What is a blog?
Blog: Noun
A Web site on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis. Blogging: Verb Add new material to or regularly update a blog.
The term blog is derived from the words 'web log' and is a discussion or informational site published on the internet consisting of individual chronological posts with the ability for readers to post their individual comments and views.
In simpler words...a blog adds a personal touch to your website by attaching a human face to your brand. A blog allows you to directly interact with your customers and potential clients. In using a blog on your website you can review your latest products, share your business's news, advertise special offers and competitions, provide more information about your services and much more. A blog should be informative and should relate to your subject field and in doing so should engage your audience. Why is blogging important?
Blogging (in terms of adding new material to and regularly updating your blog) is extremely important because it keeps your website fresh and current.
There are two primary reasons why fresh blog content is so important:
Different companies use their blogs for different reasons. These reasons are usually derived from what product/service they are selling and who their target audience is. A blog allows you to build a whole picture of who you are and what you and your business have to offer. It does what social media (while still crucial) can not. It creates a picture and tells a story - you can't do this in just 140 characters... A blog is also an excellent way to build trust between you and the visitors to your website. By nature people are suspicious; we are doubtful of the trustworthiness of most people and we usually base our judgements on our conversations and encounters. We are therefore, even more skeptical of people on the internet and who we do business with. Building a blog can help to establish a level of trust. Readers and visitors to your website will learn to trust you by the continuous supply of quality information that you post in your blog. You will be able to build a reputation for your company and create the foundations of relationships with your valued customers. Key trust-building points to include in your blog are:
How will a blog attract more customers?
As I mentioned earlier, the SEO impact of regular blogging is extremely important. Search Engines look for regular updates and fresh content in websites to determine their ranking in searches.
I have found that consistency + quality is the key. If you post a consistent number of blogs each week you will continue to appear higher in search engine results and when readers click on your site and are greeted with your engaging and informative content they will be encouraged to seek further information by contacting you or they will come back another time to read more. Statistics show that if you blog 5 times in a week you will receive an almost 7% increase in search traffic to your website and once your blog starts to grow there will be no stopping the snowball effect that follows as your search traffic continues to grow and your website community consists of a loyal and trusting client base who in turn regularly contribute to your site by posting comments and promoting your site via their own social networking. How do I build a blog?
Blogs come in many different forms. You can use wordpress, blogger, weebly, quackit, squarespace and many more...the list is somewhat overwhelming. I was lucky that Weebly (who host my website) had in-built blog design functionality so that I could easily integrate my blog into my website.
Wordpress is probably the most popular blog maker but my advice to you is to search the internet, do some research and choose the option that is most suitable for your business and your clients. Most blogs have the ability to integrate with your website but I would definitely recommend looking into your website provider to identify if they have a ready-made blog designer for you to integrate. If you need help writing and building your blogs please feel free to contact me or take a look at my services page.
Article Written by Kayleigh Brindley
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