Every business needs a good blogging strategy and regular updates. But why?
This is a valuable question to ask; one that will ensure that your company website blog becomes more than just a keyword-farming content echo chamber. No doubt, in your personal explorations of the internet, you have found blogs that are extremely useful – and those that are not. The question is, which company would you buy from after reading their blog, or after doing a 5-blog analysis for any professional search? The content, structure, and strategy of your blog matters.
Built correctly, your blog can turn curious SEO search clicks into future clients. You can build an industry reputation as expert pros. You can inspire trust, earn customer loyalty, and even gain indirect referrals from readers who know and trust the advice from your brand. Today, we’re breaking down the 4 essential purposes of a blog and why your blog is essential to the success of your business website.
The Purpose of a Business Website Blog
The four key purposes of your business blog are SEO, Conversion, Reputation, and Customer Service. Some brands aim for one, some for all four, or any blend in between that best represents your brand.
1. The SEO Angle
- Attracting SEO Traffic
- Dominating Your Keywords
- Long-Stay Readers vs Bounce Rate
- Building a Local SEO Connection
2. The Conversion Funnel Angle
- Search Engine Question to On-Site Solution
- Readers to Leads and Buyers
- Featuring Products in the Content
3. The Expert Reputation Angle
- Stand Out with Superior Expert Knowledge
- Inspire Trust and Preference
- YMYL SEO
- Earn Indirect Referrals
- Build Industry Credibility
4. The Customer Service Angle
- Blogs that Answer FAQs Before Contact
- Blogs as Your Self-Service Information Centre
- Product Guides – Even Before Purchase
1. The Basics: Blogging for SEO
- Attracting SEO Traffic
- Dominating Your Keywords
- Long-Stay Readers vs Bounce Rate
- Building a Local SEO Connection
First, let’s talk about SEO: the number one reason any business starts a blog.
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is how most users locate your website in the first place. They search for keywords including products, services, or problems your business can solve, and ideally your website appears in their search results. Your blog is the best way to both take control of your keywords, provide relevant content beyond your brief and tidy product/service pages, and attract the interest of those future clients whose problems you can solve.
A brand that sells kitchenware will likely feature recipes, kitchen hacks, and gadget guides to attract home chef readers. A local tire shop will likely blog about blown tires, cut tires, low tread, bent rims, and so on to help attract the SEO click-through and readers most likely to need their services.
Bounce Rate vs Readers
Not only does your blog allow you to make full use of your keywords and attract the eyes of potential customers, you are also building SEO credibility (and SERP rank) with every reader who stays, reads, and scrolls instead of bouncing. This reduces your bounce rate and increases your relevancy score.
Local SEO Connection
If you are a local business, local SEO matters. On your formal pages, all you have is your address in the footer and perhaps a few mentions of service areas on your content pages. In the blog, however, you can feature local events, write about your company’s community involvement, and swap guest posts with other local businesses. This not only allows you to feature your local keywords organically again and again, but also helps local readers feel you are connected to the community and understand their local-specific needs.
2. Converting Blog Readers Into Customers
- Search Engine Question to On-Site Solution
- Readers to Leads and Buyers
- Featuring Products in the Content
Your blog isn’t just a keyword farm, it’s also the top level of your conversion funnel. If your blog is bringing in people searching for your keywords, they have voluntarily entered the top of the funnel. This is your chance to impress, to pitch, and to turn readers into potential customers, leads, or clients – depending on your business model.
A well-constructed blog designed to convert will frame the reader’s problem – what they were searching for in the first place – then share expert solutions. Each blog will either include or conclude with how the brand’s products or services can solve the stated problem or provide the desired service effectively. Readers looking up how to DIY tile a bathroom? You can sell them tiles, renovation services, or custom plumbing fixtures in a vertical or lateral pitch.
If your advice is good and your products/services are well-framed, you might just win a sale from a casual blog click. If not, you might intrigue a reader who will grow to trust your brand to buy or recommend in the future. Which leads us to the third purpose of your blog.
