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Ok, ok. Hate is a strong word but seriously folks, you need to get a move on. The train is leaving the station and you don’t want to be left behind. You need to start blogging for your business TODAY!

I know what you are asking yourself right now. (I hope) Is a blog really THAT important for my biz? The short answer is yes. Yes it is. And now you’re probably asking yourself, “WHY?” Great question. There are a few answers but it really boils down human psychology and search engine optimization.

To make my point let me take you through a little example. Let’s say that you just got yourself a brand spanking new website designed. Now, were not talking about just any website here. This is the mother of all websites with all the bells and whistles. Pretty cool right? You are pretty excited about the whole thing.

The designer of your website, a smart and thoughtful young man, tells you to add a blog to the site and you agree BUT you think to yourself “who needs a blog? Just LOOK at this new website.” Your site goes live and you blog one time and then do…nothing.

Now your competition also has a website designed at around the same time that you do. The site is ok. It’s pretty but doesn’t have nearly the search engine friendly copy that your site does and is not nearly as robust. The owner of this company, however, makes a commitment to blogging and does so every other day consistently.

At first you notice huge spikes in your websites rankings and traffic as a result of this new site. Your rankings start to really move positively and you are growing your long tail keyword presence as well. You seem to be wiping the floor with the competition.

But one year passes and what happens? Your consistently blogging competition is not only outranking you in the search results but you find yourself constantly peeking at their site to “eat” the knowledge that seems to ooze from their blog. You perceive that this company is on the ball and see that they are ranking highly for many search terms that you covet.

What happened?

This is an all too familiar case. What happened was that there was a misunderstanding about the importance of blogging in marketing a business online. Let’s dig deeper.

When the website in the example was first launched there was a lot of new activity and traffic to it which was a manifestation of the initial excitement and promotion of the site. But after a while the excitement dies down and the site is all but forgotten about. Is this not always the case?

It’s in our wiring as human beings to lose interest in things. We see this at an early age. When a child first gets a new toy they play with it every single day. They show all of their friends and family. They are as excited as can be…for a week. What happens then? You guessed it.  That same toy is tossed aside and all but forgotten about. This happens with websites as well.

The activity from having a blog on your website gives people a reason to return and check it out again. Especially if it is really good and useful content. The more valuable the content is, the more reason a person has to come back to the site.

Another aspect to take into consideration is the authority issue. This is one of the biggest benefits of blogging consistently. When someone first comes across your website and looks around there is very little to distinguish you from your competition. Sure, you may use some different a different color scheme and some prettier designs but then what?

A blog helps to establish you as an authority or expert in your industry. You can show what you know in a way that exudes competence and know-how to potential clients. If there is a question that is always asked or an objection that always comes up, you can use a blog to answer it and you look like a hero in the process. Cool right? (authority = awesome) This also helps to build trust which is also crucial to luring in potential clients. In a great blog, authority and trust go hand in hand.

Blogs also help you to come off like a likable human being. (when done right) Let’s face it, people in business (and in life) would rather do business with those whom they like. In many cases, your website and your blog are the point of introduction for you and your company to your audience. This is your time to shine! Add some personality in your blog. Give great info but in your own “voice.“  People would much rather keep revisiting a blog that reads more like a smart friend with personality than a boring monotone-sounding encyclopedia. Don’t you agree? (you’d better)

As you can see, the human psychology part of blogging is pretty important. In part two we will talk about why the search engines love blogs and how they can give your business a boost from a marketing perspective. Stay tuned. (or else)

(photo credit: istockphotos)

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