Let’s be honest, we’ve all read blog posts that say, “You need to start a blog to improve your SEO”, but they never seem to tell you what the actual benefit of it is outside of some vague reasons like “it engages your audience”.
This post is going to do the opposite of that.
That’s right, we’ve pulled together nothing but hard-hitting, quantifiable stats that will make you go, “Yeah, this is exactly why we need to blog”.
So whether you’re trying out blogging, or it’s just you exploring whether it’s worthwhile including it in your strategy, or you’re looking for something to point your manager to – we’ve got you covered with 8 stats that prove the value of blogging.
Blogging & SEO
1. 72% of digital marketers say content creation is the most effective SEO tactic
The industry widely acknowledges that content creation is the path to SEO glory, and blogging is the first step to that. So if you want SEO world domination, you’re probably going to have to blog.
2. Up to 80% of users ignore sponsored posts in favour of organic blog content
This shows that ads on their own aren’t going to cut it because people don’t trust them. But blog content, they will.
Traffic
3. Businesses with blogs get 97% more inbound links
So basically, if you’re willing to put the time and effort into producing the best content, you’ll reap the rewards.
4. Websites with a blog are proven to have 434% more indexed pages
This might not seem all that sexy, but usually, more indexed pages mean that there’s a greater variety of terms you can rank for. And more terms usually mean more traffic.
If you want to drive real traffic to your site through blogging, you can’t be half-hearted about it. You need to properly focus on it as part of your strategy to reap the rewards.
Marketing
6. Marketers who blog are 13x more likely to see a positive ROI on their efforts
This is a big one. It shows the quantifiable uplift that you could see from blogging regularly and justifies the potential investment in it.
7. 57% of marketers have gained new customers through blogging
Another stat that really gets to the heart of why you should blog. Blogging allows you to be broader with your reach and target top-of-the-funnel searches. And top-of-the-funnel searches are usually where the customers you don’t typically reach live.
8. Writing blogs cost 62% less than conventional marketing but can generate 3x the leads
One for those who have a tight budget. Blogging is not only an inexpensive channel for your business, but it can really drive leads as well.
5 Top Tips To Help Get You Started
So if blogging sounds like something you can get on board with, here are some top tips to get you started and to bear in mind when writing your first few blogs.
Have a strategy: Identify who you’re writing to, and what your business can comfortably write about and then define the topics that fit into that.
Define the process: Who’s responsible for managing the content calendar, creating briefs, writing, editing, uploading etc.
Keyword research: Research every post and make sure you’re prioritising topics you can rank for, and that will drive traffic.
Perfect the basics: Make sure the on-page basics are done on every post, such as title, heading structures, quality images and keywords.
Internal links: Make sure to use internal links where you cross-linking and cross-promotion of posts to keep users on your site’s content and improve SEO.
Promote it: Don’t forget distribution as part of your process. People need to know about the content you’re creating, so look at how you can repurpose it on your social channels and other platforms.
Summary
Blogging can do wonders for your website. Whether you want to update your marketing strategy or bring more traffic to your site, blogging can help to increase traffic, increase your conversion rate and also improve your ROI and then some.
Not only do 72% of digital marketers say content creation is the most effective SEO tactic, but blogs cost 62% less than conventional marketing and so can be a great tool for all marketers to use instead of spending marketing budgets on traditional methods.
Just remember to be consistent with it and make sure you are following best blogging practices, including:
- Strategy
- Process
- Keywords
- Internal Links
- Promotion
For more insights into how to use blogging to your advantage, check out our post on 8 Ways To Find Content Ideas For Your Blog.
