The way businesses reach customers has changed, is changing, and will continue to change rapidly thanks to our good friend, technology. For example: just five years ago there were articles in sales magazines and websites which asked if people would ever use smartphones to buy things (wait, what?!). The answer was loud and clear. According to Forbes, in 2013 nine of 10 mobile searches occurred on smartphones and 50% of those searches resulted in action.
Plumbers, Blogs and Increased Business, OH MY!This indicates that a good blog can easily become an inbound marketing gem. As an example, let’s say a plumber writes a blog about unsticking a hair clog. Our consumer, Butch, has just such a problem and Googles how to clear the hair clog; his search takes Butch right to the plumber’s website. Maybe Butch reads the blog and learns how to unclog his drain, or maybe Butch reads the blog and decides that this work requires more equipment and expertise than he has. In turn, Butch decides to hire the plumber who wrote the blog, seeing as he clearly knows what he is talking about!
Ranking on Google
Not only can blogging help bring in potential business, but it can also help with SEO. For example, blogging is especially helpful when Google runs their analytics to see what websites to promote when people type in a search for a particular topic. New and relevant blog posts help Google recognize the new content and that another page has been added to a particular website. These things are deemed “good” as far as Google is concerned, therefore ranking the website with lots of blog entries higher in Google results. In regards to the plumber blog example above, Butch would be more likely to choose the better ranked web option when he conducts his search.
The Power of Pairing Blogging with Social Media
Another way that a blog can help is through social media. Marketers should always go to their Facebook page to let their followers know that they have published a new blog post (with real-time, helpful content, of course!). Tweet this news too. Get the word out so people will know where to go to learn how to fix their own hair clog problem, or they will know who to call when they need help. Maybe Butch has spent two months watching his drain take half an hour to get rid of the water every morning, but he did not know what to do about it. A tweet that links to an article about that topic is more than likely going drive business to the blog and website, and money to the plumber’s pocket (woohoo!).
Grow Your Email List Quickly
What else can blogging do for you and your business? Blogging can help you analyze your visitors and record statistics (yes, that’s real life data about your visitors, right at the tips of your fingers!). Your company can track visitors and know who read what on your site. Another way to get information from your audience is by offering a call to action option at the bottom of your blog post or having a form field on the sidebar. Having a form for blog visitors to fill out can help them get in contact with you if they want more information. It also provides you with their contact information instantly, allowing you to reach out to them or add them to your email list (which, remember, you should always be working on growing!).
There is much to be gained by having a blog linked to your website. Not only is Google analytics happier with blog postings, but potential customers are happy, too! A blog is an easy inbound marketing strategy that helps you drive more business to your door and increase your ROI.
Ready to have a blog of your own, but don’t know where to start? Give one of our amazing team members a call today at 419.629.0080 and we would be happy to help get you started!
