Getting found on search engines is what everyone wants. Getting tons of web traffic is everyone's goal. Got these two things and you've succeeded in online marketing, right?
Wrong!
I suspect that there's a prevailing misconception that if you get tons of traffic to your website, you will also have tons of people who will buy your product or service right then and there. This is simply not true. When was the last time you went to a company's page for the first time, and bought something right away? Probably never. However, many small businesses aren't prepared to do anything with this web traffic once they get it, or to provide something of quality to those who find them online.
Getting traffic and getting found online is only have the story. The other half of the story is the provision of quality content, of something to engage and to interest these web visitors in your brand and in your product. The best way to create that engaging, interesting, and quality content is through business blogging. Business blogging, a subset of content marketing, is the best way to fulfill both haves of the story.
After all, what's the point of tons of traffic if you can't retain it or turn it into leads? What's the point of getting found online if you're only found by those who already know you? What's the point of ranking for generic keywords or only for your company name, when that might not be giving you the best traffic anyway? Getting found and getting traffic may be great, but only if you're getting found by those who don't know you, and who could turn into sustainable traffic by becoming leads and customers.
Getting found and getting traffic are just half of successful online marketing, just half of the story. Small businesses need to write the other half of the story by creating quality, engaging content through business blogging and content marketing. The point of marketing is to generate buzz as well as customers. The way to do that online and with your website is to create remarkable content that tells the other half of your story and has an ending of providing the solution to solve the problems of your customer.
Getting traffic and getting found by be what you want as a business, what does your customer or web visitor want? THAT is the other half of the story.