Blogging for Business: Benefits and Helpful Tips
You’ve heard blogging can benefit your business, but how? By increasing your website traffic and generating more leads. Below, I’ll discuss the benefits of blogging for business and helpful tips for a successful blog.
Having a blog on your business website can increase traffic by 55% because it helps you show up on search engine results. I write blogs for my own website and for other businesses. I’ve seen results that include 15,000 organic website clicks per month and a 300% increase in website traffic with blog marketing efforts.
Whether you’re new to blogging or want to improve your content strategy, this article will help you learn blogging skills that lead to desired results.
Is blogging good for business?
Blogging is good for business because it helps you reach more people and build trust with website visitors. You can use a blog to share helpful information with potential customers or clients.
Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or a small business, a blog helps you increase website traffic and build trust with your audience.
Benefits of Blogging for Business
“Blogging has been an essential part of marketing in my business,” says Sarah Santoro, SEO Writer and Owner of Iris and Inkwell. Santoro explains that her blog is the source of most of her website traffic and email subscribers. It also helps her connect and build trust with potential clients.
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Boost website traffic
If you want to increase your website traffic, you likely need a blog. Blogging can help you improve your website search engine optimization (SEO), which is how you can rank on Google and reach more people.
I’ve helped many clients increase organic website traffic through blogging, including the following. For example, I’ve written four monthly blog articles for Oakwell Beer Spa for about three years. They get 14,000 monthly website visitors via Google.
I’ve also written one monthly blog article for Virgin Kayak Tours for almost one year, and they get about 1,000 monthly website visitors via Google.
You can also share your blog articles via other marketing strategies for additional traffic.
Build email list
Of about 2,000 email list subscribers, about 75% have come from my website traffic, and the majority of my website traffic is blog readers.
The most effective way to encourage people on your website to join your email list is to create a free resource, share a sign-up form, and email them the freebie. A free resource can be a helpful guide, video, or template. Over time, you can create multiple freebies related to your offers.
I have four free resources, with a pop-up form whenever someone visits my site and one or two inline sign-up forms on each blog article.
Make more sales
A blog brings more people to your website, which can help you make more sales. For example, my client Oakwell Beer Spa gets more spa bookings through their blog. I also get course sales and service inquiries from blog traffic to my site.
Blogging about topics related to your offers helps you reach your ideal clients and customers. If your blog is helpful to readers, they’re more inclined to trust and buy from you.
Increase brand awareness
With a blog, you typically write on similar topics related to your niche. The more articles you publish in your niche, the more brand awareness you can create.
When people search Google for phrases related to blogging and website SEO, my articles often come up. This helps my brand continually show up on Google.
The more people become aware of your brand, the more top of mind it’ll be when they make purchasing decisions or recommendations.
How to Blog For Business
Follow the steps below to successfully blog for business.
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1. Identify your target audience
Ask the following questions to identify your target audience:
Who do I help?
What problems are they experiencing?
How do my offers help solve their problems?
What might they be interested in reading about?
Identifying your target audience can help you choose topics and write blog posts that’ll drive desired results, like more sales, email subscribers, etc.
Your articles need to be on topics that your target audience cares about and that you can relate back to your offers. For example, you might write about skincare routines, ingredients, and self-care if you sell skincare products. You might write about marketing and sales topics if you offer website services.
2. Establish your tone of voice
Your brand’s tone of voice is how you communicate with your audience and sets you apart from competitors.
Your tone of voice depends on your offers, your personality, and who you’re trying to reach. Consider how you want to show up. Friendly? Informative? Quirky? Empathetic?
Keep a consistent tone of voice across all of your content, including blog articles, to connect with your ideal clients or customers, establish trust, and build brand awareness.
3. Plan your content
To successfully DIY your blog, you need to plan for it. This can help you determine what to write about, how you’ll make time for blogging, and see results that help you meet your goals.
The following steps can help you plan your content:
Identify content pillars or broader topics you can write about
Brainstorm more focused topics for those pillars
Do SEO keyword research to identify specific phrases people are searching for
Create a reasonable blogging schedule (ideally two to four articles per month)
To learn more about these blog-writing steps and get the customizable content planning template below, check out my SEO Blogging Course, which teaches you everything you need to know about blogging for business.
4. Write helpful articles
Google Search ranking systems are designed to show helpful content to users. When someone searches Google for a topic, you want your content to show up. Therefore, it must meet user intent by thoroughly answering the search query.
Use these tips for writing helpful, easy-to-read articles:
Mention the topic in the introduction
Stick to the subject and leave out unnecessary fluff
Create content that helps your reader
Include relevant statistics and expert insights
Write short sentences and paragraphs
Use headers and lists
5. Include relevant calls to action (CTAs)
Calls to action tell your readers the next steps to take, like joining your email list, inquiring about services, or shopping for a product.
Include a few CTAs throughout your content for readers who might be ready to exit the article.
CTAs should be relevant to your blog article topic. For example, I wrote the article below for my client, a kayaking company in the US Virgin Islands. The conclusion includes a CTA to book a kayaking tour.
Include a CTA in your blog articles to tell your readers what to do next
6. Check your blog’s performance
While blogging offers evergreen marketing, you don’t want to entirely leave it and forget it.
Check your blog’s performance using Google Search Console, a free tool that helps you track your organic traffic. You can also use the analytics feature on your website to see additional results.
When tracking your blog’s performance, look for the following:
Queries - Phrases or words people are searching when your site shows up on Google
Page clicks - The number of times people are clicking a page
Impressions - How many times a user saw your website link in search results
Traffic sources - Where your site visitors are coming from (e.g., social media, Google, backlinks or other sites, etc.)
Bounce rate - Percentage of visitors who only visit one page before leaving your site
Use your analytics to help you determine future blog topics, which articles to update, and what your website visitors are most interested in reading about.
Blogging for Business: FAQs
Make the most of your blog for business with answers to common questions below.
What is the best blog site for business?
In my experience, the best blog site for business is Squarespace because it’s affordable and has easy-to-use, customizable templates. There are also optional additional features, including e-commerce, course creation, and email marketing.
Most other website platforms, including WordPress, Wix, and Shopify, also have blogging capabilities.
Do I need a blog for my small business?
Most businesses, including small businesses, should have a blog because it can help you increase your visibility and stand apart from your competition.
Many small business owners find blogging more effective than social media marketing. A blog marketing strategy is evergreen and can reach people for years to come.
How does a blog make money?
With a business blog, your focus is building trust with readers to encourage sales. You can also earn money through ad revenue and affiliate marketing.
Having helpful content on your site that you internally link between blog articles keeps people on your site longer, boosting your chance of making money. Ideally, you’ll also have an email list your website visitors can sign up for so they can stay in the loop and buy from you when they’re ready.
Should I outsource my blog?
You can outsource your blog if you don’t have the skills, time, or desire to do it yourself.
Blogging is one of the best evergreen marketing strategies, but consistency and quality are key. Outsourcing your blog can help ensure your efforts are successful.
Blogging for Business: Conclusion
I hope you found this article helpful in understanding the benefits of a blog for business and how to start one.
If you want to learn how to DIY your blog, check out my SEO blogging course for helpful resources, customizable templates, and specific examples. For more support, contact me to inquire about blogging services.
