WordPress Tips

At NOYO Web Development, we are frequently asked if blogging is truly necessary for greater internet visibility and higher website traffic. We hear this primarily from small business owners who are pressed for time, or who may not have strong writing skills to craft high quality content.

As a business owner who has built a successful business in website development and design, I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact blogging makes on search visibility, leads, and sales. I advocate having a content publication strategy and use of a professional writer who is familiar with SEO.

Still not convinced? I’m going to outline 4 key benefits blogging will have on your business and website. There are more reasons, but let’s start with these first.

Does My Blog Need to be Hosted on My Company Website?

Yes. As you read through the benefits below, you will see how important it is to host your blog on your business website. If you host it separately, you lose all the benefits. Some businesses prefer, either because of cost or for simplicity’s sake, to use a free blogging platform like WordPress.com or Weebly.com. This often results in blog domains such as [yourcompanyname].wordpress.com. While hosting a blog independent of your business site is slightly better than not having one at all, you’ll see that many of the benefits below can only be achieved if your blog is hosted on your primary domain.

Here are 4 crucial reasons to blog on your website, whether you write it or hire a professional writer.

1. Increases search engine traffic
   In terms of search engine rankings, I like to think of blogging as fishing. If your hook is in the water more, you are more likely you are to catch a fish. In the same way, as you add more content to your site, more pages from your domain become indexed in search engines. This improves organic search visibility and increases website traffic.
2. Improves conversion rates
   An active blog sends a strong signal that your company is successful rather than neglected. A blog with high-quality content also helps build brand loyalty, further increasing your conversion rates. According to Hubspot, overall ROI is also more likely to increase for companies that blog; in fact, businesses who prioritize blogging experience a 13X increase in ROI, year after year.
3. Helps you rank for long-tail search queries
   A site without a blog will have a hard time ranking for long-tail search queries. A typical business website can often successfully rank for business-specific keywords (for instance: “drycleaners near me”), but will have a more difficult time ranking for highly-specific phrases like “how to get green crayon out of carpet.” Having more content is the best way to rank for long-tail queries; the more content you add, the more chances you have to rank for less common, but ultimately higher-converting keyword phrases.
4. Increases leads
   Research shows that the more pages a site has, the more leads it gets. According to Hubspot, businesses with 401-1000 pages of content get 6x more leads than those with 51-100. In simple terms, the more you blog, the more leads you generate. More content means more form submissions, more email opt-ins, more quote requests, and ultimately, more sales.

In addition, blogging on the business website is a primary way to differentiate yourself from the competition. You can set yourself up as a thought leader, add your own unique thoughts and insights, while growing search traffic, customer trust and ultimately, sales. To some extent, blogging also levels the playing field with big brands, giving a small to medium sized business an opportunity to compete with big businesses with big budgets.