Blogs are often associated with the early ages of the internet- seen in the 2020s as a digital relic of a simpler time. But there are over 500 million blogs on the internet, and these are often used as content marketing for businesses. 88% of online marketers use blogs or other content marketing strategies to promote businesses. Why are so many businesses and marketers still advocating for the blog? What are the main benefits?
SEO is the main reason why people still have blogs in this era. SEO stands for search engine optimization, with the SEO of your site being shorthand for how much Google likes your website- when people search for you on Google (or any other similar search engine,) your SEO ranking determines whether your site is at the top of the first page, or halfway down the third.
93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. In fact, so many people use search engines to find what they’re looking for on the internet that there are over 78,000 Google searches in 1 second. And 67% of all clicks go to the first five organic results.
What about paying for Google Ads? They can help, but research suggests that 70-80% of users skip past the paid ads to click on the unadvertised, organic results. So the importance of SEO cannot be understated.
Many things go into your SEO ranking, but one of the biggest factors is how many times a searched keyword appears on your site. And if you have blog posts about your industry or your website, you will have far better SEO because that keyword appears more.
While SEO is one of the biggest factors of why blogs live on today in their current format, it is by far not the only benefit to having a blog.
According to a study by PWC, social networks are the biggest source of inspiration for consumer purchases with 37% of consumers finding purchase inspiration through the channel. That is a lot of people! But social media for your business can be a struggle, can't it? I personally have found it a pain getting enough small pieces of content to put together a consistent posting schedule. But this is why blogging can be a great source of content.
A blog post is a treasure trove of small points that can be broken up into posts for your social media. Having a blog offers a great opportunity for you to share well-researched information with your followers on social media.
When you break a post into main points, you can post a summary of each point separately on social media sites like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Depending on how many points you have, you can distill an article down into 4-10 separate posts, and then schedule for automatic posting using tools like Buffer or Planoly. This way, you can have regular, high-quality posts on social media while also improving your website's SEO. Each post can then link back to the full article on your website, which will drive more website traffic. It's an all-in-one solution.
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Even if you have your social media for your business sorted, writing a blog is still a great idea. People appreciate well researched, well-explained information and will trust you more as an expert for providing information on your subject of expertise.Writing an article allows you to deepen your ability to explain clearly different aspects of your job and industry. Most people want to know that they are working with someone who understands their own industry as well as providing them with the best service. A well-maintained blog shows your customers that you do know what you're talking about.
A blog offers the opportunity to get to customer questions before they even ask them themselves. Not every page on your website will have room to explain every aspect of your service or product, nor should it have- too much information on one page can be overwhelming to a customer who's just looking for an overview. But some customers will undoubtedly have questions related to the product/service.Taking your most asked questions and writing blog posts they can find linked to on your website will offer comprehensive answers to those questions, without bloating your page and overwhelming your website visitors with too much information at first glance.
When you write about how things work in your industry, you are forced to do research, organize the information, and present them in an easy-to-understand way. The research process will lead you to previously unknown information about your subject. This not only helps your audience to better understand what you offer but also provides an opportunity to improve your product or service.
The next step of organizing your information and presenting it in your own words forces your brain to fully digest the information. You have to have a good understanding of what you are writing about to be able to organize it into a structured article that is understandable to the reader. And even if you think you already understand a topic, there is always more to learn. Writing about a topic is a great way to continue learning while also actively marketing your business.
These are just four of the many benefits of having a blog in the modern era. Blogging promotes your business in a way that isn't pushy or annoying to your potential customers- it's informative, and can help your potential customers make an informed decision about your service or product. Putting aside a little time in your schedule to make a post regularly can go a long way in ensuring your business's long-term success.
