Should You Have a Blog?

Blogs are more important than they often get credit for. Some may not realize that blogging provides many different benefits.  The truth is, your blog has both monetary and non-monetary value. Should you have a blog? That’s a great question and this post will hopefully help you find the answer you need!

If you intend to start blogging for your business, you may be considering the monetary value of your blog. Developing and publishing consistent content each month can take a lot of time. You probably want to make sure you’ll get a good return from investing so much time into your business’ blog. There are many different factors that give your blog monetary value. Here are some of them:

Increase Your Leads

Blogging is a great way to develop a more personal relationship with your customers. This personal feel of your blog can help to increase your leads. Leads are the website visitors that are likely to become customers due to their interest in your content. According to an article published by HubSpot, businesses that devote enough time to publish at least 11 blog posts get four times as many leads than businesses who publish only five blog posts. The time you spend blogging helps drive quality traffic to your business’ website. Now, with those kinds of statistics, imagine how many more leads you would get if you published more than just 11 posts to your blog.

Gain Conversions

While your blog is driving additional leads each month, you may also see an increase in conversions. The number of website visitors you need, in order to generate a conversion, depends on your products or services. When I say “conversion” I mean the website visitor decides to spend money on your products or services. A good conversion rate is anywhere from 2% to 5%. With this being said, for every 100 visitors to your website, you can expect 2-5 of them to turn into a customer or client. In this infograph by TechClient we can see that 61% of United States consumers have made a purchase based on a recommendation from a blog post. Don’t underestimate the power your blog has on your conversions. It stands to reason that the more blog posts you have, the great the chance someone will be inspired to make a purchase.

Increase Your Website Traffic

Your business’ blog posts are a great way to increase website traffic. According to the same infograph by TechClient, companies that blog have 97% more inbound links to their website than companies who do not blog. Blog posts are often shared on social media and referred to in other blog posts. Websites that have blogs have 434% more indexed webpages on search engines. An indexed page is a webpage that is included in search results. Each indexed page your website has increases the chance of a customer finding your business.

In addition to the many monetary values that come from blogging, there are also non-monetary values. Each blog may fill different needs and provide different benefits depending on your business. The next paragraphs will describe some of these non-monetary values. 

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Increase Your Credibility

Blogging can help you gain your website visitors’ trust, if it has the personal tone given in most blogs. Today, website visitors are looking for advice before they invest in a product or a service. Blogs are estimated to be the 5th most trusted source for online information. 81% of online consumers in the United States say they trust the advice and information given by blogs. Both these statistics show there is a great amount of worth in your blog.

Boost Your Rankings on Google

If you are already blogging, it’s very likely you’ve heard about search engine optimization (SEO). Blogging gives a great opportunity to practice on-site and off-site SEO. With your blog posts, you can use strategic keywords to improve your ranking on Google. Businesses with blogs have up to 97% more links to their website, which benefits an off-site SEO strategy. Your blog is a great tool to use when trying to gain more visibility on search engines.

Help Connect With Your Target Audience

Connecting with your target audience through the internet is incredibly valuable today. The majority of companies and brands have an online presence, which is expected by most consumers. The American Marketing Association reports that over 60% of consumers look to connect with their favorite brands online. In the same report, 48% of consumers think it’s important for brands to publish content. Your business’ blog is a great way to connect with your audience and share information about your products or services.

Should You Have a Blog?

Blogs are a great tool for most businesses — big or small. The points made above are some of the main monetary and non-monetary values blogging can provide. Of course, it’s really up to you to decide if you should have a blog. But, consider what was mentioned. Do you want to quadruple your leads [statistically] by having a blog of at least 11 posts? Do you want to increase your website traffic and rankings on Google? Is it important for you to be viewed as a credible business? Would you like to more effectively connect with your audience? If the answer is yes, then you probably should start blogging.

Do you have questions about blogging or need help with content creation? If so, please contact us by filling out the form below!