mouth. This is fine. Yet, even this type of business has more power if they have an effective online presence. By engaging with your client base, you build trust, but not just trust between client and business, public endorsement. This public endorsement is worth something.
All businesses can benefit from having a blog
Carpenters and plumbers pay money week in and week out for ads in the local paper. Why spend so much money on a fading medium? You should consider investing in an area where you can make a difference for much less in the long run. You can save money by doing some of the work in-house. Or you could invest in some professional help at least until you feel more confident to go it alone.
Big brands can get away without adding a blog. Google needs major brands in its index, so the chances are, household names will always rank. Without them, the Google index would be incomplete.
However, ask yourself, Is your brand a major brand?
Does Google NEED to list your website? The answer is most probably no. Given that stark reality, are you really going to leave it to chance?
Will you wait until your sales or leads simply dry up one day before thinking, hey, what happened? Are you going to take action now? You can get ahead of your closest competition by creating great content. What if your nearest competitors get ahead of you? They could write 10-20 blogs before you even start. Take action before it’s too late.
Remember, the more relevant indexed content you have in Google, the more likely you are to rank.
If you’d like to know a little more about the benefits of a business blog, then please leave a comment below. I’ll be happy to help you find the right solution to help you get started.
For more web marketing tips, follow us on Instagram @peakdistrictseo. If you need help setting up a blog to market your services, get in touch.
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I’m Phil Gregory, the MD and founder of Peak District SEO.
I’m an SEO & Google Ads Consultant with 27+ years of experience in I.T and helping UK Businesses improve website performance.
I built my first website in 1998, then I discovered the joys of website optimisation and never looked back.
If you want a no-nonsense, no-hard-sell approach and to actually get your website fixed with a solid, affordable, long-term approach, hit the contact button today.
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