In an online world competing for customers, eyeballs and credit card numbers, every type of business can benefit from having both a Web site and a professionally hosted blog.
A blog, short for Weblog, is an online journal that allows you and your visitors to quickly and easily post comments and entries. These "posts" are generally shown in reverse chronological order, with the most recent posts listed first. Most blogs focus on a particular topic, which can range from personal to business to politics and everything in between.
Although many blogs appear as a featured section of a Web site, some are standalone blog pages or appear on larger blog Web sites. A blog topic may not necessarily relate to the Web site's primary focus, but instead, may be used to generate interaction. Whatever the topic, the interactive nature of blogs is an important component, which makes blogs a particularly attractive means for businesses and Web site owners to communicate with their audience.
I have a Web site, why do I need a blog?
Just as businesses today realize the need and value of having a Web site, they are also beginning to understand the value that a blog, or multiple blogs, can have in connecting with customers and building ongoing relationships. Consider these reasons for adding a blog to your site:
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Change It and They Will Come - Increased Traffic
Web sites generally provide information about a business, its products and services. This information is relatively static - you may update the look and feel of your site or add new products and services, but your customers generally know what to expect to see on your site when they visit it again.
However, a blog, which changes with each new post, gives your customers reasons - even daily reasons if you latch onto a hot topic - to visit your site more frequently. This gives you the opportunity to expose visitors to your Web site more often, which is always a good thing. The more visits to your blog, the more visits to your Web site, the more exposure to potential sales.
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Ask and Receive - Customer Feedback and Research
Every business wrestles with understanding what products and services customers truly want, need and are looking to purchase. For example, "Should I add a red widget to my product line or would customers rather have a yellow widget?" A blog makes it easy to quickly pose these questions to customers and prospects and get feedback into what they want - or don't want. If you have an active blog, you can quickly tap into what is hot and what is not. Blog posters will also often provide you their reasoning behind what they are seeking. Most importantly, customers like to know that you are interested in their needs and that you want to listen to them.
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Blog and Be Found - Search Engine Optimization
Blogs can be used to boost the search engine rankings for your Web site. Search engines recognize that blogs are generally updated more frequently than Web sites, they often contain links, and blogs are rich with relevant content. For a winning combination, make it easy for blog visitors to access your Web site by placing links to your site within your blog.
Blogs can improve search engine optimization through:
- Trackbacks. Trackbacks, or links to your blog from other bloggers, may be seen as valuable recommendations of your site when search engines calculate the relevancy of your Web site. These "referrals" can add credibility to your business in the eyes of search engines.
- Keywords. Relevant keywords, which are vital to search engine optimization, are often abundant throughout your blog postings. With a blog, you can add more keywords when you talk about your company or your products. Once again, you are adding value to both your Web site and your blog, in terms of search engine optimization.
- Navigation structure. Blogs have a defined structure of navigation that can be easily indexed by search engine spiders.
- Viral marketing component. If you can create a buzz among your customers, they will help spread the word about your blog, your Web site and your business. They will even handle distribution for you by sending the links to your Web site and blog to others!
If you don't have a Web site for your business, don't delay. Whether you choose to do it yourself, or have a provider do it for you, a Web site and a blog are business must-haves. There are numerous Web site and Web hosting providers that provide solutions to meet every need - big and small - and every budget (big and small).