I have been trying to get one of my SEO customers to start blogging about things related to his business. He finally told me that he "can't afford it right now".

"It doesn't cost anything to start a blog." I replied, and before I could finish he said he just didn't have the time to do it, thus could not afford it. My answer was, "You can't afford NOT to blog!"

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies charge a premium for their services, but there are things any small business can do to help themselves get more traffic, and one of the biggest is to start their own blog. Why? Simply. Look at the numbers; businesses who blog have:

  • 55% more unique visitors
  • 97% more inbound links
  • 434% more indexed pages

Let's break down those numbers:

  • The 55% increase in unique visitors is more of a direct method of getting visitors to your site. You link back to your site from your blog, and it increases your page rank on search engines and it gets direct visits from people who read your blog.
  • The 97% increase in inbound links also increases your page rank on search engines. In fact, I think inbound links are one of the top 5 most important things in getting a good ranking.
  • The incredible increase in indexed pages also increases your overall web presence. It creates a larger target for someone to land on, thus increasing traffic.

These numbers are staggering, when you think about it. If any of those top-tier SEO organizations could do that, they would be worth the minimum $4,000 per month fee. How much will it cost you? A couple of hours a week, depending on how often you blog. Search engines love blogs as they are rich in content, and content is king in the search engine realm. It allows you to constantly put lots of content out there in a forum that is perfect for all the extra content, and relieves you from trying to put it on your website.

"Why don't I just add the info to my website?" Because, people don't read websites, they scan them. Your website only has 4 seconds to grab someone's attention. They are looking for something very specific, and if they have to scan gobs of data, chances are they are going to hit the back button and go to the next website (a web browsers "Back" button is the most used on any computer program). So a blog is the perfect way to feed the search engines yet keep your website's content at optimum levels.

There are several quality free blogs available on the web. The most popular are Blogger, Wordpress and Blogspot. Out of the three, Wordpress probably is the most customizable. All offer the ability to make your posts indexable by the search engines. And it doesn't get any better than "free" for high ROI.

Some tips on starting a blog:

  • Don't write about your company - The biggest mistake people make is starting a blog about how great their company is. Your blog should be related to your business, but not be the sole purpose to advertise it. For instance, if you own an Outdoors store, blog about rock climbing, hiking, trends in running shoes, etc. and then link back to information on your site related to your post. So if you blog about barefoot running alternatives such as Vibram FiveFingers running shoes, then link back to a page on your site that advertises these shoes.
  • Research - Make sure you know what you are talking about before you post a topic. It can become a nightmare if you post inaccurate information and people post comments to your blog that correct your mistakes. This can become a nightmare very quickly.
  • A little controversy can be good - Try and find a subject that is can produce good, healthy debate that provokes thought and not anger. This can create a lot of commments from readers, which in turn can multiply interest and inbound links. (Warning: It might be a good idea to get some blogging experience under your belt before trying this one).
  • Be consistent - Don't get discouraged if you pour your heart into what you feel is a great post and no one comments on it. It takes some time to get noticed and generate interest. Remember, the search engines are always interested in your posts!
  • Market your blog - Yeah, I said it only took a couple of hours a week, but there are free ways to market your blog using social media such as Facebook and Twitter (which is a future blog topic!), as well as social bookmarking such as Digg and del.icio.us.

If you have questions or would like assistance getting your blog started, contact Websites That Work. We specialize in getting small business a big web presence!