Blog

If you’re in business in 2014, you should have a blog.

No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Yes, it takes time to write good blog posts, and it can sometimes be hard to clearly see the ROI. But, like networking, blogging is something that seems pointless at first, then pays big dividends over time.

Whether you’re an electrician or a high tech startup, blogging provides numerous benefits to your company.

Blogging Increases SEO

SEO is a fancy way of saying your website is more visible to Google. If Google knows where you are, you’re more likely to come up in search results for your keywords. Ranking on the first page of Google will significantly increase traffic to your website, which will in turn increase business.

You might be thinking that a simple website explaining your business is enough. Why do you need a blog, exactly?

The Google search bots like having new pages to visit. Every new piece of content will get indexed on Google, and the more your company is indexed, the more authoritative you will appear.

Again, the more Google likes you, the more traffic your site will get. Because Google likes new content, the best way to get the search engine’s attention is to consistently blog about your industry.

Blogging Increases Expertise

Another reason to blog is to increase the thought leadership of your company’s key players.

In days gone by, experts were people who worked for years in an industry before writing a book about their experiences. Then they toured the country talking about their expertise or became professors in their field.

Today, experts are the loudest people on the Internet. Sad, but true, and if you want your company to get attention, you have to play the game.

Blogging on topics within your industry will increase your image as an expert in your field. If you’re an expert, people will trust you and want to do business with you.

How to Blog When You Can’t (Won’t) Write

Okay, I’ve scared you with words like “SEO” and “thought leadership.”

But, really, for the majority of companies, blogging doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are a few tips to get started.

• Just write. Think like one of your customers, who will definitely know less about your industry than you do. Focus on giving them advice and tips that will help them in their personal and professional goals.

• Be consistent. Once or twice a month or five times a week. It doesn’t really matter as long as you consistently produce something.

• Use beginner guides like Neil Patel’s to do basic SEO on your own. You can learn the very simplest tenets of SEO to get started.

• Consider hiring experts. A content strategist and/or SEO expert will be able to get your blog up and running--and effective--much faster than if you’re teaching yourself from scratch. You’ll be surprised at how reasonably priced such expertise can be, especially considering the level of return you’re likely to see.

There’s no way around it. In today’s economy, the loudest voice wins, and if you aren’t blogging you’re basically the quiet kid in the back of the class.

It’s time to speak up.