Summer is officially over, and while you’re still shaking off the Labor Day excitement, you’re probably not thinking a whole lot about your website. If your site is up-to-date, optimized, and generating a steady flow of traffic, what else is there to consider?
Truth be told, big changes are happening to the search engines. With the current business quarter drawing to a close, and with 2020 right around the corner, now is the time to start rethinking your online marketing strategies. More frankly, it might be time to create a blog for your website if you haven’t already.
Why are we still talking about blogging, and what can it do for your website? Here are three reasons why it’s time to get serious about starting a blog.
1. Relevant Content Ranks
It’s no secret that blogging affects your website’s ranking. A blog provides space to utilize keywords, backlinks, and all those other fun SEO practices we’ve been talking about over the years. But with so much focus on social media, mobile optimization, and video content nowadays, does blog content even hold merit in digital marketing anymore?
More than you’d think! In fact, content is the #1 SEO factor when Google ranks web pages. According to Martin Splitt, a Webmasters Trends Analyst over at Google, quality content “that serves a purpose” will usually rank the highest.
Think of your own habits as a web user. Whenever we search for something online, we want results that will serve us best. Nobody wants to search through a sea of pages to find what they’re looking for.
Of course, using searchable words and phrases will add relevancy to your blog content. But creating content for the sake of using keywords doesn’t cut it anymore. Users want their information. And they want to enjoy the process of finding and obtaining that information. If you create a blog that’s optimized, useful, and enjoyable to read, your website will perform better overall.
2. Fresh Content Matters
We all value new information, whether it be a product, a service, a new app, or even a news story. Fresh content is also something we value as web users. Generally speaking, we tend to favor websites that provide us with a steady stream of current, interesting stuff to read and look at.
Google has been all about user experience for quite some time, and its algorithm makes it easy for users to find what they want or need. Search engines are also thinking more like web users as part of their mission to enhance the user’s experience. Web crawlers and bots are constantly searching for newly-published content to index. When the search engines recognize content as being new, a website is more likely to rank higher.
Creating a blog is a surefire way to consistently boost your website with fresh and innovative content. Every time you post on your page, you’re adding fresh content for the search engines to measure. It’s also an opportunity to optimize for new keywords, incorporate links, funnel in more traffic, and build authority around your brand.
Again, quality content ranks above all else, and fresh content doesn’t guarantee that your website will gain loyal followers. The key is to produce fresh AND high-quality content that’s informative, engaging, and serves a purpose.
3. Blogging Builds Community Around Your Brand
3. Blogging Builds Community Around Your BrandWith so much emphasis on shareable, visual content nowadays, reading content might seem pretty obsolete. It’s true that video will consume 80% of web traffic by the end of this year. But even though there is a big push towards video, creating textual content is still as pertinent as ever.
Our brains are more active when we read compared to when we watch videos. When we read, we process words and apply meaning to them, generating more thoughts around the subject. Reading engages our attention and emotions on a deeper level, and that can have a significant effect on the way we perceive the publisher.
A blog not only provides a platform to publish content. It also creates an opportunity for a business to express their personality, develop their brand, and bond with readers. If you’re continually producing fresh content, you give your loyal readers reason to keep coming back. When you can accomplish that, you’ll see higher traffic numbers, more sales leads, better web performance, and happier feedback overall.
Ready to Create a Blog for Your Website?
Starting a blog might not be high on your to-do list, but as we move into the next business quarter, an excellent question to ask yourself is this:
Where do you see your business in 2020, and how is your website going to cater to your vision?
As always, the search engines are changing, and the industry is projecting big things to happen in the coming months. If you think it’s time to create a blog, learn more about how we can help!