3. Blogging to Become a Trusted Expert
- Stand Out with Superior Expert Knowledge
- Inspire Trust and Preference
- YMYL SEO
- Earn Indirect Referrals
- Build Industry Credibility
Your blog is also an opportunity to build your brand’s reputation as knowledgeable experts. When every other HVAC company has a generic “how to save energy” blog about weatherstripping, and your blog goes into detail about how a heat pump works, that reflects well on you. If other roofer marketing strategy are repeating routine maintenance tips and you’re talking about the structure of architectural shingles, readers with real curiosity and integrity will come back to your brand. Readers – and other industry professionals – will start to seek out your branded content when they want the real answers.
Readers who find your blog and are impressed with the level of expertise may want your brand providers when it comes time for a product or service. You are not just flexing expert clout, you are building trust and inspiring loyalty before the first purchase is made.
Industry Reputation and Indirect Referrals
Not every reader who is impressed by your expert content will be a potential client – but they might become a source for referrals. You might win unexpected B2B business from pros who only trust other pros, and they may even refer your team when their clients ask who can fulfill a specific need. Professionals who read your blog may suggest your brand to friends or family who are looking for an expert they can trust.
You can also gain a reputation within your own industry or sector if members of your sector go looking for information and find the most useful guides and details on your public blog. Not only will you win business, you can also gain credibility in your sector that can translate to speaking roles and much more.
YMYL SEO
YMYL is a special category of SEO that requires specific credibility to rank. YMYL stands for “Your Money, Your Life”. For example, Google won’t promote every website that claims to offer physical therapy or financial advice because people could be harmed by bad advice. The more expertise you pour into your business blog, the higher you will rank above the competition as a trustworthy source of essential YMYL information – and services.
4. A Blog Self-Service Information Centre
- Blogs that Answer FAQs Before Contact
- Blogs as Your Self-Service Information Centre
- Product Guides – Even Before Purchase
An information centre is the ideal final evolution of a well-built business blog. The more professional or formal your business model (and blog strategy) the more likely your blog can – and should – grow into an extension of your customer service model.
The Concept of a Self-Service Information Centre
The vast majority of modern digitally-capable consumers now prefer self-service support when seeking basic answers or customer service. People don’t want to wait, don’t want to feel they are a bother, and like to find simple instruction-manual level answers on their own.
A filled-out information centre can do that, and your blog is the perfect way to build all the information your clients and customers will need over time. Every blog post can outline basic information, the answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), or provide useful how-to guides. With the right internal search features, your customers (plus leads and top-of-funnel readers) will be able to quickly find the answers they need. Well-written information pages (blog) will build your brand’s credibility and the ease of use is a selling point of its own.
Building Blogs that Answer FAQs
Your FAQ is more than just an information page, it’s a well of potential in-depth content based on what your leads/customers really want to know and an opportunity to tell them in detail. Use infographics, videos, and cool insider information to make every FAQ worthy of it’s own blog and a rewarding reading experience. You can also make FAQ pages from information you find yourself providing frequently, whether or not it is asked, like how your service model works or the inner workings of the machinery.
Fluff as Useful Content Pages
If your blog contains a few “fluff” pieces, you can craft them to be more useful than the fluff of your competitors by providing realistic tips from an expert point of view. Create a rolodex of seasonal tips, guides, and trends that form a cohesive, lasting guidebook while still taking advantage of the hottest keywords each season.
How-To Guides Before and After Sale
Product and how-to guides are a great addition to your information centre because they are useful, interesting, and can even be used to build trust. If a lead/reader can see that they will have access to everything they need to enjoy your product before making a purchase, it removes the tension of performance uncertainty. They can see how it works, how they will benefit, and that your team is ready to provide answers without going through layers of call centre hassle – unlike your competition.
Building Your Company Blog the Right Way
A blog that is a cursory afterthought or a blatant SEO keyword farm is missing an incredible opportunity. Why not become the next Hubspot, Investopedia, The Spruce, or Angie’s List? Why not turn your blog into a trusted source of expert information where customers come for answers and professionals come for better guides than they can get from paid classes? Why not inspire conversions from every SEO-won reader, impress your customers with prepared solutions, and take pressure off your customer service team with a great information centre?
Your blog can become your company’s most public and valuable online asset. Start building a better blog strategy today.
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