Why blogs are important for commercial sites

04 February 2009

Used correctly a Blog can be a very powerful marketing tool. Not only do they increase site traffic, they can actively improve how a company is perceived by it’s customers.

The blogging phenomenon

Think blog and you may imagine a diary-type website run by an individual. But blogs come in many shapes and sizes from political blogs to blogs from the BBC. In fact modern blogs can be used to great affect to reconnect with your readership (or clients / customers) on a personal level.

Usually, you can offer a number of options to alert your readership to new content on your blog – Sending out an automated email to everyone who’s commented (you’ll have collected their email address when they made their comment, and of course you’d have gained their permission). You should also offer an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed so they can read your blog in their favourite reader. This means they’ll still see your content without having to visit your site.

Better Marketing

Is your comapany seen as an expert it’s your field, or small-fry? All companies of course want to be thought of as the absolute best at what they do, but without a large marketing budget (and a marketing firm who knows your industry) this can be very hard to achieve.

A blog has the advantage of not only being cost effective (one initial outlay) but it’s written by someone who really knows the ins-and-outs of your particular market – you.

But what do you write about? And how will this drive more sales your way? Let me explain.

What to write about and why

Whatever is relevant to your business and in particular the wider industry. Rather than giving away trade secrets, by sharing information with others in your market sector (and most importantly potential customers) you are setting yourselves up as experts in whatever it is that you do.

If you can provide information that will be used by your suppliers, customers and even your competition, you will quickly build a reputation as the go-to-guys for all things relating to your business.

It’s putting you at the forefront of peoples minds when they think about your particular product or service, which is after all, what successful marketing is all about.

Expanding your reach

Once you’ve become profficiant at writing articles that are useful to other in your industry you may wish to consider writing for other blogs. Popular industry blogs are nearly always looking for contributors, and if you can offer some decent content it’s win-win for both of you: They get new content, and you get increased exposure, and (hopefully) a link back to your website.

A good way to find blogs is search for your business type at Technorati. They’re one of the worlds biggest index of blogs, and list them according to their popularity.

The benefit for SEO

Search Engine’s like websites that are updated often. And what do you do with a blog? Exactly, it’s not rocket science. Keep your blog fresh with relevant information and Google will be all over your site like a rash.

The bottom line

Blogs are an easy and relitivly cheap way of creating some great attarctive content that keeps your visitors (and those search engines) interested then a blog is a must for any business site.