Benefits of Blogging for Business

You've likely heard that blogging can be a good way to help your business, but maybe you're not sure what it can do for you. Well, the benefits of blogging for business are pretty amazing. Blogging (when paired with SEO) can help you rank at the top of Google's search results for keywords and topics that your ideal customer is searching for. Ranking at the top of Google's search results can help your website get more organic traffic (that's free traffic from Google) because more people are finding you. It can also help you boost your website's domain authority by attracting links from other sites, and higher domain authority often makes it easier to rank for even more keywords. Blogging can also help you grow your email list if you include an opt-in on your blog posts and offer something that's helpful to your readers. It can also help you increase your sales because more people are coming to your website, they are interested in the topic you've blogged about, they're likely looking for a solution, and if you offer something they're interested in, they're more likely to buy from you or book your services. As you can see, there are so many benefits of blogging for business that if you're not doing it today, you should be! 

How to Blog for Business So You Get Results

Not all blogs are created equal or will generate the same results. If you want to generate the results I mentioned above, it's important that you blog the right way for your business and your customers. 

For best results, you should choose content topic areas that you blog about regularly. This helps in several ways. First, it's easier for you to stay focused when you write on specific content topics. Second, it helps showcase your expertise, which Google likes. Finally, it ensures you're connecting with your ideal customers and providing value for them regularly. 

I recommend that my students choose four content topics or pillar areas for their blog because it makes the process easy. Most months have four weeks, and most aim to add one new piece of content each week. This has you create one piece of content for each of your four topic areas each month. 

If you serve multiple customers, you can address their needs with your different content topics or pillar areas. For example, if you're a Realtor, you might want to write for buyers, sellers, investors, and people in your farm community.

And if you're a coach, you might want to address the different steps in your ideal customer's journey. Maybe you are a divorce recovery coach, and you want content that speaks to the woman who's just separated, the one who's going through the divorce. You might also want to have content on re-entering the dating world, and finally, you might want to talk about what happens when you find your next chapter or blend families and remarry. Each of those topic areas will be relevant to your ideal customer at some point, or they'll be relevant to your different customers, and that's what's important. 

Google wants to see you write content that you're an expert in and go deep, providing value for your ideal customer. They also want your content to be similarly related. For example, if you are a divorce coach, they don't want you to offer recipes and home decor tips on your blog because you're not a really relevant resource for those topics the way you are for divorce and recovery. 

By setting up your blog in this manner, you are able to stay on topic and provide value for your readers, which will help. Google wants your content to be helpful to your audience. 

Listen to the podcast episode here.

A Blog is for your Customers First and Google Second.

When planning your content or writing blog posts, I want you to always focus on your ideal customer. Writing for them will bring you better results than trying to write only for Google or focusing only on the SEO part (which we'll talk about in a minute because it's very important). 

If you're unsure what to blog about, start by doing a 10-minute brainstorming session and think about all of the questions your ideal customer has that you could help them with. What do they need to know? What do they ask you on a regular basis? What issues do they have that you can help with? 

How to do SEO on your Blog

Once you have an idea for a topic or topics for the month, I want you to switch to an SEO mindset. SEO stands for search engine optimization, and that's what we do to help Google understand our content so that they can show it to more people. A well-optimized blog post can help drive lots of free traffic to your website. Your content has to be helpful to your ideal customer, or they won't read it, so you need both parts. 

Choosing the right SEO Keyword for your Blog Post

Take your content topic idea or question, go to an SEO tool, and do keyword research to find a keyword you want to target with your blog post. You want to look for a keyword with some search volume and the lowest competition possible so that you have a better chance of ranking on Page 1 of Google's search results. The amount of search volume isn't super important; what's more important is your website's ability to rank high in the search results. 

Verifying you've Found the Right SEO Keyword for your Blog Post

Once you've selected a keyword you want to use, I want you to go to Google and search for that keyword using an incognito browser window (so that your personalized search history doesn't impact the rankings you see) and look at which websites rank on Page 1. You want to see websites that are similar to yours. If they're all super big sites or national brands, you probably need to look for a different keyword because you won't rank for this one. If the results are websites similar to yours, then you're on a good track. 

How to do SEO on your Blog Post 

You will want to use your keyword in specific SEO elements that Google will check to understand the blog post. Those elements include your URL, title tag, meta description, header tags (the big pink font on this page), copy, image file names, and ALT text. Google reads each of those elements, and when they find the same keyword in each place, it reinforces that the page is about the keyword. 

To learn how to do this, take my free SEO class. 

Why Should you Blog for your Business? 

Blogging can boost your Website's SEO and Keyword Rankings.

So, back to the question at hand: why blog? As I said, blogging is a great marketing tool when done right. It allows you to connect with your audience. It lets you build your authority on a given subject, and it can help your site's overall SEO if you've optimized your blog.

Each new blog post that you create and optimize properly can be another opportunity for your website to be found by new customers. It's much more exciting to blog when you think about how much traffic it can bring you rather than feeling like you're wasting time because no one will ever find your post. Choosing topics your ideal customer is interested in AND doing proper SEO on each post you create is the key. Learn how to do blog SEO in this post. 

You can increase your site's authority in Google's eyes because people are coming to you to read information. The more your readers engage with you (come back, read more, stay longer, comment on social media, etc.), the better Google believes you're doing, and hopefully, the better they start ranking you for relevant keywords. It's all related. While a single excellent blog post won't get you ranking position #1 for some super competitive term, a series of excellent blog posts your audience engages with can help.

