I’m setting out to bust a myth today – one I admittedly believed to be true several years ago. The myth, that blogging is dead. Wrong. In fact, blogging is still very much a thing and – with a great SEO and keyword strategy – is your key to strong marketing without relying solely on social media.
Our marketing landscape over the past ten years has evolved, yes. Social media dominates more and more of our attention as business owners, entrepreneurs, brands, and consumers.
Because social media requires so much of us – think, tons of time spent creating content for little comparative return – online and small businesses have deprioritized the creation of long-form content like blogging and poured all they have into social media to stay relevant. In doing so, we’ve put all our eggs in one basket, so to speak, a basket that needs new eggs and more eggs constantly.
I get it. It’s hard to prioritize blogging and SEO when it’s a long game and social media is all about some quick wins. But, creating keyword-optimized long form content is still a crucial component of any successful content marketing strategy, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
In fact, while you’re out here wondering if blogging is dead, blogging and keyword strategy have grown stronger, more relevant, and more potent for your small business.
Your Audience is Searching for Your Answers
Using a blog to showcase your brand’s authority, unique selling proposition, case studies, etc. acts as a portfolio for potential clients and customers to review before deciding to make a financial commitment to your brand.
As the world’s largest search engine, Google now processes of 103k search queries every second, on average, which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide.
To prove the power of search, the word “Google” itself is now a ubiquitously known verb.
The ability to search for information effortlessly has changed today’s marketing landscape, and blog posts now regularly appear on the first page of any search engine query result.
Blogging helps businesses get discovered via search and immediately builds authoritative rapport with an audience by answering their most pressing questions pertaining to their product, service, offering or industry.
Your Audience Needs Your Support
Blogs play a foundational role in supporting the customer journey, leading them from becoming aware of a problem to seeking a solution, discovering an answer and making a decision.
What does your target audience need to believe or understand before investing in your product or service? What challenges are they facing that your product or service solves? What content can you share to support them in that decision making process?
Blogs provide the perfect canvas for addressing common objections, providing straightforward answers to regularly occurring questions, and acquainting customers with your brand’s expertise, insight and value.
Simply put, blogs that address what your potential customer or client would be searching in Google are a must.
Your Audience Still Depends on Blogs
And when I say blog I mean long-form, keyword rich content that answers their questions in their time of need (or, search).
According to the Content Marketing Institute, small businesses with blogs receive 126% more lead growth than small businesses without the same, and content marketing generates over three times as many leads as outbound marketing – and costs 62% less.
Google searches, for example, generate blog posts daily on the front page of search results and 81% of online consumers in the United States say blogs are trusted sources of information and advice.
To top that off, 61% of the same online consumers say they have made a purchase based on recommendations from a blog.
Customers have grown so accustomed to reading articles as a step in their research process before making purchases and to educate themselves about topics of interest.
To work with a website and blog copywriter who prioritizes conversion content and SEO strategy, reach out for a consultation!
