Enjoy this important blog post: Are Blogs Still Important for SEO And Why?  by Lee Oden at Business Blog Consulting

A large number of companies are familiar with the process of starting a blog, but few have experienced the challenges of maintaining and growing a blog for more than a year. Understanding long term benefits is key to sustainable business blogging. One of the most notable benefits of publishing blog content, especially if optimized, is the compliment to search engine optimization efforts.

TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog recently conducted a survey with 326 Corporate, Agency, Small Biz and Independent marketers. Long time readers of Business Blog Consulting understand the SEO value of blogging, however, we wanted to check in with marketers with a variety of blogging experience to see what their experiences have been firsthand.

Key findings:

95% indicated blogs are used as part of their search engine optimization efforts
87.4% successfully increased measurable SEO objectives as a direct result of blogging
90% cited blogging as important, significantly important or a primary SEO tactic

Blogs are started for many reasons ranging from corporate communications in a newsroom format to conversational posts from executives or subject matter experts. When it came to SEO benefits from blogging, the top choices were:

» Creat new optimized content
» Linking from blog posts to optimized web site content
» Attract external links
» Increase crawl rate / frequency
» Community building for content/links promotion
» Content Syndication
The timeframe between starting a blogging effort and seeing results is a very common question for companies considering a blog as part of the marketing and communications mix. In the TopRank survey, respondents reported seeing SEO results fairly quickly:

94% of bloggers reported seeing measurable SEO benefits from blogging within 12 months
54% of respondents start to see SEO benefits from blogging within 3 months

After timeframe to see results, the next most common question about building a case for a corporate blog are the results. Adding a SEO effort to a corporate blog allows companies to increase the outcomes and reach of the content published. The top benefits from blog SEO included:

» Increasing company site traffic
» Increase company leads/sales
» Inbound links
» Referrals from the blog
» Lead generation from the blog
» Improved web site rankings
» Increased blog traffic
Starting a blog purely for SEO reasons will make content sustainability difficult in the long run. A blogging strategy must meet meet other goals as well, especially those that involve engaging customers or interactions with readers. Other success measures from blogging include:

» Increase overall online exposure. They won’t know about you if you don’t say anything, participate
» Contribute to company’s bottom line goals in at least a semi-direct way
» Branding and owning SERPS
» Increase quality of site traffic
» Improve visibility and prominence in search engine results is by far the most important, it’s all about search
» Branding
» Incease visibility and demonstrate the company is “up to date”
Convincing management that a corporate blog or any kind of blog is not always easy. Nor is long term creation of content and promotion. Many of the comments about obstacles to blogging centered around time, resources, measurement and a lack of awareness.

» 67.2% cited resource issues as the most common objection to implementing a blog
» 42% cited content sourcing issues
» 35% didn’t see the benefit of blogging
» Regulated industry or legal issues got in the way for 19.3
Is blogging here to stay? 92% of respondents feel blogging will continue to be an important content optimization and marketing tactic for the next 3+ years.

Hopes this helps you see the importance of blogs for your business.

Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company Social Media Services

Don’t let your interns or friends  handle your Social Media.  I’ve heard it before.  “I have a friend who’s going to help me with my social media” or “I’m going to use an Intern to do our social media”.

Wrong approach. Wrong Strategy.  Just wrong. Social Media is complicated and must be managed with synergy across all networks.

Have you ever notice websites, fan pages and twitter accounts that suddenly go silent?  Interns are with your company for a few months and friends are friends.  Leaving your message to inexperienced people will leave your customers hanging in cyberspace waiting for answers and conversations with the brand they love. Take the time to find a company that will handle your brand with care.

What to look for in a Social Media Manager:

1. Certification in Social Media Marketing
2. Willingness to research, understand and care for your brand
3. Presentation of a customized social media  community interaction plan for your business
4. Solid at making recommendations and updating your social media plan
5. Professional who has great communication and customer service skills
6. Ongoing training and thought leadership insights

Look for a Social Media Manager that will give you a planned strategy and that will easily grow and adapt to your company events.  Always seeks a social media professional who will respect your brand and who can seamlessly manage and grow your community across networks.

Would you like to know more? Let’s talk!

Sabrina Espinal
Sabrina&Company Social Media Services