Writing blogs for your website takes time and effort that you feel you can’t afford to lose. My argument is that you can’t afford NOT to blog. Your results may not come immediately, but posting fresh content regularly will improve your site’s search engine optimization and establish trust to your readers. The trick is to post valuable information that your customers are searching for.
Discover why blogging works
Here’s a quick overview of the reasons why blogging helps nearly any business:
- Blogging creates a fresh stream of consumer-demanded content that search engines want to see. Search engines place a high value on fresh content and websites that are constantly updated. In essence, loading fresh content on your site is like giving search engines a “green light” to promote the content.
- Posting weekly, or even more frequently, expands the number of keyword phrases for which your business can rank—and that can include geographic keywords, too.
- Builds trust. So consumers see your business as a credible resource.
- Consumers trust businesses that provide information and relevant content, as opposed to businesses that appear like they just want to sell a product or service. Regular blogs increase consumer trust, as they provide you with a chance to cover lots of topics of interest to your customers, such as how a product works, why a service solves common consumer problems, and more.
Blogging guidelines
With so much at stake, and the value of blogging clear, your business must be ready to invest in blogging, or content marketing, for the long haul. That’s the short answer to the question, How long does blogging take for a business to see results? Here are some guidelines to help you get started:
Realistic expectations
To be sure, blogging, or any form of content marketing, will almost certainly take longer than paid ads. Most organic methods of ranking in search engine results requires a longer time period than paying for an ad to appear on a search engine. That said, the difference between the two doesn’t have to be worlds apart.
nfluential factors
You can hasten the period of time it takes to see results by following these tips:
- Blog with intentionality. Instead of blogging because you think you should be blogging, start a blog with intention. If customers need to know more about how your products work, make that the focus of the blog. If you need to rank higher locally, blog about relevant services and include a few geographic terms, too.
- Know your audience. Trying to broadcast messages to every consumer that might want your products and services would be like buying an ad during the Super Bowl. Sure, lots of people will see the ad—and you’ll pay top dollar for the spot—but how do you know all of those people even need your product/service? Make your blog a go-to resource for your ideal customer, and you’ll draw in the right people.
- Create, create, create. Then create as much content as you can. In most cases, the more often you produce content, the quicker you’ll see results. If you don’t have the resources within your small business to product a blog, outsource.
As a rule of thumb, for businesses that start blogging with a fairly new website domain name, getting results will take a bit longer than for businesses that have an established domain name, as search engines place value on the length of time a domain name has been around. Another key to success involves focusing on value now and results later. Newbies can get frustrated by the lack of instant results in terms of traffic, but it’s clear that consistently blogging over time helps businesses gain traction for increased traffic, which turns into qualified leads and conversions.
Make the Time to Get Results
Changing your business’ marketing strategies is akin to adopting a healthier, active lifestyle. You won’t see results the day after you begin a new workout routine, but over the long haul, those committed to seeing results reap huge rewards. For businesses, a commitment to blogging leads to must-have benefits like increasing traffic, generating high-quality leads, and converting those leads into repeat customers.