The final reason blogging benefits your SEO is that it helps build authority. If you have information that people might want to link to and share with their audience, that's another signal that Google looks at when choosing keyword rank. If other sites link to you, Google sees that almost as their endorsement of your information. As more sites link to your website, your domain authority increases. We often see that sites with higher domain authority rank higher in the search results. It's not guaranteed, but it's what we generally see. 

Blogging Can Drive Leads

Blogging can be a great lead-generation tool for your business, too. According to a survey from Hubspot, business-to-consumer companies that post 11+ times per month get 4X the leads from their blog than companies that post 4-5 times per month do. I don't know about you, but I'd love that type of lead increase, though I'll be the first to admit I don't blog 11 times a month. I aim for the same 4 blog posts I teach my students to do each month. 

Blogging can Drive Sales.

When you blog and create helpful content that addresses your ideal customer's questions or needs, you begin to build loyalty with them, and that's important. Link to your products or services. Let them know that you can help them. Don't be overly spammy or promotional, but if you're explaining a topic and have another blog post that would help them understand it better, link to that post. If you're teaching them how to create a gallery wall in their home and you sell picture frames, link to your picture frames by all means. You want to be helpful, and doing that can boost your sales too.

Final Thoughts on the Benefits of Blogging for Business

Blogging can benefit your business in multiple ways. From helping you get traffic to your website to growing your email list, generating leads, and increasing your sales, blogging can be a big part of your digital marketing strategy with many benefits. Stay focused on providing value for your ideal customer and do SEO on each blog post you create so you can get the benefits for your business. If you're ready to learn more, request the free SEO Content Quick Start Guide, take my free SEO class, and learn how to get started today. Check out all my freebies available here and sign up for whatever will help you. They're here to help you learn how to do this so you can grow your business.

Podcast Episode Transcript

Well, hello there, my friend, and welcome back to the Simple SEO Content Podcast. I'm your host, Rachel Lindteigen, and I'm so glad you're here with me today because I want to discuss the benefits of blogging for your business. 

You've probably heard me talk about how you need SEO (search engine optimization) and content on your website to really grow your business. Today, I want to talk specifically about your blog. If you're not yet blogging, I want you to promise me that you'll listen to this episode and seriously consider adding a blog to your content mix. Blogging is one of the most powerful ways to drive super-targeted, relevant traffic to your business, which will help you get more traffic and make more sales. There is so much that we can do.

Blogging has at least five benefits that I can walk you through today. It is such a powerful tool. First and foremost, blogging will help you get rankings on Google, making it easier for people to find you when searching for something related to your business. Especially if you're in a super competitive market where your core keywords are really hard to rank for, a blog becomes your best friend. You can create content that answers the questions your ideal customer has and optimize for less competitive keywords that bring in super-targeted, relevant traffic. This is a really strong strategy, especially for smaller websites or those in competitive niches.

The number one thing blogging does is bring traffic to your website—free traffic from people who are interested in what you offer. The next benefit is the opportunity for better Google rankings. Each time you create a blog post and optimize it with a keyword you can rank for, it's another chance for your website to appear at the top of Google search results. Higher rankings increase your chances of being found by people searching for something related to your business. More visibility means more traffic, which boosts your website traffic overall.

Another benefit is the ability to boost your email list. We all know we need to grow and nurture our email lists. Blogging regularly and optimizing that content allows you to add an opt-in or freebie to your website that provides additional value to your ideal customer. For example, I have several opt-ins, including the SEO Content Quick Start Guide, a free on-demand class, and a multi-day live SEO class. You can check these out at the freebies tab on my website: etchedmarketing.com/freebies. Think about what you could offer your ideal customer that would entice them to join your email list.

Blogging also provides a chance to make sales directly from your blog posts. I've had clients who created blog posts about trends or how-to guides and highlighted products they sold within those posts. You can do the same. If you create beautiful handcrafted products, for example, you might write a behind-the-scenes blog post showcasing how you created a specific item and link to where customers can purchase it. If you're a realtor, you might offer a first-time home buyer's guide checklist as an opt-in, with a blog post about buying your first home and a call to action to contact you for more information.

The final benefit is an increase in your domain authority (DA). Your domain authority is a score from 1 to 100 that indicates how likely your website is to rank for a given keyword. The higher your DA, the more likely you are to rank well. Blogging with great, helpful content that people want to read and share can earn you backlinks, which boosts your DA. Higher DA makes it easier to rank for more competitive keywords, leading to even more traffic, sales, and email subscribers.

Blogging is a huge opportunity for you, but you have to do it the right way. You need to blog and optimize your content for SEO. Make sure you're choosing keywords you can rank for and using them in all the places Google looks for information about your blog post. If you're not sure what those are, visit the freebies tab on my website and grab the Beginner's SEO Guide. It includes a checklist to help you verify you've done everything correctly. You can also sign up for the free multi-day live training class at the end of September or take the recorded one available on the website.

In summary, your tips for today are to create weekly content that helps your ideal customer, choose keywords you can rank for, and optimize your content for Google. Join me in one of the free classes to learn more, and when you're ready, join Simple SEO Content for a deep dive into all these strategies. 

Thanks so much for being here today. I will talk to you next week.