It seems that blogs are no longer popular. The proof? Google Trends results. Over the past five years, the overall interest in searches for this keyword has gone from 100 to 27! The digital world is changing fast, competition is fierce and the Internet is constantly inventing new ways to offer content to its users. Social networks, videos, varieties of formats and platforms… Internet users are constantly solicited, from all sides. This explains the decline of interest in blogs: they are drowned in the ocean of the Web. However, are blogs dead? Well, no! Check here for a free blogging course to understand and learn better. They are, even today, a powerful marketing tool that should not be overlooked. Do you doubt it? Here are the benefits of blogging for a business, even in 2022.
Blogs are not dead: they increase online visibility
By allowing you to position yourself at the top of the SERP
Today, all digital communication experts agree: content is king. Search engines, Google or others, work with algorithms eager for novelties. You have to feed them to hope to appear on the first page of the SERP (Search Engine Result Page). For that, what could be simpler than a blog? This, if updated regularly, allows a company to assert its presence on the Web and generate more traffic. How? On the one hand, by improving the internal mesh of their site: Google likes well-built sites. On the other hand, by positioning on a greater variety of keywords, therefore on more potential queries. Results? The company increases its chances of appearing in search results and expands its customer base by finding new prospects.
Similarly, with a blog, Internet users can easily share content that they liked or was useful to them. By creating added value through new articles, sites can reach new people effortlessly. The magic of word-of-mouth digital version!
By guaranteeing sites to keep their place and gain
It’s not enough to be well positioned on Google, you still have to stay that way! Here again, the blog is the ideal solution to renew its content regularly. Depending on the key queries chosen, it is even possible to improve its natural referencing (SEO, in English) and gain places in the SERP.
Take the example of online driving schools. One of them does not have a blog. Its website is therefore a showcase site presenting its services. Apart from occasional updates (modification of offers, seasonal promotions, etc.), the content remains the same for months or even years. Search engines eventually consider it obsolete and demote it on the SERP. In the meantime, its competitors are trying to stand out. For this, one of them decides to open a blog on his site and to publish an article there once a week. Thus, it shows the algorithms that it is active and still relevant.
They allow you to know and retain your audience
Let’s move on to the second point: the powerful social dimension of blogs. Indeed, they are interesting communication tools to exploit. First, by studying the statistics of the articles. These bring out a clearer image of his clientele: what interests him? What type of subject makes her react? What kind of comments does she leave? What articles does she share on social networks? All this allows you to refine your persona and therefore, by extension, to improve your business strategy.
Blogs are also a way to build a relationship of trust with your audience to build loyalty. These are spaces for exchange and sharing. They allow:
- to set up appointments with Internet users;
- to offer more engaging and attractive content (tutorials, advice, exclusives, etc.) in addition to the products or services that we sell;
- to weave a more familiar bond thanks to the comments.
In a way, they give a more human and authentic side to the company.
They improve the brand image
In fact, the numbers don’t lie: according to Social Marketing Writing, 68.5% of consumers say that a blog adds credibility to a website. And for good reason,Wiki Specialist INC move away from the commercial tone by sharing the universe around the brand. We can thus show behind the scenes, present our teams, highlight the corporate culture, etc. By adding a good dose of storytelling, we can:
- embody its brand;
- share its values;
- appeal to the sensitivity of Internet users rather than their purchasing power;
- demonstrate their expertise in their field.
Today, the story of a brand is just as important as the products or services it sells. People prefer to give their money to someone they feel close to and whose values they share rather than to an impersonal entity. According to an infographic from Demand Metric relayed by HubSpot, 70% of people prefer to learn about a company by reading blogs rather than advertisements. This is why they are the tools of choice for working on your brand image.
Last advantage of blogging: it offers more freedom
What about social media then? They too enable storytelling and are used daily by thousands of people. The difference lies in one word: freedom. When you create your professional blog, you own the digital space. We shape it as we wish, we choose its visual identity and we finance its existence on the Web. Conversely, social networks are platforms that belong to others. We just create our account. We are then subject to rules of use, constraints, on the content and the form. The blog offers greater freedom, greater control and a more sustainable side (as long as you pay for your hosting). The advantage being that today it can be linked to all possible social networks. Ideal for a multi-channel communication strategy!
At the start of January 2022, according to Growth Badger, there were over 1.9 billion websites, including 600 million blogs. Are the numbers down over the past five years? Yes. Are blogs dead? Nope! They just evolve. Blogging is no longer the same as when it started. Like any digital element, it changes according to uses and innovations. Formerly designed as an amateur personal space, it is now a powerful marketing tool for the professional sphere. In fact, 84% of marketers base their tactics on content creation (SEMrush). An investment that takes time, but is worth it, if it is part of a real digital strategy. Exactly, do you lack time? Use one of our professional web writers to write your content. Are you still hesitating? Take a look at this article that will convince you: hiring a web editor is boosting your Internet traffic.
