When it comes to enhancing the performance of your website, content is a make-or-break factor. The quality of your website copy determines how well it appeals to both audience and search engines. In our previous blog, we reported that the importance of value-driven messaging is one of the powerful digital marketing traits that has been solidified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Your home and service web pages are critical, but they aren’t the only solution to infusing your site with valuable information. We also encourage our clients to maintain a blog. If you are on the fence about endeavoring in an ongoing content project, consider these three big benefits of blogging:
Did you know that a blog is one of the major influencers of website performance? Search engine algorithms are programmed to generate a list of high-quality results to satisfy users’ search needs, and they prioritize websites with fresh, unique content. Websites that remain static, with little to no copy updates, can be flagged as inactive and lose their rank in search results. You are far too busy to be revamping your website copy every month, and the good news is that posting a weekly or monthly blog is enough to keep your site active.
Blogs can also be rich in keywords, which makes your site more visible to potential customers. For example, if a consumer in your area performs a search on “how to do an oil change at home,” they could find the blog you wrote on that very topic, which leads them directly to your website. Suddenly, that random consumer looking to save a few dollars is now aware of your brand and can contact your store when they have an automotive need that they can’t solve at home. By anticipating your potential customers’ online searches, you can generate blog content on those same topics.
Educational content converts better than direct advertisements. Consumers see educational content as a sign that a brand is trustworthy and looking out for their customers’ best interest, not just out to make a dollar. Blogging is one of the best platforms to deliver educational resources because you have the breadth to dive deep into topics and really demonstrate your industry expertise. When a website visitor clicks on your blog and sees article after article on best practices for car maintenance, choosing the right vehicle model for their family, and options for financing, they know that your dealership will have their back throughout the buying process.
Demand Metric reports that 70% of consumers would rather read a blog to learn about a business than see advertisements. Your blog can be an excellent reflection of your dealership if you take the time to inject your dealership’s personality into your words and craft a brand “voice.” This human touch creates an outlet for online shoppers to connect with your dealership on a more personal level and form a loyalty to your brand.
We understand your hesitation to add another task to your packed schedule. Maintaining a productive requires both time and proactive thinking, which is why we have created a list of helpful tips to make the blogging process easier for business owners:
• Pick a topic you’re passionate about. Think about an industry topic you could talk about for hours. Maybe it’s car detailing or exciting 2021 brand models. The more passionate you are about a topic, the easier you’ll find it to channel your interest into a blog—and the more interesting that blog will be! • Start with an outline. If you don’t have time to sit down and write a full blog all at once, draft an outline of the main points. You can come back later and fill it out. The outline will help you remember everything you want to say. • Create a content calendar. If you have experience with writing, you’ll know that a significant chunk of time is spent just thinking of what to write about. By keeping a content calendar, you always know which topic is up next. You can also plan ahead to align your blogs with current events (more on this later). • Solve customers’ pain points. Don’t know what to write about? Think of common pain points for your customers that you can address. These may include recognizing the signs of worn brake pads, understanding the start-to-finish process of buying or leasing a car, or determining whether new or used tires are a better investment for their wallet. • Run a blog series. Some topics require a deeper dive. Instead of trying to cram as much information as you can into a single publication, spread it out across several blogs. The more specific each blog is, the better for your audience and your SEO. Plus, you can interlink the blogs to encourage readers to progress from one entry to the next, keeping them on your website longer. • Incorporate current events. Did your dealership recently celebrate an anniversary? Are you attending an upcoming trade show or expanding your business? These are all blog-worthy events because they add diversity to your blog content and give you the opportunity to really showcase your dealership’s character. This is where a content calendar can really help you track these important events! • Don’t stress out on keywords. Yes, keywords are important for your blog. No, you don’t need to spend hours cultivating a keyword list on Google Adwords. In fact, overusing keywords penalizes your blog performance because the copy becomes unnatural and difficult to read. Instead of focusing on keywords, write about a topic you have a lot of knowledge on, and the keywords will flow.
It’s unlikely you will be able to sit down and write out a full blog in five minutes. Depending on topic and length, you may find it takes anywhere from half an hour to an hour or two. Please don’t let this deter you—the benefits of blogging far outweigh the time and energy required to keep a consistent blog. As you get more accustomed to blogging and incorporate the above tips, you’ll find the process becomes easier and faster.
Ready to start blogging? Net Driven is here to offer insight and assistance to help your blog start strong and generate real results. Connect with us today!
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