Is blogging still relevant in 2021?
In this post we list 6 of the key reasons why you should be running an active blog on your business webpage and just how massive the impact can be of having a regular blog.
You’ve probably seen a lot of blog posts in your time. You’re reading one for a start! You’ll undoubtedly have seen them being shared on Facebook; whether they are posts by larger sites like Buzzfeed or smaller businesses and individuals. You may even have stumbled onto a blog post or two when looking for answers about something. In fact, if you have a google account then Google will push articles and blog posts to your phone that it thinks you will find interesting based on your search history.
It’s quite an ingenious process. Google, as we’ve mentioned before, loves data. Google are increasingly building complex profiles of every user – logging every click, taking note of every location you visit, keeping an eye on how long you spend on websites etc. In doing so, they are developing an understanding of what might interest you.
They do this to benefit you (conspiracy theorists and privacy advocates may argue differently). The better they know you, the more accurate their suggestions can be. Look up Xbox games on CEX? Then Google anticipates that you probably have an Xbox, or are interested in buying one, so it will silently adapt your results and suggestions to match what it believes your interests are. You may even have noticed the adverts on other webpages changing to reflect this. Bear this little titbit in mind as you read through the rest of this post, it’s quite important!
This is all fantastic, and you’ve sometimes wondered whether you should have a blog on your business page. You’ve probably heard someone saying that blogging for SMEs is vital, or maybe you’ve heard about services blogging for business. You’ve thought about it, but you’re not a confident writer, and you have no idea how to write a blog post. You’re not entirely sure whether blogging for SMEs is really you something you need to do. Well, you do. And here are 6 of the super important reasons you should be blogging.
Act Busy! Google’s Looking!
First up is attracting Google’s attention. You’ve certainly read our blog on Google’s web crawler. Unless of course you haven’t yet, in which case go and read it after you’ve read this!
As we described in that post, Google is like a local information guide. She walks up and down the high street (the internet) and checks on the businesses there to make sure she has the most up to date information on the shops. In reality, there’s so much on the high street that she has to schedule a check up every few months. That is of course, unless she can tell that there’s things changing! It may be a new sign or maybe a new window dressing but the guide’s interest has been drawn and now she is doing a thorough check of your shop.
Blogging for business is an excellent way of drawing the Google web crawler’s attention. Creating new pages – as you do when you are blogging for SMEs and businesses – waves a flag to the web crawler to come back to your site and take notice. The more Google visits you, the more likely you are to appear in organic search results.
What you show up for, will depend on your content of course!
Lead Thinking
Blogging for SMEs can also be a massive benefit for your business in terms of branding. Up to the minute content, perhaps responding to changes in your particular business environment will help to create the idea of your business as a thought leader in your industry. Content writing for small businesses can mean the difference between being a follower, or stepping out and leading the pack.
Hit Those Hard To Reach Keywords
Starting a business blog gives you a great opportunity to start to build in a wider and wider scope of keywords into your website! Result! Effective content writing for SMEs can really make the difference to the number of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) you end up on.
Google is smart but realistically when it is responding to search queries, it breaks down your entry into key terms and keywords. It then cross-references these with the information it holds on all websites. Keywords, then link to other keywords that are related. The more keywords you can incorporate into your website, the more accurate Google will think your site is when responding to queries in your area of business. Even better, blogging for SMEs means you can reach those keywords you weren’t previously successful with converting. Put it this way, businesses who blog get 97% more links to their websites[1]
Keep Them Coming Back For More
This is a nice simple concept. If people find you interesting then they will visit you. It’s just like friends. Or a zoo. If your business isn’t blogging, how ARE you interesting your visitors? What about your site will keep them coming back and staying on your page? (We wrote about why this is important)
A good, active blog gives visitors something to read. It gives them something to share. It gives you brilliant session lengths and bounce rates. And favourable Sessions and Bounces mean Google is going to trust you, and going to get you onto more SERPs for free.
Convert The Content Consumers
Every user surfing their way over to your website is a potential client. This is the case, even if they are coming because they have clicked a link to read a blog. Imagine a restaurant managing to get you to stop in the street to actually read their menu. The menu alone may convince you to eat there, but more likely you’ll opt to dine based on the whole package. The décor, the menu, the look of the waiters.
If you’re creating blog content, you are effectively getting users to take notice of the menu. They are immersed in your site. In doing so, you have the chance to impress them and to convert them. Your blog can direct them to the right places in your site and that person coming to be entertained or informed could be your next best customer.
Let the Marketing Work For Itself
As we mentioned at the beginning of the post, you will undoubtedly have seen blog posts shared through social media. That’s the beauty of blogging for small businesses. You can set your creations free and they can take on a life of their own. Friends can share them for you. You could be reaching hundreds, if not thousands of users. Instead of constant pushy stagnant sales pitches, you could be sharing informative and entertaining blog posts.
How to write a blog post
That’s a difficult topic to broach, one that actually usually results in the suggestion of going on courses. Of course, you can get cracking and do it yourself. Or you can get in touch with people like us here at Digital Paw. We can offer content writing help if you’d like to have a crack at it yourself, and we’re always happy to help SMEs with starting a business blog.
If you’d prefer, you can take advantage of our web content writer who has tonnes of experience content writing for small businesses. Take a look at some of our work – for Mental Health West Midlands and Transcend Coaching. You can sign up to our content writing services on your terms to suit your needs. Get in touch and let’s talk about what you and your business need.
