Should My Website Include a Blog?
Blogs have gained a lot of credibility since their inception. What used to be seen as a platform to share your personal journal with the world, is now a source of never-ending information. From DIY guides to thought leadership pieces, it’s more than likely that if you have a question, there’s a blog (or several) with an answer. So, what’s the benefit of blogging? Why does it feel like every company has a blog now and is it something you should invest your time and resources in? To help answer those questions, we’ve compiled a few pros and cons of blogging for you to consider before diving in, as well as some ideas on how to make blogging more manageable!
PROS
Drive traffic
The first and most important benefit of having a blog on your brand’s website is that it’s a great way to drive traffic to your site and increase its SEO performance. Each blog you post is a new page on your website that search engines can index and share in search results. It’s also a perfect opportunity to naturally fit in your SEO keywords! For more on what really matters with website SEO, check out this post.
Create social content
Blog posts make for great social media content, not only for your brand but also for others to share. By regularly posting to social media, you are able to keep your audience engaged and your brand top of mind. Social posts will also drive traffic to your website, which ties back to benefit number one.
Build credibility
While reviews, case studies, and testimonials are credibility gold, a blog is another tool you can use to help others feel confident in your abilities, especially if you’re just starting out. Blogging gives you a chance to share your perspective, knowledge, and experience in your field of expertise with potential clients.
CONS
Consistency is key
Like with any other marketing tactic, you’re probably not going to see a boom in leads from a one-off blog post. Posting consistently is a must for building SEO and keeping people coming back to your site for more.
Making time
Blogging takes time and effort to do well. Your posts should be thoughtful, representative of your brand, and updated regularly to see the full effects, and if you’re allowing comments on your posts (an excellent way to build community and interact with potential customers!) you’ll need to set aside time to manage that as well.
Tips to get you started
If you’re happy with your current client-base and you don’t feel the need for a blog then don’t sweat it. Blogging is certainly not a requirement. However, if you think creating a blog sounds like a valuable content marketing tactic but you don’t think you have the bandwidth to do it well, here are a few ideas to get you started:
Set a realistic posting schedule. If once a month is all you can commit to, that’s fine. Blogging is one instance when quality is more important than quantity.
Brainstorm a list of blog topics to have ready to go. This makes it easier to get started when you do sit down to write and allows you to think of topics where you can incorporate your SEO keywords naturally.
Outsource it! Whether you have an SEO company write posts for you, a member of your team, or a ghostwriter, there are several different options for outsourcing blogs. If you’d still like to be involved in the process, you can help brainstorm topics or even write a rough draft before passing them off to someone for polishing.
Having a blog is one of many marketing tools that can help you buildup your business, but what makes a blog even more effective? A professionally designed website! Interested in learning more about the work we do at Merrygood? We’d love to chat!