Many business owners wonder if a blog is really worth it?
I understand the sentiment behind this. A blog is quite a bit of continuous work, adding content every month or so, and maybe not seeing any “visible” benefit for months or years down the line. The thing is, though, for most businesses, having a blog on your WordPress business website can be hugely beneficial to grow trust and visibility.
In this blog post, we’ll discover whether having one is a good choice for your business.
What is (and is not) a Blog
A blog used to be used as a kind of diary or journal on a website, with most people not paying much attention to the dates, categories and tags added because it was something new and they wanted to share their story of the world.
But, for a business, it’s different. A blog on your business website is a platform for you to share stories with your current and potential customers/clients about your brand, business, and team. Sharing who you are, what you’re currently working on, and any recent wins you’ve had. People buy from people, and it’s important to show that in your blog posts.
What can blogs be about?
There are a few different types of blog posts that you can post on your business website, some include:
- In-depth articles
- Guides
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Industry updates
- Case studies
- Updates about your team, culture & adventures
A business blog essentially serves as an extension of your brand’s website, helping to attract and educate potential customers and clients.
An important thing about the blog though, is that it makes good sense to keep it updated regularly. That doesn’t mean every week or every month without fail, it means a regular flow of new posts being published.
That’s why some businesses have content calendars they stick to that include blog posts and social media posts. You can always have the blog post as your main piece of content that can then be repurposed into social media posts, etc.
Key Benefits of Having a Blog
There are numerous benefits to having a blog on your business website.
Boosts your (SEO) search engine rankings
If you want to show up in Google & Bing for potential customers who are searching for help, then blog posts will help. By writing posts on different topics in your niche, you indicate to the search engines that you’re an authority on the topic, and it may then start to rank you in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) for longer terms that your customers are searching for, and even include you in LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT, Grok & Perplexity.
Builds trust & authority
You show off your expertise in your niche and industry, which then signals to a reader that you know what you’re talking about. That might be educating them with something they wanted to learn more about or demonstrating how something works: showing by doing/telling a story can be a great way to build trust & authority.
This also has the impact that you become the “go-to” person in your industry, and may attract links and mentions from other websites and blogs.
Answer customers’ questions
An FAQ-style blog post can pre-emptively handle lots of questions from potential customers. You’ll have been asked lots of questions in one way or another many different times: it might be best to put all of these into a blog post and answer them for individuals who have those questions.
The great thing is that you can update this post every now and then when other frequently asked questions arise, which signals to search engines that the content is fresh and you’re being responsible by keeping it up to date.
This can also make sales conversations easier because when those potential clients come to you, they will already trust that you’re an expert in your field.
Drives long-term traffic
Having more eyeballs on you, your brand and your business is usually what you want. Well, especially if your blog posts are aimed at your target market and speak their language. When you write a blog post that is correctly worded, configured and written in your brand’s “voice”, it can attract people searching for what you’re writing about and convert those visitors into leads (that you can then turn into potential customers).
Unlike when you run ads, as soon as you’ve reached the end of your budget or you decide to stop spending traffic, blog posts will continue to attract visitors to your website to learn more about a given topic and to potentially make a purchase.
Provides content for email & social media
Repurposing content makes sense: create one piece and then use snippets from that content on other platforms, as well as promoting the original content on those other platforms (such as social media). You could repurpose a blog post by recording a video too, configuring it, and publishing it to YouTube. Videos, like blog posts, will work much better if they’re correctly optimised.
You can also link to and use the blog post content in your email marketing efforts, such as in a newsletter or a monthly update to customers.
Helps you stand out from the competition
Lots of different brands and businesses are going after the same (or similar) pools of people? That means you need to stand out above the rest. A blog with lots of different types of information on can help you do that.
One other advantage is that many smaller businesses don’t write blog posts – or do for short bursts then give up – which means you can steal the advantage over your competition and attract those ideal customers to work with you.
When You Don’t Need a Blog
There are times when it doesn’t make sense to have a blog on your business website. Such cases, like your site is a brochure site or a landing page, and you don’t have a long-term marketing plan. In that case, it doesn’t make sense to have one because you don’t have any direction on where you want to go.
If you don’t have the time or resources to do regular updates (once a month or a few times a quarter), then it doesn’t make sense to have one at all.
If your target audience, in the rare instances, doesn’t look online for content about what you’re selling to them, then it’s also not worth it with blog posts. However, this exception is usually extremely rare.
Best Practices to Start a Blog
If you’ve decided that it makes sense to start a blog on your business website, then here are some best practices you should be implementing.
Write for your customers, not other businesses
Lots of times, companies (especially those with a few people in C-suite) want a blog to become one better than the competition. Don’t do this. Write and publish the content for your customers or clients: to share insights, experiences, lessons learned, and stories that will resonate with them (your customer avatar).
Focus on simple, helpful & practical content
Think about what your potential customers or clients are thinking about before they decide to buy what you have on offer, or are looking for more information on a solution to their problem. What are they wanting answers to? This will help you come up with content ideas that are simple, straight-forward, and helpful to the reader.
Consistency beats volume
Posting once a month is better than posting once a week for six weeks and then giving up because you didn’t see any traction from what you published. Gaining meaningful feedback on your business blog posts will take time. If you commit to one post a month for 12 to 18 months, then that gives you the time and consistency to show up and signal to both people and search engines that you’re around and worth reading.
Always include a call to action
If you’re writing a blog, then it’s going to be for a reason. Usually, it’s to promote your business so that potential customers reach out to you to work together or make a purchase. So, it’s important to include a clear CTA (Call to Action) that specifies what you want readers to do after they’ve finished reading the post.
A CTA could be to download a lead magnet (such as a PDF, report, or case study) so that you can add them to your email marketing list and sell to them down the line, a Click-to-Call button to speak with you directly, or a link to a contact or consultation form.
Whatever one you decide to use, ensure you make it clear for the reader.
Finishing Thoughts
A business blog isn’t “mandatory”, but it does have a huge number of benefits, including being found more in search engines and building trust with potential customers.
Having a blog with a CTA that will encourage them to sign up to an email list is still one of the most effective ways to grow your business over time. It certainly isn’t fast and requires some perseverance, but it will pay off in the long run and is cost-effective.
If you want a more substantial SEO footprint, having a blog will help you achieve that by bringing in more eyes to your content, building trust, and ultimately encouraging your target audience to take action and connect with your business.
Not sure what to write about on your business blog and want someone to help you plan it all out? We can help you attract the right customers and position you as the experts in your industry, reach out today.
