The benefits of a blog go beyond just have something of interest for visitors to your website to read. A blog supports other aspects of digital marketing as well.
Fresh content
Google likes regularly updated websites. New and updated pages are a signal to Google and other search engines that your website is active.
Every time you add a new blog post, that’s another opportunity for Google to find your website in an organic search.
Conversions
Topics covered in a well-managed blog are designed specifically to be of interest to your target market. They can help attract the right people – qualified leads – to your site, making conversions more likely.
At the same time, blog posts offer an opportunity for calls to action (CTAs). A blog that relates in some way to a product, for example, can include a button, prompting visitors to link to the relevant product page. This makes it much easier for interested readers to convert into buyers.
Keywords
Blogging gives you the opportunity to hit specific keywords, in order to improve search engine rankings. In fact, blog topics are often planned based on keywords that analytics reveal people are commonly using in searches.
For example, if a lot of people are searching for “striped beanies”, a clothing company might publish a blog on beanies, making sure to use “striped beanies” at appropriate points in the content.
Inbound links
Having authoritative blogs on your website increases your chances of other articles, websites and blogs linking back to your content. These links improve your site’s authority – leading search engines to rank it higher in search results – and open up new avenues for visitors to find their way to your site.
Images
Blog posts often include images, to add to their appeal and make them easier to read. In addition, these images can have SEO benefits. The name of each image file, its description and alt text can all include keywords that make your content easier to find – and that makes Google happy, contributing to higher rankings.
Examples of good company blogs
Here are just a few examples of good company blogs and why they work.
Spatula – Yuppiechef
You can’t really go wrong with food but Yuppichef’s blog, Spatula, keeps it interesting with delicious recipes, product tests, how-tos and even seasonal wallpapers.
The content is informative and uses high-quality photographs. They also have a lot of in-depth evergreen content, which is great for compounding posts. A good example is Why Bone Broths Are Better for Your Budget.
Intercom’s blog has a good mix of topics and formats. Some of the blogs are long form, others are a shorter read and some are podcasts or videos. The blog posts tend to have intriguing titles and to use good supporting graphics that make them easier for readers to understand. A good example is Killer User Onboarding Starts with a Story.
Superbalist’s blog, The Way of Us, is very visual in nature. The blog posts include excellent CTAs, which makes sense because most of the posts are about clothing or fashion labels that you can buy on the site.
Some of the blog posts are quite long but they are always supported with plenty of photos and sometimes with video. A great example is How to Style the Puma Thunder Spectra.
Chase has found its niche in articles about achieving financial security. It’s particularly good at creating content that’s informative but also easy to digest. The blog posts are supported by good photos, videos or graphics. Also, we really like the way scrolling to the bottom of an article automatically takes you to the next blog after the CTA. Check How To Shop Like a Food Editor as a good example.
Content marketing with Gnu World
Gnu World offers expert content marketing. We’ll make sure that your blog is frequently updated with high-quality content that’s written and edited by professionals, and properly optimised for search engines.
Contact us to find out more about our services or to discuss your digital and content marketing needs.
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