Who reads blogs?

Google loves bloggers. Their algorithm scores a website higher if it can find a blog there. The key issue is that Google is moving towards semantic search.

Semantic search = a search query that determines the intent and context of the search phrase.

Google likes subject experts who write regularly and at length about their area of expertise. This thinking lines up with semantic search. For example, a brochureware website is arguably not as helpful to a searcher as a content rich blog that provides in depth information on a given subject.

Googles does not like websites that attempt to ‘game the system’ by using keyword stuffing, link farms and discredited black hat SEO techniques. A business contact of mine told me recently that she had lost 60% of her turnover when Google removed them from organic search listings. They had inadvertently used black hat search techniques. Why bother to go in that direction, when you can write about what you know and let the search engines do the heavy lifting?

Adding new pages to your site does not produce the same results, even if you add meta data – because of the way that blog technology works. A blog is a journal of your thoughts. When used for business purposes, it is used to focus on a specific subject area. Within a WordPress blog, for example, categories and tags give a different level of
experience for both Google and human readers. In addition, RSS functionality, ping backs and a vast array of blog related WordPress plugins all help.

A well written and interesting blog is something that people want to return to and recommend, like a good novel. When was the last time that you recommended a sales brochure to a friend?

If your competitors are not blogging, then this is a digital marketing opportunity for you.

Blogs are an easy to read, easily accessible form of online content. They behave well on smartphones and tablet computers – which is where many blogs are consumed.

According to Wikipedia, a blog is published every second: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

So the answer to that question is ‘a lot of people’.

Written by marketing consultant, trainer, speaker and author Nigel Temple.
3,000+ clients over a 30 year period.
Nigel is available for hire as a marketing consultant, marketing trainer or marketing speaker.