10 Reasons Why Blogging Is Important

Every business can benefit from having a blog.

Yes, even yours.

I’m sure you’ve been told this before (probably many times before). Perhaps you’re part of the 43% of businesses who either don’t have a blog, or don’t understand why blogging is important (1). 

So why is blogging important?

With the rise of social media, many mistakenly assume that blogging is dead, or dying. But it couldn’t be further from the truth. 

With 77% of internet users reading blogs regularly, blogging is still alive and thriving.

55% of businesses (yes, that includes your competitors) use blogging as their #1 content marketing strategy. Unlike social media, a quality well-written blog post will continue to provide you with benefits long after it’s published. 

Here are ten reasons why blogging is important and how blogs can play a vital role in the success of your content marketing strategy.

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1. Creates brand awareness

Believe it or not, not everybody uses the internet solely to search for businesses. 

In fact, most searches are to find information to answer the user’s question. 

You need to write blog posts that provide the information that your customers are searching for. This is a great way to broaden your site visitors beyond the people who are specifically searching for your business while still keeping within your target audience. 

2. Proves your expertise

With so many options available to your clients, the best way to stand out from the crowd is to be an expert. 

I don’t mean just writing ‘we’re the best X-Business in Y-City!’ on your website – anybody can do that. 

You have to show them.  

One of the best ways to do this is by writing a blog that shares your expertise in the field and your unique take on topics.

If you can genuinely help and provide value to your audience, they’ll begin to trust you as a credible source, and you’ll quickly become their ‘go-to’ resource. 

Your customers will feel a lot more confident buying from you if you can prove your credibility.

3. Educate over selling

The days of using flashy ‘buy nows’ as a marketing strategy are over. People are more likely to survive a plane crash than they are to click on your banner ad! (2).

Many marketers have instead opted for a strategy to help and provide value to their customers. 

You can use blogs to educate your audience about something that interests them and then find a way to link it back to your business. Perhaps you’re the solution to the problems they’ve been facing? 

For example, pretend you’re a nutritionist and you publish a blog on how to get the perfect summer body. You could use it as an opportunity to slip in a few sentences about your own business. While you’re not explicitly promoting your services, you’re providing them with valuable information which could inspire conversions.

4. Boost your search rankings

If you want to rank higher in search engines, you need to answer your clients’ questions. What’s the best way to do that? A blog! 

Google ranks content based on what it thinks is informative and valuable to its users. If you maintain a blog which can help inform and educate your target audience, you’ll start to see your website climb to the top search results.

Google also loves fresh content. The more you post, the more chances you get to improve your SEO. In fact, websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages than those without blogs (3) that’s 434% more opportunities to rank!

5. Broaden your SEO keywords

Blogging is a great opportunity to target for all those niche or long-tailed keywords that your website wouldn’t rank for otherwise. 

For example, if you ran a business selling CBD for medicinal purposes, you could target keywords like ‘chronic pain relief’ on your website. In a blog, you could go into the specifics, targeting more keywords on what type of pain, whether it’s migraines, arthritis, or cancer treatment. 

Using blogs to broaden your keywords increases the amount of keywords and search queries your website can rank for on Google. This makes it easier for potential customers to find you!

6. Inspire your social media

Every blog post you publish can be shared to social media. This is not only a great way to fill in your social media calendar, but it’ll also help drive more visitors to your website. 

Additionally, the more blog posts you publish, the more opportunities you’re providing for your readers to share your content. It’s free advertising and will create more awareness around your brand, and credibility.

7. Grow your email list 

We all know that email lists are where the conversions are at. Email lists remind your customers you exist. Not everybody needs your product now, but when they do, you’ll be the first name they think of. 

But how can you persuade more people to subscribe to your emailing list? 

A blog!

You can use your blog to push people to subscribe to your emailing list. 

If readers find your blog posts enjoyable to read, they’ll trust that your email newsletters will be too.

8. Humanize your business

With so many businesses trying to appear professional on the internet, it’s easy for customers to forget that there are real people, on the other end.

This is where smaller businesses can have an edge over larger competitors. As a smaller business, you can take advantage of blogging as the personality of your business. This will promote trust, and help you develop a personal connection with your clients.

9. Generate leads years after publishing

With the rise of social media, many businesses are left wondering ‘what is blogging good for anymore?’ 

Well, let me tell you. 

One of the main benefits of blogging over social media is that it can be found on Google. Social media posts quickly go stagnant down your followers’ feeds. A well-written blog, on the other hand, can stay at the top of Google and continue to provide leads for many years – all for the same amount of work.

10. Collect customer feedback and opinions

Blog posts offer an inviting space for readers to leave any comments, feedback or suggestions about your business. These comments allow you to reflect and understand your customers’ needs. They are a valuable tool to identify areas for improvement.

Even if your customers don’t voice their opinions on your blog, you can still find valuable information in your viewer demographics.  You may also use your analytics to see what types of posts readers enjoy most then create more of them – it is a great way to find new blog topics.

The bottom line

There are many benefits of blogging for businesses. An effective blog can reduce your marketing spend, increase your website traffic and generate new leads.

But above all else, blogging provides value to your reader, helping to build the foundations for strong customer relationships.