Whether you use it to create an online presence or to drive traffic to your existing website, a blog is a great tool to increase the visibility of your business online, improve its reputation, and communicate with existing and potential customers.
While a blog does require you divert some attention away from the day-to-day runnings of your business, when managed correctly, your return on investment will be far greater than if you didn’t blog. Let’s look at some of these benefits in more detail and find out why running a small business blog can improve your business’ bottom line.
1. Creates an online presence simply
Unlike a website, the cost of blogging is low and won’t require you to learn how to code for the web, or pay someone to do so. There are many blogging tools that make it easy to write, format and publish your content ideas in a few, quick steps using familiar interfaces. This means that you don’t need to rely on web designers or developers to create or update your website, and can instead focus on putting your business-related content online – creating an online presence that enhances your accessibility and exposes your business to a larger audience.
2. Gives your business a human voice
Nothing shows the personality of your small business better than a blog post. It allows you to share what you as a business are passionate about, as well as engage with topics relevant to potential clients. Blogs are a perfect way of sharing your small business’ voice and building trust, making it more human and likeable.
3. Drives traffic to your website
If your business already has a website, supplementing it with a blog is a great way to drive traffic to it. According to HubSpot, businesses with blogs receive 55% more traffic than those without. More eyeballs on your website means you have more opportunities to advertise your products or services and to attract new customers.
4. Improves your website's rankings in search results
When it comes to search results, the higher your website’s ranking, the better. If your website is buried deep in the search results, you can expect fewer clicks, as few people tend to dig far into them, preferring to stick to the first page. A small business blog is a great way to improve your website’s ranking in search results, as each blog post increases the number of pages search engines index from your domain, resulting in improved search visibility.
5. Helps you show up in "long-tail" searches
While your website might be easily discoverable when searching for your business by its name, if you do not have a blog it is difficult to rank highly in “long-tail” searches, which is when people search for very specific phrases or questions. The more content your blog has, the more likely it will be to show up in search results for less common search phrases, that tend to result in higher conversions.
The best metric is always a sale notification arriving from @Yoco_ZA 😂 https://t.co/09WAe0vSkG
— Kane Solutions (@kanesolutions) October 12, 2020
6. Establishes you as an expert in your industry
Establishing your business as a leading voice in its field is a great way of building a trusting relationship with existing and potential clients, and sets your business up to be the go-to partner when looking to buy. A small business blog is an easy tool for you to signal your business as an authoritative voice in your field, as it allows you to share information, expertise and insights related to your industry.
7. Creates a platform for discussion
Through its blog, your small business can connect with existing and prospective clients. This opens the door for comments, feedback, as well as criticism, giving you insights into the needs of potential customers – information which is invaluable. It also allows you to dig deeper, finding out more about their needs, enabling you to adapt your content and marketing as needed.
8. Supports your social media strategy
While important, it is difficult to keep an active social media presence going without strong and original content that speaks to your audience. Although there is nothing wrong with sharing other people’s content via your own social media channels, this means that you are sending traffic to other websites rather than your own. Maintaining a blog with unique and engaging content is a fantastic way of bringing people to your website from social media in a more organic way, rather. If your business has an email newsletter, blog posts also make for great content to include, while giving customers an overview of your blog posts from previous weeks.
Blogging is a fantastic tool for you to show what makes your small business different from your competition, and to engage with potential customers. By sharing your unique insights, you will increase traffic to your website and build trust amongst potential customers, which ultimately translates to more sales.
