With the rise of online businesses, the marketplace is as competitive as ever. Companies constantly seek a way to stand out, and one of the answers is blogging or content creation. This is why the question “Does blog help SEO?”, has been posed by entrepreneurs and marketers alike.
This article will delve deep into the benefits that a blog brings, not only in terms of SEO but in businesses in general. Here are 17 ways blogging benefits businesses, but first let’s discuss whether blogging really helps SEO.
Does Blogging Help SEO?
Yes, blogging helps SEO. Regularly publishing blogs provides fresh content and valuable information which search engines favor. It not only increases the number of keywords present on a website but also enhances a site’s authority, all of which boosts search engine rankings.
Related: Blogging Vs Vlogging: Which One is the Best for You?
17 Ways That Blogging Helps Businesses
Blog posts are not only helpful in the eyes of search engines, but they play a major role in today’s online businesses too. Let’s dive into it!
1. Boosts More Organic Traffic
Blogging is one of the best strategies for businesses to increase organic traffic. With each single blog post that you publish, you increase the chance of your site appearing in search engine results pages. This offers more opportunities for your target audience to know about your brand.
When a company publishes high-quality content or blog posts regularly, over time the business will build a considerable amount of indexed pages on the website that can serve helpful and valuable information across the search engines, establishing the website as a go-to resource in its niche and drawing more organic traffic.
Related: Top 7 Tips on How to Make Your Business Stand Out
2. Converts Traffic to Leads
Once a business starts generating some organic traffic from their blog posts. The next step is to turn this traffic into leads and actual conversions. Each blog article will serve as a gateway for potential customers to purchase a product or service. By embedding clear call-to-action elements within the blog, it will be an automatic lead-generation machine for your business.
Incorporating long-tail keywords in your blog SEO can also boost the conversion from the leads created by the blog post. By creating in-depth content revolving around a few target keywords, readers of that specific search query can be more inclined to purchase from your brand.
3. Builds Brand Awareness
In the world of business, maintaining a strong online presence is vital for a company’s success. One of the best ways to establish a strong online presence is through blogging and content creation. Regularly publishing blog posts, not only showcases the brand’s expertise but keeps them at the forefront of the customer’s mind.
This is called brand awareness when your target audience has discovered your company and the product and service that you are offering. The next step will be for them to take an interest in your brand and the value you bring, which will affect their decision on future actions such as purchasing a related product or service.
Related: 7 Proven Techniques to Boost Your Digital Branding Strategy
4. Attracts Backlinks
Another way blogging helps SEO and ultimately grow their business is by attracting backlinks from reputable websites. Backlinks are not simply external links back to your site or article. It signals search engines that the information that you publish is reliable and high-quality, and that other industry brands trust your content and use your site as a source of knowledge. Over time, this will grow your brand’s credibility, boosting your company’s visibility in search results.
5. Establishes Authority
Consistently blogging establishes a brand as a leader in its niche. When the company takes the initiative to create content that answers related search queries, it can demonstrate its expertise on the subject and be one of the go-to resources for that industry. It was mentioned above that it can attract backlinks, which is one of the fundamental qualities of an authoritative site. As specified with more websites trust your information, the higher your brand’s credibility will be.
Over time, both search engines and readers begin to view your brand as a trusted source of information. This can lead to more engagements, by sharing and commenting on the article, or by appearing more prominently on Google search and other search engines.
6. Drives Long-Term Results
One of the most significant benefits of blogging for both SEO and businesses is its long-term impact. After publishing optimized blog posts, it will continue to attract visitors for months and even years after its initial release. And if the article is an evergreen content, it can be sustained for even longer. Consistent maintenance to update information or add content might be necessary to maintain higher search engine rankings. With more pages of blog content being published, the higher the potential for businesses to have a longer lifespan.
7. Positions as a Thought Leader
In an age where information is abundant, posting high-quality content that has a unique perspective and insights will make a brand stand out. It is not just about publishing blog posts, it is about crafting well-researched, in-depth, and topical articles that can position a brand to be a thought leader, and not just a company that goes along the trends. It creates it.
8. Encourages Conversations
An engaging and insightful blog post not only provides information but also sparks dialogue. By publishing relatable content, provocative ideas, posting questions, or addressing industry challenges, businesses can create a platform that encourages readers to like, comment, and share the articles.
These conversations created by the blog posts will result in multiple benefits for your business such as increased brand visibility, valuable feedback and reviews from readers, and a strengthened connection with your customers, which can foster brand loyalty.
9. Fosters Community Engagement
Building a community around a brand is a powerful way to ensure long-term success, and one of the best ways to do this is by publishing content. It has to be an article that stimulates engagement from your audience and encourages readers to share their own stories and address common challenges.
