One of the most common questions I get from people about their web presence is how to get their site ranking better and/or how to get more traffic. Whether it’s from starting a new website/domain and building from ground level, or a site that’s been around for over a decade, content is critical in gaining exposure and ranking better on search engines. What better way to produce new and fresh content than to utilize your blog! In a blog, you have the ability to write about anything that you would like, whether directly connected to your niche, or something a bit off-topic. If you’re website is about a business, it’s a place where you can give your company a bit of an individual flavor and some personality.
Here are 7 great reasons to take advantage of your blog:
- Fresh Content- Search engines love fresh content, as it shows that you are putting effort into your site and trying to build a valuable resource for users that are out searching the web. Not only do you get a positive search signal, but it also helps strengthen the keywords you are trying to optimize for. Having a well-optimized general content page is great, but having your blog strengthen the overall aggregate of those keywords will help push that page up the list.
- Personality- It’s a place where you can give our business, brand, or otherwise, a bit of personality. You don’t have to talk in corporate speak; instead, you can be a bit more laid back and personal. This is great way to achieve an online personality that people can connect with.
- Landing Pages- Blogs can be a great place to find new traffic from the web. Once your new blog post is indexed, you may find a whole new pipeline of traffic coming in from different searches that are more aligned with your blog topic rather than your core keywords.
- Internal Linking- You can use some of your blog pages to link to inner pages on your site, giving them more precedence and relevance on search engines. You do not want to overdo this, as it can deter visitors from reading more if your content looks spammy, which can then lead to a high bounce rate on your blog pages.
- Specials / Sales- You can use your blog to publish particulars on any sales or promotions you may have going. In some cases, you may have a sale you want to promote, but not enough content to publish a whole content page, or it may not be a promotion you necessarily want to publish on your homepage. Your blog is a great place to put it.
- Social Media- After publishing a blog, you can use social media to promote it. Not only are you able to take advantage of some of the visitors from search engines, but now you have the flow of social media visitors that may have been interested. Both of which are new visitors that you would not have had if you didn’t write the blog in the first place.
- DIY/FAQ/Guides – You can make a category in your blog that can be a resource to your current customers (or new potential customers!), showing them how to do something with an easy to read step-by-step guide. This can be a true value-add for your current and potential customers.
As we wrap up some of the benefits of blogging, I want to make clear that there are several more reasons to use your blog. Regardless of niche, offering, or if you just have a personal site – there are some huge advantages of using your blog to strengthen your site on the internet. Whether your site has been on the Internet for 15 years, or 15 days, DO NOT forget how important content-creation is, and most importantly, do not forget about using your blog to get your content published.