In short, yes. But not for the reasons you might think.
I, for one, know that I dissect blog posts and information like the oddly motivated kid in your 11th grade science class when the formaldehyde frogs came out. But not everyone has the willingness, or the time, to sit through a post that may or may not add value to their lives. So let’s get into it.
Content marketing, Brand marketing, CMO, Virtual CMO.
If you’re here you probably know that Extension Marketing is a leader in digital marketing services in Ottawa. We’re a full-stack marketing agency. We do SEO, web design, marketing services, strategy, graphic design, video, social media, and email marketing. I could go on, but you get the point. We do a lot, and we do it well.
Google’s algorithm trawls through the information on your website to find the right fit for the search terms someone has put into their handy-dandy search bar.
Anyone who remembers when the Internet was shiny and new might recall search sites like Copernicus or Ask Jeeves. I so do miss asking Jeeves.
These sites, and Google at its advent, would take keywords from any block of text.
So if you had a very basic GeoCities site where you buried keywords in a font colour that matched your background, you could get some decent traffic by putting “J-Lo’s Green Dress” hidden at the bottom of your cat herding site. Irrelevant? Yep. Did you get traffic? Absolutely.
Google’s Algorithm.
Today, their algorithm takes into account obvious attempts at loading your site up with keywords. So tossing in a paragraph of:
“business, CEO, executive, Canada, small business, medium business, words on a page, cookie recipes, holidays, professional, services, professional services, zoology.”
Isn’t really going to do you any good.
When it comes to online and search engine marketing, blog posts can help boost the organic keywords Google finds.
When Google sees your site, or blog post, has relevant keywords, and again, not a wall of text, your site marches upwards on the search results page.
Blog posts are a piece of your marketing strategy.
Let’s say your customer is a curious frog-person, like me.
I have been known to search through pages and pages of Google results to get the information I’m looking for. I am an anomaly. But when I do find the information I’m looking for, I’m liable to get lost clicking through the information on your site.
Why is this relevant?
Because the longer someone stays on your page, the more pages they click through on your site; the better Google’s algorithm rates you. Clearly, you had the information the searcher was looking for when they input: “i ned 2 lrn how 2 spel.” You can’t have that, Grammarly. That’s mine.
Cart? Horse? Neigh.
“Oh Julie, Julie, Julie” you say, shaking your head. “No one reads blog posts anymore.” Thanks.
That, dear friend, is where you’re half-right.
People don’t read blog posts that are boring, irrelevant, or that are off-strategy.
I can’t teach you to be interesting. I’m still trying to figure that one out myself. Relevant material is easy to come by if you know your product through-and-through. But the most important piece is the strategy.
Too often businesses of all flavours put tactics before strategy. Don’t get me wrong; we all get excited about tactics. What if we burned ads on Taco shells?
The strategy of the blog is what informs the content. If you don’t know what you’re writing about, who you’re writing for, or what you want the blog to do; Neither will the reader. It’s putting the blog cart before the strategy horse.
Ultimately, the strategy of your blog should fulfill the needs of your strategy. For instance, you may want it to boost your SEO while providing valuable content to your target audience. Providing valuable content will boost visitor retention on your site, which will in turn help your SEO by getting them to keep clicking around your site. The longer they stay on your site; the more information they’ll get; the better Google’s algorithm rates your page.
Target Acquired.
The goal these days, when it comes to SEO or digital marketing, is to ensure your customers find you and that they stay on your website. That’s where blogs come in.
Have you ever landed on a site that kinda had the info you were looking for? For instance, you’re looking for a gingerbread recipe, and you landed on one, but for some reason the recipe calls for saffron and you really don’t want to shell out the $1000 per gram for real saffron. They may have a suggested post: “101 Easy Holiday Recipes that don’t require you to sell your firstborn.”
That’s how they get ya, and that’s why blog posts are important and help your SEO. Keywords are also why you get to hear about Susan’s trip to Cancun and why it’s relevant to your search for crème brulée.
Any company, whether B2B or B2C, should invest in blog writing. It keeps your clients informed, it brings awareness of your company to others, and it helps keep you at the top of the organic search results.
Top of the search results; Top of mind.
If you need help with blog writing and SEO; reach out to us we’re here to help.
