Marketing yourself or your organization online can be tricky. There are so many technologies, tools and platforms available, and so many different people with often times contradictory advice on which areas to focus on and what strategies and tactics you should apply. However, through all this noise, one of the most time-tested and dependable strategies for bringing in more traffic and leads to your website is this: blog regularly.
Some business leaders might balk at such a seemingly mundane idea. After all, didn’t blogs start out as places for moody teenagers to write about their newest crush or favorite band, à la LiveJournal circa 2003? Indeed they did, but much like Twitter, blogs have grown beyond their initial hobbyist beginnings to become a serious marketing tool. Let’s look at their application specifically when it comes to search engine optimization and attracting online traffic.
Why does blogging work?
Now, technically speaking, a blog is nothing more than a series of web pages arranged in a chronological order. Each blog post has its own unique URL or web page address. Internet search engines like Google and Bing spend their days crawling the Internet and indexing all the URLs that they can find. Therefore, each URL on your website is a chance to be indexed by the search engines and to be found by people searching online. So, say one company has a website with about 10 pages: Our Services, About Us, and so on and so on. Their competitor also has a website with about 10 regular website pages as well, but they also have a blog that they update bi-weekly. Since each blog post is technically its own web page with its own unique URL, after one year the second company actually has 114 indexable pages on their website. That means the first company only has 10 chances to be ranked and found on internet searches, but the second company has 114 chances to be found – over 10 times more than the first company!
So where’s the proof?
A great example of the power of blogging comes from my friend Ken Schroeppel, an urban planner in Denver. Ken runs a blog on Denver urban land planning and urban construction projects called Denver Infill. He started it a few years ago as a personal hobby and began posting on it regularly. What he originally thought would be just a fun personal project, however, suddenly exploded into the Denver public scene — his blog now gets 30,000 visitors per month. His blog has won him several awards such as the Downtown Denver Partnership award, the Denver Mayor’s Design award, and two Westword Best of Denver awards. Because of his blog, he is also quoted in the Denver Post and other media outlets. He says strangers will even stop him on the street and say “Hey, you’re the Denver Infill guy, right?” What a great example of the power of blogging.
However, your blog will only be a success if you’re intentional about your subject matter. If you want to be found by people searching for Denver urban land planning, like my friend Ken, then write about Denver urban land planning. If you want to be found by people searching for Denver marketing, then write about Denver marketing. Don’t get on your professional website and write about what you had for lunch (nobody cares), and don’t get on and complain and moan about your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend (like the teenage Livejournal crowd).
Here’s what you do:
- Write out a list of topics that are related to your organization’s products or services, or your professional goals.
- Then sit down, open up your calendar, and plan out a schedule for regularly writing about these topics. Share your perspective on the latest developments in your industry, write answers to some of your customers’ frequently asked questions, and offer tips, advice and resources for people who are interested in the subject matter that you specialize in. Plan on publishing at least once a week.
- Set aside a specific time each week to write your scheduled blog article — say, Wednesday at 9 AM, and hold to that schedule.
This will take some discipline, but then again, what in life doesn’t? Stick with it long enough, and you’re going to start seeing some great results.
Chris Strom runs a Denver marketing company, helping companies who are struggling to build their business online. He regularly writes about web technologies, inbound marketing and other topics on his company blog.
Elena is founder of a technology PR agency that works with startups to billion-dollar companies. She is passionate about helping marketers and small business owners with practical publicity strategies.
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I try to blog as much as possible but with work, family, business and misc., sometimes it’s hard. The last blog was a couple weeks ago but luckily I have over 30 subscribers. I know my blog helps to brand my business so I should get back on it regularly. Thanks for the reminder.
When you get an opportunity visit princesszaria.blogspot.com
I guess the first company only has 10 chances to be ranked and found on internet searches, but the second company has 114 chances to be found – over 10 times more than the first company!
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This semester is the first time I’ve ever started blogging and it was only because starting a blog was a requirement for a class of mine. I’d started one earlier in the summer in hopes of releasing bent up energy and writing about my amazing internship, but then it kind of got forgotten along with my account password.
As I was reading your tips on getting started and what to write about, I literlly could feel myself nodding along with what I was reading. Inside my planner is a day to day breakdown of my blogging agenda. For example, on Mondays and Wednesdays I make a blog post (like I am now, look at me on task!) and Tuesdays and Thursdays I make a blog entry. I’ve been doing this for two reasons, the first being so I don’t forget and then lose points in my class and the second so that I can get into the habit of commenting and posting so as to stay engaged in the blogmosphere.
So thank you for your wonderful tips and I hope they benefit other newbie bloggers like myself out there.
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Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Michelle, I’m glad to hear my tips resonated with you so much. Yes, I think a schedule is really the only way you can maintain a quality blog. If you just rely on your memory to write something “whenever you think of something,” pretty soon you’ll never be writing on anything. I’ve seen it happen with several clients of mine.
I just started my blog also because of a class requirement and I agree with Harrison. The first couple weeks I had a lot of ideas for what I was going to write about each week and didn’t make a editorial calender. But, as the weeks went on, I started running out of ideas and I was scambling for topics to write about. Now that I have made my editorial calender, it makes it much easier on me each week when I sit down to write my next post.
I also like that you said we should set a certain day and time every week to blog because even though I am doing it for my class now, I want to keep writing my blog when the requirement is done and I think the routine of it will help me stay disiplined.
I’m just starting a blog and I think this post has a lot of helpful tips to help make me a better and more efficient blogger. I enjoyed reading the three tips from the “Here’s what you do” section because it’s tough finding time to just sit down and blog.
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I am a PR student who is very interested in social media. I have always wanted to start my own blog, but I’ve never known what to write about. This post helped to put things into perspective for me, showing that it helps to create a schedule of what you are going to talk about ahead of time. This will help me and my wandering mind to focus on a specific topic. I’m thinking about starting a blog that focuses more on PR and social media because these are topics that I’m very interested in! Thanks for the inspiration and advice!
Hi…This is actually very inspirational and I thank you for sharing it to us here…
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Jenna and Sasha – good luck with your new blogs! Be persistent and give yourself the gift of time – it often takes 6 months or more of steady blogging to build a community around you.
My friends are looking for some blogs about this and I think i will recommend this to them…
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This post has a lot of helpful tips to help make me a better and more efficient blogger. I enjoyed reading the three tips from the this.Thanks!
Thanks a lot for the idea of sharing this post to us then…
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This is very inspirational and I hope a lot of people will like this too…
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I am not really that familiar with this post but still, I like reading it…Thanks Stacia…
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I have been using the “blog when I have time” and you know how well that works! Sometimes there’s a month between posts….ugh! I like your approach….now I just have to find time to implement it!
@Danny, I am a software developer and i do blogging as a part time as a hobby, i like to share my views with other and read others thought as well.
These are all really good ideas! I took an online blogging course and besides updating regularly (which is of course important) you can get paid for your blogs. By selling ads, implementing pay-per-clicks, and other forms of marketing to your blog, your hobby can be a professional business.