The question is not should your business be blogging but rather, can it afford not to be?

What was previously considered a forum for frustrated wannabe journalists has now become a key component of online strategies for companies looking to improve SEO.

Blogging creates a platform for businesses to share and connect with their audience on an extremely intimate level allowing them to build trust and demonstrate industry expertise. It creates a vehicle for your company vision, humanizes your brand, and engages consumers in your online community.

Here are 6 reasons why every business needs to be blogging:

EVERY BLOG IS AN SEO OPPORTUNITY

If you think simply adding keywords to your website is enough to rank in Google, think again. Too many SEO gurus have gamed that system and it’s no longer effective. Ranking in Google has become a battle of content vs content, and the more relevant and higher quality content will always win. Keywords are still a factor but they must be used in your blog in a way that flows, and feels organic in order for them to be effective.

Do your homework on search terms and keywords which are the path to your business via Google. You can identify these queries via the WordPress plugin Yoast or the keywords planner tool in Google AdWords. Utilize these keywords in your blogs and you should improve your organic search ranking within six months or so.

EDUCATE YOUR CUSTOMER BASE

A recent study found 84% of consumers purchase a service or product after reading a blog. (source:http://www.researchnow.com). This is a testament to their effectiveness and demonstrates how they establish trust and credibility with your customers. They can also be the online voice for your business where you can advocate for your services or products in the right tone and not simply engaging in a hard sell.

DEFEND YOUR COMPANY AGAINST CRITICISM

Your online reputation is always a work in progress and a blog creates a vehicle to defend against criticism when your company comes under fire. You’re able to voice and articulate every concern and you can do so under your own terms. Commentary is typically welcomed in the blogging world and companies should use this opportunity to show transparency.

ESTABLISHES INDUSTRY EXPERTISE

By building up a catalog of well delivered, SEO-driven blogs, your company can become a thought leader within your industry. The end game is becoming a ‘go to source’ for information on your industry as the more traffic you drive to your site, the more authoritative it will become, resulting in higher rankings.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONVERT LEADS

Let’s presume your blog gets you 100 views and 10 leads. You get another 50 views and 5 leads the next day and the views continue to increase. As a result of this traffic, your post will now rank on Google and your blogging efforts may eventually result in thousands of leads and conversions and their growth is exponential.

SHARABLE CONTENT ON THE INTERNET

Shareable content is a very powerful marketing tool as there is always the possibility of it going viral, which is every marketer’s dream. Social networks are buzzing with activity and if you create good, solid content, there’s a strong likelihood that people will share it. There are actually companies that offer this as a service where they harvest shareable information and post it to your network on your behalf. The problem with this is that the information never comes directly from you and you end up driving traffic away as users click on the content.

If you would like to learn about more ways to improve your business, brand, and how potential clients view you – then get in touch with me today. I am available for a free consultation in which I will go over your current business marketing tactics and plans and then offer guidance and solutions. Reach me by calling (909) 786-2107.