Having an internet presence is essential for all businesses these days. People in need of information go straight to their computer or phone to conduct searches. So, all local businesses should strive to be the first result on the SERP. Having a blog on your local business’s website will help you draw more internet traffic, and ultimately drive sales. It will also help to answer some questions your customers may have.
Are You an Authority in Your Industry?
Local Business Blogs Demonstrate Value
When searching for a local mechanic, plumber, or even a restaurant, people want to know that they’re getting the real deal. Your internet presence will affect the public’s perception about your local business’s proficiency.
People are much less likely to hire or do business with a small, out-dated website. It give the implication of inefficiency. Instead, customers will prefer the website that presents the business as a more knowledgeable group.
Keeping a blog will help you demonstrate that knowledge to your current, increasingly larger, audience. If you own a home repair company, then regularly posting about previous clients that you’ve helped, new services that you are offering, and new DIY carpentry hacks can go a long way. Not only will it show that you are good at what you do, but it will demonstrate your motivation to improve.
Do You Care About Your Customers?
Blogging Engages the Local Customer
The best local business blog posts function in two ways. They answer the question that led the reader to that page, and they convince the reader that you are the right one to provide that service.
Continuing with the home repair company example, a carpenter might write a blog post explaining the process of building a backyard gazebo. What are my options of gazebo styles? How does the customer know if their backyard can accommodate a gazebo? What’s the best way to go about starting the process?
You can answer all of these questions and more with a detailed, reader-friendly blog post.
It seems like common sense that if you divulge too many details, readers will simply take the information and act on it themselves, making all of your efforts for naught. More often than not, this is not the case.
If you succeed in delivering a clear, explanatory blog post about your specialties, then people will trust you as both an authority on the topic, and as a well-intentioned local business. If you engage with a local audience, then they will engage with you.
What Makes You Stand Out From the Rest?
Blogs Show the Company Voice
The voice of your blog posts should echo how you communicate with customers.
Local business blog posts should be written with a friendly, conversational voice. They should also demonstrate the elements of your business that make you unique, and appeal to your target audience.
For example, take a look at the website copy on Apple and Sony’s websites. Microsoft’s homepage is much more text-heavy, and focuses more on selling the product than selling the brand.
While these are perhaps extreme examples that do not conform at all to the local business model, the text still does its job. Both are extremely successful pages that perform well in their respective niches.
Your final goal should be to speak in the voice that you want your customers to hear. Create an internal dialogue with them before they have even called or emailed you.
Blogging: A Viable Sales Tool
While local blog content can answer any questions that your customers might have, there are also benefits that serve your bottom line.
Blogs Help You Show up in Local Searches
As your blog content library grows, so too will your keyword usage. With more instances of a certain keyword on any page of your domain, your business’s web presence will grow. Depending on the keyword that you are optimizing, your page will begin to show up more for certain search queries. As you begin to develop more content, you can extend the reach of your website by optimizing for several keywords, along with variations of those keywords. These different pages will serve as landing pages for various search queries, meaning they will be the first page that viewers encounter.
Developing your keyword strategy can be a long process, but it’s worthwhile, and very rewarding.
Drive Click-Through Traffic with Interlinking
After you’ve published a few blog posts, you might realize that there is a topical overlap between the current post and posts you have written previously. This is perfectly natural.
Linking to posts that you have previously written will be helpful in two ways:
- Viewers who visit the first page will see the link, and might be intrigued enough to click on it. Once they have visited this landing page, it’s your job to convince them to visit other pages by writing compelling copy.
- If the page you are linking to is looked upon favorably by Google already, then it will receive a better ranking. As you develop page authority, linking to each page will be much more beneficial.
Blogging is Easy…with the Right Approach
Keeping a blog for your local business should be another part of your monthly duties. It’s the most natural way to regularly update your website. As the saying goes, content is king. Showing your customers what you can do for them without requiring them to do additional outside research will make your website a valuable tool, and help them to make the right choice.
The best approach to blogging is to be genuine, unique, and true to your voice. Blogging has gotten a bad rep over the last few years, due to SEO companies employing “Black Hat” SEO tactics to gain rankings. With the right approach and the right tools, your blog can help your business website get to the next level.