Getting found is the “secret” (remember, no magic bullets here) to your site driving new business. In 2007, Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 58% of individuals consult the Internet when they need to address problems. Even if you specialize in commodities, people still rightfully want the best service that they can get for their hard-earned money, so they’ll hit the search bar. In other words, whatever your firm does, many other firms with great websites do it, too. So what good is your super-premium site if it’s never found by new potential customers? Fortunately, there’s a way for you to both get found and establish your credibility with a single activity: blogging.
There are many ways to optimize the core of your site so that people can find it easier. Keyword optimization, meta tags, link-building, clean architecture, solid page titles, unique content, etc., are all effective and necessary methods. Now what? Your competitors are likely already search engine-optimizing their sites, so why stop there? A blog strategy creates an opportunity to beat your competitors at their own game. Unlike the limitations of your primary website’s SEO “juice,” blogging has some special qualities that help you get found (in addition to looking credible once found). The three primary, ongoing benefits of blogging include:
1) Frequency
Routine blogging keeps your brand in the marketplace, connecting you to your audience. It also provides Google’s “bots” with fresh content to index, which improves the perceived quality of your site and can positively affect your page rankings. This fresh content can also be uploaded to online content directories, submitted to popular bookmarking sites, shared through social media platforms, and distributed to your audience through RSS feeds. Frequency is good!
2) Linking
Blog posts provide an opportunity for you to link to relevant sites that could then link back to your site. Inbound link-building is one of the pillars of effective SEO, and blogging is a great way to facilitate that process. Your blog posts don’t just drive traffic, they also provide a rich source of content to promote link-backs. Content is king!
3) Keywords
Though the science continuously evolves and techniques are tweaked, you can only optimize your relatively static core website so far. Blogging creates fertile ground for additional keyword optimization, helping people find your site. The higher up you are in search results, the more likely people will be to visit your site. How often do you click “next” on a page of Google results? That’s what we thought.
These three major advantages of blogging contribute to what is known as your site’s “findability.” As mentioned above, what’s the point of having a terrific website that shows off your great business if no one can find you?
Of course, once found, an active blog will help establish your credibility so that people are more likely to trust your brand (no small thing in the Internet Age). This concept of credibility and trust is wrapped into the notion of “Thought Leadership.” Thought leaders are the ones people seek out for information, expertise, and thoughts on “what’s next.” So what IS next?