Blog

Whilst the spotlight is currently on social networking as the online marketing goldmine, it’s easy to forget that the good old blog still has its uses in e-commerce website design. Here are just a few ways in which more emphasis on blogging can benefit your business:

Better search engine optimisation

Blogs lend themselves to the type of content search engines look for. And when they find it, you get improved rankings. That’s because blogs are all about words – and search engines love words. So they will get crawled by search-engine bots (not as nasty as it sounds) more quickly. Blogs are also natural link builders – as any professional web developers will tell you.

Add a touch of personality

Even the most faceless corporation can project a friendly image by communicating directly with customers. Because even if you just talk about the difficulties of putting your car through its MOT, you’re communicating to people in a way they can relate to. On the other hand, nobody really wants to hear about your projected sales figures for the next quarter. Not even if you read this sort of thing to your kids at night.

Helping to build your brand

If you know your audience (and you really should), you can deliver a targeted message that’s guaranteed to strike a chord. Let’s take the fashion industry: you could spend a whole blog talking about what a celebrity is wearing. To the untrained eye, it may have little to do with your company. But include a few links to your products in the text and your brand becomes identified with high fashion and fame. It’s a slow drip-drip process but be patient – it works in the long run.

Attracting media attention

Journalists – if they can get somebody else to do their job, they will. So many of them scour the blogosphere looking for source material. If your blog gains a reputation for being worth a read on a regular basis, you can bet your audience will include a few writers on the hunt for something juicy. So why not encourage them in and your business may end up receiving priceless press coverage? There’s also the phenomenon known as ‘going viral’ – where a subject seems to proliferate across social media as everybody shares it at once. If that happens to your business, then (providing it’s not too negative) you’ve got it made.

Becoming a ‘Thought Leader’

You may fancy yourself as a respected sage and guru on your chosen subject – whether it’s advertising creativity, professional web design, make-up, cleaning or advanced photocopying. Well, don’t hide your light under a bushel because the more opinionated you are, the better. It demonstrates you know what you are talking about in a niche market – and that leads to confidence in your brand. Become an authoritative, trusted source and it reflects well on your business, which leads to bigger sales and better profits.

The beneficial effects of effective blogging in e-commerce website design shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s still one of the most important weapons in the arsenal of any web design company – and that alone should tell you that blogging isn’t yesterday’s news just yet.