Excuse us, but things are about to get meta in here. Yes, we’re going to write a blog about blogs.
Many small businesses are put off by the idea of starting and maintaining a blog. Maybe you think there’s no time, that it’s a pointless endeavour or you just can’t get those creative juices to flow.
Whilst creating a blog does take commitment and, yes, precious time, it can reap real benefits.
Here’s how.
It makes you more attractive to search engines
You might have spent a fortune on designing a smart website, and a similar fortune on hiring someone to sort out your search engine optimisation (or SEO – we wrote about it a few weeks ago). But rankings are time-limited, and unless you keep adding new material to your site, you could well find yourself slipping into obscurity – otherwise known as page 2 of Google. That’s where your blog posts come in. A steady stream of high quality content ensures you stay visible to search engine’s enigmatic algorithms and potential customers alike.
It drives traffic to your site
Speaking of potential customers, it’s not just Google rankings that will drive traffic to your site, but high-quality content too.
Even if that visitor isn’t looking for your particular service or product at this point in time, they could well do in the future. If they remember your blog as being reliable and trustworthy, you might end up their first port of call.
The science of converting visitors to sales can get very complicated, very quickly. But sometimes all it takes is getting your name into someone’s mind. That one connection could mean the difference between them making a call or clicking on the ‘buy’ button.
By positioning yourself as an expert
To run a business you’ve got to be pretty good at what you do. A regular blog lets you share your expertise with the world. With great content, time and maybe a bit of sheer luck in terms of getting your name out there, you can establish yourself as an industry expert. The aim is to have your blog be a go-to goldmine of interesting articles and industry news in the hope that it will become a valuable resource to others.
It gives your company a voice
Your blog is the perfect place to let people see a bit of your company’s personality. Away from the main section of your website (which let’s face it, is designed almost solely to sell your product or service), you can relax the rules a little bit and talk about what matters to you. And much like keeping current for search engine purposes, it’s important to let visitors and possible new customers that you are active, relevant and up-to-date.
Have you ever checked out a company’s blog to see that they started blogging with great intentions a couple of years ago then quickly got bored and stopped posting? Don’t be that company – it looks terrible.
Only came here to read the blog about blogs, but now you fancy some accountancy services too? You’re in luck. Give us a call.