The business case for your blog

A big part of our work as a digital marketing agency involves talking to clients and prospective clients about creating quality Web site content on a regular basis, or what a lot of the world calls “blogging.”

And we get challenged on it. A lot. “We don’t have time to write that stuff,” “I hate writing that stuff,” “nobody would  read our blog.” These are all common objections that we hear.

But you should make time – or hire someone who’s good at it who has the time – and people will read it if it’s done right. In fact, according to HubSpot, companies that blog generate 70% to 90% more leads than comparable companies that don’t blog. And I’m going to guess, although I don’t have hard statistically  valid data to back it up, that companies that blog convert those leads into sales at a higher rate, too.

Here’s why…

Hint: It’s about SEO (partly)

On April 24, Google made changes to their search engine (they called it the Penguin Update, which followed hot on the heels of the Panda Update) that sent shockwaves through the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry. Many SEO firms’ clients saw their search engine rankings plummet overnight. More than one Toronto SEO company was forced to close its doors forever.

The reason? Most of these SEO companies focussed exclusively on building links from other sites back to their clients’ sites (in the industry we call this “backlink building” or just plain “link building”) and they sometimes used dodgy tactics to do that.

But for us and our clients, we actually saw our search rankings improve in many cases, with increases in site traffic that go along with that.

That’s because our SEO strategy balances link building with creating great Web site content on a regular basis. Yep, blogging. And we’re not alone. Across the board, companies with over 311 pages on their site (and blogging is the main way you’d do that) get 2, 3, 4 times as many leads (and the sales that go along with that) as companies that update less frequently.

Google loves blogs and they will drive traffic to you if you have one.

It’s also about qualifying your prospects

Your company is in business because it’s good at something. That might be making a product; that may be delivering a service. And your being good at it is a key part of your unique selling proposition – your team’s expertise makes you stand out in the marketplace.

Blogs are a great way to highlight your expert insights on an ongoing basis. When you share those insights, the world may not beat a path to your door, but the people who are interested in your product or service sure will. And, if you’re doing it right, they’ll see their needs and your unique ability to meet those needs reflected there.

That, too, is going to help you generate more leads. And those leads are going to better educated about what you do, and why they need you and they’re going to close at a higher rate.

So the math is simple:

Blog = more traffic + more leads + more sales. It’s the  key to Internet marketing and you really need to be doing it.

 

[ctaw]