Why You Need a Blog on Your Website

There are a lot of people blogging right now – and for good reason! Having your web developer (or yourself if you’re savvy enough) put a blog on your website is a decision that is going to pay off in several ways. Sure, if you do it wrong, it could hurt (see: The Problem with Spun Content), but most people won’t. In fact, you basically have to be trying to be penalized in order to suffer consequences from blogging. Those that have suffered either had a bad SEO company blogging for them (here’s how to avoid that) or tried to beat the system. However, if you set up a blog on your site and actively contribute, there are typically great benefits. Here are four compelling reasons for you to start blogging immediately:

1. A blog can help you establish credibility and authority in your industry: Nobody sees how big or small you are through a blog, provided the design is adequately done. What they do see is someone who is writing authoritatively on a particular topic. Write what you know, and speak confidently about it. Gone are the days where blogs are only about the random details of someone’s life. People in almost every industry write articles in the form of blog posts to share knowledge and establish credibility. You should too.
2. Extra content for your website builds SEO: There are a lot of factors that determine how your site ranks on search engines, and only Google knows exactly what they are. What we have seen, though, is that your entire site can help your pages rank. So, if you develop content throughout your site, it helps your overall ranking. A website selling blue widgets that has one page about blue widgets most likely will not rank as well as a site that has a large amount of content (many pages) devoted to blue widgets. Writing consistently on your blog not only helps others see you as an authority on a topic, but also helps Google to see you as an authority…and makes them more likely to give you better rankings.
3. Blogs give you content to be used for linking: One major element of Google’s ranking algorithms is links to your site from other sites. By writing relevant blog posts, you are giving other people content that they can link to from their sites. If your writing is quality and valuable to others, you can see your rankings do significantly better through these links. Now that social media has stepped into the game, and is believed to be one of the next big ranking factors, it’s important to appeal there as well. People are using social media to share content all the time. If you’d like, you can also submit posts to other sites (lots of blogs actively look for guest authors), and include a link back to yours in the post. Either way, blogs = links, links = search engine rankings. Those links can also drive traffic through referrals.
4. A blog is a doorway to your website: A blog provides a way for people to become familiar with your site. Someone who may not come to the “blue widget” site to immediately buy blue widgets may be researching and find your blog. Guess who they will probably come back to when it’s time to buy blue widgets. Do you think they’ll search randomly, or start with someone they are familiar with? Someone who is unknown, or someone who they now see as an authority? When people come to your blog, they may read a post and leave, which is fine, or they may explore the site and begin to engage. Without a blog, your chances of engagement are much worse.

So, how much should you post? If you’re posting less than twice a month, you probably won’t see as much return as you’d like. If you can post multiple times per week, that is optimal. If you can post at least once a week, you should be in good shape. For starters, try for at least twice a month. For some people, that’s easy. For others, that may be a lot. But, part of our NJ SEO program is content creation. If you’re looking for help creating content, let us know. It’s one of our specialties.

About The Author

We specialize in b2b, supporting the clients who are the "The Brands Behind the Brands." These are the supply chain partners of brands, either in Tier 1 or Tier 2 positions, who drive value through the delivery of goods, services and technologies. We enjoy blogging about all things related to Branding, Marketing, Inbound, Tradeshows, etc... And we're always happy to talk about any ideas you may have that might Get You To Your NEXT!