We recently gave a seminar on business blogging. Throughout the course of the presentation, we covered why companies should start business blogs, how to get started, how to create content your audience will love, how to create more content with fewer resources, and more. To wrap it all up, Brendon shared what he calls "4 Winning Practices" for success with business blogging.
Most brands don't think like publishers, but creating a blog with this lofty goal in mind will help your team publish information that educates and informs your specific audience. Educating and informing these key prospects is what will generate more traffic, leads, and sales for your business.
It's difficult to rank for short keywords - they're extremely general and there's high competition to rank for them. Focus on very specific long-tail keywords that will help the right customers find your business. For example, if your business is a car dealership in South Minneapolis that sells only used American cars, your should target keywords like "used chevy dealership in Minneapolis" and "used fords Minneapolis, MN" rather than "car dealership" or "American used cars."
You'll never get traction with your content unless you truly understand what kinds of things your audience is interested in reading. Take every opportunity you can to ask your customers questions and listen to their concerns. Existing customers are great sources for content ideas.
Maximize your blog efforts by linking your blog and website. Place calls to action in strategic locations across your website to drive visitors to relevant blog topics. Guiding new visitors to helpful content will improve their experience and will likely influence their decision to buy.