We often hear about the growing importance of video content, but blogging is far from over. In fact, the best content strategies are still placing blogs high on the priority list. If you want to make sure you’re reaching your target audience, and really grabbing their attention, there’s no better way to do it than blogging.

Just look at the stats. Did you know that featuring a blog on your website will give you a “434% higher chance” of being ranked highly on search engines?

Blogs aren’t just great news when it comes to web traffic, either. They’re also absolutely crucial in terms of pulling in leads. Companies that make blogging a big part of their marketing strategies reap huge rewards. And by huge rewards, I mean they get a whopping 67% more leads than companies who don’t blog.

Blogging is best for in-depth information

There’s a time and a place for short, snappy videos and those wonderful, roll off the tongue style sound bites. Just like there’s a time and a place for lengthy, in-depth articles on complex topics.

When it comes to sharing detailed information, blogs are invaluable. Long-form content of 2,000 words or more is hugely important when helping to inform users about a multitude of different subjects, and that’s why articles like these perform so well on Google.

If you don’t know something these days, what do you do? You Google it. Or you ask Siri. Or Alexa. Or any other virtual pal you may have kicking around the house. That’s how you might end up browsing longform content on the blog page of a company’s website, as you seek the in-depth information that you need to master a topic.

Blogging helps build trust

Building trust and loyalty is a huge part of any good marketing strategy, and blogging can be incredibly helpful where this is concerned. Publishing blogs enables a brand to show off its human side. It gives a company the opportunity to share content written in its own unique tone of voice, and offers huge opportunities to inject personality into all manner of different articles.

A blog can help you stand out from the competition. It can give readers insight into what goes on behind the scenes in your company. It can give you a platform to address consumer’s queries and share the information they’re searching for. It can position you as a thought leader in your industry. You can even use it to be a bit funny. If you like.

Google loves a blog

It’s no secret that blogs are great for SEO. According to stats published by Hubspot, 75% of users don’t scroll past the first page of search results. So you need to be on that first page.

To make sure you’re on the first page, and preferably near the top, you should give your blog the attention it deserves. Blogs are a great way to publish keywords and share expertise, and doing so helps you rise through the search rankings. The more you blog, the more traffic you’ll get, and the higher up that first page you’ll be.

There’s no better way to build inbound links

Inbound links are another important aspect of SEO, and another way in which blogging can help your business. Inbound links are any links from other websites that point to your website. So, if a supplier, client or similar site includes a link to your site anywhere on theirs, that qualifies as an inbound link.

These inbound links are worth their weight in gold. Well, they probably don’t weigh that much really, but you know what I mean. They’re massively important when it comes to your search engine rankings. By blogging, you can create useful content that other people want to link back to. As a result, your inbound links will grow, and so will your search rankings.

A great blog will power your social channels  

We all know that you need to make noise on social media if you really want to stand out from your competitors. But sharing other brands’ content and retweeting things that pique your interest will only get you so far. To create social channels that really demand attention, you’ll need to power those tweets, facebook posts and instagram shots with carefully curated, unique content. Having a regularly updated blog makes this easy.

Use your blog as the basis for your social planning, and you’ll always have plenty of content on which to base your social updates. And your follower numbers will be heading upwards before you know it.

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Blogging is great for business. It improves search rankings, drives traffic, builds trusts and helps you stand out from the crowd. Creating a great blog isn’t as simple as it sounds, however. The success of your blog depends entirely on the quality of the content you post. So, take the time to work on your blog content. Make sure it’s engaging, informative and fun to read. Consider your audience, and write in a way that appeals to them. Think about it from a reader’s perspective. Make it sing.

If you’re reading this and thinking BUT I HAVEN’T GOT TIME, then I’ve got good news for you. Turn your caps lock off and calm yourself, because I’m here to take all your blogging worries away. I can create exciting, interesting blog content for you, in the blink of an eye. Then I’ll just leave you to reap the rewards of an epic blog that breaks the internet*. Talk to me about blog content, and I’ll do the rest.

*I cannot guarantee any breaking of the actual internet.