Perhaps the reason many people are confused or failing to reap the rewards of their blog is the history behind it.
Originally called a Weblog - an online diary of what's happening in your world.
And of course lots of people have personal blogs that they use to describe their day-to-day happenings and thoughts and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
However if you are keen to use yours to make your online marketing more effective then here are some top tips: What to write Many people ask me this and the answer is to write about the things that your target audience are interested in and have problems with in relations to your services.
This is a great way both to demonstrate your knowledge and to engage with your target audience.
It allows your web visitors to get to know a little about your style and knowledge before contacting you.
How often should you blog? There is no right or wrong answer to this one and the simple answer is when you have something interesting to blog about then do it! If you are going to have a blog then try to update it more than once a year though as people may wonder if you're still in business! How will people find your blog? This is where you do need a strategy.
One of the great things about the Internet is that it's relatively easy to find the kind of things that people are looking for by doing some simple keyword research.
Commonly people search on things like 'how to ...
' or 'advice on ...
'.
Google has a great tool that enables you to find out how many people (if any) are search on specific keyword phrases and once you have done your research then you will likely have a nice list of possible titles for your blog entries.
Most blogs also allow you to enter keyword tags for each blog entry and this aids the search engine process.
Website, Blogsite or separate blog? My personal favourite is a well-designed, professional looking website with an inbuilt blog (page) that integrates seamlessly with your company identity.
However if you already have a website and no blog then the 2nd best option to design or commission a blog that matches the branding of your existing site and create a link to it from your site.
So, by having a well-designed blog with lots of relevant posts you can:
Originally called a Weblog - an online diary of what's happening in your world.
And of course lots of people have personal blogs that they use to describe their day-to-day happenings and thoughts and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
However if you are keen to use yours to make your online marketing more effective then here are some top tips: What to write Many people ask me this and the answer is to write about the things that your target audience are interested in and have problems with in relations to your services.
This is a great way both to demonstrate your knowledge and to engage with your target audience.
It allows your web visitors to get to know a little about your style and knowledge before contacting you.
How often should you blog? There is no right or wrong answer to this one and the simple answer is when you have something interesting to blog about then do it! If you are going to have a blog then try to update it more than once a year though as people may wonder if you're still in business! How will people find your blog? This is where you do need a strategy.
One of the great things about the Internet is that it's relatively easy to find the kind of things that people are looking for by doing some simple keyword research.
Commonly people search on things like 'how to ...
' or 'advice on ...
'.
Google has a great tool that enables you to find out how many people (if any) are search on specific keyword phrases and once you have done your research then you will likely have a nice list of possible titles for your blog entries.
Most blogs also allow you to enter keyword tags for each blog entry and this aids the search engine process.
Website, Blogsite or separate blog? My personal favourite is a well-designed, professional looking website with an inbuilt blog (page) that integrates seamlessly with your company identity.
However if you already have a website and no blog then the 2nd best option to design or commission a blog that matches the branding of your existing site and create a link to it from your site.
So, by having a well-designed blog with lots of relevant posts you can:
- Increase the amount of targeted traffic to your site
- Demonstrate your expertise to your visitors
- Allow people to subscribe and follow your blogs
- Engage more effectively with your visitors
- Promote new products and services
- Swap blog-roles with other (relevant) bloggers
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