To blog or not, and where..

bbam

Hi..
I've been researching up on SEO and over and over again I see the blog thing come up.
Our small business has a Facebook page which is kept current and slooowly building an audience. I have opened a twitter page but not really got my head around it..

Then there is the whole blog thing !
Is this not just a rehash of the content on Facebook & Twitter.. I know the idea is to mention my website and get others to mention it on their blog.. But where do I blog and to whom ? Do I just starting posting to a blog and see what happens...

I saw on another post on a similar backlink topic that even being mentioned on boards.ie is good, my business has been mentioned a few times on boards, yet I never see it referenced when I run any of the SEO online reports..

I'm both confused and having a bit of writers block

And then I'm trying to run the business, and another one (thank god its not online)... and work fulltime !!

Any inspiration welcome !

Atomico

bbam wrote: »

Hi..
I've been researching up on SEO and over and over again I see the blog thing come up.
Our small business has a Facebook page which is kept current and slooowly building an audience. I have opened a twitter page but not really got my head around it..

Then there is the whole blog thing !
Is this not just a rehash of the content on Facebook & Twitter.. I know the idea is to mention my website and get others to mention it on their blog.. But where do I blog and to whom ? Do I just starting posting to a blog and see what happens...

I saw on another post on a similar backlink topic that even being mentioned on boards.ie is good, my business has been mentioned a few times on boards, yet I never see it referenced when I run any of the SEO online reports..

I'm both confused and having a bit of writers block

And then I'm trying to run the business, and another one (thank god its not online)... and work fulltime !!

Any inspiration welcome !

I would start with a beginner's guide to SEO and give it a good read Have a google and you will see a few good ones pop up.

The idea behind blogging is to build up a level of authority on a particular topic online, so that Google and other search engines see your site / content as a good fit for what people are searching for.

This of course leads to increased rankings and traffic to your site as Google will move you up in search engine results. Your content can also then be shared on social media and other places online, provided it's good quality and useful to people. Social media ties into search marketing and SEO as well, indirectly.

A good starting point is to use tools like the AdWords Keyword Planner and Ubersuggest to research what people are looking for. Then look to tailor your content development efforts around these topics.

bbam

Thanks..
So does the blog need to be hosted on my site or could I use blogger?? My site runs opencart so I'm not sure if I can host a blog there..

Say I use blogger and by some fluke or even hard work google recognises my blog as being "informative", by referencing my business site during my blogging will google associate them and increase the ranking of my business page ??

Or am I missing the idea ???

mneylon

You should use your own domain name
With Blogger you should be able to set it up to use something like blog.yourmaindomain.tld

eg. we use blog.blacknight.com

I'd always advise people against sticking with the default URL from a free blogging service, as all you're really doing is promoting them - not you and if your blog grows and you want to move it inhouse you'll lose all your traffic / audience

See: https://support.google.com/blogger/troubleshooter/1233381 for instructions

bbam

Blacknight wrote: »

You should use your own domain name
With Blogger you should be able to set it up to use something like blog.yourmaindomain.tld

eg. we use blog.blacknight.com

I'd always advise people against sticking with the default URL from a free blogging service, as all you're really doing is promoting them - not you and if your blog grows and you want to move it inhouse you'll lose all your traffic / audience

See: https://support.google.com/blogger/troubleshooter/1233381 for instructions

Great stuff.
I had a quick skim through that and it makes sense.
It onto a list of tasks for the business for the new year, for the moment were busy.
We're generating enough business through AdWords, I'd just like to get higher ranking and get some free trafic. Am I right in saying that the traffic I'm paying for should help me look better to the search engines too ??

Keep the tips coming lads.

blue4ever

Blogs are a good method of communication – and that should be you first port of call. If you’r doing a blog simply because you think it will help your SEO (which it might) but your content is below par/boring/recycled crap/ can be seen elsewhere – then give it a miss.

If you have something genuinely insightful to contribute, if it’s something that may be of interest, and interest has to be measured by the potential size of you end audience, then fire away – otherwise don’t.

bbam

blue4ever wrote: »

Blogs are a good method of communication – and that should be you first port of call. If you’r doing a blog simply because you think it will help your SEO (which it might) but your content is below par/boring/recycled crap/ can be seen elsewhere – then give it a miss.

If you have something genuinely insightful to contribute, if it’s something that may be of interest, and interest has to be measured by the potential size of you end audience, then fire away – otherwise don’t.

I take your point...
I was planning on using it as an advice blog for customers.. details about our products and relavent information they need to know.. How they get the best service from us and their products...

bbam

On a related but slightly different topic...
I notice I'm getting visited regularly, almost daily, sometimes more, by google and bing bots. I was surprised by the frequency and would I be right in thinking they visit more as traffic to the site increases ??

