Blog content: something is NOT better than nothing.
This month we’ve been talking about blog content – who should write the blog posts on your small business website? And is your current blog content a waste of time?
And if you’re not blogging on your website, you should be. It’s simply not enough to have a static website anymore.
Google wants you to keep your site up-to-date and in case you haven’t heard, Google is basically the CEO of the Internet (Bing, Yahoo equivalent of line managers).
When it comes to blog content, something is NOT better than nothing. Your blog posts should be professional, keyword-focused, relevant and informative. If words are not your forte, you are not alone, and our SEO copywriting service in Geelong will help.
Websites built by GOOP have a blogging function installed as standard practice. Why? Because blogging on your website is the most effective way to market your products and services online and boost your website’s organic – unpaid – visibility in Google’s search results. We believe once you have a website that works, blogging on your site should be the next priority. However, your blogs need to effective, otherwise they’re a waste of time.
We recommend adding a minimum of one strategic blog post per month, but of course the more often you blog, the better your results can be! If you are a small business owner, who should you get to write your blog posts?
- the receptionist, because he/she has spare time between answering phones and greeting clients?
- your son or daughter, because they are tech-savvy and will be able to navigate your website with ease?
- your husband or wife who does the bookkeeping each month?
- the IT person, because they understand how to navigate your website’s Content Management System (CMS)?
- the creative person in the business, because they’ll write creative content?
The truth is, who writes your blog posts is not the issue, what matters is you put in a bit of planning and make sure the person writing the posts is accountable. Quite often business owners send staff in for website and blog training and when we ask if they are going to be blogging on a consistent basis as part of their job, we get “I guess so.”
The expectations aren’t clear and this is usually because business owners don’t understand the importance of blogging. Let us tell you again, it’s really damn important. Set some parameters and make it happen.
Regardless of who writes your blog posts, you as the business owner need to check the following:
- the content is relevant to your business
- the content is not repetitive or duplicate, it should be original and informative
- the content is enriched with keywords, i.e. “wedding photographer Geelong”
- content includes high-quality and relevant links.
As the business owner, no one knows as much about your business as you do. Therefore, you are the best person to write your blog posts. The reality is that many small business owners are simply too busy to blog consistently and effectively. With that in mind, we do have some tips for choosing someone to write your blog posts for you:
- make sure they are writing to promote the business, not themselves – personal agendas do not belong on business websites!
- make sure they are a positive advocate for your business, capable of projecting a professional and friendly voice at all times
- make sure the person has a broad understanding of your business as a whole, i.e. who does what, why and where
- make sure the person is reliable and will remember to publish content consistently
- make sure the person understands your business’s overall online marketing strategy and will work within this.
We always say you don’t need to be a professional writer or author to write blogs and it’s true, but in saying that ‘putting up something’ without paying attention to our tips and guidelines will be a waste of your time, and we know you don’t have much! Take the time to have training, follow-up training and practice. If it’s not for you don’t persist. Time is money – you might be better off keeping your time but spending some money. Our experience is the benefit outweighs the cost!
If you simply don’t have the time, interest or staff to write effective blog posts on your website, GOOP can write and publish strategic monthly blog posts for you. Take advantage of our SEO copywriting service in Geelong and get back to doing what you do best – running your business.