As a business owner, you may be on the fence about whether to include a blog on your website. Or perhaps you already have a blog that gets little to no attention and you’re wondering whether you should just dump it altogether. My advice: if you don’t have a blog, start one. If you have a blog that’s being neglected, give it some TLC.
I understand that blogging — especially when it’s done right — can be a lot of work. Planning and developing blog content can be time-intensive. Coming up with new ideas week after week can be exhausting. With so much already on your plate, you wonder, “Is blogging really worth my time, money, and energy?”
Statistics from several studies show that maintaining a blog on your website pays off — in fact, it could be the most cost-effective way to promote your business. I don’t expect you to just take my word for it though. Here are 7 darn-good reasons backed by hard statistics that illustrate how a blog helps you boost your bottom-line results.
1. Blogging Boosts Website Traffic
A Hubspot study found that companies that have a blog see 55% more website visitors than those who don’t have a blog. Even better, website visitors enter your site on the perfect landing page that addresses the exact information the users want based on their search queries. So, not only do you get more visitors, your blog helps you get highly targeted website visitors for your business.
2. Websites with Blogs Generate More Leads
Adding a blog to your business site may just give you the lead generation advantage you’ve been looking for. According to Hubspot, business websites with blogs generate 67% more leads than business websites that don’t have a blog. .
3. People Trust Information & Advice From Blogs
People don’t just like blogs; they trust them. According to BlogHer, 81% of U.S. online customers report that they trust information and advice from blogs. Creating informational, educational, and creative blog posts is a way to build your brand’s credibility.
4. Blogs Let Prospects Research Products & Services Themselves
In many instances, people like to do their homework before talking to a salesperson about a product or service. DemandGen reports that 47% of buyers view three to five pieces of content before entering a conversation with a sales rep.
Your business blog is an ideal environment to demonstrate the value of your products and services. Case studies, customer interviews, and behind-the-scenes blog posts are all effective ways to educate potential customers and entice them to ask for more information.
5. Blogging Is the Best Content Format for Generating Brand Awareness
According to a joint study from the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, blog posts are the best performing type of content for building brand awareness. (If you’re wondering, social media content is second.) If you want to get the word out about your brand, blog about it.
6. Chance Are, Your Competitors Have a Blog
Businesses are big on blogs. In fact, 89% of B2B marketers say they’ve used blogging as part of their overall content marketing strategy in the last 12 months. If your competitors actively blog and you don’t, that puts you at a huge disadvantage.
7. Blogging Helps You Acquire Backlinks
The number and quality of backlinks to your site are key factors Google considers when deciding whether to include your website in search engine results pages (SERPs). When other sites link to yours, it tells Google your site is credible and trustworthy. Websites with blogs have 97% more backlinks than those that don’t have a blog. That can make all the difference in how well your website ranks in search.
8. Blogging Is Cost-Effective
DemandMetric found that it costs 62% less to blog than engage in other traditional marketing techniques, like paid advertising. Even better, your blogging content can have a long shelf life; evergreen content can yield website traffic for years. Plus, you can repurpose snippets of blog content on social media, further extending the value of your initial content marketing investment.
9. Having a Blog Helps You Rank Higher on Google
95% of searchers do not go past the first page of Google’s search results. If you want to rank high on Google — and, trust me, you do — you need a content advantage on your website. Websites that have a blog increase their chances of ranking higher on Google by 434%.
In Conclusion: Yes, You Should Have a Blog on Your Website
Your blog is an ideal platform for showing your ideal audience what your business can do for them. Yes, show, not just tell. Blogs that incorporate compelling visuals and insightful videos outperform plain text blogs by a large margin.
It takes time to create consistent, high-quality blog content. If you need help with that, drop us a note, and let’s discuss how Illuminate Content Marketing can help you with your blogging and content marketing needs.