By Andrea
Greene, Internet Marketing Specialist
This tip will catch you up on
one of the hottest topics in online marketing right now: Blogs. To give
you and idea of just how big blogs are becoming: Over 8 million American
adults have created blogs and in 2004 blog readership increased by 58%.
Currently, 27% of all internet users read blogs and 12% of internet users have
posted comments or other material on blogs.*
What is a Blog?
A blog (short for "web log") is an online journal containing a chronological
history of the author's entries. A blog can be updated frequently, and easily,
usually from once a week to multiple times a day. Better blogs are original,
creative, and have something of interest to share with readers. And a blog can
be interactive, allowing other bloggers to comment on or respond to the
author's posts.
Here are examples of some
different types of blogs you can view using your browser:
You can read a blog by going
directly to its website or you can use a news aggregator or subscription
service, such as Bloglines or BlogPulse. These services allow you to search
for blogs and subscribe to the ones you like. Then you can access your
customized page with updates of the newest posts for your subscriptions.
Why Online Marketers like
Blogs...
A blog may be a real asset to your marketing efforts because it can help you
with:
- Market research: A
blog gives you the ability to gain real-time input from customers or
prospects and gather information about their wants and needs regarding your
product or service.
- Customer relationships:
Creating a blog for your customers allows you to build relationships and
rapport with them. Let your customers know you are listening to what they
are saying and that you take an interest in their opinions.
- Build credibility:
A blog promotes your authority as an expert in your industry and can also
help attract a new audience. This is especially useful for a new company
competing against already established companies. Use a blog to not only
build credibility, but also to increase exposure in the search engines and
among potential clients and prospects.
Why Search Engines like
Blogs...
A blog can also increase your site's search engine visibility. This means if
your site has a blog, there is a greater chance your site will rank higher in
the search engines! Here's why:
- Frequent indexing:
Search engine crawlers tend to return more often to a site that has
frequently updated content. Every time a search engine visits your site,
your chances of getting indexed and ranked for relevant content are
increased.
- Searchable content:
Blogs are in an all-text format, which is the most searchable format for
search engine crawlers. With every post to your blog, searchable content is
being added to your site. Not to mention you are probably filling the site
with relevant keywords. Once search engines pick up on these keywords, your
site's rankings may get a boost in the results pages. For example, search "durability
of Vortec V-8 engines" in Yahoo for this phrase and you will see the
first 3 listing are for two of GM's blogs, Fastlane.GMblogs.com and
Smallblock.GMblogs.com. These are corporate blogs of GM's top executives and
not only do they show up in the top rankings, they also build credibility of
the company.
- Link popularity:
With the ever-gaining popularity of blogs has come a growing number of
directories and communities specifically designed for indexing all of the
blogs. (Check out Technorati.com, Feedster.com or blogwise.com, among many
others). Adding a blog to your site and submitting it to these directories
will increase the number of inbound links to your site. Even more, if your
blog is relevant, useful, or entertaining, you are more likely to have
other bloggers linking to your blog.
- Natural language:
Blogs are meant to contain personal, natural human language that is easy to
read. This scores points with both search engines AND real people, who
ultimately matter most.
If you think a blog might be
an asset to your website, contact Dynamics Online
for a consultation or visit our own Internet Marketing Topics
blog.
Quick Tip: If you
don't have the time or resources to start your own blog, take advantage of the
thousands of blogs already out there. Find related blogs and monitor the posts
and comments on those for information. Even better, start responding in blogs
and get your name out there in the blogosphere.
*Source: Pew Internet and
American Life Project, The State of Blogging, January 2005
www.pewinternet.com.
