While most know what blogging is, many still don’t really understand or believe the extent of the benefits. I had a client last week say, “Traffic is coming! I know that’s what it’s supposed to do but it’s just so surprising!” You often have to see it to believe it — which can take months. So what if your clients hesitate or don’t understand why blogging costs so much? You need to be confident and explain the key reasons to blog that justify their investment.
5 key reasons to blog in 2023
Blogging was the number one type of content created by B2C marketers, according to the most recent B2C Content Marketing report by the Content Marketing Institute. While some say blogging is dead or dying, that’s far from the truth in practice.
More and more people are researching and shopping online, and blogs meet the information demand. Here’s a closer look at 5 ways they drive results for businesses.
#1 SEO blogs increase targeted traffic
First, if you want to effectively drive your target audience to your website, your business needs to be at the top of Google’s organic results for your targeted keywords– and preferably within the top five positions.
Why? Because that’s where the majority of the clicks happen. In a recent analysis, FirstPageSage found that the first organic position had a click-through rate (CTR) of just over 39.6%. The second position’s CTR dropped to 18.4%, the third dropped to 10.1%, the fourth to right above 7.6%, and the fifth to right over 5%.
Interestingly, if you can earn a snippet, you’re in luck as the first snippet gets the highest CTR of 43.7%, while the second-place snippet gets an average of 27.1% of people to click through.
So how do you rank in the top five spots and in the snippets, you may ask? By creating SEO content that provides the best answer to the search terms you target (see 14 best practices for SEO content writing). But, the problem is that you can only put so much content on your core website pages.
A blog gives you a nearly endless amount of space to write about your products or services and everything related to them. You can target a plethora of keywords and show up more frequently on the search engine result pages. More visibility on the search engines means more traffic to your website, more leads, and more conversions. Cha-ching!
I know SEO is reason enough for you and your clients to blog…but hang tight, there’s more.
#2 Connect with buyers earlier in the buying cycle
Next, a blog provides you and your clients with the opportunity to connect with potential customers early in the buying cycle. At this stage, you can guide them down the path to making a purchase.
This is really key. It is a great opportunity we didn’t have in the past.
Let’s look at an example. Kelly is a budding business owner who knows she needs a website but doesn’t know where to start. She searches ‘How to Build a Website” using Google and here’s what she finds.
A bunch of helpful blogs that explain how to build/make/create websites.
But hold on…look at who is publishing these guides.
They are not unbiased sources offering neutral answers but are companies that offer website building services. They want to show Kelly how to build her website with their service. Kelly finds Wix’s guide super helpful so ends up buying their service.
By reaching prospects at this stage, your clients can guide customers towards their solution, often before they even know they are looking for it. Instead of just converting the customers who choose your client’s product or service on their own, they can use blogs to engage potential customers earlier.
#3 Establish industry authority
What makes you stand out from the competition and why should customers trust you? Have an answer in mind? Blogging gives you the platform to showcase it.
You can write on topics that help to solve industry problems, highlight opportunities, share breakthroughs, and reveal expert tips. By putting yourself and your ideas out there, you will establish yourself as a trusted thought leader and influence customers to choose you over the competition.
#4 Stay top-of-mind
Next, blogs are a way to stay connected with your customers. They create an ongoing stream of communication that shares who your business is, what you care about, and how you help your customers. They are also dense content pieces that you can repurpose into tons of social content.
Doing so keeps your business and brand in your customer’s awareness. As a result, when it comes time to buy something you have to offer (or when a friend is looking for a recommendation), guess who they will turn to? You!
#5 Enjoy long-lasting benefits
The last of the top 5 reasons to blog? Doing so on a regular basis offers long-lasting benefits. Every blog you or your clients publish can continue to work for years to come (assuming you write it according to the proper strategy). Even if you stop publishing blogs down the road, or take a break, your search engine ranking won’t immediately drop. Rankings take time to earn and have staying power.
On the other hand, when you stop a paid advertising campaign, your presence disappears instantly. Investing in paid advertising is like renting a home, you get the benefit as long as you pay. When you stop, you are left with nothing. Investing in organic traffic from blogs and SEO is like buying a house, you earn equity as you go.
What are your reasons to blog this year?
Blogging can help you and your clients stay competitive in the digital landscape in 2023. It’s become the price of entry in the digital landscape.
But remember, it’s a piece of a larger puzzle. It certainly can drive traffic, engage your audience, establish authority, and nurture relationships. That said, it works best in cooperation with the other branches of digital marketing (paid advertising, social media marketing, email campaigns, etc.).
Have other great reasons to blog in 2022 or stats to prove it? Share them below with our community!
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