The benefits of blogging for business are widely accepted. Starting a blog for our Web design & Internet marketing company was one of the best decisions we ever made for our business. We have not only seen website traffic skyrocket, but we now also have a growing following on Social media and a large ever-increasing email database, all courtesy of our blog.

Anyway, if you are reading this post you are probably already aware of the benefits of blogging for business. So we will get right in and get started with how your can maximise the benefits for your business.

Main Objectives of Business Blogging

As the importance of content creation increases and more businesses adopt a content marketing strategy, blogging is becoming even more relevant for business.

When you are blogging for business reasons, your objectives are clear. It is to increase traffic to your company’s website, establish your expertise, get coverage for your brand and most importantly to generate leads for your business.

But in spite of its benefits, blogging is time consuming and utilises valuable resources of your business. It is hence important to use your time wisely and create content that maximizes the benefits for your business.

In this post, we will take a look at effective ways to improve the performance of your business blog.  You will find these tips useful whether you are just starting a blog for your business or would like to get more out of your existing blog.

Here are 15 ways to get more out of your business blog.

1. Identify Your Audience

It is very important to know your audience. This is who you will be writing for. This should be reflected in what you write about and the language you use.

You can learn from our mistake. When we first started this blog, although the topics were relevant to our niche, the posts had a technical tone and were mainly attracting other Web designers and Internet marketing experts.

We soon realised that this wasn’t the audience we wanted to target. For our business to benefit, it was important to target other small businesses and entrepreneurs. The topics we write about are more or less same as before, however the tone and language of our posts has changed. We now try to limit the use of Web design and Internet marketing related jargon which other businesses and entrepreneurs may not be familiar with

2. Choose Your Topics Carefully

Plan your topics strategically. Think of the type of users your topics will attract and see if it matches the audience your business wishes to target.

List down the main topics that come to mind and run them through Google Keyword Tool or other social media monitoring tools to get an idea about trend and popularity.

I find it useful to run my topics via Google Keyword Tool to see if it what users are searching for. I tweak my titles accordingly to ensure maximum coverage.

3. Plan Your Blog Post Titles Very Carefully

Well thought of titles that draw the user in is one of the simplest ways to get more out of your business blog. You can get far more readership for your blog posts if titles compelling and interesting. It will also get your posts shared more on social media. And don’t overlook your keywords as it is also important to include keywords as part of your title.

4. Use Keywords Wisely

Correct use of keywords in your blog post is very important. It is particularly on business blogs as attracting search engine traffic for desired terms is a key objective. But it is equally important not to abuse keywords. Overuse of keywords simply for the sake of improving search engine ranking is not likely to get the desired results and can have a negative effect on your company’s branding.

Here are some tips:

• Use keywords in your title
• Scatter keywords in a few places throughout the blog post
• Use synonyms
• Use keywords in headings, bold text and image descriptions
• Use Google  Keyword Tool to research keywords

5. Follow a Publishing Schedule

Consistency is very important, particularly on business blogs. Businesses depend on their blog to drive a regular stream of traffic to the website and attract prospects towards the business. A content calendar or a publishing schedule can make it easier to achieve this. Covering topics in a haphazard manner, on the other hand, makes it hard to get the best results and develop a following.

It is also important for your business to take advantage of the best days and times to publish your posts as when you publish plays a part in the overall coverage and following you receive.

6. Optimise Your Posts

Blogs in general tend to rank favourably on Google. However, this does not mean basic on-page optimisation should be neglected. Meta Tags, correct use of keywords, good internal linking, and other core on-page optimisation tactics need to be addressed on all posts before publishing .

If you are using WordPress, add-ons such as the All in One SEO Plugin can be a great help.

7. Don’t Use Your Blog For Marketing

It may seem counter-productive to avoid promotion on business blogs but it is very important to be careful. Avoid adopting a promotional tone if you want your blog to succeed. Self-promotion should be minimal and done with care. The occasional banner to promote your services may be fine but writing posts to promote your business should be avoided at all cost.

