When blogging first started in 1999, there were 23 blogs. Today, there are over 600 million of them. These numbers illustrate blogging’s popularity, cementing its place in internet culture as well as online marketing.
Having a blog is crucial for generating website traffic and running a successful e-commerce business.
Understanding its benefits and how blogging works will help you take advantage of this valuable marketing tool. We’ve covered everything you ought to know below!
Blogging 101: Definition and Purpose
A blog is an online space for different information, updates, and other necessary and relevant details regarding a company, product, individual, or organization. It essentially acts as an online journal where visitors can read detailed updates in chronological order.
It can also be a space or forum where members of an organization express themselves and share their views, opinions, interesting information, and facts that may otherwise be unavailable.
Regular updates on a blog enable visitors to gain essential insights regarding related topics and relevant subjects. They are essentially informative logs, and their content is accessible through a search engine or website.
Difference Between a Website and a Blog
Blogs refer to a specific section on a website. They can either be blogging websites, such as WordPress, or the blog section of an existing, independent website.
Websites are the general platforms where blogs are hosted. In addition to blogs, they can have other sections like “About Us” pages, product pages, and other information about the company or individual behind the website.
Blogs are regularly updated with new and different content while websites generally retain the same structure for longer periods. If there are updates to websites, they’re generally visual or design oriented.
Why Have a Blog on Your Website: The Benefits of Blogs
So, why have a blog on your website? Blogs provide websites with unparalleled exposure. According to a TechJury article, 77% of internet users read blogs while 70% of customers prefer reading promotional articles to traditional ads.
Let’s take a closer look at the advantages of having a blog:
Drives Traffic to Your Website
Blogs are an integral part of SEO (search engine optimization) because they provide websites with a section that can be constantly updated with fresh content. This content is usually designed with relevant keywords in mind, making them easier for search engines to index and display on search engine results pages (SERPs).
When users search for content using keywords that a website has, search engines like Google will display that website on its SERPs, directing users to it.
This is why businesses with blogs on their websites enjoy twice as much email traffic as websites that don’t have blogs. Sources also say that websites with blogs enjoy 434% more indexed pages, which means that search engines have visited and analyzed their content for ranking.
Nurtures Customer Relationships and Promotes Trust
Blogs enable you to interact directly with customers on a more personal level because they’re designed for long-form content compared to advertisements and social media posts. In addition to text, blog entries can also contain pictures, videos, infographics, and other visual assets.
While ads on social media can attract and entice potential clients or readers, blogs enable content providers opportunities to present more in-depth information on a particular topic.
For example, a blog post about the company’s history, with a detailed chronology of events from its inception to its current conditions, can help customers understand the trajectory of an organization’s growth.
These connections can be leveraged for building customer loyalty and gaining trust since they promote transparency and accessibility.
Builds Brand Awareness and Promotes Lead Generation
Blogs are a subtler form of marketing. Unlike traditional advertising, they do more than generate sales. Blogs can be used to build brand awareness, target niche markets, and raise engagement.
By offering readers more substantial information about certain topics and themes, blogs can help establish your brand or company as a thought leader in specific spheres of interest. Once people recognize your brand and website as a subject matter expert, your target market will know where to go for the information and products they’re looking for. Best of all, they can recommend your site to other people who have similar interests.
Is Blogging Right for You?
While blogging certainly has many benefits, you may wonder if you have the bandwidth to start and maintain a blog on your site.
Here are some things to consider before creating your own blog section:
- Blog posts require original, unique, and interesting content to attract and retain the attention of readers.
- Each blog post should have at least 500 words, however, digital marketing experts recommend anywhere between 1,000 and over 2,000 words for SEO purposes.
- To optimize your content for online consumption, you’ll have to learn about SEO.
- A single blog post can take over 3.5 hours to write, edit, and publish.
- You may also have to create or search for images to add to your blog post.
- Ranking in search engines isn’t easy. It takes time and several blog posts before you start seeing results.
- It can be overwhelming to run a blog singlehandedly, especially if you don’t have the funds to hire professional writers or the skills to create professional content yourself.
- Your blog may be competing with thousands of blogs and it can be difficult to create regular content for your blog.
This isn’t to discourage you from having your own blog but is meant to prepare you so you aren’t blindsided by what it entails. All things considered, blogs provide a valuable pay-off, especially if you want your brand to have an online presence.
What To Publish on Your Blog
So, you’ve decided that you want to have your own blog. That’s great! The next part is deciding what to feature.
When it comes to content, there’s no one right answer. The answer will always depend on who you’re trying to attract and what you want to accomplish. It’s thus important to know your target audience. If you know who they are or can at least create customer personas, you have a better chance of identifying themes and topics that they’re likely to search for and read.
Once you have a pretty good idea about your target market, work on a list of topics to write about and create a content calendar that maps out when to publish which articles. As you brainstorm on different topics, it’s good to ask yourself:
- What is my target audience interested in?
- What can I or my business offer that is of use to them?
- What messages do I want to convey?
- What topics interest me or my writers?
- How do I want them to interact with my brand or business?
- What is a realistic publishing schedule and what resources do I have to help me produce regular, relevant, and quality content?
- How can I make my content uniquely valuable compared to what already exists online?
Blog entries are all about details. Here are some interesting ideas you can expand on:
- Aside from the information on your company page, you can provide more detailed anecdotes on specific company events and developments, your company’s plans for growth, and the reasons behind them.
- Share personal struggles or obstacles that you’re facing, how you overcame them, or plan to overcome them.
- Provide more detailed information about your products or services. You can also give tips on how to select the right product or service.
- Share information and insights regarding different aspects of your brand, products, or services.
Blogging: Challenging But Worth It
Blogging has several benefits. It can drive traffic to your website, nurture customer relationships, build trust, and increase brand awareness.
While it may be difficult to get started, coming up with relevant and regular content will help you gain momentum. It helps to learn as much as you can about your readers, read about SEO, plan your content, and come up with valuable content. Or you can choose to leave it in the hands of experts like Kala Agency. We will make content for your blog that will impact readers and generate traffic to your site.
With strategic, consistent, and diligent effort, you may soon have an online community that values what you have to say and what you have to offer. Get in touch with us!
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