The Benefits of Blogging for Small Businesses
Blogging for small businesses. What’s it all about?
Simply put, blogging is one of the most powerful content marketing tools available for businesses today.
When done right, blogging can yield robust results while requiring only a fraction of the investment that other digital marketing tools and strategies may.
What kind of robust results, you ask?
Let’s dive in…
1. Rank Higher on Google
In today’s digital age, effectively ranking in one of the first 3 results on Google’s results page (SERP) is unquestionably one of the highest-ROI priorities a business can have.
The truth is, the number of people who need your services and are Googling “Edmonton flower shop” to find the lucky brand that will win their business, is ever-increasing.
So, how can blogging help you rank higher on Google’s results page?
Google’s main priority when deciding which pages to present for any search is to find, and present the highest quality, most authoritative page for your query.
Two important factors that Google considers when deciding your website’s quality include Dwell Time and Bounce Rate.
Dwell Time is the amount of time that a visitor spends on your website. It is measured in time (seconds/minutes).
When Google is trying to decide which website to show first in the search results, it considers dwell time.
Google figures that when comparing two websites, the one that visitors stay on for an average of 4 minutes is a higher value resource than a website that can only keep visitor’s attention for 30 seconds.
The website with the longer dwell time must have higher quality content and must offer a more authoritative answer than the website with the shorter dwell time.
Bounce Rate is the percentage of visitors that come to your website and leave without taking action, such as clicking a link or visiting a second or third page. It is measured as a percentage (%).
A high bounce rate negatively affects how Google views the quality of your website, and a lower bounce rate shows Google that when visitors come to your website, the information you are offering is relevant and helpful.
The addition of a blog to your business’s website gives you a chance to improve both of these factors by presenting interesting, well-linked articles for your prospective clients to explore, and a reason for them to hang around for awhile.
2. Increase Sales
Blogging for small businesses can further serve to educate your clients about your business and the products, services, and solutions it provides.
Perhaps you own a bicycle repair shop and a prospective client comes to your website to book a basic maintenance service. While they are on your website, they notice your latest blog post, which is titled “The 5 Most Useful Bike Accessories Every Serious Cycler Needs”.
In this post, you’re able to highlight a few of the new accessories your shop has for sale as well as educate your visitor about the benefits of each accessory.
When they come to drop off their bicycle for the service they’ve booked, they end up purchasing one of these accessories in your shop.
3. Generate Leads for Your Business
Imagine you are a purveyor of fine kitchen appliances in Edmonton.
Many appliance stores in and around Edmonton will have already optimized their website, and may even be paying for phrases such as “appliance store Edmonton” and “buy Kenmore fridge Edmonton”.
But, what about the phrase “fridge making buzzing noise”?
A searcher typing this query into Google has an issue with their refrigerator and they are trying to determine whether they will be able to fix it themselves, have it repaired, or if they will have to purchase a new one.
In this case, having a blog post titled “Is Your Fridge Making a Buzzing Noise? Check These 3 Things First.” would bring this searcher to your website, explain how to check the 3 most common problems that cause a buzzing noise, and could end with a Call-to-Action such as:
Is your fridge still making a buzzing noise after all 3 of these checks? Speak with one of the knowledgeable Technical Support Team Members here, or browse our selection of Frigidaire, Kenmore and Samsung fridges.
Blogging for small businesses provides the opportunity to interact with your customer at other stages of the customer purchasing process besides simply the “purchase” phase.
Effective Digital Marketing in Edmonton
Are you interested in enjoying some of these benefits of blogging for small businesses?
Just can’t wait to add a blog to your website? Learn more about our Digital Marketing Services today.
Get in touch with us to start the conversation about how a blog can help grow your business today!
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