So you just had a beautiful new website built for your small business, now what? 

You may be thinking, Whew! Now I don’t have to look at my website for awhile, and can just leave it out there to get views and clicks.

Wrong. I hate to be the one to tell you, but there is still work to be done.

When you first launch your website, you may initially give people a reason to visit, but after that, you may see traffic starting to trail off. 

This is because you need to give your audience a reason to keep coming back to your website. Now, if you are selling actual online products, it’s likely they will at least come back to order more. However, there’s a lot of benefit to keeping your audience engaged consistently. 

One way to do this, is through blogging. 

I know, that word may scare you a bit. It just sounds like another thing to add to your to do list. But trust me, if you remain consistent, and provide valuable content your audience will love, it will pay off. 

Here are three reasons why you should be blogging for your small business: 

Increases your website SEO

One of the top reasons why blogging is a good idea for your small business, is that it increases your SEO. As a reminder, SEO is your search engine optimization. Basically, it’s how Google finds, rates and lists your website in searches your ideal audience is doing. The better your SEO, the further up your business will be on a Google search (your goal is the first page). 

Google favors websites that consistently put out content and look active. When you are adding a new blog post to your website every week, Google will begin to take notice. 

Now, keep in mind, there are a few keys to remember when doing this. 

In order to be most effective, it is a good rule of thumb to make use of keywords. What are keywords? They are the words or phrases your ideal audience may be searching. Let’s say your business sells coffee beans, and you want to write a post about how to make coffee using the pour over method. Some of the main keywords you may try to use for that post would be “how to make pour over coffee,” “pour over,” “coffee making methods,” etc. 

Once you have defined your keywords, try to use them a few times throughout your blog post. You don’t have to over do it, but while sounding as natural as possible, use those keywords a few times. 

As you continue to do this with your blog posts, using similar keywords, Google will slowly begin to take notice, ranking your website higher when people search for those specific keywords.  

Provides valuable content to your audience

Whether you’re trying to get new customers or repeat customers, staying consistently engaged with them is always beneficial. Blogging for your business is a surefire way to remain top of mind in your customers’ lives, especially if you are putting out valuable content once or twice a week. 

Furthermore, providing them additional valuable content that relates to your products, will only increase their likelihood to buy from you again. It adds value to your products or services. For example, if you are selling makeup products, and you post a blog about “5 different ways to use this product…”, you can provide a direct link to that product at the end so they can purchase right then and there. It’s just another way to convert leads into actually customers.  

Finally, it adds to your credibility. We all want to purchase from business owners who we believe know what they are talking about. When you position yourself as an expert on a topic, it gives your customers opportunities to build trust in your product or brand, as you become a leading expert in their minds. This means they also may be likely to recommend you to their friends and family.  

Helps grow your email list

Finally, blogging for your business is a great way to help build your email list. 

How? There are multiple ways that you can include opt in options on your blog posts. For example, let’s go back to the coffee example. Let’s say you blog about how to make coffee using a pour over, and there are 5 clear steps to the process. A coffee making amateur may not always remember these steps when they actually go to do it. What if you provide them with a free downloadable PDF of a beautiful infographic visually laying out each step, that they could post on their fridge? 

This is yet another piece of free valuable content you are offering them. But guess what? They must give you their email address in order to get the free PDF. It’s as simple as that. Providing these free opt in gifts is an awesome way to build your email list. (Pro tip: Use Canva to create an infographic in less than 30 minutes). 

Now, you do not have to include a different opt in gift on each blog post. Maybe you create an overall master one that can tie into multiple topics within your genre, and that would be beneficial to your potential customers. Or, you can keep it even more simple, and at the very least add a newsletter signup option on each blog post. 

Collecting emails is extremely valuable, as you now have direct access into potential customers’ inboxes. It’s important not to abuse that access, and to only send content that you know will relate directly to the needs of your audience (this is why knowing your audience is important).

Now that you understand the benefits of blogging for your business, are you ready to get going? Our next blog post will be on various ideas to get you started, answering the next question most likely in your mind, where in the world do I begin?! Stay tuned!