So there is a lot of talk out there these days about the importance of blogging as a key part of your internet marketing strategy. I know we talk about blogging just about every day here at the Bubble, where we are blogging like crazy and often helping our clients to blog when they are too overworked to keep up on regular writing. The team here at the Bubble has moved to the place where they are now requiring all of us to blog. Personally, I liked it better when it was the boss’s job (just sayin’), but due to the central role of blogging in developing your online presence, the team has decided all of us should get to play!
If I can do it
So, as if to hassle me (the co-owner of the company and wife of the boss), the team assigned my first blog topic to be “why blog?” I think they are pretty snarky since they know I have been successfully avoiding the writing game for a long time, but they insist they are innocent. Having said that, it is true and I confess to you all, that what you are reading (and I do hope someone is reading!) is my very first blog. You have to start somewhere, right? At least that’s what we keep telling our clients! All I know is that if I can do it, you can do it.
Why knowing the “why” matters
So let’s get down to it. The question at hand is why blog? Why does it matter so much and what part does it play in your internet marketing strategy? If you are entertaining the idea of starting a blog, I would suggest that you absolutely have to be able to answer the “why blog” question very quickly. The fact is that if you don’t it will be difficult to either initiate or maintain the discipline of blogging when there are so many other things you could be doing with your time. Believe me; I know this from vast amounts of personal experience.
If you’re ready to get the question stuck in your head so you can’t avoid it, check out the YouTube video here called “To Blog or Not to Blog.” At the very least the tune will haunt you!
A New Web Page Every Time You Blog!
There are a handful of possible answers to the question why blog, but I want to start with what we see as a fundamental reason. A blog is the best place to have consistently updated content which makes you more valuable online. Did you know that every blog is a new webpage? That means you have a better chance of ranking on search engines and a better shot at attracting your customers with content they are looking for right now. No matter what market you are in there is a ton of competition, and nowhere is that competition fiercer than on the internet. Your goal in internet marketing is to make sure that your prospective customers can find you when they are searching for what you are offering. The simple fact is that search engines rank websites that have regularly changing content more highly than websites that are static. I am guessing that you don’t want to change the marketing copy you have on your website very often, so blogging is the best way to give the search engines what they want.
Search Engines’ Love Affair with Blogs
I know, love affair seems a bit of a stretch, but the reality is that search engines really do love blogs. There are several key reasons:
- We already alluded to this above, but blogs give fresh content in a way that makes sense and the search engines are all about fresh, relevant content that answers the questions people are asking online.
- Blogs are usually designed in a simpler format than regular webpages, making it easy for the spiders to work through and catalogue the information. No messy flash or jquery or weird code gets in the way, just nice simple HTML text.
- A lot of the search engines love blogs so much that they have created a specific blog search that only searches blogs for information…now that is a love affair!
The way things are being structured out there, the chances of being found online without a blog are dwindling moment by moment. Can you really afford not to have a blog?
So what is stopping you?
We recognize that starting a blog can be a daunting task, but if you really want to be found on the internet and have all your hard work pay off, we would suggest that you lean in to the reality that for the foreseeable future, blogging has to become a key part of your online strategy. Whether you tackle it yourself, or hire an internet marketing company like ours to help you generate content and stay on target, one answer to the “why blog” question is a simple one. If you don’t blog, you won’t be found online.
Leave us a comment and tell us, what roadblocks are keeping you from blogging?
Read our related articles:
Why Blog: It’s a Man’s Best Friend
Why Blog? Yahoo Spends $1.1 Billion Because Blogging is Big Business
