The phrase “Just Google it” sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
49% of users say they use Google to discover or find a new item or product and even more use Google to simply find solutions to their problems. The reason why Google is so reliable when it comes to finding answers to our questions (even the stranger ones) is that people and businesses have blog pages, where they share answers, guides and relevant information. As you might have realized from the title of this article, we will be focusing on businesses and how a blog can grow your business online.
It’s obvious what the users get out of reading blogs: fast answers with little to no effort spared in the search process. So what does a business get out of writing a blog?
While it’s true that writing a blog requires dedication, your work will be rewarded with positive long-term results, such as increased website traffic, brand loyalty and satisfied customers, just to name a few. Moreover, unlike paid ad campaigns, your published blogs won’t just benefit you for a short period of time, but as long as they are available for the public view. A great bonus to this is the fact that consistent publishing of blogs will make the results even more dramatic (for your business’ benefit)!
Is there a catch?
No, there really isn’t. Blogging is just that great!
Now, let’s talk details.
What to keep in mind
Although it’s completely up to you what you will write in your blog posts, we do have a few tips on the how part and what you should keep in mind every time you start drafting a new blog post. These tips will certainly help you to grow your business online with quality blogging.
- Make it SEO-friendly. We believe that your business will produce fantastic content for your customers and potential customers to binge read. However, the content will be wasted if people are unaware that it exists in the first place. Therefore, it is crucial to make not only your blogs but the whole website SEO-friendly. Always apply relevant keywords, make the website speed enjoyable and create a beautiful design. It’s going to be worth it!
- Avoid pushy promotions. Now that you have readers on your blog, you probably want them to stick around, right? One of the most irritating things for online entities is pushy commercials, especially when they’re in a hurry to find important information. Therefore, the main focus should always be the content. However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t promote your products and services at all. True marketing art is promoted in a subtle way. For instance, if you write a blog about the benefits of proper dieting and exercising, at the end of the blog it would be a great idea to offer the reader a discount for a personal training and diet program.
- Educate your readers. I suspect that this part comes as no surprise after the previous one. Remember: the goal of a blog page is to benefit your readers with relevant (to your business and your customers) information. Trust me when I say this: your customers will definitely appreciate your efforts and care. Not only will they trust your brand more, they will also realize that your business is there to support them in their buying process. Not to mention, that it’s a great way to show them what makes your business superior (using facts, no less!).
What does your business gain from writing a Blog
Blogging might already sound too good to be true, but it only gets better when we understand the process.
Let’s investigate!
Increased traffic to your website
This is where the tip to make your blogs and website SEO-friendly brings in results.
A well-written blog with keywords, website speed and beautiful design will efficiently drive people into your website sooner than you think. As mentioned earlier, posting regularly will increase the traffic even more and make it more sustainable, so having a schedule could greatly benefit your process.
As soon as you’re ready to proceed with the plan and publishing, relevant people will begin to explore your work and efforts.
A word of advice: be patient and don’t expect your traffic to increase significantly in just one night. Just keep on writing and you’ll get there!
When you finally receive the well-deserved traffic, your business can expect a higher Google ranking, more quality leads and potential clients who happened to come across your business by reading your well-written blog that solved their problem. Great first impression – done!
Brand awareness
As mentioned earlier, people who discovered your blog from Google’s search engine likely had no idea that your business even existed prior to reading your blog. As soon as your blog is discovered, your readers will become curious about your business, as the blogs demonstrate not only your expertise in the field but reliability and spectacular customer service.
Your company doesn’t have to be a big one with years of experience to show off. In fact, when it comes to brand awareness, small businesses and startups can benefit from writing blogs more (in a way). Why? Because they are likely less known and with a smaller customer group. Gaining brand awareness with blog writing will make more people aware of what your business is about and brand you as a reliable expert. This essentially can make a huge impact to grow your business online.
Convert website visitors into customers
We already discussed the increase in traffic and brand awareness. But we don’t want it to end there, do we?
That’s another reason why we urge you to create blogs that are customer-oriented. Moreover, to make your customer’s journey easier to navigate, we recommend using the Call-to-Action buttons and methods on every published blog.
It depends on what kind of product and services your company offers, but one way you could get the website visitors to commit is by offering free samples or a trial period to really give them the taste of what your business offers.
However, if your company isn’t willing to give out freebies, it’s perfectly fine. If that’s the case (and even if it’s not), after educating your readers in the blog, you can connect the dots by pitching your products and services, as well as providing the helpful “Order Now” button.
Finally, even if people don’t commit right away, they will remember your company as an expert that offers guidance even if they’re not customers (yet). Without being pushed too much, the possibility exists that your company is the first one they will have in mind when the needs appear.
More trust in your brand
Writing blogs about your business and industry creates an authoritative image of your business in the eyes of the readers. Many readers will trust your words and level of expertise because quality blogging will give them facts and solutions, not to mention that your business does make a living based on the same knowledge.
As soon as you have a group of customers that trust your brand and guidance, a chain reaction will happen and more people will express a favorable opinion about your company.
Brand trust is a core element for your competitive advantage – when you have the trust of your customers, you also have their loyalty.
Satisfied and loyal customers
Speaking of loyalty…
Keeping your customers happy and loyal is just as important as gaining new customers to grow your business online.
How does blogging help with that?
With a blog, your customers will not feel abandoned and feel that they’re on their own. Your customers don’t have to call you or write long emails (unless it’s a very individual problem that they’re experiencing), therefore they will feel secure, well-informed and even entertained by your content.
In addition, blogging with a tone that your readers find enjoyable will make them come back for more every time your company publishes a new piece.
Standing out in competition
This part goes hand in hand with the satisfaction and loyalty of customers. If your business doesn’t stand out from the competition, the customers might replace your company with competitors. In this case, if your company doesn’t stand out, the main criteria for customers will be price – a company that offers the cheapest option wins.
Luckily, we have blogs!
Standing out in the competition doesn’t only mean that your business will show up higher in the Google search results (it will, by the way). Quality blogs also mean that your company has a great way to demonstrate expertise and helpfulness and that you know about your customers’ pains (and how they can be solved). Moreover, you have a chance to show off your company’s talented employees to the world.
Finally, let’s go back to the point about prices. Even if your competitors have lower prices, your customer service and care to compensate for that with a huge bonus – your customers save time. Nowadays many people are willing to pay much more just to save time and effort.
Conclusion
Now you know what a great marketing tool blog is and how many aspects it can improve: from increased traffic to your business website to a stronger competitive advantage. No wonder so many businesses rely on blogging so much! Now you can grow your business online with a blog too.
Naturally, your business could get more great benefits from blogging and you might discover even more of what it has to offer in the process, but the mentioned benefits will surely be the most significant ones (and most likely to happen) for your business. Use them wisely, remember to focus on the quality of your blogs, as well as quantity, and very soon your company will experience stunning and sustainable growth.
So here’s my question to you: Are you ready to start your blogging journey and grow your business online?
We sincerely hope that you are.
Enjoy blogging!
