Have you been told that your small business needs a blog? Have you been told that to compete online, to have a strong SEO strategy, blogging is the best thing you can do?
Many small businesses are slow to warm to the idea of blogging. You’re not alone if blogging is an unfamiliar concept. Or if you’ve thought things like “I don’t have that much to say” or “I rarely get clients from online anyway”. We hear that all the time.
However, in today’s world, you may think as a small business you don’t have to concern yourself with a great website, one that is mobile friendly, one that comes up well in the search engines for your niche, but your competition is. And the more they penetrate the field, the more they grow in the online world, the better placed they are .. which means they are ready for business. Business that comes from you because when your customer searches on their mobile device for your product or service, you won’t be there, but they will.
Dig Deeper: Content Writing For Top Performance
If you’ve ever thought about starting up a SEO strategy, and start growing your business in the online world, here are 5 important reasons why you should make today the day you pursue it.
1. Google loves fresh content
Google has stated that they will rank content that is relevant, recent, and updated on a regular basis. Google didn’t become the top search engine out there without giving customers what they want. And what they want is content that matches their expectations. No matter what keyword a user types in, they expect great results that provide them exactly what they were thinking. They don’t want spam. They don’t want a website that hasn’t been updated in months. They want the authority that can answer their questions quickly, and get them the information they truly need to move forward at that point in time. Google rewards those that follow the rules. If you blog and provide fresh content on a regular basis, Google will reward you for it.
Dig Deeper: Why Generic Content Writing Doesn’t Work
2. It allows you to have easy connectivity
Imagine you own a carpet company in Seattle, and your goal is to connect with potential customers in your local area. A customer types into Google “carpet company Seattle” and you have two search results in the top ten placements. Next they type in “trends in carpet for bedrooms”. Once again you are there. They continue typing in several more key phrases, learning all they can about buying carpet for their home. Because you come up again and again, they hit “map” and have their mobile device direct them to your store. That’s the power of having a mobile friendly, well SEO strategized, lots of fresh content website.
3.Social is becoming an important part of SEO
Have you ever searched for something, and had a Facebook Twitter or YouTube result appear? Social is becoming a big part of search results. Google knows that if you have an account in a social media site, you rely on it for information. It wants to provide you with information in the format you love best. Which means in the future, the more active you are on various platforms online, the more chances you’ll have of ranking well in the search engines.
4. It allows you to build your authority
When a customer searches and sees your name again and again, you become a trusted source. Even if they aren’t ready to buy today, if you’ve taken the time to set up a free report, and they choose to download it, you can provide email after email to them to keep you name in the front of their minds. It slowly allows you to build your name synonymously with your product or service, and become the go-to person for whatever niche you choose to be in. Authority isn’t built with certifications and education anymore. Its built with knowledge and content, proving you know what you are talking about.
5.Information is there whether you want it there or not
In the online world, you can’t control the information that is written and posted about you. If someone reviews your business on Yelp, there is little you can do to counter it. Unless you take charge of your content, watching closely the information that appears about you, and countering it with your own content. If you take control, you can guide your best customers to leave positive reviews. You can target your audience and build strong relationships with those that benefit you the most. You can control how your brand is viewed in the online world, and engage they types of people that would most likely become future customers. In effect, it’s the only way you’ll grow and change in the coming years.
Dig Deeper: Content Writing For Top Performance
As a small business, there’s no better time than today to take charge of your online marketing platform, your SEO strategy, and begin to develop an entirely different approach to how you’ll bring in customers now, and in the future.