You don’t see a value in blogging for business. I get it. There are a TON of people out there who just don’t see a point to it all. To you, your website is more like a business card. It’s a static entity that doesn’t change often – if ever. You’ve got your keyword strategy mostly buttoned up and you “think” you’re good to go. People will find you, they’ll love what they see and POOF – you’ll attract tons of online leads and new clients.
Here’s the thing… That’s not how the internet works anymore.
The search engine’s spiders are constantly crawling through the depths of the interwebs, seeking out and categorizing new content (and man, there’s a lot of it).
As you’d expect, the goal of search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing is to provide a relevant, up-to-date and robust set of search results to their users. One of the ways they’ve achieved this is by placing positive emphasis on domains whose content is updated regularly. The bias is to fresh, current information and domains that appear to be active in that subject. Like…oh-say… a BLOG!
According to HubSpot, B2B companies that blog regularly, get 67% more leads per month than those who don't. Plus, if you are interested in using your digital assets better and you keep hearing about "Inbound Marketing" for lead generation... again a BLOG is how it's done!
Look at it like this.
For the sake of argument, you’re a successful general contractor. You and a competitor have logically equivalent websites and keyword strategies. You have the same target buyer personas and similar value-adds to your product and service offerings. However, your competitor has implemented a successful blogging strategy and is posting educational industry content on a regular basis. Now let’s assume all factors are equal (an unlikely scenario, but stay with me here) and a potential client searches the long-tail keyword “I want to put an addition on my house,” Your competitor is going to appear before you in the list of results that are returned. They’ll probably click through to the competitors’ site and who knows if they’ll ever make it back to the search results and on to your site.
That is a missed opportunity – don’t be “that” guy.
Having all that educational content in his back pocket, your competitor gives off an air that he’s an expert. He may have answered a question or solved a problem for that potential client who never made it to your site. Either way, he’s already providing value, building trust, and nurturing that relationship.
The importance of blogging doesn’t end at “getting found” by people using search engines. Over time, proper blog utilization on a regular basis, will position you as a thought leader in your industry. It adds credibility to your brand and helps people trust that you know what you’re doing.
Further, with just a little creative thinking, your blog can become a channel of a wide variety of customer relevant marketing and sales information about your company. This part is just old fashioned marketing. Create some great content like video, or contests, or surveys. It's an awesome place to tell your story. Put it on the blog. Promote it in social media. Maybe even traditional media advertising!.
Blogging gives your company a voice – a chance to tell your brand’s story. 
Sharing your blog via Social Media channels such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook (and many others) creates yet another opportunity for potential clients to become leads, online. Once you’re ready to share that exceptional content, social sharing is quick, it’s easy and it drives traffic to your site, directly. It’s like free PR and who doesn’t like free exposure?
And while the search engines "like" fresh, your blog posts do work for customers and SEO for a very long time.
So do it. But do have a strategy for customer, for SEO, for promotion, engagement, and ROI.
Learn more about gaining leads online for your business in our e-Book, The 30 Greatest Lead Generation Tips, Tricks, & Ideas
