Should I Blog Five Times a Day or Once a Year?

Believe it or not, the frequency of blog updates can sometimes make or break a blog; it can be just as important as the quality of the content. If you blog too often, readers will disregard your blog because they feel overwhelmed by the amount of content, confused by a lack of focus or frustrated with rushed, inferior content. If you blog too rarely, readers will disregard your blog because you aren’t providing enough new content to justify their time and effort. If you neglect your blog for long periods of time, many readers will simply assume that it has joined the vast number of abandoned blogs that still litter the web and never return.

So, How Often Should I Blog?

For most business blogs, two updates per week is the optimal number. Your readers will check back frequently for new content, yet at the same time you will not be overwhelming them or yourself with too much new content. If you simply don’t have the time to produce two updates per week, one update per week may also be sufficient.

Of course, one-size-fits-all solutions are rarely that. If your business is part of a rapidly-changing industry, blogging more often may be necessary to stay ahead. If your business is part of a conservative, more stable industry, blogging less often may result in better, more focused content. It is inadvisable to post less than once a month.

If you are interested in how popular and accessible you are on search engines such as Google, it is important to frequently update your blog with new content. While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a vastly complicated and often uncertain endeavor, it is widely known that frequently-updated sites like blogs require, well, frequent updates in order to stay relevant in search rankings.

This Sounds Like A Lot Of Writing! What If I Run Out of Topics?

If you are finding it increasingly difficult to think of new blog topics, you may find it beneficial to blog less often. Sometimes you will find yourself with literally nothing to say or report to your readers, and during those times it is usually better to write nothing than to post content that is inferior or filler.

Even though you are writing a business blog, there is no rule that states you can only post business-oriented content. Many business blogs find it beneficial to break away from purely practical topics and post content that is humorous, enlightening, or simply whimsical. However, it is crucial that you not post material that your readers may find offensive. Ask yourself, “Would this be an appropriate topic of discussion on a sales floor, at a professional conference or a business lunch?” If the answer is no or even if you are uncertain, it would be best to disregard that content completely.

If you are blogging on your own, seek out a trusted co-worker or friend and ask for assistance. It can often be very beneficial to introduce a different perspective to your process. Sometimes a fresh idea or a constructive critique is all you need to jump-start your blog and re-engage your customers.

Why Is The Title So Important?

Your post title is one of the first things that someone sees when finding your blog. Whether the post is shown in the Search Engine Results page or someone goes directly to your blog website, the title is the number one thing that will either captivate someone to continue to read – or fall flat and your potential reader will move on to something else. So, no wonder your blog titles should be carefully thought out and researched to ensure your blog title will not only captivate your readers – but provide the best results from the search engines.

What Is SEO?

SEO directly determines a website’s popularity and accessibility through search engine results for the majority of Internet users. If your content is SEO-optimized, you will improve your search engine rankings and more potential readers will find your blog. The more readers you acquire, the more potential customers you bring to your blog and website. As you can see, SEO is crucial to making your business blog a successful asset for your business.

So How Do I Create Optimized Post Titles?

Your post titles need to be a short summary of your blog post. It needs to directly answer or address something that someone is looking for. If you know your customers, you know their struggles. Your post titles should directly address the questions that your visitors are asking. So, how do you get an understanding of what your visitors are looking for?

Google’s Keyword Tool is a great “tool” for quickly and easily creating optimized post titles. In just a few minutes you can see how many times a given phrase was Google searched, including both local and national data, as well as variations of the given phrase. Choosing the best phrase that addresses the needs of your target market to use as your post title will greatly increase the optimization of your blog post.

Great! SEO Will Now Turn My New Blog Into An Overnight Sensation!

Many people new to SEO optimization believe that it instantly provides a shortcut to larger audiences and better search engine rankings. Unfortunately, there are no legitimate SEO shortcuts. You still have to invest time and effort into consistently crafting interesting and meaningful content. Even with SEO optimization, your blog will need time to organically grow an audience and advance in search rankings.

If a SEO “expert” promises to provide SEO shortcuts, be advised that you may be engaging in “black hat” SEO methods. These methods can potentially risk you and your company’s reputation with the major search engine companies. Search engine algorithms are the “brains” behind search engines and are constantly being adjusted and tweaked to thwart these shortcuts – if discovered, your website and blog may disappear or dramatically drop in search engine rankings.

Be consistent, be patient and focus on producing the best content you can for your readers. Add optimized post titles to better your chances of your posts being found – and to draw your readers into your blog. With a little bit of time and work – your blog will soon be attracting new readers and potentially new customers for your business!

