Drive Traffic, Rank Higher, and Gain More Clients
It’s here. I’ve been saying for months that I was going to launch an official devEdge Internet Marketing blog. Finally, I will be practicing what my company teaches. Which is what my first article is going to be all about: The benefits and importance of having a blog for your own business. Hopefully I can talk you into blogging for your own business… Maybe this is just the push you need to get started.
First, let me quickly explain the definition of a blog. The word “blog” comes from a shortened version of “web log.” Blogging started out as people writing about their personal thoughts and ideas on their website. There’s just something about sharing your opinions and beliefs with other people… then having those ideas confirmed by other people… that rewards a basic human desire. It didn’t take long for journalists, news sources, organizations, and even businesses, to see the value in regularly promoting their own research, beliefs, and opinions. So today, we think of a blog as a website (or part of a website) that is regularly updated with new articles on pretty much any topic. A blog can contain anything from well-researched articles to random humourous musings. Anybody who writes a regular article and posts it onto their website is “blogging.”
Excuses We Make to NOT Blog
If you’re not already blogging for your business, chances are you’re making excuses about why you shouldn’t blog. Maybe you think it will be too time consuming. Maybe you’re telling yourself that the work would outweigh the benefit. Maybe there’s another reason.
Truthfully, there are some good reasons for a business not to blog. If you don’t want more traffic and more business, then don’t blog. If you don’t want to be found on Google for anything other than your brand name, then don’t blog. If you can’t commit to blogging regularly, then don’t blog.
Whoops! Did I just say that “C” word? Commit. Here’s the deal with blogging: You have to do it regularly, or you might as well not blog at all. Yes, I said it… You need to commit to it. Usually, the question I get after telling people this is “What’s an appropriate commitment level?” It’s a good question.
Basically, my answer to business owners is whatever you can manage so long as it’s regular. Try to post a new article at least every month. For most businesses, once a week to once a month is enough of a commitment to reap the benefits. Of course, if you want, you can blog more often than once a week. Just pay attention to your results, customers, and response. Too much blogging can sometimes be bad too.
Speaking of time commitments though… You should be relieved to hear that keeping your blog articles reasonably short (300 – 1000 words) is more beneficial. You should be able to whip an article off in 30-60 mins.
Stop Making Excuses and Start Blogging – 4 Reasons to Start Your Business Blog
Just start blogging already. Stop making excuses not to blog. The benefits far outweigh the drawbacks:
You will see increased traffic to your website. Every single business owner that did not have a blog before, then started one, increases their website traffic. We have a client that, in only 2 months after starting a blog, doubled their Internet traffic. The only thing that changed was that they added a blog.
You will rank higher in the search engines. It’s a known fact that search engines love content. They love new content even more. By keeping your website fresh with regular blog postings you’ll be giving the search engines more opportunities to match your website with people’s searches. We have case studies showing how small companies are ranking higher than their bigger competitors after they started a blog.
Your industry authority will only increase. Become an authority and leader in your field by posting educational content online. People will respect the knowledge you give them and will then position you as an authority in your field. This means they will buy (more) from you because they trust you.
Keep your existing customer base engaged and informed. Turn your existing customers into evangelists for your company. Blogs can be an excellent tool for rewarding those loyal customers that follow you with special invitations, offers, and opportunities.
Are you ready to start your business blog yet? For your businesses sake, I hope you answer “yes.” Feel free to contact me (use the form on the page) if you want to talk about how to get an effective blog on your website. Otherwise, happy blogging! I hope you’ll check back to ours from time to time.
