Everyone seems to be jumping on the social networking bandwagon, and everyone from Al Gore to Yoko Ono seems to be “Tweeting” and “Blogging” these days. But most businesses have yet to get on board, and many wonder whether blogging is actually relevant or beneficial for their business.
Search engines prefer new content to old, and sites that are regularly updated and expanded get better rankings. Having a Blog is a simple way to quickly add new keyword-optimised content to your Web site, which will help boost your search engine rankings.
Another important factor in determining your search engine rankings is the number of quality links you have from other Web sites. If your content is original and interesting, people will link to your articles from their own Blogs, Web sites or social networking pages, adding to your link count. If you cross-link your posts to relevant pages on your Web site, you can increase your inbound link count further while also delivering more traffic to your Web site.
You can also use Blog posts to provide content that dates quickly or is specific to a certain time period, and for targeting seasonal keywords such as “winter car hire” or “skiing accommodation”. This is a great way for you to quickly react to changes in the market and to keep communicating with your customers.
If you want to put a different spin on the name, you don’t have to call it a “Blog”. Call it your “News” or anything you want – it’s the functionality that makes it so useful. Beware: once you’ve posted your first couple of articles, you might find you’re hooked!