Why Blog?
Businesses should be engaging in blogging.
According to Hubspot, businesses that blog get 55% more visitors to their website than those that do not. Some of the benefits of blogging include:
- More website visitors mean more opportunities for lead generation.
- More leads mean more opportunities to convert those leads into customers.
- More customers mean more business.
How can businesses get the most out of their blog?
Top Five Strategies for Effective Blogging
- Content: Write to Educate and Engage
- Educate by writing about your industry. Considering the needs of the visitor before your own will enable you to begin building a relationship of trust as a useful, reliable, and relevant resource to those seeking answers.
- Engage with Three C’s: Aim for clear, concise, and consistent blogs. Clarity A clear focus will draw and maintain visitors’ attention. Concision Less is always best, so leave your visitor wanting more. Consistency Consistent offers of well-written material addressing visitors’ needs, concerns, and questions will begin to establish you as an industry leader.
- Format: Make your Post Skim-Friendly
Help visitors locate the information they need quickly with the following tips.
- A title under 60 characters will state your subject, address a need, or offer a solution.
- Use subheadings, numbers, and bold font throughout to direct readers.
- White space and images help draw the visitor’s attention to the content you want him them to read.
- Search Engines: Enhance Your Ranking with Keywords
When writing useful content, consider readers first but getting noticed in a competitive global market means you must also write with search engines in mind.
- Keywords are those words search engines use to filter through content directing the searcher to the most relevant results.
- To select strong key words for your blog posts, first think about topics of importance to your business. Once you have chosen a topic, lengthen those key words into a phrase, or long tail keyword, that addresses questions people frequently ask about that subject. For example, those looking for running shoes are more likely to phrase their search as: Most durable and affordable running shoes
- Once you choose a long tail keyword, place those words in your blog title, content, URL, and description.
- Call-to-Action: Include Related Offers
Give visitors an opportunity to access additional information through a Call-to-Action at the end of your post.
- A Call-to Action or CTA, is a button, an image, or line text on a web page that asks someone to take action.
- Examples of CTA’s include: Order Now
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- Social Media: Share Your Stuff
Promoting your blog through social media increases traffic to your website.
- Those in networking communities will want to learn more about you.
- These connections lead to customers down the line.
Social engines factor social sharing in your ranking.
- With every post, make it easy for your visitors to promote what you have given them.
- Include icons to share or follow through Facebook, Linkedin, or Google accounts.
Implementing these five strategies will yield results. Every blog you post becomes a catalyst for business growth by attracting more visitors to your website, generating more leads, and converting more customers.