How many times have you heard someone say, I just want that top search result on Google? For a business website, the top spot in the search engine returns can be a lead generating machine.
Think about it. Google is where most people go when they are researching. What if there was a way to get your company’s website on that first page? Well there is…
One of the best ways to gain that top spot is by blogging. Incorporating a blog into a website can have a huge impact on the overall website’s search engine rankings.
A blog does two important things in terms of the search engines:
- Adds naturally occurring, keyword-rich pages.
- Increases the potential for incoming links from high-quality websites.
- Keeps people coming to your website because the content is changing weekly and is important to subscribers.
This article will reveal the why and how for improving your search engine rankings with blogs.
Playing the Numbers—Static vs. Dynamic Websites
The average small business website includes anywhere from 10-20 static web pages. These are the basic pages you see on most sites such as the “home page”, an “about us” page, “product descriptions” and even pages with contact information. Once created, these pages rarely change. In some cases, even small changes on these pages can be an expensive proposition that involves bringing in a web designer.
If the site is well-built with all the appropriate code and metadata, the search engines will index these 10-20 pages of content. If the site is highly optimized and focused on a limited number of keywords, the search engines may connect those 10-20 pages with the right keywords (the search engine terms used to find information). However, due to the inherent needs of a website, some pages aren’t indexed for the desired keywords (i.e., contact forms).
Best-case scenario, 10-20 pages are recognized by the search engines as possible returns for the targeted keywords.
The Impact of Blog Posts
Now let us take our static website and add a blog. For the sake of this example, let’s say that there are five representatives in the company who have each agreed to write one blog post per week.
Here’s where our blog really starts to pay off. Each time a new blog post is added, a new page is indexed by the search engines. By the end of the first month, the website has doubled the number of pages originally indexed by the search engines.
Within a month, our website—which originally had 10-20 pages in the search engine pool—now has 30-40 pages that can possibly be returned in the top spot on Google. Stretch that out over the course of a year and our 10-20 page website now has around 250 pages indexed in the search engines.
And while a blog post a day is a lot of work, scale it back to one blog post per week and we’ve still more than doubled the number of indexed pages during the first year.
Each indexed page adds another ticket to the great Google lottery. The more tickets you hold, the better chances of winning the top spot in the search engine rankings.
The Power of Incoming Links
Now let’s say that our faithful bloggers have been adding their daily posts on topics of interest to their industry. Word gets around that they put up some valuable information and at the very least offer a voice for the company. A couple of blog posts have been emailed to fellow colleagues and even better, fellow industry bloggers are starting to link to the blog. The site starts to appear on fellow bloggers’ blog rolls and specific posts are linked as references and points of discussion in other online publications.
Google loves these incoming links. Google likes them even more when the links come from sites that are relevant to the content in the blog. Your website starts to look more important on the internet as you increase visitors and Google will notice this.
Then one day, someone is conducting research for a story related to our company’s industry. Because the blog has added a number of indexed pages to the website and others have started to link to the blog, it pops up in the reporter’s Google search. Our someone includes a link to the blog in his article and you have just increased your inbound linking to your website.
Google really likes incoming links from big, high-traffic sites. Along with the initial traffic sent to the blog from the article written by our someone, Google sees that they linked to our site in an article related to keywords indexed in our blog. Google recognizes that our someone has an important Internet site and makes the connection that because they have linked to our little blog, our blog must be important. Thus Google moves it up the search engine rankings.
Congratulations. Thanks to the addition of a blog, our little website of 10-20 static pages now holds one of the top spots in Google search results. Now some people do ask how long does this take to happen, well it can take anywhere from six months to a year to get on page one of Google. A lot of time and dedication have to be put in to keep this going for Google to notice.
Indexed Pages + Relevant and Reputable Links = Search Engine Success
At the 2009 Word Camp San Francisco (a gathering of WordPress users), Google’s Matt Cutts pointed out the importance of being both relevant and reputable. Incoming links from reputable sites in which the content is relevant to the content in the post are highly valued by Google. A blog is one of the best ways to continually add pages to a website that generate relevant and reputable links.
In the scenario above, our business blog has managed to provide both relevant content and generate reputable links—two big keys to success on Google.
Incorporate the Blog
If the goal is to raise the search engine results of the website, it is important to incorporate the blog into the website. Use a call to action at the end of the blog post to direct the reader to other parts of your website. Keep it on the same domain and provide clear links that encourage visitors to explore the rest of your website.
Make it easy for your reader. If the path to your website isn’t clearly marked, they will never find their way. That is why it is so important to integrate the website into the look and feel of your current website. You never want anyone to be taken from your website otherwise it is hard for them to get back. Integrating your blog will keep this from happening. As an example check out our blog and website to see how this integration can work for your business.
ROI
Measuring the ROI of social media is tricky, but consider the value of the top spot on Google. How much would you pay for the top organic search return? Although it doesn’t happen overnight, a blog can be one of the best ways to get there.
Have you seen a jump in the search engine rankings since adding a blog? If your business is not blogging, what’s holding you back? Contact Situated Research today to help you with your blog integration. Don’t have time to generate stories for your blog or even to social network? Contact us about our special Social Media Marketing Campaign where for two months we will create social media accounts for your company and get the buzz out about your website, business, product or service.
www.situatedresearch.com
(630) 522-0855
Written by: Michel Ann Sharritt
Posted by: Situated Research
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Interesting stuff, didn’t know that blogging was so essential to websites.
Very True. What’s the point of having a website if no one ever finds it? You have to market your site; and in website terms, links are free advertising. Since Blogs are link builders, they’re perfect for gaining visitors and therefore increasing your ROI. It just makes sense. If you’re not blogging, you probably should contact Situated Research about getting started.
Blogs are very essential for so many reasons:
1. Keep people coming back to your static website where content hardly changes from time to time.
2. Gets inbound links to your website.
3. Increases traffic to your website.
4. Establishes the owner of the blog as an expert within their field.
5. Raises your websites popularity which will in turn raise your search engine ranking.
Thanks for the comments!