Search Engine Optimisation can be an extremely useful marketing tool, helping to increase traffic to a business's website. Yet, thanks to Google's constantly changing algorithms and policies, even the best SEO company can find it difficult to keep up-to-date with the latest trends.
That said, despite all the changes to SEO strategies in recent years, blogging has remained a key element, favoured by just about every expert in the field. So exactly why are blogs such an effective part of search marketing?
Content is Key
The main purpose of SEO is to ensure that if someone searches Google, Bing or Yahoo, looking for a website like yours, they are presented with your listing as one of the first options on the result page. Search result rankings are based on a number of different factors, including keywords and relevancy, but fresh, quality content is one of the most crucial.
If you think about the average website, the content on individual pages does not change very often at all. For this reason, having a blog is a great way of ensuring that new content is added on a regular basis and if that content is high-quality, unique and useful, it will be rewarded in your search rankings.
Remember, a website which is updated regularly will almost always outrank one which has barely changed in a year.
Keywords and Backlinks
In addition, blogs provide marketing companies with a platform to successfully implement other SEO strategies. For example, SEO.co.UK, perhaps the most international SEO company London has to offer, utilised blog writing as a key part of its strategy for the Diamond Rocks website and was able to increase traffic by more than 144 percent.
An example of an SEO strategy that is easy to implement through a blog is the use of keywords. Although Google's algorithms have changed to penalise websites which cram keywords in aimlessly, an effective keyword strategy can still reap huge rewards and can be more successful with the appropriate use of blog posts.
The trick is to pick keywords which are not too generic, but still likely to be searched for. It is about finding the balance between targeted but not too 'niche' either. The remainder of the blog post should then aim to answer questions related to the topic of the keywords chosen. Remember that people are actually searching for information, not keywords, so well written, topic-oriented posts are recommended.
Meanwhile, blogs also allow backlinking techniques to be employed. Again, this is an area which requires a delicate balance, due to search engine algorithm changes. Links to your blog from completely unrelated sites could be 'penalised', but most SEO companies will be able to build link scheme relationships with reputable sites within the same niche area of expertise, boosting search engine rankings.
Statistical Evidence
According to statistics from HubSpot, marketers who utilise blogging receive as many as 67 percent more leads than those who do not. Moreover, companies with more than 50 pages on their website receive an average of 48 percent more traffic than those with less than 50 pages, showing the value of creating fresh content.
The importance of blogging as a marketing tool can be further demonstrated by the fact that 70 percent of people learn about companies through online articles and blog posts, rather than through traditional advertising. People are also statistically more trusting of blog posts than they are of pop up adverts, or banners.
Of course, blogs have value outside of SEO as well, and can improve various other aspects of a business. Indeed, according to research published by Ignite Spot, 61 percent of consumers have made a purchase off the back of reading a blog post.
Christelle Macri is the founder of the UK based SEO Company ebizpromotion, a specialist search marketing consultancy, with a no-nonsense and ethical approach to digital marketing. She is a digital marketing consultant with over 17 years experience in the internet advertising industry. Having worked for a major search engine and pioneering pay for performance advertising networks, she is an expert at turning her clients' websites into consistent revenue streams, using a variety of digital channels. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9052528
That said, despite all the changes to SEO strategies in recent years, blogging has remained a key element, favoured by just about every expert in the field. So exactly why are blogs such an effective part of search marketing?
Content is Key
The main purpose of SEO is to ensure that if someone searches Google, Bing or Yahoo, looking for a website like yours, they are presented with your listing as one of the first options on the result page. Search result rankings are based on a number of different factors, including keywords and relevancy, but fresh, quality content is one of the most crucial.
If you think about the average website, the content on individual pages does not change very often at all. For this reason, having a blog is a great way of ensuring that new content is added on a regular basis and if that content is high-quality, unique and useful, it will be rewarded in your search rankings.
Remember, a website which is updated regularly will almost always outrank one which has barely changed in a year.
Keywords and Backlinks
In addition, blogs provide marketing companies with a platform to successfully implement other SEO strategies. For example, SEO.co.UK, perhaps the most international SEO company London has to offer, utilised blog writing as a key part of its strategy for the Diamond Rocks website and was able to increase traffic by more than 144 percent.
An example of an SEO strategy that is easy to implement through a blog is the use of keywords. Although Google's algorithms have changed to penalise websites which cram keywords in aimlessly, an effective keyword strategy can still reap huge rewards and can be more successful with the appropriate use of blog posts.
The trick is to pick keywords which are not too generic, but still likely to be searched for. It is about finding the balance between targeted but not too 'niche' either. The remainder of the blog post should then aim to answer questions related to the topic of the keywords chosen. Remember that people are actually searching for information, not keywords, so well written, topic-oriented posts are recommended.
Meanwhile, blogs also allow backlinking techniques to be employed. Again, this is an area which requires a delicate balance, due to search engine algorithm changes. Links to your blog from completely unrelated sites could be 'penalised', but most SEO companies will be able to build link scheme relationships with reputable sites within the same niche area of expertise, boosting search engine rankings.
Statistical Evidence
According to statistics from HubSpot, marketers who utilise blogging receive as many as 67 percent more leads than those who do not. Moreover, companies with more than 50 pages on their website receive an average of 48 percent more traffic than those with less than 50 pages, showing the value of creating fresh content.
The importance of blogging as a marketing tool can be further demonstrated by the fact that 70 percent of people learn about companies through online articles and blog posts, rather than through traditional advertising. People are also statistically more trusting of blog posts than they are of pop up adverts, or banners.
Of course, blogs have value outside of SEO as well, and can improve various other aspects of a business. Indeed, according to research published by Ignite Spot, 61 percent of consumers have made a purchase off the back of reading a blog post.
Christelle Macri is the founder of the UK based SEO Company ebizpromotion, a specialist search marketing consultancy, with a no-nonsense and ethical approach to digital marketing. She is a digital marketing consultant with over 17 years experience in the internet advertising industry. Having worked for a major search engine and pioneering pay for performance advertising networks, she is an expert at turning her clients' websites into consistent revenue streams, using a variety of digital channels. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9052528
