You may be asking yourself, why do we need a blog in addition to our website? In today’s Internet marketing climate more focus is placed on inbound marketing than ever before.

Here are the top reasons we highly recommend to most clients, that a blog is a worthwhile investment both in cost of implementation and as an integral part of your ongoing Internet marketing strategy.

1)  Drive new traffic to your site:

Creating relevant, value-added content on a weekly basis attracts the search engines and greatly improves the chances of your site being seen by potential customers. With each new post, you are creating your very own catalog of information that will continue to drive traffic to your site for as long as you manage and maintain the blog. In addition, creating new keyword focused content means the search engines will rank your site for more keywords every week.

2) Almost instant results:

We have seen Google index blog posts in minutes from the time the post was live. That means with every new blog post you may have new potential customers to your site within the hour or that same day. How do we know? Set up a Googlealert for your company or website name and you will get an email as soon as Google knows about your content.

3) Position yourself or your company as a subject matter expert:

By generating new content specific to your industry and/or business area, you’re helping to build your credibility with potential customers and the business community.  But, that means you will need to put some time and effort into creating quality content that represents you and your company effectively.

4) Engage your audience:

How many people are talking about you and/or your company or brand right now?  A blog paves the way for your customers and others to share their opinions through comments, ask questions and get to know you and/or your brand. Be part of the discussion and get people talking and thinking about you and your site. 

5) Gather real-time feedback:

Your blog can be a great way to learn more about your customers and potential customers through the comments they leave on posts. You can use this information to develop new products and services and improve what you already offer.

6) Increase social sharing:

Today, there are 2 benefits to social sharing and both are equally important. If your blog is set up correctly you are making it easy for people to share your content with others. Sharing is a “recommendation” and increases the chances of others coming to your site.  The other is SEO. Social sharing is just one of the many signals Google and other search engines use to establish your site as an authority and doing so improves your ranking in the search results.

7) Test new ideas:

Having a direct connection to your audience gives you a powerful platform for getting feedback from the people that matter most, your customers.  You can use your blog to share new ideas and gather feedback before you actually go to market, helping you to avoid unforeseen and potentially costly mistakes.

8) Build a mailing list:

A blog is a great way to encourage your audience to give you their email address by asking them to subscribe. You’ll build a permission based list that you can market or remarket too as well as make announcements and celebrate success stories.