Small Business Website Blog | Why you need one NOW!

Your business website needs a blog. This is especially true since the arrival of the latest Google Panda and Penguin algorithm updates.

The issue is that the search engine results pages (SERPS) have become increasingly competitive even for relatively unimportant keywords and key phrases. Additionally, it has become difficult for Google to discern between legitimate, professional websites and irrelevant, spammy websites.

So the answer has been wholesale changes to the Google algorithm in order to attempt to remove spammy sites and to reward less those sites that are deemed to be relatively static. I.e. websites that are not developed and added to on a fairly regular basis.

We are all very pleased to see irrelevant and spammy websites removed from the SERPS, but those of us with legitimate websites are still likely to lose out unless we adopt a procedure for regularly adding to and developing our websites. Namely, a blog.

Let’s take a wider look at blogs and set out some of the major advantages.

• Fresh content. As mentioned above, the search engines want to see new and fresh content. A blog provides a very simple and time efficient way for business owners to add their own content without having to involve their Webmasters.

• Search rankings. Every time a new page (blog post) is added to your website then that page stands a chance of being presented in the SERPS and hence driving new traffic to your website. Additionally (and very importantly) the more pages your website has the more authority your whole website is given by the search engines. As a consequence, all pages of your website will gain an improvement in rankings.

• Credibility. The more you are able to explain to visitors to your website it stands to reason that your credibility will be enhanced. If you can take the time to explain a range of issues in a succinct manner then your potential customer will feel confident you are indeed an expert in your field.

• Wide range of topics. A blog can be constantly moulded to take on board new areas of discussion you wish to pursue. This would be difficult on your main website due to the relative navigational constraints. There is no such hindrance with blogs and so anything that appears related to your marketplace can be discussed at the drop of hat. This is particularly relevant when discussing new developments or news stories.

• Debate. You have a choice, you can either run a blog which allows comments from 3rd parties – or not. It does take more effort to manage such discussions not least because of the high proportion of spam! However, with sufficiently robust systems and a little more effort you can engage in ongoing debates and conversations with third parties on your website blog. And remember, every time a third party comments on your website they are contributing to its overall content and increasing its authority with the search engines.

• Broadcasting. It’s remarkable how often a simple blog post explaining a particular issue can be picked up by a number of readers and simply broadcast around the Internet. This might gain new new customers or it might gain you new links to your particular blog post.

• Thinking out of the box. Writing articles on subjects slightly offbeat can take you into business areas that you may not have considered before. Regular blog posting therefore keep you alert to changes or opportunities within your own marketplace.

These are, as we see it, the major reasons why you should set up a blog for a website as soon as possible. There are of course a great many other considerations such as how they intertwine with the various social media, but that is a discussion for another time!

What do you think? Post your comments and own experiences below . . . . .

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