7 Benefits of Adding a Blog to Your Website
Blogging – is it a trending gig or an increasingly powerful content marketing strategy? And the bigger question – should you have one on your business’ website?
Today, 77% of about 4.54 billion internet users read blogs regularly – that’s more than three-quarters of the digital population globally.
What’s more, 86% of marketing professionals are incorporating blogs into their marketing strategy.
It seems there is a little more to blogging than having a trendy side hustle. But how worth it is it for your business to delve into this realm?
In this post, we’ll help you make an informed decision by exploring seven benefits of having a blog on your website:
- Improve search engine rankings
- Convert traffic into leads
- Build backlinks
- Establish brand credibility
- Build (and maintain) brand awareness
- Boost social media channels
- Establish long-term success
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Boost Site Visibility in Search Engines
You’ve got a website designed with flair and an unrivaled product or service to offer. But the traffic to your site… well, it’s just not what you’d like it to be.
Adding a blog to your website can help you pull in some well-deserved traffic by leveraging search engine optimization, or SEO, efforts.
In simple terms, SEO is the practice of using relevant and highly searched keywords within your content. When someone searches any of those keywords in Google or other search engines, your blog post will appear in the results pages. Your goal should be to rank as high as possible to gain visibility on the first page or two, as many people don’t often look past these.
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Convert Traffic into Leads
Now you’ve got visitors on your blog post (thanks, SEO!), but that blog post shouldn’t be their last destination.
An effective blog post will bring in traffic and convert visitors into leads for your business.
A simple way to achieve this is to add a call to action(s) within your blog content. Direct your readers to a landing page or other location offering free things like newsletters, webinars, trials, and more in exchange for their email or other information, giving you a lead.
Don’t underestimate the power of effective SEO and CTAs together; a small business’ blog can help generate about 126% more leads!
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Build Backlinks
Another direct benefit of having a blog on your website is that it creates opportunities for building “backlinks.”
Backlinks are links located on another website that link to a specific page on your website – for instance, your blog post. Backlinks are valuable because they help Google decide if your content is credible to readers. Backlinks can automatically help your content rank higher in searches.
Additionally, backlinks also give readers of the other website a point of access to your website.
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Establish Brand Credibility
Blogs also have several indirect benefits, though they are just as key. For one, having a blog on your website can help increase your brand’s credibility.
How? A blog is a great platform to share your knowledge about your industry and position yourself as an expert. Consistently showing up on your blog to share valuable, quality content tells your readers that you are a credible and trustworthy source. And if they view you as such, they’re more likely to purchase from you.
A blog also gives readers an avenue for dialogue with your business through the comments section, where you can engage with your customers in turn.
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Build Brand Awareness
In addition, a blog helps build and maintain brand awareness for your business through the content that you share.
If your business is new, you can use a blog to introduce new customers to who you are and why you do what you do. If you’ve been up and running awhile, discuss topics that are relevant to your product or service. Tell stories of impact, highlight the benefits of your offerings, or be an educational voice in your field.
Above all, stay authentic to who you are as a business and infuse your brand personality. This is a great way to humanize your brand and connect with audiences in a new way while bringing awareness to your brand.
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Boost Social Media Channels
Having a blog gives you fresh, valuable content to share on your social media channels, too. This can help boost engagement, gain shares, reach a wider audience, and provide another access point to your website.
As a bonus, consider adding a button to your blog post that readers can click to share content on their personal social media pages!
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Establish Long-Term Success
Let’s be honest; your blog may take some time to bring results. But stick with it, and you will see tremendous long-term results.
Here’s what we mean: You write and post a new blog, and then it gets some likes and shares, maybe a few comments. But unlike a social media post, the benefits go beyond this. Your blog post can continue to rank in Google searches, consistently bring in traffic, and convert leads for up to two years in many cases. And when your traffic starts to fade? Well, it never hurts to refresh your content and re-post.
Many business owners also monetize their blogs through affiliate marketing or offering subscriptions, making it a long-term revenue driver.
And remember, a blog post helps build relationships and trust between you and your customers, which also delivers long-term impact for your business!
