By Dan Duke — Blogs have come a long way since their inception in 1994. And they’re still at the forefront of online marketing. Blogs have become a tremendous asset for businesses looking to reach their target audience via web searches. Ready to get more site visitors who will turn into valuable customers? Read on to learn why your business needs a blog and how to use one effectively.

What is a blog?

Think of a blog as a kind of forum. The term “weblog” surfaced in 1997, when people had begun sharing information about their personal lives and observations on their websites. People still use blogs the same way, and many have found that monetization enables them to turn their blogs into a lucrative business.

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Some blogs are websites that present a series of brief items with links to other web pages, presented with the newest items at the top. For most businesses, the blog is a section of the website placed under a header of "Insights," "Learning Center," "Resources," or, simply, "Blog."

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In that blog section, a business can engage branding and storytelling to reach potential customers and establish itself as a serious player in its niche. The posts lined up there can include product updates, company announcements, explorations of industry trends, and articles — from quick-hitters to in-depth guides — that show thought leadership.

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Blogs have become an essential part of content marketing. As such, businesses realize the need for a content strategy and finding the best blogging platforms. (WordPress is the most popular content management system.)

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According to Forbes Advisor report on content marketing, 74% of companies say that it has boosted lead generation. The report also says content marketing campaigns cost 62% less to launch and maintain compared to other types of campaigns.

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Blogging is an excellent technique for reader engagement. Far from the "mommy blogs" of the 2000s, today's business blogs provide a cost-effective way to market your business and engage with customers.

What are the benefits of having a blog?

With the power and extended reach of the internet, blogs are a powerful tool for both small businesses and big guys alike who are looking to establish or expand a strong customer base and boost brand presence. Let’s look at nine specific ways a blog can help.

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1. It drives traffic to your website

Whenever you create and publish a blog post with fresh, relevant content, it’s one more indexed page on your website. This means one more opportunity for you to show up on the search engine results pages and drive organic search traffic to your website.

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According to Hubspot, businesses with blogs get 55% more website traffic than businesses without one.

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However, it’s important to note that blogs provide an opportunity for this type of boost in traffic. To maximize your returns on this content, you’ll want to focus on search engine optimization as you write. This means using the right SEO tools for keyword research, following SEO best practices, tracking the right analytics, and refining your process to see what works.

2. It produces long-term results

When you buy ads, any gain in traffic ends when your ad-buy ends. A blog can yield results for years.

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This is welcome news, because content creation isn't easy — at least not for quality content. It requires planning, creativity, and great attention to detail. It pays off for the long haul, though. Once you post a new page on your blog, it can immediately start getting traffic. Because of internal linking and backlinks, each new blog page can generate traffic for other parts of your website, too.

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Even better, those pages can pay dividends for years. That's especially true for evergreen content, which is written specifically to stay relevant for a long time. The only thing you need to do is update the blog posts from time to time to make sure the information is up to date and the links still work. Tools like Google Analytics — and Rellify's Monitoring services — will help you keep track of your contents' performance so you'll know when to update.

3. It builds and expands brand recognition

People tend to choose what is most familiar to them. Visibility is crucial if you want potential customers to recognize and choose your brand. This is where a blog with highly-optimized and well-written content comes in handy. You’ll start to show up higher in search engines when people search for topics, long-tail keywords, and related terms that your blog incorporates.

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Guest posting is another way to use blogs to increase your brand's exposure. Invite a recognized expert in your field to write a blog post for you. Each party can link to the other's website to build readership. With the right guest blogger — like a popular social media personality — this can become a form of influencer collaboration. You might even produce that rare and delightful internet phenomenon: viral content. The catch is, trying to go viral doesn't work. It happens when creativity and genuine love for a topic come together.

4. It establishes expertise, authority, and trust

To take it a step further, the people exposed to your brand must associate it with trust and expertise. Content marketing through blogging can help convey your business’s value and expertise in ways that traditional advertising can’t. Fill your content calendar with a steady flow of creative, authoritative blog posts that demonstrate expert knowledge and experience. You'll encourage people who are saying “I know this brand” to start saying: “I trust this brand.”

