Blogging may have started as a novelty with online diarists achieving “celebrity” status and entertainment gossip bloggers finding internet fame. However, blogging began to move into the mainstream with the popularity of news blogs such as The Huffington Post and The Onion.
Now, blogging has matured and is a low-cost yet effective tool which should be a part of every company’s marketing strategy for the 21st century.
Small businesses can take advantage of this low-cost method of marketing without a lot of time and effort. Making a blogging plan for 2013 can push you towards your business goals and help turn website visitors into customers.
Great Reasons to Blog for Your Business
Build awareness and visibility
Build customer relationships by providing helpful information
Build credibility and trust with search engines and customers
Build search engine visibility with more links
Getting the Most Out of Your Blogging
If you have not started a blog, now is the time. If you have a blog and are unsure of its value to your business, you may just need a blog facelift. There are several techniques which can enhance your blog and harness its power to work for you in marketing for the 21st century.
Update Content Frequently
Updating your content frequently signals to search engines that you are alive and well, and most importantly, relevant. Depending on the nature of your business frequently can be taken to mean several times a day or several times a week.
Minimally, you should be updating your blog at least twice a week with fresh content. Good sources of content can be:
Business successes
Industry news
Helpful or informative tips or “how-to” posts
Special offers
Unique web-only opportunities
Rewards for following your blog
Create Original Content
Your blog should always show who you are and what your company stands for but it must do this uniquely. Simply copying content from other sources, even with permission, will not put your blog to work for you.
It is essential to provide a unique perspective on an issue, provide useful or helpful information or even a touch of humor and fun to break up business oriented content.
When creating content, keep in mind that you are a leader in your industry, that you are an expert in the service or product you provide and convey that in your posts.
Create Lengthy Content
Creating lengthy content allows search engines to really flavor your content and to see your site as a purveyor of useful information. Posts should be at least 500 words and it is important that that you stick to quality and do not get caught up in quantity.
Do Not’s:
Use keyword stuffing in an attempt to get ranked
Repeat phrases and content over and over
Provide low-value content
Your post should be lengthy but dense with information for and about your business, your customers and helpful information about your industry.
Create Internet-Readable Content
Readers are bombarded with mountains of information as they search the internet for products and services. Do them a favor, make your content scannable! Though your posts may be lengthy there are several techniques you can use in your writing to help readers easily find the information that will make them a customer.
Break content up into short paragraphs
Use no more than four sentences per paragraph
Use bullets to make easily scannable lists
Set sub-headings in a larger font
Boldface the most important points in your text
Use Your Company Resources to Create Worthy Content
Take care to keep your content “worthy”. This means respecting the time of the consumer by providing content worth reading. The CEO of your company may be a great source for blog posts or Twitter posts.
CEO’s generally have expert industry knowledge and many industry contacts. People may want to hear what the CEO has to say about a trending topic or the business itself.
Link to Older Posts
Keep older content alive for search engines by referring back to it in your newer articles with a link. This creates a nice interlinking web of content on your blog which, as your blog grows and ages, will indicate to search engines that you are strong and relevant.
Share Your Content on Social Media
Be sure share your blog posts on social media sites. While there are automated tools to do this, a short personal message on Twitter or Facebook, alerting followers to new information on your blog, is still the best way to cement your blog’s SEO clout.
Harness the Power of Google Authorship
Google Authorship is a relatively new feature which allows for easy linking of articles written by you to your Google search results. When a visitor reads one of your articles, Google may then update the search results to show other articles written by you also.
By linking your content from around the web you can create a powerful presence in search engine results! Click here for an awesome article from SearchEngineLand.com.
Create a Well-Rounded Site with Images and Video
Make your blog interesting and keep customers on your site longer by providing images and videos.
Videos can be simple, shot with your web cam but must be informative or in some way provide a value to your site visitors. Search engines do measure the time a visitor stays on your site and video is great way to hold their attention.
When using images, be sure they are relevant to your business and content or they could be seen negatively by search engines. Be sure to name and tag your images appropriately and effectively by naming the picture and providing the <alt> tag text. However, be sure not to keyword stuff here or you may be penalized.
Put Your Blog to Work For You
The fast-changing world of internet marketing provides unique opportunities for businesses able to take advantage of new techniques and technologies. In order to stay current and relevant in today’s online world, it is essential to harness the power of simple, low-cost tools like a company blog.
It’s time to jump into marketing for the 21st century and put your blog to work for you!
About the author:
Gerrid Smith is the CEO of the cause focused coupon site, Save1. He enjoys growth hacking and helping other entrepreneurs succeed in their ventures. If you’re looking to save money on domain names and hosting, check out Save1’s GoDaddy coupon page today.
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