Blogging for business is a passion of ours. A blog allows you to show your expertise, identify the problems of your customers (and provide solutions), and helps your main business page rank higher on search engines. However, not everyone should jump on the blogging bandwagon. Some people are just not up for the challenge.
1. Today you’re going write five posts and then stop updating your blog for 18 months. A neglected blog is worse than a dead blog when it comes down to authority and credibility in your niche. Despite this, everyone has periods of productivity and times of laziness. You can harness the productive moments and save your ideas for later. I use Evernote. But you can also use Google Docs or the Editorial Calendar plugin within WordPress. To draft and save your posts, you can use Evernote.
2. Your nephew, son or friend who is “in the know” about the internet will be able to design your website. SEO is all about the content. But a poorly designed site with poor graphics will not attract any traffic Google sends your way, no matter how beautiful the words. You don’t have to hire a professional to customize your WordPress website. Instead, choose a simple, light-colored theme among the many available. An ugly blog is not an excuse.
3. You will post stream-of-consciousness articles without any point, call to action, or keywords. Without an objective, blogging is like embarking on a journey without a destination. It won’t be easy to know where you are going and it won’t matter when you arrive. Instead, do keyword research and set a goal for your blog and then plan your content accordingly. Although it takes some time, the results will speak for itself.
4. Registering your domain is too expensive. Blogspot and WordPress.com might be a great way to swap stories with your family, but a URL of mybusiness.blogspot.com is not at all business like. This is also true for @aol or @hotmail addresses. You must make a good first impression if you want to succeed in business.
5. Flash navigation with animated pages-turning graphics sounds amazing! Although Flash navigation with animated page-turning graphics is great, when you are just starting out, it can be difficult to attract people to your site. This will also happen with those who use older browsers or dial-up. Search engines cannot read Flash, so you won’t get many people to appreciate your innovative site. This advice is fine for artists and photographers. However, Flash websites can be beneficial to some businesses. For most business owners, however, Flash and excessive Javascript are best avoided.
A business blog is an important first step in getting your website noticed online. However, it should not be taken lightly. Spend some time thinking about your goals and keyword research to better understand your customers. Finally, create an editorial calendar that you can follow for the next three months. You won’t be able to tell if your blog strategy works if you do anything less.