If you run a business and your website is struggling for traction, then starting a blog could be one of the best decisions you make. Blogging is good for business, both in generating general traffic and for creating leads.

Here are five reasons why your business should be blogging.

  • Increase organic traffic
    Organic traffic is that which has come from search engines, i.e. people searching for a specific topic within Google, for example, and clicking through to your website from the search engine results.

    By having great blog content on your website you are going to greatly increase the chances of improving your search engine rankings. There are several reasons for this.  Google is looking for websites which offer relevant content and strong content.  If your business blog features articles about the subject of industry your business operates in, it is going to be found to be relevant.

    Additionally, if that content is of good quality then Google will also favour it.  So straight away you’re already finding favour with search engines by producing strong, relevant content.  This will also improve your domain authority.

    Finally, of the many Google algorithms there is one called Google Caffeine.  Caffeine is essentially looking for sites with up-to-date content.  If you’re blogging then you are creating regular content which will again be a positive signal.

    All of this work helps you not only rank higher, but also have additional ‘hooks’ in to your website.  When a user arrives at your blog, they can essentially be entering a sales funnel.

  • Compliments social media marketing
    Social media is a key aspect of marketing your business, and blogging can complement your social media activity perfectly.While it is great to be sharing strong content from other websites, when your business is at stake, you really need to be creating great content of your own which you can then push to your followers on social media.
  • Soften your corporate voice
    Another thing that a blog can do perfectly is really talk to your audience, a lot better than normal copywriting and sales content can. Blogs should use a softer tone of voice, more human and conversational.  This encourages users to read through and come back for more, and also helps give a softer more humanized feel to your brand.  It promotes engagement.
  • Increase leads
    A survey by HubSpot in 2015 found that businesses that have their own blog and publish fresh content on it receive up to 67% more sales leads than they did before they had a blog. If you get more sales leads, or deliver more users in to your sales funnel, then you are obviously likely to see an upshot in sales as a result.

    The same HubSpot survey also found that businesses that actively blog receive, on average, 97% more links to their website than those that do not.

  • Build relationships with your customers
    It is estimated that by 2020 some 85% of customers will manage relationships without talking to a human. Blogs begin to put you on the path to that, giving your customers a medium to read about the latest developments and products within your business.
  • It’s cheap
    Last, and by no means least. Once you have your blog setup, it costs next to nothing.  The main cost is the web hosting and then any development costs for your building your blog. Having a member of staff write blogs is making use of in-house resources while also helping to focus and motivate that staff member.  It’s one of the cheapest and most effective forms of digital marketing there is.

By Kar

Dr. Kar works in the interface of digital transformation and data science. Professionally a professor in one of the top B-Schools of Asia and an alumni of XLRI, he has extensive experience in teaching, training, consultancy and research in reputed institutes. He is a regular contributor of Business Fundas and a frequent author in research platforms. He is widely cited as a researcher. Note: The articles authored in this blog are his personal views and does not reflect that of his affiliations.