Some things are just meant to go together: Movies and popcorn; Fireworks and the Fourth of July; Peanut butter and jelly; and, of course, blogging and SEO.
Why do blogging and Search Engine Optimization go together so well?
It really comes down to how people (your customers) look for information today. It used to be that businesses reached out to people with print ads in newspapers and magazines. Or they ran commercials on television or radio. But now it’s the customers who are reaching out. They are the ones who choose what they’re looking for—and how they are going to look. And by far the main way customers look today is online.
Regardless of what your business sells, fewer and fewer people are looking for your ads in newspapers or magazines. Television and radio ads can be expensive to produce and run. And increasingly fewer people are flipping open the phone book to find the goods and services they need. Instead, they’re searching online.
Unless someone already knows your company or your product’s name, they’re probably not going to find you. And it’s not enough, however, to have a few keywords sprinkled throughout your website. For one thing, customers search by their criteria—not by what you think they’re looking for. And most of the time, when a customer types something into the search box for Google (or any other search engine), they are not going to match the way you describe your product or service.
Customers are looking for information and answers to their questions. A blog allows you to address common customer questions and to provide the kind of information that customers are looking for. It also allows for interaction with your customers. A blog is a two-way street. Customers are more likely to check you out (and consider buying) if you address the questions they have—rather than just try to sell them something.
The other thing that makes blogging and SEO work well together is that blogging allows you to constantly create fresh, new content. And that’s something that search engines love. Search engines are constantly searching for new material. So if you continually put out helpful new information through your blog, you’ll have a better chance of being found when someone searches for what your product or service can help them do.
Peanut butter and jelly compliment each other. Creating and publishing quality, helpful information on a regular basis gives search engines what they’re looking for—and that’s what your customers are looking for.
Blog Post Written by Spencer Powell
Spencer is the Inbound Marketing Director at TMR Direct. Spencer specializes in helping clients create and execute effective inbound marketing campaigns.