Blogs are sometimes dismissed by businesses as an unnecessary part of a website and just an additional hassle, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Any website should be designed exceptionally well and should have a blog!

What is content marketing and how is it part of good website design?

Content marketing is a strategy used to create and share content and information which your target audience will value highly. It helps establish you as an authority in your field and builds a strong following and trust in what you have to say. It will ultimately lead to an increase in website traffic and therefore sales without the traditional ‘hard sell’ techniques.

This is where your blog will start to shine, you’re putting your content in front of your prospective customers for them to find online as opposed to the traditional method of cold calling or advertising. It’s getting your audience to come to you (inbound marketing) as opposed to you trying to find the audience and going to them (outbound marketing).

Top reasons why your website needs a blog

Now we know why content marketing is important, let’s delve a little deeper and understand why this is so crucial for a blog and why your website should have one. It’s especially important if you rely on your website to bring you leads.

More potential leads to be found means more business

The majority of websites for small businesses may consist of around 8-10 pages, which include essential pages like a homepage, an about us page, services pages and a contact page. This, however, may not be enough to get found in online searches by your potential customers meaning you’re missing out. This is where a blog steps in to fill the void and bridges the gap.

Each blog post that you publish is another page on your website that gets indexed and understood by Google and other search engines. It’s another chance for your website to get found in results, likewise more chances equals more sales.

Blog posts should be engaging, informative and should aim to answer questions especially with your customers. This is done in the hope that your customers are searching for solutions online to common issues they have, if you have a blog that answers these questions then there is a strong chance the page will be found. Of course, these pages need to have great SEO, but that should already be part of any good website design.

Blogs are core to your social media activity

Your new customer is undoubtedly already using social media, 40% of the world’s population already does, therefore, your business needs to use it too.

Adding links to your blog posts in social media will help you get found and encourage likes and shares. The main goal here is that your ideal customer will see your social media post, click back to your blog to read it and is now aware of you as a business and likes what they see.

If your website only has a few pages trying to “sell the benefits” of who you are then you can only share these a few times before they get stale. Blogs enable you to push fresh content to the world, get you more followers and larger audiences for future blog posts.

Good website design with a blog will give your audience more to consider

Your website may be well crafted, but sometimes visitors need that little extra to help then make a decision on whether to use your business. The essential pages on your website may not be enough on their own. They may need to be further convinced that you know your stuff, are a company to be trusted or may just want to get to know you a little better.

Regular blog posts can help with this, they will also allow a visitor to spend more time on your website and really get to know your thinking, methodology and your knowledge. A visitor with a better understanding of your business is more likely to trust in you and what you have to offer.

Know your subject and your audience will respond

People are social creatures, they like to share thoughts and knowledge with their peers, friends and contacts. By having a good website design coupled with an informative blog, your visitors are highly likely to comment on and share your posts. Think of this as a great online networking opportunity.

Your blog readers may well be impressed on the help and insight you’ve provided and get in touch with you. They may not want to buy from you now but you’re already in their mind and will hopefully keep coming back as your content is top notch.

No one likes to be sold to

As we’ve previously mentioned, blogs need to useful and of value the reader. Try not to talk about how awesome you are, done in the right way your blog can self promote without being too ‘salesy’. Talking about accolades you’ve achieved, great projects you’ve just completed or how you have helped a client are fine. Try not to do the “Buy this product now it will save your business” it’s way to direct!

Blogs will boost your SEO and help with ranking

Regularly published content, on your website and on your blog, will encourage search engines to visit your website more often. This means that you can get your content to your audience fast and be found in search results much better compared to a website which has lain dormant for months.

This super great blog content that you have published also allows other websites to link to it. This is known as backlinking (link to backlinks page). Backlinks are a great way search engines validate you’re a great source of information which people can trust. The more backlinks you have (other sites linking to your blog and your website) from reliable sources will help Google and other search engines to understand you’re reputable and should reward you with stronger ranking positions.