Blogging should be an essential part of the online marketing mix for any business. Regular blogging is essential for SEO and will bring more people to your business via search. Sharing your expertise will help your site move up the search rankings whilst providing a steady stream of content to post on social media.
Blogging can also help to create a community around your business. It’s a fab way to connect with potential customers and influencers, as well as cheerleaders and brand advocates. All of which will help you to boost your business growth and reach your sales & marketing goals.
We all know we should be blogging but it can be hard to get into a regular routine with it. Let’s face it, it’s a big commitment to sit down and write regularly – let alone all the other things you need to do (e.g picture research and SEO) to get your blog out into the world.
We know why we should be writing blogs but many small business owners still aren’t blogging for their business regularly. What is stopping business owners from taking advantage of this fabulous marketing tool?
What’s Holding Your Small Business Back with Blogging?
1. Lack of time
This one sounds familiar to most of us, I’m sure. We all have different time barriers and will tend to prioritise jobs that we enjoy or are urgent. And unless we are strict about setting aside time in our diaries to get the job done or decide to outsource the work, they just don’t happen.
Client work always takes priority in my schedule (including writing and editing their blogs – oh, the irony!). Then there are family responsibilities, doing your accounts, business planning, checking social media, running a home and just that general feeling of there not being enough hours in the day.
You can see how blogging gets put on the back burner – doing it justice takes commitment and focus. Which can be hard to provide when a million plates are spinning and time is short.
2. Lack of Knowledge
When you start your own business you need to oversee and manage everything – including jobs & tasks that you have no prior experience of doing. Running a business can be like undertaking a personal development course as you need to learn so many new things! Even if you have a team and marketing staff on hand to knock up great copy, they may not be knowledgeable in writing for SEO.
Even if you enjoy writing and fancy the idea of blogging and have the resources to make it happen, there is so much more to it than just writing. How do you make your blog SEO-friendly so those ideal customers can actually find it? Where will you find images, how do you create a title people will want to click on, how should it be structured for Google, etc, etc.?
You’ve got so much to learn and no time to do it. So, you just leave tackling blogging for a bit longer while you concentrate on other areas of your business.
3. Lack of Money
Writing blogs is free – it’s a great marketing tool for bootstrappers and anyone on a low budget. So, how can lack of money cause a problem?
Writing blogs may be free but it does take time. And it may take you away from the essential jobs you need to do to keep your business ticking over – such as making new sales, creating new products and meeting contacts. So, taking the time to blog could actually lose you revenue in the short term as it takes you away from running your core business.
If you’re not feeling very confident in your blog-writing skills you may decide that you should outsource the job to a professional. But many small businesses are still growing and don’t have big budgets so you’re reluctant to commit a budget to blogging activities.
And do you really want to spend money on something you could do for free? You’ll get round to it one day – won’t you?
4. Lack of Direction
If blogging is relatively new to you, it can be hard to get momentum going. You can think of subjects for a few blogs but then your mind goes blank. You’ve got a vague grasp of what you should be doing but you’re not confident that you’ve got it right.
This strongly relates to the first 2 points. When you have a lack of time and/or knowledge it can be hard to get clarity and focus. So you amble along, posting blogs occasionally and hoping for the best. You keep meaning to create a blogging strategy but it never happens. You don’t know if what you have done already is working and not sure how to find out. Sound familiar?
Do you identify with these results? If so, you’re not alone! Many small business owners find regular blogging a challenge. What’s your personal challenge?
Learn More About Blogging for SEO
Tips on Creating SEO-Friendly Business Blogs
Blogging is a great way to drive targeted traffic to your small business website. Blogs are evergreen content that has miles more longevity than a social media post.
However, when blogging for SEO, it’s essential to implement some basic SEO techniques to help your blog rank and for customers to find you. And why waste time creating lots of lovely content that few people will read?!
The good news is that you don’t need to become an SEO expert to make your blogs SEO-friendly. Just read my blog Blogging for SEO: Tips for Small Business for some advice to get you going and to develop good habits for developing and following the best blog-writing practice.
Are Your Business Blogs SEO-Friendly?
- Want to get expert SEO help with your blogs to ensure they are SEO-friendly and structured in the right way?
- Need help to research targeted blog titles using keywords and phrases that your customers are already searching for?
If your business blog just doesn’t get the visits you’d hoped for, get in touch to see how we can help your business reach more customers.
Image courtesy of punsayaporn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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