“Advertising says to people, ‘Here’s what we’ve got. Here’s what it will do for you. Here’s how to get it.” Leo Burnett
Advertising Your Business through On-Line Visibility
Small Businesses need to continually advertise and communicate their business products or services, to maintain / increase awareness and to extend the coverage to reach their target audience. Small business can achieve this for FREE, by effectively managing their on-line visibility.
Writing a Blog to complement the company website or as your main internet communication / connection, can gain you and your business significant on-line visibility i.e. advertising.
Keeping up to date on business issues, changing acronyms and the ongoing dynamic Google algorithm scenario, makes writing a Blog more relevant and effective to promote your business on-line.
The website has developed into the “business catalog” for Medium to Large businesses displaying everything in one place, and generally with a dedicated staff or employee / consultant to ensure its kept in order and up to date for best search rankings and optimizing conversion rates.
For most Small to Medium size businesses the website is a “must have” the modern version of distributing a business card, displaying the company image, products and services and contact details, but unfortunately the website is low on the priority list at this point and treated like a “duty” for most fledgling business operations.
So why write a Blog as well to support your business?
On-Visibility benefits of Writing a Blog
1. Speed - Blog Posts are generally listed in search results within hours. Changes or updates to websites generally take 4 -5 days to be indexed and listed in search, but still 60 – 70% of visits will be to the Home Page not the update.
2. Tone / Image - Blog posts can be informative and more personal, and interactive.
3. Subject Specific - Posts can be targeted to a specific audience or subject and will appear in search results on that subject.
4. Search Results – The Goal is to achieve maximum share of on-line search visibility, gaining extra listings, gaining share of the results page means greater reach and increased awareness by your audience.
5. Promoting “the short term” - Blogs can promote short term messages and announcements, maybe not suited to changing or updating web pages e.g. special promotions, new product launches, price deals.
6. Softer Sell - as with my own Blog, it’s free information and advice, it communicates beyond just outlining my services and my skills, it allows me to take a point of view and hopefully connect with people or a person, a website tends to be a more direct business approach – hard selling, with the focus on converting the Visitor, to Buyer.
7. Testing - testing Keywords and Key Topics in a Blog allows you to “Test” the reaction of search engines in listings and the response in views.
8. Promoting Niche Products & Services - over promoting niche subjects on a website, can alter the business positioning and message of your website with search engine robots, a Blog can provide information on niche, lower priority or even seasonal products / services on your independently from the website.
About John Cullen
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