As a product-based business owner, increasing the flow of traffic to your website is, I know, at the top of your mind most days. One of the proven ways to get more traffic and grow your business is releasing content onto the Internet via your blog.

The more content you have on your site, the more chances you have of being found organically.  A blog can be just a simple article that you post to your website for your target audience to read, ideally at least 500 words, covering a subject which is relevant and specific to your business and it's keywords.

Why should you post regular content?

We love blogging for business growth because it helps to drive new traffic and audiences to your website, which in turn is great for attracting potential leads and new customers.

Posting fresh content helps keep audiences coming back to your online store for more. A blog post is a great way of creating this regular content. You can write about many different topics, as long as they all link back to your business in some way.

It gives your audience something to look forward to reading and engaging with. The other major advantage to your business is an increase in traffic, as your blog posts get indexed by Google and your brand appears in search results. 

As your potential visitors and customers search on Google and click on the link to your blog article, they are taken to your site and can begin a nurturing sales journey with you.  

Posting a regular blog post boosts SEO

By posting a regular article/ blog post to your website, you help to boost your SEO ranking. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation.

So how do blog posts help with this? Simply by posting regular content alone, you are helping with SEO rankings as you build up your website as more of an "authority" - an expert in the industry.  With more content to read on your website, Google can understand you better!  As more of your content gets indexed by Google, their search engine is updated with links to your online store and content. 

Blogging can also help with SEO optimization as it is the perfect place for you to include specific keywords or search terms into your copy. This means you can power up the Google search for your business and help drive people looking for your specific search terms.

Some blogging platforms, such as Word Press, with their SEO plugins, allow you to check the SEO rating on your blog post as you write it. If you haven’t got the ability to track how well your SEO ranking is within your content management admin area, I would suggest using one of the many SEO keyword tools available, such as ubersuggest by Neil Patel and reading up on where you place your keywords in your blogpost. Usually, it is a good idea to ensure keywords are mentioned at the start of the blog post and in subheadings.

Blogging for growth has a cumulative power

By posting a regular blog post on your website, it has a cumulative power, particularly if you post evergreen (timeless) content. This is especially true when this evergreen content shows you building your expertise or "body of knowledge". 

To make sure content is evergreen, try to avoid mentioning times of year unless you are specifically posting a seasonal topic. When you do post a seasonal blog, perhaps its a christmas special, ensure that it won’t matter which year it is read- this is so that each and every year, this content can be accessed, read and still be relevant.

For example, you could post something seasonal like Christmas gift ideas and include a selection from your product range - but be careful with external links as they tend to expire, or products may not be available each year. 

Evergreen content is extremely important for your website as it allows the target audience to come back and read it anytime. It never expires, unlike social media posts. This means the power of the content in the blog post can keep growing.

Blogging positions you as an authority figure/ expert

When you are writing an article on a particular topic, you will be providing your target audience with helpful, engaging and interesting content. This positions you as an authority figure/ expert in your field. Your audience will begin to trust in you as they read and experience your writing and essentially this leads to more interest in your products and retail brand. 

For example, if your products are aimed at children, you could be providing your audience with helpful blog posts within this area. This could be posts on how to get the best from your products, or what the top childrens toy trends are this year. When your audience then reads these posts, they see you as an expert in your field and your brand as a helpful, trustworthy one, often leading to more first time and repeat sales.

Make It Happen In Your Business

Blogging helps to build traffic flows for your business by boosting your SEO ranking through regular posting and keywords. It also creates a cumulative power through evergreen content and it also allows your customers to see you as an expert in your field. A blogging strategy is essential if you are going to power up your product business growth. 

Next Steps:

• If you like writing, Blogging is an enjoyable task to do when it comes to content creation. You can brainstorm posts, which you think your audience will love and then get writing! 

• If you don't like writing, don't fear - this is the perfect task to outsource to very competent content writers, whose job it is to create masterpieces on your behalf.  There are no excuses for not blogging.  Either get writing or get delegating!

• If you would like advice on how to increase the traffic to your website and how to incorporate blogging into your 3 year business growth plan, please feel free to schedule a call with me and see how we help businesses, just like yours, create a business growth roadmap.