Do you need a blog if you've got a business? It's a question that most small business owners have pondered at some point.
In this guide we'll look at how blogging can help your business, and the easiest way to start a blog on your business website.
How a blog can help your business
1 - Blogging can boost your traffic from search engines
This is perhaps the most commonly known way that blogging can help a business, and it's also one of the most important.
A good business blog can help you secure high rankings for search terms that potential customers are using to find a business like yours.
To do that, you'll need to create in depth articles that cover topics which interest your potential customers.
This involves researching both your potential customers, and the keywords they're using.
You should start by learning about customer personas and how to create them. This will not only help you create better blog content, but it'll also help you do better marketing in general.
You'll also need to get to grips with keyword research, if you haven't already. You can learn about keyword research in this guide.
And remember, any SEO benefits you see from blogging won't be instant - it will take time for you to build up an archive of high-quality posts, and for them to start to rank in search engines. So don't give up if you don't see immediate results.
2 - Blogging can help your social media campaigns
Blogs and social media are often seen as rivals. And although it's true that social media sites have done much to kill of the personal blog, that's not the case for business blogs.
You see although building a large social media following can be desirable for a business, you ultimate aim is to get people on to your website so they can see what you have to offer and become a customer.
On top of this, good blog content will actually help you grow your social media following - if you can show people you're a go-to source for useful information on whatever niche your business blog covers, then they're more likely to hit that follow/like button so they don't miss out.
Just make sure you've carried out the persona research we talked about in step one, as this will help guide your social media marketing as well as your blogging.
3 - Blogging can help your email marketing campaigns
You are investing in email marketing, right? If not, then you're missing out on one of the most lucrative small business marketing channels around.
You learn why email marketing still matters here, but let's talk about where blogging fits in.
There are two ways blogging can help with your email marketing - the first is by providing content which you can use to create a regular newsletter.
You can then send this out to existing and potential customers - doing so will encourage people to visit your site again, and increase the chances of them doing business with you. (Don't forget, you can also include special offers in your newsletter alongside your blog content.)
The second way blogging can help your email marketing is by attracting new sign ups to your newsletter.
If people are finding your blog content via social media and search engines, then you can include a sign up form on your blog posts.
The idea is that potential customers who are interested in what you do, but might not yet be ready to become a customer, will sign up to your newsletter. Then you can keep in touch in the manner we've just talked about.
To do this, you'll need to use email marketing tool such as the one offered by GoDaddy.
If you are using email marketing, just make sure you do so in a way that complies with GDPR.
4 - Blogging helps you keep customers coming back for more
We've already touched on how you can use blog content to help ensure people come back to your website, but you can also use it to help make sure that customers stick with your business.
This works particularly well if you have a product that is complex to use and needs to be periodically renewed.
If this describes your business, then you can use blog content to help educate customers about how to make the most of your products - if they know that, they'll be more likely to renew when the time comes.
Just make sure that you understand the pain points that customers might experience with using your products and/or services, so you can create content that really works for them.
How can I get a blog from my business?
So those are four of the biggest ways blogging can help your business, but how can you actually go about getting one up and running?
Note: We're not going to talk about generating content for your blog in this section, but the actual technical aspect of setting up a blog.
Now, if you're looking to add a blog to your website you'll be in one of two positions - either you'll be building a new site and want to know the best way to include a blog on it, or you'll have an existing website that you want to add a blog to.
The solution to both these situations is pretty similar, but let's address each of them separately starting with the latter.
How can I add a blog to an existing business website?
If you already have an existing website, the options available for adding a blog will depend on the method you used to create your site.
If the site was created for you by a web designer, then you'll likely need to speak to them in order to have blog functionality added to your site, and obviously you will need to pay them for their work.
People in this position, may want to consider a completely new site on a platform that makes blogging easier. It may sound like a big step, but there are plenty advantages to ditching an old website for a new one. This article covers your options for getting a new business website.
If your site was built using a content management system such as WordPress then adding a blog should be a little bit easier. After all, these platforms were designed for blogging in the first place.
Under these circumstances, it's usually possible to add a blog to your site by adjusting your theme's settings, or changing your theme. However, if you're not a confident user of your CMS, you may want to ask your web designer to take a look for you.
If you're using a website builder, then whether you can add a blog will depend on the provider you're using.
The good news is, if you're using GoDaddy's Website Builder then you can quickly and easily add a blog to your website. This guide explains how you can add a blog to your Website Builder site.
If you're using a site builder that doesn't offer blog functionality, you may want to consider switching to one that does.
And if you're wondering how to start a blog for free, you can check out this guide and learn why it isn't the best idea for business blogging.
How can I get a blog if I'm building a new business website?
If you're creating a new business website and you want a blog, then you have two main options - both of which we've touched on above.
The first one is to hire a web designer and include a blog as one of your requirements. If you do this, it's likely your designer will opt for a blog-friendly CMS like WordPress.
Your other main option is to use a website builder like Godaddy's that offers the option of adding an easy-to-use blog section to your website.