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Additionally, you can use your blog to respond to comments and feedback from readers. This helps build relationships with customers and demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction through communication. Increasing trust with your audience is a powerful way to persuade them to choose you over a competitor.

5. You can repurpose blog content for marketing across channels

Blog content on your website has value beyond indexing on search engines. The content you publish can be repurposed and distributed wherever your target audience likes to hang out. Content distribution strategy can include using multiple channels to deliver messages to customers. Digital marketing experts know that choosing the right ways to distribute your content is just as important as the content itself.

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You can re-purpose your company blogs in different, creative ways. To start, we recommend breaking down a blog article into smaller, stand-alone segments. From there, you can post it on social media platforms as a series. An alternative is to boil one blog post down to just the main points. You can also create visuals that explain the key points of the blog post or use quotes from the post to create a social media post or drive an email marketing campaign.

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Going in the other direction, individual blog posts can be combined to form a guide or a white paper and promoted across marketing channels. White papers are great for supplementing a company newsletter or an email campaign and for getting leads by requiring people to register to download them.

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When blogs consist primarily of video content, we call it vlogging. Video is a powerful tool for reader engagement on blogs, and it can work great in social media posts.

6. Blogs help convert traffic into leads

A blog is an effective tool for moving potential customers through a sales funnel. According to DemandCentric, companies with blogs generate an average of 67% more leads every month than companies without one.

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More and more, shoppers do research on the internet before making a purchase. When they search for answers related to your product and service, you want to have quality content developed to pop up at the top of search engine results. The care and expertise you show in that content can turn traffic into leads and leads into buyers.

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This is why seemingly esoteric things, like user experience and blog design, are really bottom-line issues. A clean, well-designed blog with quality content and calls to action make it easy for a shopper to realize your value. Consistent use of calls to action will encourage visitors to fill out a contact form, subscribe to an email list, schedule a product demonstration, or even buy your product.

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You can build relationships with readers by tailoring your blog content to visitors’ interests. They may become loyal followers, re-visiting and sharing your content, and driving traffic to your website. Loyal blog followers are a great asset when it comes to finding a steady stream of potential leads and boosting your conversion rate.

7. It promotes link building

Proper internal linking is rewarded in search engine indexing because it establishes “page authority.” Having a quantity of internal links proves that you’re more than a one-trick (or a one blog post) pony. It shows you have an abundance of interesting content and a broad understanding of related topics in your industry. “Experts” have lots to say.

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Furthermore, blogging provides a platform for content that includes relevant links to other high-quality websites. This type of external linking can help increase the content’s visibility and improve the website’s search engine rankings. Just be sure you’re not linking to the websites of your competitors.

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Blogging can also be used to create mutual relationships with other well-established websites, resulting in backlinks to your site.

8. A blog helps you share company news

Your brand is likely doing exciting new things — growing as a business, releasing new products, providing new services. When you keep your visitors updated with news and new content on the company blog, you show that your brand is relevant. Visitors want to see that people are increasingly investing in and engaging with your brand for a good reason.

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9. You experience continued education and expertise

A blog isn’t just about educating your audience and customers. Blogging can be a helpful tool in your own education and research as you continue to grow as a company. By researching and distilling the information into palatable formats, you’re becoming an expert on topics important to your audiences. That information also educates your entire workforce. The mass of knowledge becomes a powerful resource as your company grows.

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Here’s why your business needs a blog

The bottom line: Most likely, your business needs a blog. Any company with an online presence can reap the benefits of this tried-and-true marketing strategy. If you’re ready to start blogging but need guidance from experts, Rellify can help. We work with companies of all sizes in many industries, providing auditing, creating content, and optimizing existing content. With Rellify’s help, your blog and your business can be found more easily by search engines.

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Contact a rellify representative to learn how our expert content services can provide your business with real, relevant results.