The main purpose of a business blog is should be to publish content your targeted audience will find useful, and promote awareness about your brand in the process. There are other more effective ways to promote your business directly that you can use instead.

8. Don’t Hold Back Your Secrets

It is important to publish only your best content if you want your blog to be successful.

Some businesses make the mistake of believing that publishing their most valuable content will be counter-productive and may result in loss of business. This cannot be more far from the reality.

Don’t be afraid of giving away the know-how you would otherwise sell for a living. It will only make prospects feel confident and reassured that you are the expert they’re looking for. It is not taking away your business.

9. Find Time to Revisit & Refine Your Posts

To get the most out of the blog, your business should focus on creating a pool of evergreen resources that can continue to drive traffic and attract customers for many years to come.

This is best achieved via a continuous process of improving and refining your content. This will ensure your posts remain fresh and up to date, and continue to be relevant to your audience. Updating your old posts regularly will also push up its ranking on search engines.

10. Use Images Properly

Including images improves the quality of your posts and significantly improves the readership potential. It will also get your posts shared more on social media and increase the chances of your content going viral Facebook, Pinterest, and more.

I find Flickr to be a great website for sourcing free images for my blog posts, just as long as due credit is given in accordance with the creative commons license.

Here are some tips:

• Try to include at least one image in every post
• Don’t steal images. Always credit the source correctly.
• Only use images that are relevant to your content
• Use  Keywords in image description (ALT Tag)

11. Leverage Guest Posts

Successful bloggers have been taking advantage of guest posting for many years. Experts believe it to be essential to take your blog to the next level. It will also give a boost to your SEO efforts, get tons of referral traffic, and get you noticed.

Guest posting can be equally beneficial for business and corporate blogs. Both aspects to guest posting are equally important – guest posting on other blogs and inviting guest posts from others on your business blog.

12. Focus on Lead Generation

One of the ultimate objectives for any business website should be to help generate leads for the business. Blog can be a very valuable asset to achieve this. If used correctly, it can be a very effective way to get new leads for your business.

Here are some tips

• Write frequently. More posts = more Search engine coverage & traffic = more leads for your business
• Grow your email list
• Use well designed lead capture forms
• Use effective call to action

13. Use Your Blog to Build Your Email List

Email marketing is one of the most cost effective ways to promote a business or its products. A good email list can be a very valuable marketing asset for any business.

One of the main challenges small businesses face is not having a big email list at hand or not knowing where to start. This is where blog can help. I find blogs to a very effective way to start building your email list.

Here are some tips:

• Display email sign-up form prominently above the fold on every page
• Consider offering an incentive to join your list e.g. free eBook or a discount
• Think of multiple ways to grow your list e.g. newsletter, eBook, report or white-paper, email tutorial series, etc.
• Actively promote your email list

14. Maintain Quality At All Times

Publishing content simply to cheat search engines and push up your ranking is not likely to provide much benefit to your business.

The quality of your content can play a significant role in determining how your brand is perceived by customers. Poor quality content can be detrimental for your brand and should be avoided at all cost.

Here are some tips:

• Edit property
• Use professional copy
• Perform spelling and grammar checks to avoid typos
• Check for broken links
• Format your content with paragraphs, headings, bullets

15. Monitor Your Stats Constantly

We’ve all had that refreshingly honest friend at one point in our lives, the one who wasn’t afraid to tell us when we looked awful in that yellow sweater or had spinach in our teeth. Blog analytics are just like that friend, and they’re not afraid to tell you when your audience hates a post.

Conclusion:

It is widely accepted that having a blog can be very beneficial for a business. However, blogging for business can be very time consuming. It is thus important to do it right and maximise the benefits for business. Whether you are new to business blogging or already run a blog, the tips discussed above can help you to get the most out of business blogging.

What About You?

Do you use blogging for business? What are your experiences? Do you use any of the tips discussed above? We would like to hear from you. Please add your response by leaving a comment below.