Ever wondered why you need a blog? Blogs are a useful way to direct people to your website, they can help you promote your product or service, showcase your expertise, generate leads, and well, if you have the skills, they cost nothing to produce but your time.
Let’s face it, running a small-to-medium-sized business is a lot of work. But so many business owners let blogging fall off their to-do lists. Data suggests that companies who blog get 67% more leads than companies who don’t.
So, what are the benefits of blogging for your business?
#1. Search Engine Optimisation
Google’s ultimate goal is to provide users with information that is relevant and helpful to their search. People search online for different reasons. But essentially, search is what people type into a search engine, like Google, when they’re looking for information. If you can create content that provides an answer to their search query, then it’s more likely that your website will show up in the search results. Blogs are an easy way to do this. They can provide answers to various search queries over and above your standard webpage.
Let’s say, for example, you’re a new business that sells avocados via an e-commerce website. Words like ‘avocado’ are used by a lot of businesses. So, this makes it a highly competitive keyword and therefore, more difficult for your website to rank high on search engines. In this instance, it is worthwhile adding a blog to your website, so you can be found using other, less competitive search terms. For example, a keyword like ‘Guacamole dish recipes’ still has a high number of searches but is less competitive (which means not as many other businesses are using this keyword in their content). By including this as a recipe post on your website, you increase your chances of appearing in the search results when someone is looking for that information. And because it’s less competitive, your chances of coming up are more likely.
#2. Showcase Your Expertise
Authentic marketing continues to be a trend in 2024, and one of the easiest and most effective ways of being authentic is to ‘be useful with your content’. What’s in it for your customer? Why should they buy from you?
By answering your client’s questions and providing valuable and interesting insights, you’ll not only showcase your expertise, but you’ll also provide helpful, reliable, and people-first content for your customers, which Google prioritises in its search algorithm. This strategy can help you to gradually build trust with your customers and with Google.
Furthermore, a blog can allow you to cover topics in more depth. You can address specific customer pain points and questions that you may not be able to cover on a standard webpage.
#3. Repurpose Content
In marketing, content that has no real expiration date and provides long-term value is called Evergreen Content. While a blog about the ‘Latest Trends this Mother’s Day’ may not be relevant the following year, an article about ‘DIY Mother’s Day Gifts’ could be used again and again.
Blog articles are a great source for repurposed content because they often contain a ton of insights that can be used in different formats. For example, that ‘DIY Mother’s Day Gifts’ post could be repurposed into several images or videos for social media that show people how to use your products to make these gifts. Repurposing your blog content can significantly extend its reach and impact.
Furthermore, it could save you from rewriting an entirely new blog the following year, because you can always refresh evergreen content and republish if there is something new to add.
#4. Lead Generation
Lead generation is when potential customers (we call them leads) share their contact information with you so that you can nurture that lead and try and convert them into a paying customer. But how does a blog help with lead generation exactly?
Well, let’s take the avocado blog example. Let’s say a customer is online looking for an easy Guacamole recipe and she stumbles across your blog post. She is a regular aficionado of avocados and has decided to sign up to receive regular recipes from you via email marketing. You now have the opportunity to send her regular marketing content and promotions, deals and specials, alongside those recipe updates. Marketing is an investment and nurturing those leads can take time. But hopefully, over time, you will build a relationship with that customer. So that when it comes time for them to buy, you will be front of mind.
Reading your blog content doesn’t necessarily make someone a lead, but offering interesting and valuable content in your blog can help attract them. Bloggers use specific techniques in articles that are designed to encourage people to take action and convert, such as:
- Adding a compelling call to action.
- Offering freebies and giveaways.
- Including interactive content.
- And access to exclusive content.
All of these are great ways to generate leads from your blog content, but, first, you need to be creating high-quality, interesting content that attracts people to your website.
#5. It’s Free (Well sort of)
Blogging is a long-term asset. And if you’re a business owner with the skillset, then blogging costs nothing but your time. Every blog you publish is another opportunity for you to be indexed and get traffic to your website.
However, with the introduction of AI and the internet overflowing with content, readers are becoming more discerning about the content they consume. While AI can produce content quickly and for free, at present, it still needs a human eye to look it over. It often lacks originality, can be full of contextual errors, and is not SEO-optimised. Essentially, while blogging is “free”, I ask you, how much is your time worth to you? Is your time better spent elsewhere contributing to the growth of your business?
My blogging service can help you produce authentic and unique content that showcases your expertise. I can help take some of the work off your hands and write blogs on products, services, news, events, case studies and more. I will optimise your blog for search engines and can provide images to complement your content.
Building a loyal customer base takes time and investment. Let’s ensure your business stands out and gets found online, by producing authentic and unique content that resonates with your audience.