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3 surefire reasons your Perth business needs an active blog

Adam Quigley • Sep 12, 2019

The one thing I hear often from business owners is they have no time for blogging.

No time to write content. No time to plug away on a keyboard drafting up new posts. Now this might seem a little cheeky as a topic for one of the first Diginomic blog posts.

But hear me out.

I get it. I really really do. Business can be frantic. Who has time for article writing?

In any SME operation there are always a dozen squeakier wheels that are crying out for attention. You need to issue that invoice. Plan that meeting. Deliver on that milestone. Chase up that lead.

Writing a 300+ word article is just one of those "I'll get to it tomorrow" tasks...

But here's the reality - If you have a website, a blog is just something you have to do. Here are three awesome reasons why.

1. Blog posts tell Google you have an active website

Google loves current websites. Google doesn’t want to deliver its searchers outdated information. You probably don't have a reason to regularly update your homepage, but a blog is an easy way to have consistent new topical pages appearing for your business.

Compared to the rest of your site content, blog posts are a little more casual and conversational. A little more freewheeling.

You can keep service pages static and formal, but your blog is your opportunity to write from the heart and know that this fresh new content is like waving a flare to attract Google.

It tells search engines in no uncertain terms " Hey! Come here! Check out my stuff! "

And think about it from their point of view - if they have two sites that are pretty much identical apart from one not having been touched since it was launched, and the other posting keyword-rich content weekly, which is Google more likely to prioritise?

You regularly updated website gives Google more reason to crawl and index your website.

TAKEAWAY:
Blog posts provide you with more pages, keywords, and fresher content. All of these give you more chances to rank higher in Google.

2. Blog posts increase your relevancy

Google Search got massive because of two unique benefits that, in hindsight, seem like total no-brainers.

  1. Have a clean and simple interface
  2. Display the most relevant results

Before Google's iconic simple single-field homepage, the previous "best practice" was to stuff that initial search engine page full of advertising, weather, news, and everything you could. White space be damned!

Google saw this, gave a single knowing nod, then replaced complexity with simplicity. They ignored the easy millions in advertising revenue in that space and displayed a homepage that was (and is) little more than a search field and their logo. We all loved them for it.

BUT the other thing that set Google apart was the ability to display the most relevant results through their innovative search engine algorithm, PageRank [ext].

Prior to PageRank search results were weird. Curated lists of sites by topic. Indexed content of FTP archives. Self-submitted results that were easily manipulated. A dark time.

PageRank used an automated ranking system based on relevancy by incorporating a site's backlinks and link anchor keywords to determine what site should be shown in what order in search results.

This was considered an Awesome Thing, because another idea that gained a lot of attention at the time was the concept of a search engine that only displayed paid results [ext]. No organic search results at all. Just pure advertising.

So Google's PageRank was considered a God-send.

PageRank also kickstarted the SEO industry /arms race, where Google constantly works to deliver relevant results and website owners constantly work to influence those results.

SEO is its own complicated beast, but the core principles remain - if you can increase your relevancy through blog content to the keywords people are searching for, then you increase your value to Google.

TAKEAWAY:
Blog posts increase your site's relevancy, which is a key part of any SEO strategy. The more relevant your site, the more likely it will appear on searches performed by your prospective customers.

3. Blog posts attract (and warm up) prospective customers

Blogs are a wonderful opportunity to connect with your target audience and answer all the questions they never even knew they had.

Once you've determined who you're writing for, a blog is your opportunity to write up articles that help address your prospective customers fears, hopes, dreams, and concerns.

If you have questions you continually get asked by your clients - then write the answers in a blog.

If you have things you explain every single time in the sales process with clients - write them up into a blog.

Your blog then serves a range of functions.

  • It attracts other people searching for answers to those questions.
  • It shows prospective clients you have a decent chance of knowing what you're talking about.
  • It establishes legitimacy, trust, authenticity and rapport.
  • It gives you a chance to provide value to people before the idea of sales is even a consideration.

All of this means you become a trusted and reliable topic expert, and someone who is front of mind when it comes to your industry or service.

TAKEAWAY:
Blog posts are an opportunity to offer genuine value direct to people while simultaneously building and establishing your professional credibility.

In conclusion...

Write blog posts. Write one a week. It helps everything online - the people and the search engines. Write quality content and you'll benefit.

But if you're in a situation where you aren't a confident writer, or you simply don't have the time to spend on drafting articles then we can definitely help.

Our SEO service might be what you need. You provide a brief with basic dotpoints. Our writers draft up professionally written post. You get SEO-ready content delivered right to your inbox.

Until next time!

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