I Thought Blogging Was A Silly Waste Of Time.

The word “blog” is short for “weblog”, which literally means a web log. Simply put, a blog is nothing more than a written log published to the World Wide Web. A blog can literally be about anything – it could be a series of short updates describing the trials and tribulations of a baseball season, or short essays about bird migrations. Many blogs impart instructions and advice on a myriad of projects and endeavors.

Yet despite this vast ubiquity of blog types, many people associate blogging as a whole with one maligned subset: personal journals. Since it is both inexpensive and relatively easy to create a blog, many people create blogs that are strictly personal in nature, often with little redeeming value to a wider audience beyond family and friends and sometimes with a fair amount of self-aggrandizement.

A business blog is not a forum for personal posts or self-discovery. You have experience, knowledge and expertise; your customers look to you as a trusted authority in your field of business. Therefore, your business blog can quickly become a powerful platform to attract new customers and leads while at the same time reassuring existing customers that your product or service is superior to your competition.

Why Should I Share My Expertise With Others Online For Free?

The Internet was founded specifically for the purpose of sharing information. Your business website exists to share information like your company name, descriptions of your products and/or services, contact information, etc. Your blog should also exist to share valuable information to new and existing customers.

Does this mean that you should give away everything intellectual and creative owned by you and your business, or accumulated over the course of your career, for free on your blog? Of course not! Your blog should be a springboard for turning readers into customers or retaining existing customers, not an endpoint for your engagement with them.

Do I Need To Write My Own Blog Posts?

Not necessarily. Some people enjoy writing while others find it to be a chore or a hassle. Some professionals and business owners may excel at what they do every day at work but find it difficult or impossible to write about what they do. It is common for many professionals and companies to contract an outside writer to compose and publish blog posts. “Ghostwriting”, or having someone else write under your name, is also a common and accepted practice.

Should I Advertise My Business On My Blog?

Your blog exists to promote your business, but if you simply turn your blog posts into a series of advertisements you remove any reason for readers seeking information to revisit your blog in the future. Also, many readers who seek out blogs for guidance and information react negatively to blatant self-promotion. Your blog should encourage readers to purchase your product or service because you have proven yourself a trusted authority, not because you have effectively “won them over” through a persuasive sales pitch.

You Did It!

You took the leap and started your own business. You wanted to be your own boss and now you are the boss! You have a team of employees, a loyal customer base, and a plan to continue growing. It’s time to reach out and engage your existing customers and attract new ones, but what’s the best way to accomplish that? Billboards restrict you to just a few words, television advertising is expensive and advertising on the Internet can be confusing as well as expensive. What should you do?
Set up a blog, of course!

What is a Blog?

Blogging, or writing for a weblog, is a prominent form of publishing on the Internet. By regularly posting short and informative articles to a website, you can attract an audience of readers that quickly become customers, sales leads, and even future partners! Within the relatively-short history of the Internet and World Wide Web, blogging isn’t new; the term weblog was first coined in 1997. Blogging has since grown in popularity and is still the most robust and versatile form of web publishing.

Do I Need A Blog?

I already have Facebook and Twitter accounts for my business and I’m already posting updates. Why do I need a blog?”

Facebook, Twitter, and other less-prominent social media sites like Tumblr and Instagram are popular new tools for communicating on the Internet. Your business should engage and attract customers through those services, but do you sometimes feel like you’re restricted and boxed in when using a third-party service or site? Shouldn’t you be bringing your audience back to your own website, instead of engaging them somewhere else? Do you feel constricted by a 140-character limit? Do you wince when you notice a social media company is profiting from advertisements posted alongside your content? What if they posted a competitor’s advertisement next to your content?

You already have a website or you are in the process of building one. You have contracted the services of a company like Blue Zenith to build an attractive and powerful home for your business online. With a blog hosted on your new or existing website, you and your business now have complete control over your content! There are no limits to what you can post, how many characters or words you use, and if you choose to post an advertisement next to your post, you profit from that advertisement! You can then utilize your social media accounts to direct friends and followers back to your content hosted on your own website!

How Expensive Will It Be?

Blogging is not expensive at all! You already own an Internet domain for your business, and that domain is versatile enough that you can easily create a website such as “blog.yourdomain.com” or “yourdomain.com/blog” with no additional registration fees. In addition, the most popular blogging platform on the Internet requires no additional licensing fee! WordPress is powerful, extremely versatile, and flexible enough to do almost anything you could imagine!

Contact us today to get started! We’ll be happy to suggest the best ways to integrate your new blog with your website and get you started with blogging!