Incorporating a blog on your website is a digital trend that has increased in popularity over the years – and for good reason. From increasing traffic and supporting education goals to converting visits into leads, there are a variety of benefits to adding a blog to your website. If you are considering a blog, it’s important to know the many benefits a blog can offer, but also plan for several considerations that come with having a blog so that you can maximize your investment.
Key Considerations and Benefits
Benefit: Increased Search Traffic
A major benefit of adding custom-written, fresh content to your website is that it supports search engine optimization (SEO) best practices. According to Hubspot, business blogs can attract 55% more traffic than websites without. Through keyword research and related blog articles, you can attract new and existing customers to your website from Google search results if you do your SEO homework. Not only does this drive people to the blog itself, but it can generate trust and encourage consumers to explore your website beyond the blog – including product and service pages, resources and other information that can help establish meaningful relationships.
Consideration: Commitment to Producing Content
If you’re considering adding a business blog to your website, it’s important to keep in mind the commitment to and strategy behind maintaining a regular posting schedule. A content calendar is a great way to stay on track and plan a mixture of topics related to your business goals. It’s also recommended that each blog published by your brand should have at least 1,000 words, sometimes more, to ensure SEO value that can contribute to rankings in search results.
Although it is seen as a major marketing commitment, content creation isn’t impossible and there are options available that can support your needs. In addition to third-party platforms, ZAG offers an extensive library of financial literacy articles and infographics covering a wide range of subjects that can be semi-customized and published directly to your site.
Benefit: Establish Credibility
Consumers turn to companies they trust when looking for answers. Having a business blog can help establish your credibility as the expert in your industry by providing answers to common questions. This can help customers feel confident in your brand as a reliable resource for related needs, which can ultimately contribute to product adoption and future business.
Consideration: Keeping it Unique
With so many blogs and article content online, it’s important to find ways to stand out. Work on producing unique, relevant content for your website that sets you apart from the competition. This may involve covering more specific topics, providing more detailed insights and coming up with creative ideas to keep your audiences engaged and coming back for more – such as a series. Your content will be working against other writers, marketers and even Google for a spot on the first page of search results.
Benefit: Marketing Benefits
With branded blog content comes an influx of marketing content to benefit your brand. You can use your blog posts as content for social media calendar, email marketing and more. Showcase your knowledge of your industry and keep existing customers engaged with regular communication and distribution. This might include social media posts once or twice a week, a monthly in-case-you-missed-it newsletter of all your recently published articles, or even a feed on your homepage to inform visitors of new content.
Master Your Blog
If you’re looking to create your own content, consistency and strategy are key. Now that you understand why incorporating a blog on your website can be beneficial, you might decide that it’s time to get the ball rolling.
Be sure to work with the right writer for your business blog. Pro tip: you might want to hire a copywriter who specializes in long form content or outsource your work to an expert in your industry. This will spare you grammar and factual errors that can negatively impact your brand credibility and avoid excess hours you likely don’t have to copyedit your own articles.
When developing blog content, always perform keyword research using available tools like Google’s keyword planner and incorporate relevant phrases into your blogs to optimize for search engines and achieve higher rankings than the competition. Keep your content relevant to both your business and current events because that’s what people will be searching for.
Interested in starting a business blog on your website? Contact us today to talk about how to design, develop and curate content for your business blog.