Only 68% of businesses have a business blog, versus the 92% using Facebook and the 84% using Twitter. Believe it or not, a business blog is considered a social networking tool and can be a great compliment to any social media strategy. Besides social media marketing, here are four important things a business blog can help with:
- Growing Your Web Traffic and Getting the Right Traffic - A business blog is one of the few places on your site that is for your customers, so by providing content that addresses the needs and challenges of your customers, you get the traffic you want to your site. A business blog also grows your traffic by increasing your chances to rank for keywords and to get found online. All this increase in traffic can also mean an increase in blog subscribers, furthering your blog reach.
- Increasing Inbound Links - Everyone wants inbound links, since they are so crucial to SEO, brand awareness, and referral traffic. A business blog is one of the best ways to get inbound links, since every single post is one more opportunity for someone to link to your site. Websites with blogs get twice as many inbound links than those that don't, so it's something to consider.
- Improve Lead to Conversion Numbers - A business blog is also a great way to move potential customers through the sales funnel by providing information for all levels of the buying process. If you have this information for the people looking for it, they will find it elsewhere, such as on a competitor's website. If you're already getting a lot of traffic and/or a lot of leads from your website, a business blog could be what converts the traffic into leads and the leads into customers.
- Acquire More Customers - Business blogs build thought leadership and trust with potential customers by demonstrating that you know what you're doing and that you understand the pain points of your customers. If you're able to do this better than your competitors, then you can beat them by simply 'being there' for customers. Over 50% of companies that have a business blog have acquired a customer through it, so the strategy works if done right.
Having a business blog is no easy feat, but any business that doesn't have one is missing out on a lot of opportunity. Don't be that business, because it's only a matter of time before your competitors pick up on the value of business blogging (if they haven't already).
Do you already have a business blog, but you're not seeing the results you want? Perhaps its in your blog article headlines. Here's a checklist to great blog article headlines that could make a difference in your traffic and conversion rates:
