In business, the question of the blog is often passed around the website design table. Is it really necessary? Should a piece of the budget be devoted to a blog? Why should any piece of the business be directed toward a blog? The last question is the most important to answer: Why? Why should money be spent, why should a blog be a part of a business website, why should any time be devoted to this activity at all? The answers come in ten separate parts.
1. Increase in SEO Consider the website, especially the website's back end. There are a number of keywords hidden in that back end so consumers can find the site faster. Google will rate the site using these keywords, and the site will fare better with keywords attached. Why, then, would a business NOT use the same keywords in a blog? While blogs must be organic and mainly conversational in nature, keywords are always found throughout every article. The blog increases the chances of a user finding your business site with a variety of search engines. 2. Sharing Your Personal Side An about page or home page will work for the basics of your business, but a blog delivers the personal side of who you are. Customers want to relate to the person running the business; they are more likely to purchase when they feel connected to the person selling. A blog creates this natural connection over the Internet, which is impersonal by nature. 3. Social Media Support What will you share on your social media pages? It's nice to share something from your own page, isn't it? This is where blogs help. They are a natural match to social media, where your high quality content is shared by customers, leading new consumers back to your website. It's fine to share other people's site in your area of expertise, but why not include some articles from your own domain? 4. You are the Authority When your name is on an expertly written blog backed with facts, you become an authority in your field. When a customer wonders, "How do I pick a paint color?" or, "When will I know it's time to change my water heater?", you will be the person to which they turn. They will search your blog or website for the answers, because you will have proven your expertise through your blogs. 5. Conversion Rates Increase This fact only matches the previous facts; when customers view you as an authority, and can find your site easier, conversions increase. A blog positions your business as the source for information, the source for materials, and the place to go for what the customer needs. Most customers are more apt to purchase from the same site where they gain information and advice. 6. Generating Inbound Links Blogs help draw others who are interested in connecting to your site. When you have the best information in your blog, you will interest experts and authorities in your field. You'll have others asking you to trade links, and you will generate further traffic through link sharing. You want to have a blog which allows for more opportunities to post these links. 7. Long-Tail Search Queries Happen Naturally Think about your website. The search terms, "Alan's Comics", or "Comics" may return hits for your site. However, a search for, "Finding Batman vs. Joker Episodes" won't return your site. You want to include these long-tail searches in your results, and a blog helps do that. With a blog, specific services and search terms are more likely to pull your site in front of more consumers. 8. Increased Leads This almost goes without saying, but a blog helps increase leads. Research into SEO proves that a site with more pages generates more leads. This means that more blogs leads to more consumers viewing your site, and more leads converting to customers. As more blogs are added, more individuals find what they need for their personal needs, and return to the site for future needs. 9. Additional Connections A blog is a perfect "jumping point" for conversations between businesses and customers. When a customer reads a blog, he or she gains information and intelligence, which help the business increase the likelihood of a sale. When a customer is able to come to a business and talk intelligently about his or her needs, the customer gains more confidence in the company. The blog is the perfect place for customers to learn more about their personal needs, what they can get from the company, and what they will eventually purchase. The blog offers an extra level of conversation and connection between the company and the customer. 10. Google Loves Freshness Adding a new blog on a regular basis gives the website a fresh look, and Google loves this. The search engines like having updates to deliver to consumers, and often give consumers the newest information first. Keep your blog updated every week - or more - to help keep your site ranking high on Google and other search engines.
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In LinkedIn's infancy, endorsements were wonderful for clients and employers alike. In fact, many employers once read endorsements before moving on to a potential employee's hard skills or resume. The idea was to hear what others were saying, because endorsements were only posted by first-degree connections.
According to Forbes, LinkedIn still only allows first-degree connections to endorse each other. However, users are getting around the first-degree requirement upheld by LinkedIn to connect to those whom they've never met. This is especially rough for freelancers, who may have worked a number of different places and who can claim many companies as employers. My personal LinkedIn profile has been endorsed many times by people with whom I've never worked. I have a full list of companies, articles and places on my profile, which allows connections to become first-degree, simply because they may have purchased an article from a company for which I work. They may not have even purchased the article from me. The LinkedIn endorsement can become unreliable fast; I've had people endorse me for editing or writing skills which were never shared with them. While the recent Forbes article discussing endorsements swears they are here to stay, it would be wise for employers to look at the whole picture before believing the word of someone who may or may not know the person they've just endorsed. Employers, or anyone searching for a freelancer, must look over the full picture. Luckily, in my line of work, there are pages of Google results under my name to paint a full picture. However, other potential employees don't have this luxury. The LinkedIn endorsement needs to carry weight. Unfortunately, it will soon stop meaning anything thanks to meaningless endorsements from virtual strangers. Reviewing a full line of work, samples and skill sets before choosing any one writer or employee is always a smart move. Read as many articles from a writer or view as many websites from a developer as possible. Get a feel for what the person has actually presented over what others believe to be true about them. Increase your SEO and website today. Fill out the Contact Form and hire a top notch content writer. Video is the hottest new communication tool for websites. It's easily shared, helps spread word of mouth faster, and is highly preferred by customers overall. In fact, an email with a video is 30% more likely to be opened. This statistic cannot be ignored, and marketers expect to see more websites converting to videos in the year 2014 than in any other year.
This does not mean, however, that content is out. Many times, a video will be accompanied by paragraphs of content. This might not make sense to those who click the video and gather the same information as is presented in the content, but there is a very real reason for including content with an online video. Readability and Clarification Logically, an article needs to be readable, even when there is a video included. The content attached to a video creates a readable element to the video, where a viewer can further clarify the video's message. While the video may explain the message clearly, the content reiterates that message and gives the reader a second method of receiving the message. Luckily, any users who opt for video only may do so, as the content is typically listed after the video. Different Types of Absorption As with academic learners, Internet surfers have different types of comprehension. Each person absorbs information in a different manner. Some people prefer their information in an audible form while others desire a visual aid. The video combined with the content covers both areas. When a video stands alone, it can easily be ignored by the visual learners, who desire words on a screen over an audible piece. Adding content to video adds a level of reach that might be missed with video alone. Sneaking Content Into The Day Many people admit to sneaking in a few articles during their work or school day, when work is slow or when they are waiting for the next project to begin. Matching content to video pulls these people in; perhaps there is no opportunity for audio or they cannot turn on a video for fear of disturbing others around them. Reading an article is the only option for these people, so skipping content on videos will only increase the bounce rate. Overall, including content with a video only increases the reach of the video. More people will be inclined to click on the link to either read or watch the information. It is always a good idea to hire a freelance writer who can convert the video into website content. Content curation is quickly becoming the way to get content for a website fast. It's cheaper than creating original content, and it creates a position of leadership within industries. Those who curate content become known as thought leaders, and subsequently, their websites become the "go-to" sites for updates on the latest trends in that specific niche. A growing number of marketers view content curation as a fast answer to the growing need for content on websites, and most feel there is no moral implication to it, as long as credit is properly paid.
Companies and marketers are failing to see, however, that there are specific moral implications to content curation. Even when credit is paid to the original author or website, the information quickly becomes repetitive when a curator simply copies and pastes content onto the business website. Imagine searching for a term and finding the same article repeated on different sites. The credibility of the websites deteriorates when content is clearly copied, even when the author and original site are credited. Some marketers will curate content and rewrite it to disguise it as a unique piece. The morality of this mistake should be obvious - a writer has conducted the research and arranged the information to make sense to the industry. Rewriting the article for use on a new site discredits the work of the original author and should be considered morally wrong. While most companies don't get caught when this happens, there is always a chance of human error. The content could match enough to be caught as plagiarized, and the company that copied will be discredited. While content curation is nice for a quick fix, it is never a good idea for long term blogging solutions. Hiring a freelance writer outside the marketing department is always cheaper than an on-staff writer, and when the writer produces original content, the chances of discrediting through plagiarism are non-existent. Curate content for a website emergency; purchase original content from a freelancer to appear as a real industry authority. Facebook groups are a dime a dozen. Everyone is asked to join a group at least once a month, if not more. It can get quite tiring to see the invitations, however, it's worth a look as to WHY the groups are being formed in the first place. Why, when creating a business page is so easy, do groups exist in the first place? Why would any business use them?
The fact is that Facebook is the number one social media network right now. It is the place to be for marketing, and the Facebook team knows it. Among all the options - promoted posts, business pages and special groups - it is the special groups that seem to get the most attention. When a business, non-profit or individual has an agenda to complete, creating a Facebook group is the place to go. When a group is formed, individuals with interest in the subject can join. Anyone not interested can opt out, and will not receive information on the topic at hand. Users can invite friends who might be interested to join the group, as well. So how does this work for business? Groups work best for businesses when they are used for a specific agenda - this translates to promotions. Customers like to feel that they are being let in on a secret. When invited to a special group, a customer feels like the deal is only for them. Creating a feeling of "I'm in on something special" will entice customer loyalty. Loyalty leads to sales, and it also leads to word of mouth advertising. Inviting customers into exclusive Facebook groups gives them a juicy secret, especially when a discount or coupon is offered as part of the package. Customers won't be able to keep it to themselves. Word of mouth tends to spread faster when the customer believes something was obtained simply because he or she is part of an exclusive Facebook page. Everyone asks me why they need content. Some people pass me up even after realizing their Google rank is extremely low and listening to me tell them content will help! I'm always unnerved by this, but I'm never surprised. It's tough to understand why a content writer is necessary, especially when the marketing budget strings are tight. However, every website should have content without question.
1. Google Likes It Google is looking for organic content. Search engines are scouring the Internet for key words that aren't overdone. Google favors readability in a website, which means content must be plentiful. Key words are still important, however, they must flow naturally into the content to be ranked on search engines. Key word stuffing is the first step toward getting a website ignored. 2. Customers Love It If you really want to know how much customers love content, go to your Facebook feed. People share things they find interesting with their friends, so why wouldn't you put interesting content on your site? Customers love how-to's, instructional content, content that informs and content that makes them laugh. Add these things to your website to get more attention and to get more eyes on you. 3. Exposure Increases This goes without saying, if you read the last paragraph. Give your customers something to share and you can pretty much skip the word of mouth. Your customers will do it for you by sharing your content, and your website. You can point people to your website content when they have questions, and you can encourage them to search your content when they want knowledge about your brand. Your brand exposure increases exponentially with content. 4. Productivity Goes Up If you reach beyond the FAQ page to add content to your website, your company's productivity increases because you spend less time answering questions for customers. If you can simply point them to a part of the website that has more answers or information than a simple FAQ page, you can get back to making money sooner. Many businesses have done this in the past, and we are quickly becoming a society that searches for readable answers before insisting on talking to a live person. Overall company productivity is increased with website content. If you are finally convinced you need content, contact me today. I will help you get started on the road to a content-filled, highly visible website. Content is going to remain king of Google's algorithms this year. The opinion in the fourth quarter of last year was that it would take a back seat to videos, but this thought has taken a turn as people still hold on to reading and Google is requiring at least two links if a site wants to hold onto its first page ranking. Content will continue to rule the page, so you'll need to write content that gets not only Google's attention but the attention of your target audience.
1. Skip the Keywords Google is still picking up on keywords, but it's smart enough to recognize keyword stuffing. Keywords are for real readers and not for computers. You'll want them in your articles, but only two or three times - they need to be included so real people will find your article when they type your keywords into search engines. 2. Find Your Topic Your topic needs to be relevant to your brand or blog, and it needs to talk to your audience naturally. For example, if you're writing to executives about SEO, you won't use the same tone that you would when writing for a mom about tasty after school cupcakes. Keep the tone, topic and overall feel of the blog relevant to the audience. 3. Keep the Content High Quality Write quality content at a decent length. Longer articles look better on Google, because Google feels the article carries more information if it's longer. Don't use too much fluff, however; remember that you're writing for real people. You want the content to stay relevant and help your readers learn something new. If you want your customers to trust you in your industry, give them something to learn about your brand. 4. Reel Them In with the Title You want the title to be eye catching. Often, this is the first thing people see when they search Google. Consider your own reading habits: do you tend to gravitate toward boring titles or interesting ones? Of course you want to read those that sound like they have some value to you. You'll have to do the same for your readers if you want them to gravitate to your blog. 5. Write What You Know This is an age old piece of advice, but it still holds true. Nothing turns off readers more than someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. If you don't understand the topic and can't research it adequately, don't write about it. As a professional blogger, I use Google News often to research my articles. I get the latest news on my topic from accredited websites and I find out what I have to research to make the content as informative as possible. 6. Mention Yourself, Don't Spotlight Yourself Be careful when talking about your business or your product. You can mention yourself, but overkill will turn off your customers and make your blog look spammy. Suggest products throughout your blog, slipping them in naturally. For example, if you sell feathers, a blog sentence may look like this: When you're creating an authentic feather duster, softer feathers work best, such as our XYZ feathers. They tend to pick up dust... 7. Break Up the Blog Let your readers scan the blog for the most pertinent information by breaking it up into sections. Use topics, such as this blog, so the writing isn't one big chunk. The headings will also help in Google rankings because it provides more keywords for the rankings to recognize. 8. Don't Forget English Class Remember learning how to write a composition? You answered the five "W"'s: Who, What, When, Where and Why. After you've written your blog, read your blog to make sure you've answered all these questions. You'll have a complete blog that will serve your customers well every time. Furthermore, you'll have a blog that will grab Google's attention because it will be long and complete. This is the number one rule of customer service right now: The customer remains at the center of the customers' universe.
It is absolutely essential to drive this home to your staff continuously. You need to remind them every single day of this reality, and remind yourself when the day gets rough. It wasn't like this fifteen years ago, when we didn't have the Internet in our hand everywhere we went. It wasn't as easy to pull up the competition on the spot, and there was some give-and-take in the customer relationship. Those days are gone, and if you don't move with the tide, you won't keep up with your competitors. Understand what the number one rule means in layman's terms: it means that your hangover or traffic jam on the way to work doesn't matter to your customer, even when it's the only thing on your mind. Your frustration or misunderstanding of the technology at work doesn't matter to your customer, unless it's directly affecting him. The only thing that matters to the customer is the customer and the people that customer cares about. That doesn't include you very often. Every minute the customer works with you to obtain a product, they are existing in their own reality. This reality is what will matter if there is any misunderstanding between you and the customer. Be careful and provide customers with literature, when possible, to avoid this confusion. Remember, their reality is what matters, and when you are welcome into that reality, you need to push your own aside and exist only in theirs to create not only the sale but a return customer. |
AuthorRebecca has been blogging for ten years. She'd love to help you fill your blog! Archives
August 2019
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