We have seen it happen with our customers and Sumy Designs is living proof, if you blog regularly your website will escalate within the ranks of Google. If you are faithful, you will eventually find your way to that ever-coveted first page of a keyword search. It won’t happen over night, but blogging works and it is a great, if not the best, marketing tool for your business.
Here are a few reasons why blogging is your best marketing tool:
Your blog is not static like some of the other pages on your site
Everyone knows that a blog is an online journal, but your blog is far more; it is a marketing tool with the key components to drive traffic to your website. Your blog page is alive because is updated regularly with content about a very specific subject matter. If you don’t have a blog or your current blog is dead because you’ve been busy or you’ve just lost interest, your audience can’t find you. And if they do find you, would they want to do business with someone whose last blog post was 2 years ago? For all that future customer knows, you’ve gone out of business.
Because your blog has an audience
Just who is your audience, anyways? Ideally, your audience is composed of a bunch of potential clients who are ready to take the leap and invest in your products or services. I’m sure you have a few of those, but your audience is a little more complicated than one would expect, to make it simple, start by dividing your audience into two categories:
Future clients
On numerous occasions I’ve heard my clients tell me that no one would read their blog posts or that they tried blogging and it just wasn’t worth it. Not true, my friends – not even a little. Sure, not every single person who finds your blog will read your post in its entirety, but they did find their way to your website and chances are they browsed a few other pages while they were there.
Search engines
So technically, search engines may not be an actual audience, but they do read, or scan, websites and blogs and learn about their content and spot keywords so they can provide a list of relevant websites to the end user. There is a pretty good chance someone found this blog post by keyword searching “Why blogging works.” Keyword searches direct targeted traffic to your website. With this being said, it is always important that your write your blog posts for people, not search engines. Once that future client finds you, they’ll want personable content.
Blogging helps direct more traffic to your website
Each time you hit the publish button on your blog, you are creating a new connection for a potential client to find your website. This connection isn’t generating just any traffic; it is great traffic because it is traffic that is brought to you by the content of your very own blog post. You know, the expert stuff you know about and want to promote. This is awesome traffic that is targeted for your business. Your blog gives you a never-ending canvas of opportunities to market your business. The more you blog, the better your marketing works.
Blogging creates trust with your readers
If someone finds you because their keyword search pulled up your blog post, you have found the right audience. Once that potential client gets to your blog and reads your posts they will see that you are an expert in your field. Writing regularly and knowing your stuff definitely generates trust among your readers. Trust should never be underrated, trust brings repeat customers and generates fabulous word-of-mouth marketing.
If you are new to blogging or don’t have a blog and want one, here are a few more articles to help you get started:
How to write your first blog post
Blogging tips for small businesses
How to create a better reader experience on your blog
How to write blog headlines that sell
How often should you blog?
How to promote your blog for free
How to create great blog titles
Business blogging successfully
Susan Sullivan
Susan lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area with her husband and children. She is an avid distance runner, environmentalist, part-time beekeeper, chicken farmer and amateur photographer.