Business Logs

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business blog tips

5 Things Your Business Blog Needs to Thrive

It’s easy to create a blog, publish a few posts, and think you’ve got a great business blog. But guess what? A successful business blog requires a lot more work than that. The social web does not operate like the Field of Dreams, and if you build it, they will not necessarily come.

Building a successful business blog takes commitment, persistence and patience. Most importantly, there are a few fundamentals that you need to make sure you address if you want your business blog to thrive in the long term.

Five of the most important fundamentals are described below to help you take your business blog to the next level of success: [Read more…] about 5 Things Your Business Blog Needs to Thrive

5 Easy Ways to Get Your Business Blog Banned by Google

SEOAs your business blog grows, you’re likely to find that a lot of visitors find their way to your blog through search engines, particularly Google.  While it’s very important do keyword research and use search engine optimization techniques in an effort to increase that search engine traffic (stay tuned to BusinessLogs for search engine optimization tips coming later this week), there are some things that you must avoid, no matter how tempting, else you run the risk of having your business blog banned by Google.

In simplest terms, Google uses a proprietary search algorithm as well as human analysis to detect sites that use search engine optimization techniques which artificially inflate the results Google returns for keyword searches.  If your business blog is caught doing any of the things listed below, your blog will be flagged as spam and may very well be banned from all Google search results going forward.

In other words, don’t do the things listed below if you want to get traffic from Google: [Read more…] about 5 Easy Ways to Get Your Business Blog Banned by Google

5 Steps to the Compounding Effect of Business Blogging

"business blog seo entry points"One of the topics I often discuss in my books, to my clients, and at speaking engagements is the value of a business blog not just as a tool to create conversations, build relationships, and develop brands, but also to increase search engine rankings and visitors to a business Web site.

Many business owners think of blogging as a chore that delivers little added-value to a company’s bottom-line, but the truth is actually exactly the opposite.  A business blog is an incredible tool for search engine optimization because of what I call the compounding effect of blogging.

First, you need to understand consumer behavior in the 21st century:

Where do you go to find information about a business, product, store, etc. when you need it? Do you check the Yellow Pages?  Nope.  The vast majority of consumers turn to Google or their favorite search engine (with Google being #1).

Here’s how the compounding effect of blogging phenomenon works:

  1. You have a business Web site made up of 20 pages.  That’s 20 entry points to your business Web site for Google to find, index, and deliver in relevant keyword searches.
  2. You add a business blog to your Web site, and you publish a blog post everyday for a year.  Now you have 365+20=385 entry points to your business Web site for Google to find, index, and deliver in relevant keyword searches. [Read more…] about 5 Steps to the Compounding Effect of Business Blogging

Top 10 Benefits of Business Blogging

Why does your business need a blog?  I could go on and on about why businesses can benefit from publishing a blog, but I’m going to narrow it down to the top 10 benefits listed below.

1. Direct marketing and promotion

While businesses should never use a blog solely for self-promotion, it’s not forbidden to include marketing messages now and then.  If your business is offering discounts or coupons that benefit your consumers, then there is no harm in talking about them on your business blog.  Similarly, you can talk about your products and link to your online catalog.  Just remember that at least 80% of your online content should not be self-promotional.

2. Establish expertise

Use your blog to establish your business as the go-to place for information related to your industry, products, and so on.  If you publish great content on your business blog, others will notice and share that content.  In time, you’ll develop a reputation as an expert in your field with reliable and authoritative information that is useful.  That’s the kind of content and expertise that people actively seek. [Read more…] about Top 10 Benefits of Business Blogging

5 Ways to BE Successful with a Business Blog

business blogging successAnyone can start a business blog, but not everyone can be successful as a business blogger.  That’s because writing for a business blog is different from any form of traditional marketing or business development.  Instead of self-promoting and selling on your business blog, you need to focus on dialogue and relationships in order to find success.

Following are 5 fundamental requirements you need to follow to BE successful with your business blogging efforts:

1. Be human.

No one will want to spend time with you online (or offline) if you sound like you’re reading from a corporate brochure or PowerPoint presentation.  Your blog posts must demonstrate your personality and be written in a conversational style and tone befitting of your target audience.  They have to be interesting and engaging, and they must be completely devoid of any corporate rhetoric. [Read more…] about 5 Ways to BE Successful with a Business Blog

Harness the Power of Business Blogging for Brand Building

"business blog"One of the biggest opportunities for businesses when it comes to leveraging the reach of the online conversation happening on the social Web is related to brand building.  By participating in online discussions, you can create brand awareness, recognition, recall, loyalty and advocacy that lead to an extremely powerful brand overall.

First, what is a brand?

A brand is a promise to consumers that creates customer expectations for every experience they have with that brand.  As you continually meet those customer expectations for your brand, consumers develop loyalty to it, seeking it out over other brands, and advocating it (or defending it) to other consumers.

Next, how do you build a brand?

There are three main steps to building a brand that apply regardless of the industry your business is in or the tools you use to communicate your brand messages and develop your brand image.  Those three steps are: [Read more…] about Harness the Power of Business Blogging for Brand Building