What do you think of when you hear the word “blog”? Mommy bloggers recommending products to earn affiliate bonuses? A travel blog featuring Joe Backpacker as he tours hostels across Europe? A friend journaling her approaching wedding day? You might be surprised when you hear that we recommend a blog for your business website.
In a hurry? Jump to the Recap.
When you have a site built on the WordPress.org platform, you have the built-in option of adding a blog section to your site. Here’s why you should take advantage of that blog:
1. Visitors Return for Fresh Content
Having a blog section can help you keep your content up-to-date and give your audience a reason to return. Think of the blog section as your company newsletter. Share your latest achievements and showcase examples of your work. With all of the automated marketing solutions we see today, visitors will appreciate an authentic, personal representation of your business and its activities. Are you involved in your community? Your blog is the perfect place to let us know about your latest involvement in the community.
2. Blog Structure Makes Info Easy-to-Find
Articles on your blog are called posts, as opposed to pages which refer to the static pages that are not a part of your blog section. Each post allows you to choose a category and multiple tags that tell both human visitors as well as search engine robots what your post is about and where they can find more of your posts on related topics. For example, we created a category called Reference Projects for Remedy Roofing to show examples of their work and used tags to filter those projects by geographical location or whatever details Remedy Roofing chooses to provide, such as the type of roof or brands they used for the project. With this inherent ability to filter posts by category or tag, it is easy to link to those topics anywhere on your site without having to manually update a page with the links to your latest articles on the topic.
3. You Don’t Have to Guess Which Network is Best
By first posting to your blog, you can share your post on any social media network. You don’t have to guess if your audience prefers Facebook or Twitter – you can share your original content on as many networks as you like and get accurate statistics via Google Analytics on which network gets the greatest engagement for your content. Best of all, you truly own what you post on your blog as opposed to what you post on social networks – a practice which is often compared with building a home on leased land. When you host your own content on your blog, you are no longer vulnerable to changes in the policies or popularity of a social network. If a social network suddenly closes your account, your blog content is safe on your website for visitors to continue enjoying.
4. You’ll Improve Your Search Results Rank
The more frequently you update your site with new content, the more frequently search engines and human visitors will check back for more new content. A blog section gives you a reason and a place to continually expand your content offerings. Even the technical structure of your blog is helpful when it comes to moving up in the search results. Category pages, for example, can include descriptions that help you rank better on those topics. Tags and categories help search engines know what your pages are about so that your content will show when people are searching for topics that you cover.
5. You Can Keep, and Even Use, Your Older Content
You can change the design, even the complete structure, of your WordPress website and your posts will still be there, ready for further use. Posts most often include the date of publication (which also means that they can be scheduled in advance!), so, as long as you keep new posts coming, keeping older posts won’t make you look outdated. Instead, you’ll be seen as a trusted expert in your field. Linking to older, evergreen content, or even time-sensitive content that has been recently updated, will also help build your page authority and keep your posts relevant.
Recap: Why Your Business Needs a Blog
- A blog page encourages you to add new content on a regular basis.
- Tags and categories help visitors and search engines quickly find info by topic.
- You own your original blog content, and it can be easily shared anywhere.
- The structure of blog sections (and frequent content updates) promote better rankings on search engines.
- Use and re-use content (via internal links) to promote your authority on the topic.
Are you ready to get a website or re-launch your existing site? We’d be happy to set up a free consultation on what features we’d recommend and how much a website would cost. Use our Contact Form or Call (281) 798-2406 Now. You won’t regret it!