There are all sorts of ways to market your business. You can post on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. You can buy pay-per-click ads on search engines like Google and Bing. You can also start a website blog. What is a blog? It is a regularly updated page or pages on your website and is usually written in an informal, personal style as a way to connect with your customers. Nearly any company can benefit from this kind of inbound marketing. How? Check out these five ways blogging can help your small or medium-sized business.
Increase Your Search Engine Rankings
It is no secret that the search engines love fresh content. Yet chances are that you do not update your website pages that often, which can lead to stagnant search engine rankings. Blog content, on the other hand, is consistently updated. Every new post is fresh content for the search engines. If you include targeted keywords in your articles, then each post is another chance to gain Google or Bing visibility under those keywords. Inbound marketing is all about generating this organic traffic.
Increase Social Media Sharing
Every new blog post gives your site visitors something to share on their social media accounts. This can drastically extend your marketing reach without costing you a penny. To increase the chances that someone will post your blog articles on Facebook or Twitter, make sure that your posts provide value. Do not write a post just to write a post. Have something interesting to say. Keep headlines short and to the point. Include eye-catching photos and infographics.
Let Visitors Know that Someone is Home
Websites that do not update their content on a regular basis can look stale and make visitors wonder if anyone is minding the store. This is particularly true if your site receives a lot of repeat visitors. They can also become bored, seeing the same old information visit after visit. A consistently updated blog lets users know that someone is home and taking care of business. In this age of online scams, identity theft, hacking and all the rest, visitors appreciate this kind of reassurance.
Create Trust with Your Users
Your customers might only know your business through its website. So it is vital that your site creates a positive user experience. You can do this by making sure the site works well, is easy to navigate and provides the solutions that visitors are seeking. You can also do it with your blog by letting customers see who you are. This peek behind the curtain creates trust and forges a bond between you and your customers. Most people would like to do business with a human being rather than an anonymous website. Your inbound marketing focused blog lets them see the human behind the technology.
Keep Visitors Coming Back
According to one recent British study, consumers switch between screens up to 21 times per hour. The average person now has an attention span of eight seconds, which is shorter than that of a goldfish. In other words, you have very little time to grab a user’s attention when he lands on your website. A blog with an eye-popping headline is one way to focus his attention before he clicks off to another site. If he has been to your site before, then the last thing you want is for him to see the same thing that he saw the last time he visited. A blog consistently updated with fresh content ensures that repeat users see something new each time they return. This increases the chances that they will keep coming back.
Maintaining a blog for inbound marketing can seem like a lot of work, but it is a surefire way to help your business. Done right, it can increase your search engine visibility, increase your social media reach, reassure visitors that someone is minding the store, create trust with your users and keep visitors coming back. If you need help with your blog or have website questions, then please contact us. Our team is standing by to assist.
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