Benefits of an Active On-Site Blog
Fresh Content = Better Rankings
Adding 2-3 new blog entries to your on-site blog each week is the easiest and most natural way to add fresh content to your site on an ongoing basis. If you want to get ranked well in Google and the other search engines, you simply cannot allow your website to sit stagnant. By regularly adding new content to your site, you demonstrate to Google that your website is active, up-to-date and worthy of good rankings. Google largely ignores websites that remain unchanged for weeks and months on end. On the other hand, Google loves sites that are constantly adding fresh, new content... and it rewards them with higher rankings across the board.
More Content = More Traffic
Each new blog entry posted to your on-site blog creates a new page on your site that Google can index and send searchers to. Oftentimes, your blog pages will rank extremely high in Google for "long-tail" keyword phrases you’re not even trying to get ranked for. Each of these phrases may not get a whole lot of traffic individually, but collectively the traffic really starts to add up. Many of our clients have reported over a 25% increase in organic traffic, all thanks to their on-site blog.
More Blog Pages = More Internal Links
Every new blog entry adds a new page to your website. If your blog is configured properly, each new blog page will have "internal links" to your site's home page, category pages, brand pages and other important pages that you're trying to get ranked. These internal links pass your blog’s authority and PageRank to these important pages, increasing their importance in the eyes of Google (and, of course, sending your blog's visitors to those pages as well).
An Interesting Blog = A Social “Hub”
It’s nearly impossible to get people to “like”, “follow” or post a link to a commercial product page trying to sell them something. You may be able to get a few family members and friends to "like" your site, but very few other people will. The only way to successfully build a social following and have people post links to your site is with an interesting on-site blog. People will naturally “like”, “follow” and even link to interesting blog entries about trending hot topics they're truly interested in! See the slideshow below to see how this happens.<,/p>
How Your Blog Leads to a "Social Following" and 100% Natural Backlinks
| 1. Your blog needs to be connected to your website and share the same domain name (that's why we call it an "on-site" blog). This way, Google views your blog as part of your site. | 2. Each time a new blog entry is posted, a notification or update about the new entry should be posted on your social profile pages. (If you get the "Social Blast" add-on, we do this for you!) | 3. Because of the way these social networking sites work, your followers will automatically see these social updates or notifications about your new blog entries. | 4. Some of your followers will "like", "tweet" and "share" your posts, resulting in all of their followers seeing your posts as well. Your social following will naturally grow. | 5. If your posts are interesting (and we'll make sure they are), your posts will get talked about in topically relevant forums, blogs and other social hang-outs. | 6. This "social buzz" out on the web will result in a) direct traffic to your site and b) 100% natural backlinks to your site, which will boost your search engine rankings. |
So Why Doesn't Everyone Have an Active On-Site Blog?
Well, ask yourself why YOU currently don’t have an on-site blog or why it’s been so long since you last posted a new blog entry! Odds are you’re running into one or more of these common challenges...|
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Coming up with ideas for interesting, creative blog entries is really half the battle… and oftentimes the tougher half! Nobody wants to read a dry blog post about why they should shop at your site. The only way to create a “following” is to write about stories, news and other hot topics that people are actually interested in reading. To do it right, you need to put in as much time researching ideas as you spend writing. |
Most people don’t enjoy writing, especially not the type of creative writing expected on a blog. That’s why you see a lot of blogs out there with 2 entries posted several years ago and nothing since then! Unless you’re part of the 2% of people who actually enjoy creative writing, running an on-site blog isn’t a whole lot of fun. |
To be successful and reap all the benefits of having an on-site blog, you really need to post at least 2 good blog entries every single week. When you factor in the time it takes to come up with good ideas for things to blog about, the hours really add up. Most site owners would prefer to spend their limited amount of time each week doing other things. |
My Blog Squad Makes it Easy!
My Blog Squad is a 100% hands-free solution to get all the benefits of an active on-site blog without having to do any of the work. Our team of talented writers will continually research hot topics in your market, write original blog posts every week, and even log in to your blog admin panel and post them for you! Plus, if you get the "Social Blast" add-on, we'll also take care of posting updates/notifications to the 3 biggest social networking sites, giving you all the social benefits of an on-site blog as well.