Why Businesses Blog: Better “Brand” and Cheap Advertising
Blogging is, simply, the publishing of articles online. There is lots of software out there - e.g. wordpress.com or blogger.com - that make it a very simple process for anyone to do. Think of an idea, write it down in a kind of online word processor, and it’s instantly available to anyone on the Web.
Historically, it was mostly used by individuals to share their opinions, stories and feelings - a very non-commercial purpose. A few years ago, some pioneering businesses thought they saw new potential, and it is now common to see major corporations encourage their top executives to blog regularly. Other businesses, meanwhile, have created a ‘company blog’ to easily share company news with the outside world.
Blogging is not immediately obvious as a business function. In fact, it often feels risky - employees might leak sensitive information, or poorly chosen words may create a bad image of people within your company. It also takes time, and requires at least semi-regular use of the Internet. So why are business-related blogs rapidly becoming a standard feature of company’s websites?
Search Engine Performance - Rank Higher
So you want to rank higher in Google? Blogging has three distinct ways of improving your rank.
First, websites that update often - i.e. change their text by publishing new blog posts - are considered “fresher” and therefore “more relevant”, which causes Google to give them more credit.
Second, Google have always said “content is king”. They like websites with lots of content on it. Suppose you’re a plumbing service. Most plumber’s websites contain a few photos, an address, and maybe a list of services offered. With a blog, the website is likely to have much more text - increasing the likelihood of it being considered an “information resource”, which is exactly the sort of thing Google likes to give people.
Thirdly, blog posts contain keywords. The more keywords you have relevant to your business, the more likely you will be found when someone searches those keywords. Again, suppose you’re a plumbing service. You might say you “Fix Boilers”. But what if a potential customer has a very specific problem? “Oil powered boiler has flashing light and will not start”. If your website contains even a few of those words, Google will rank you much higher than your competitors in the results. It’s all about matching the detailed keywords people are searching. How do you easily do this? Simple, just publish posts that might help your potential customers, which takes us too…
“Brand” Building - Be Chosen Over Competitors
The classic problem with the Yellow Pages - and now with the Web - is that you are lumped together with your competitors. It’s hard to stand out. The great news is that trends are changing. The Web makes it virtually free to use as much space as you please to communicate with potential customers, and customers are responding to that by researching companies more deeply online. They want more information.
How does a blog help make you stand out? It’s all about trust. If you blog as if you were educating your customers - e.g. a plumber might blog about simple DIY tasks people can perform themselves - then you will demonstrate that you know what you are talking about (i.e. prove your expertise), you will demonstrate the people behind the company (and people do business with people, not companies), and of course, will increase the likelihood of being found in a search engine (see above).
Summary
- Start a blog. Ideally, you would add one to your website (we recommend Wordpress.org), although you can use a standard blog on another site (we recommend blogger.com - just make sure it links back to your company website).
- Blog at least once a month, ideally once a week. Announcements about your company, insights/stories about day to day work, and helpful tips for common customer problems.
- Allow people to comment on your blog posts. They might add useful information, or it may be the start of a conversation that turns them into a customer. It also makes you appear more open, and therefore more trustworthy.