Ten years ago, if you had a ‘blog that went viral’ the first thing you’d do is call your doctor and get a ‘script to sort that out!
Fast forward to today, however, and a viral blog is the stuff a budding entrepreneur’s dreams are made of.
Blogs are in our faces.
They’re in our social media news feeds.
They’re linked to the side of the websites that you’re browsing.
And, whether you know it or not, a large part of what you read and share online is written in some form of a blog.
Blogs are all the content marketing rage.
Since the first ‘weblog’ was created in 1994 by Justin Hall (read it here) blogs, as their modern name was condensed to, have transformed from online platforms for personal musings, into one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of marketers across the globe.
Show me a website without a regularly updated blog page, and I’ll show you a business that’s not committed to reaching their full marketing potential.
But why so popular?
Are we just an online generation that likes the sound of our own voices? Or, are there some more functional reasons that blogs are now one of the most popular ways to get our point across?
To clear up the confusion, we did what we know best; we wrote a blog about it!
If you’re not updating your website regularly with blogs, here are seven reasons blogging on a business website will build your business and make you money*.
1) Google will reward you for it
Google “regularly” sends robots out to find fresh content and fetch it back to the SERPS (search engine results page) to provide data that answers people’s search enquiries. The more fresh content they find on your site, the more likely they’ll be to visit your site the next time they go hunting.
A website that is rarely updated is most definitely OFF the radar of the Google bots, and if you’re looking to grow your customer base and increase your sales, that’s the LAST place you want to be!
As you may be aware, the process to improve your ranking takes time, but as any competent SEO copywriter will tell you, consistency IS rewarded.
2) You’ll increase traffic to your site
Publishing engaging and informative blogs through your website and social media is guaranteed to increase the traffic to your site. Blogs allow you to provide a level of detail about your service, product or industry that your website copy and social media posts don’t.
Add an enticing preview and image to share on your social media preview, and you’re guaranteed to increase your CTR (click-through-rate) which will begin the all-important relationship between you and your prospective clients.
3) You’ll prove yourself as an authority in your industry
What better way to stand above your competitor than by showing everyone why you’re better? Blogs are a great platform to share your knowledge and experience while educating the internet and getting them to trust you.
If you’ve started to answer the questions of your target market before they’ve even met you, when they need your product or service, you’ll be the first business they call.
4) You’ll provide a point of difference to your competitor
With thanks to the internet, the world is getting smaller, and consumers have way more choice.
Each of your competitors is making the same promises that you are, in a not so different way. Blogs help you stand out from the crowd, build your brand, and allow your own personality to creep into your marketing so that your prospective clients not only trust you but now they like you too!
5) You could go viral!!
Going viral is not something that needs medical attention but something that everyone with an online business strives to achieve!
Publishing a witty, engaging and informative blog post has the potential to make your brand an overnight internet star if it lands on the right screen. The internet is an incredibly powerful marketplace, and regularly providing fresh content means that any second now you could strike it gold.
Think of how many times you click ‘share’ on a Facebook post per day and multiply that by all the people using Facebook! It’s so easy for anyone and everyone to share content on social media sites, and your blogs need to be out there too. They have the potential to reach the other side of the world in minutes. But only if they hit the consumer’s sweet spot.
6) Traffic stays on your site for longer
A little secret here – Google rewards your website based on how long people spend there. This is how they prove they’ve provided people with the information that they’re searching for. A site rich in keywords and phrases with content that people are actually reading? Count your extra Google points here!!
7) Blogs are quality backlinks
A backlink is a link to your site that someone else has referenced in their online material. Google rewards the number of times your site is linked naturally. It’s a classic SEO method, and it works. Write a blog which appeals, and if someone else references it, you’re improving your SEO without lifting a finger.
To optimise your site to its maximum potential, you should be blogging at least once a week. 400-500 words are ample (but we recommend at least 800 to provide an article of value), and the subject can be of your choosing (as long as you can naturally get your keywords in).
But, as all business owners can relate – who has the time to do that?!
Words and the Bees is skilled in website copywriting and provides a blog-writing service which provides written content to keep Google happy, increase traffic to your site AND keep people hanging around longer once they get there.
Blogs can be bought as part of an ongoing package which includes social media posts, or on their own as and when you require them.
We will always write our blogs within your guidelines and to appeal to your target market, and we offer a discreet ghost-writing service for those of you who prefer to put your own name on your blogs.
Contact us today to discuss your blogging needs, to see examples of previous blogs, and for a no-obligation quote.
Now you know why all the cool kids are blogging and how they’re doing it, the only question left is why aren’t you?
