In this day and age of Internet supremacy, every company’s website should have some form of a blog in order to better connect with their customers. These blogs should be constantly updated with new, creative content, which will increase traffic directed from search engines and social media.
Marketing your blog online can be somewhat of a challenge. If you feel like your blog has great content but you aren’t pleased with the traffic results from that content, try these ideas to increase the reach of your business blog online.
1. Ask Your Employees and Customers: What better way to market your business blog then to the people who know your company well? Create a weekly e-mail for your customers letting them know about your new blog post and ask them to comment on it. Ask your employees to do the same. There’s a chance your content will be shared with others outside of your company network.
2. Let People Know You Have a Blog: Does anyone outside of your company know that you have a blog? Increase exposure by placing your blog URL on paper communications like your business card and placing it in your e-mail signature. Figure out where you are missing opportunities to promote your blog in both print and electronic communications.
3. Write for Other Blogs: You may have great content to write for your blog, but it is important for you to write guest blogs and get them published in your industry’s blogs. This will create a link back to your blog with your contribution and will improve your search engine results. This also allows a new and different audience to look at your content and add to the traffic of your blog.
4. Become Part of Online Communities: Online communities consist of traditional online forum groups and groups such as those in LinkedIn or Facebook. A tool like BoardReader can identify online communities that target your audience and then you can take part in these communities. Your first instinct will be to promote your blog, but refrain from doing this. Instead, answer questions put forth by the community and become an expert in the community. Include a link to your blog in your community profile and members of that community will become readers of your blog.
5. Explore Content Networks: A Content Network is a site and service that exists to combine content on a topic. Networked Blogs is a service that allows you to syndicate your blog content. Industry trade publications also often run their own content networks within their industry. Do a little research and find the right content network that works for you.
6. Have Guest Bloggers: It’s true that some people have a bigger online audience than others. This is something you can use to your advantage. The goal for your business blog is to increase your online presence and gain new visitors on a daily basis. Guest authors can help you achieve this goal. By having guest contributors, they will share your blog with their followers and networks and this will increase your traffic over time.
7. Run Contests: A contest is a great way to get exposure to your blog. You can offer up a free sample of your company’s products or a bag of products or whatever you feel like giving away. But you have to make the contest simple to do. Something as simple as a comment on your blog or number of guest contributions in a month. If you keep it simple, it will generate interest and drive traffic to your page.
8. Use Different Kinds of Content: Large blocks of text can become very boring, very quickly. Use different kinds of media like photos, videos and info graphics to mix things up and change the pace of your blog. This can engage readers and attract readers from another source by uploading those videos and photos from services such as YouTube, Flickr, or Instagram. By adding content elsewhere, you have a chance to drive traffic to your blog.
With these tips and tricks you should be able to increase traffic to your blog and increase your readership. Remember to mix it up with some videos and photos and to work hard at being a part of an online community.
SearchPro Systems
2024