Blog

Yep. Here are the benefits of blogs and why you should add one to your website.

 

You started a business. Check. 

 

You created a great looking website featuring your business. Check.

 

Now it’s time to sit back and wait for all the visitors to swarm to your website. 

 

If it was only that easy. With billions of websites already on the internet, how will people find your needle in a haystack? 

 

You could pay lots of money for ads on Google and Facebook hoping the investment brings the traffic you want. Sure it may help…

 

If only there was a way to hedge your bets. Maybe bring some FREE, organic traffic to your website. 

 

Interested? It may not be as hard as you think. And if you’ve spent any time on the internet in the last decade or so, you probably heard of this technique. 

 

What is it?

 

Blogging. Yes, blogging. 

 

Creating quality content on your website’s blog can not only bring in more organic visitors, it can establish your reputation, showcase your expertise, and create an audience ready to absorb the information you have to offer. 

 

How can a blog improve your web traffic? Let’s take a closer look.

 

 

The Basics: Website Pages vs. Blog Posts

 

Your business website probably already has some key pages that features all the important information about your business. A typical business website has pages like home, about us, contact, and products. People visit these pages to get information about a company such as the hours of operation, address, available products, and contact information. 

 

Unless something in your business changes, these pages typically remain constant.

 

Blog posts, on the other hand, feature topics related to your business. They are generally presented in an article-like format. Think of it as a digital newspaper or magazine for your website. The content of blogs can bring in visitors searching for a variety of topics related to your business.

 

And, as you could guess, those visitors can become potential customers. 

 

How do blogs bring in additional traffic? Simply put: search engines.

 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

 

Did you know you can actually create content on your website that will help it rank higher in the search engines? After all, how many people actually click on a website on the 12th page of search results? 

 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important tool when creating your web pages and blogs. This means following a set of guidelines to help your site more attractive to search engines.

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In the past, you could stuff keywords into your pages and posts to help your rankings. 

 

Guess what? 

 

Google and other search engines got smarter. The rules for better rankings are constantly evolving. While there may be some shortcuts that work temporarily, the search engines continue to get smarter and weed out sites looking to play the system. For example, every time Google makes a new update to its SEO ranking factors, it causes a huge ripple through the internet marketing world. Some high ranking sites may quickly become virtual ghost towns if they are full of SEO shortcuts and low-quality content. 

 

How can you ensure you consistently rank high? Creating original and valuable content for anyone finding your site. 

 

Using Blog Posts to Help Your Search Engine Rankings

 

Before we go any further, there’s something worth mentioning. Blogs are more than just a tool to drive new, organic visitors to your site. It’s a chance to connect with your current and potential customers. For example, if you run a plumbing company, blogs with tips on maintaining your pipes and drains are valuable to your readers. They see you as an expert. And, as you publish blogs, they see you are willing to take time to create content to actually help them maintain their plumbing. 

 

And as they continue to read your blogs and use your valuable information, who do you think they will call when something major happens to their plumbing?

 

Pretty easy to answer, right?

 

With a little creativity, this can work with just about any industry. 

 

And, of course, blogs can definitely help you rank higher in search engines. As a result, you get more traffic to your site.

 

Why Blogs Help You Rank Higher

 

Here are just a few ways regular blog posts can help your search engine rankings.

• Your website stays current. Sites with few changes over the years may seem outdated and obsolete. Search engines want to reference the most current, relevant information. Regular blog posts give the search engines reason to keep indexing your site and keep in on their radar.

 

• Blogs keep people on your site longer. Search engines use bounce rates (the time people spend on your site before going somewhere else) as a ranking factor. If your blogs keep readers captivated and send them to other blog posts, it will help increase bounce rates.

 

• Developing a network of internal links. We’ve all seen that blue underlined text on webpages. Those links actually help. When you link your blog posts to your homepage and other posts, it increases your internal links. This keeps people on your site longer and strengthens the connection to the target keywords you’re using.

 

• Targeting long-tail keywords. Creating a blog post with keywords four words or more can draw traffic to those seeking information on a specialized topic. For example, unless you are a major company, “plumber” may be a hard keyword to rank high. Something like “preventing burst pipes during a polar vortex”, however, may have less competition for SEO rankings driving more traffic to your site.

 

This article merely scratches the surface about how valuable a high-quality blog can be to your website. 

 

Want to learn more about how a blog can help?

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