As the community interacts with your articles, whether it is by leaving comments, sharing the content, or following your brand, they become more invested in your brand’s journey. In other words, publishing relatable content builds emotional connections and long-term relationships with your audience.
10. Enhances Social Media Strategy
Although social media has no direct effect on search engine rankings, it does have indirect impacts such as driving more traffic to the web pages, amplifying content reach, and boosting brand visibility. When your brand’s content is shared on social media, it can be seen and engaged with a lot more audience that are active on that specific platform.
Social media platforms also serve as a free endorsement for your content. Once an article becomes viral after publishing on one of these social platforms, it can result in an increase in backlinks as other websites references the original post and discuss the content. In the long run, the combination of blogging and social media marketing will enhance a brand’s digital footprint.
11. Supports Email Marketing
Email marketing is still one of the best ways to have direct communication with your readers and followers. Every blog post you publish is an opportunity for your brand to update your audience with valuable information related to your niche or industry, in which they are also interested. This also drives traffic to your website, and enhances your relationship with your readers, making them more likely to purchase your product or service.
12. Facilitates Longer Website Visits
The duration of your audience’s website visits plays a crucial role in SEO. It can also be called ‘dwell time’, it refers to how long your audience stays on the web page they clicked without going back to the search results pages. This signals Google and other search engines if your content answers the search queries properly, or if it is high-quality where users spend more time reading its content.
Blogging, when done correctly can significantly increase dwell time, allowing your readers to discover and know more about your brand on your website. They will have more chances to encounter internal links or call-to-action elements if they spend more time on your blog post.
Related: The Ultimate Top 5 Website Marketing Strategies for Entrepreneurs
13. Expands Keyword Lists
Ranking on more keywords means an increase in visibility for brands. Blogging plays a central role in this benefit because more content means more opportunities to include target keywords. These could range from long-tail keywords to questions and phrases that potential customers might use in their searches.
As companies publish more articles and blog posts, their keyword lists also expand. Potentially ranking on more search results pages. Thus, regular blogging helps a brand’s keyword strategy without using keyword stuffing on a few pages of their website.
14. Enhances Internal Links
Internal linking is an integral part of SEO. It gives structure to your website and its different pages. By having a more structured website, search engines can easily crawl your content and allow it to be seen and rank in search results. Blogging naturally facilitates this internal linking process, because each time you publish a blog post, it provides an opportunity to link to other articles that can be related or provide additional information to your readers. So, do not forget to include a few internal links whenever you are writing content for your brand.
15. Improves Website Freshness
Search engines, especially Google, place a significant value on blog posts or articles that provide new and fresh content to their readers. Also, websites that regularly publish blog posts signal that they are alive, running, and up-to-date with all the new information and trends in their industry.
This frequent content creation also helps in boosting regular indexing of pages, because it gives search engines more reason to visit the website. Updating old articles with fresher content also helps, as it enhances the accuracy of the information you are providing to your readers. Overall, ensuring website freshness through regular blogging is a great strategy for businesses to remain visible and relevant in search engine results.
16. Bypassing Paywalls and Closed Platforms
Certain platforms and websites do not allow access to valuable information to those who are not willing to pay. Blogging offers a way to bypass these limitations. By offering free sample content to readers, brands can establish trust and credibility with their audience first before offering them the paid version of their information. Moreover, by publishing more content on their platforms without a paywall, brands can reach potential customers who might be more inclined to pay the price of accessing their products or services.
17. Predicting Market Trends
The rise of technology and the economy results in an ever-evolving marketplace. These come with new trends and consumer behavior. By regularly blogging, businesses can adapt to these changes by analyzing their own audience, their feedback, comments, and engagement metrics. These offer valuable insights about their niche and market.
For example, a sudden increase in website traffic on a specific blog post means its topic is relevant to the current market, and that there is a growing trend or interest in that area. In essence, regular blogging serves as a predictive tool and a platform to position your brand ahead of the competition by staying adaptive and responsive as the market changes.
Final Thoughts
Blogging isn’t just a medium for sharing information; it is a strategic method that businesses can use to enhance their brand’s visibility, foster relationships with target audience, and position the company as an industry leader. In summary, even if technology and market trends change, the value of high-quality and genuine articles that provide information and unique insights to their readers will remain consistent, making blogging an ever-relevant tool for businesses to grow and succeed.
As a professional web and software developer, the author possesses a strong foundational background in Computer Science. This equips him with both academic rigor and practical insights into the world of web-based entrepreneurship. As the founder of this platform, webpreneurships.com, he stands at the intersection of technology and business.