Blogs (short for ‘weblogs’) are websites that allow the owner to publish new web pages – ‘blog posts’ – on a regular basis. Blogs are often used as online diaries, with a single ‘blogger’ sharing personal updates written in an informal tone; however, blogging has also become a popular way for companies to share news and information and promote themselves online.
Launching a blog for your business allows you to:
- Share your latest company news and updates
- Provide information that your customers/clients may find useful
- Promote special offers and new products/services
- Commentate on relevant issues and news stories
- Increase engagement on social media
- Target keywords that are not addressed on your main site
Advertising on Google is a great addition to the digital marketing strategy of both large and small businesses, and when used correctly, can deliver fantastic results. In principal, it is fairly straightforward to use, however, it has an extensive range of features which can be extremely time-consuming, particularly when you’re just starting out. For this reason, many businesses use
paid advertising professionals, who have the knowledge and experience required to help businesses make the most of their advertising opportunities.
One of the main benefits of having a blog is the ability to create new web pages quickly and target new search terms that aren’t mentioned anywhere on your website proper. This is a particularly good way to achieve high rankings for ‘long-tail’ keywords: specific search terms that tend to receive fewer searches than generic keyphrases but which often result in better user engagement and higher conversion rates.
TFor example, if you sell shoes for children, you might write a blog post about your range of pink sandals for girls. This term isn’t searched for nearly as often as more generic terms like children’s sandals or simply shoes for girls, but less popular terms are usually less competitive and therefore easier to achieve high rankings for. Furthermore, people who specifically Google pink sandals for girls will usually be closer to making a purchase than people who Google children’s sandals which means that – if you write it well – your pink sandals blog post should have an above-average conversion rate (i.e. a high percentage of people who land on that blog post will end up purchasing something from you).
Blog posts are also great for target conversational / question-type keywords. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to identify some commonly-asked questions in your niche (e.g. what shoes to buy for school then put your expertise to good use and answer those questions one blog post at a time. This tactic can be a great way to bring a lot of extra traffic to your site!
Most businesses can benefit from having a blog, but it’s only a good idea to add a blog to your website if you are prepared to update it regularly. If a visitor arrives on your blog and spots that it hasn’t been updated for several months, they may lose confidence in your company as a whole – for all they know, you abandoned your blog because you went out of business some time ago! The same thing applies to search engine bots: if Google crawls your website and spots that you haven’t posted on your blog since last year, they may be reluctant to give your website a prominent listing in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).
With that being said, most companies can potentially reap the advantages associated with blogging, and it’s an especially good idea if you want to connect with your customers online. Regular, engaging blog posts will complement your efforts on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and if you have an active, engaged online audience, a blog will give you an easy way to keep them updated with any new products, special offers, and changes to your business.
Do you need a professional, highly-optimised blog for your business? Get in touch with Designer Websites today – we’ve been designing blogs and all kinds of other online solutions for more than a decade!