Mrs OBumble

Don't rely on Facebook: they can change the rules any time, and you have no control over how many people your posts are shown to. (Use it - just don't use only it).

blue4ever

bbam wrote: »

On a related but slightly different topic...
I notice I'm getting visited regularly, almost daily, sometimes more, by google and bing bots. I was surprised by the frequency and would I be right in thinking they visit more as traffic to the site increases ??

From where are you getting that data?

bbam

blue4ever wrote: »

From where are you getting that data?

IP addresses visiting the site...

Here's an example.. This one visited just three minutes ago - 66.249.75.69

IRE60

I mean you collection method? Google analytics? or the server logs?

bbam

Server logs

blue4ever

They might visit more if there was regularly updated pages for example. I would't rely to much on server logs as it captures everything (useful in certain circumstances).

But, as you are and ecomm site and bots don't have pockets, I'd concentrate on the humans only. Therefore your analytics will separate the bots from the human traffic and only report the traffic that's important to you as a retailer.

Actually, you might be surprised in this, but in a recent report it was suggested that bot traffic (all non-human traffic) can be as much as 62% of a websites traffic.

bbam

blue4ever wrote: »

They might visit more if there was regularly updated pages for example. I would't rely to much on server logs as it captures everything (useful in certain circumstances).

But, as you are and ecomm site and bots don't have pockets, I'd concentrate on the humans only. Therefore your analytics will separate the bots from the human traffic and only report the traffic that's important to you as a retailer.

Actually, you might be surprised in this, but in a recent report it was suggested that bot traffic (all non-human traffic) can be as much as 62% of a websites traffic.

Yes I saw that report.. interesting stuff..
We're using google analytics...

For the moment Adwords probably accounts for 75% of sales... I'd like to get better ranking over time, and by time the goal is to continually increase sales while relying less on Adwords and more on decent ranking in search...
I've been compiling a list of work for the new year to both improve traffic and conversions..

blue4ever

If you want, pm me your url and i'll take a quick peek and offer a few pointers.

Peterdalkey

Great thread, I have picked up some nice ideas on here. Thanks guys!

Mrs OBumble

bbam wrote: »

...while relying less on Adwords and more on decent ranking in search...
I've been compiling a list of work for the new year to both improve traffic and conversions..

Eveny relying on search can be risky: you are at the mercy of Google changing the rules at any time. (One of my sites get a good bit of non-Google search traffic, too, but even so Google is 80% of the total).

So I'd put some work into building a mailing list from the blog visitors (invite them to opt in), and then deliver some content via emails only, with hooks in the blog content saying it's there.

I haven't used it, but many people seem to recommend a service called Aweber

bbam

blue4ever wrote: »

If you want, pm me your url and i'll take a quick peek and offer a few pointers.

Top class help there...
Really appreciated from a total novice like myself !!

perfectring1

A blog is useful for your website but what many companies do is have an external blog on blogspot or wordpress for example.
It is good practice to link your blog posts back to your website which gives it new content (through a RSS feed for example)
Facebook allows you post snappy messages but a blog would give you the opportunity to delve into a subject in more detail and show the users of your website that you are an expert in your area (or at least they you have something interesting to say).
The whole Twitter thing I also find a bit confusing.
Google also change the rules quite often but by focusing on good content on your site and allowing your users engage with you, your SEO ranking will take care of itself. Content is king - I wouldn't do a blog just for links back to your site - this would not be great for your SEO long term.

the_syco

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Don't rely on Facebook: they can change the rules any time, and you have no control over how many people your posts are shown to. (Use it - just don't use only it).

On this; FB is changing this a lot lately, and many band pages have seen significant drops. Read this for a bit of info on why not to depend on FB.

dgerryd

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Eveny relying on search can be risky: you are at the mercy of Google changing the rules at any time. (One of my sites get a good bit of non-Google search traffic, too, but even so Google is 80% of the total).

So I'd put some work into building a mailing list from the blog visitors (invite them to opt in), and then deliver some content via emails only, with hooks in the blog content saying it's there.

I haven't used it, but many people seem to recommend a service called Aweber

While aweber is a good option and is only like $20 a month there is a really great free option called mail chimp you don't have to pay them a penny till you reach 2000 subscribers pretty decent volume for free and it's just as good.here is the site http://mailchimp.com/

Peterdalkey

We have blogs on our eCommerce sites. One quickly learns how difficult it is to write interesting unique relevant content! However, if you are following your industry sector widely online, you do come accross content in blogs , journals etc that is both interesting and relevant to your customers. I am not talking about topical stuff with wider apppeal that may be "trending" or has gone viral.

If you repost it on your blog, are you in danger of falling foul of "duplicated content" slaps from Google?

dgerryd

There is a way around this that google will actually reward you for if done right look up "content curation" and have a look at all page one doing a search in brackets (content curation) everything you need will be there.

vonievega

https://community.constantcontact.com/t5/Social-Media/24-Hours-in-the-Google-Economy-INFOGRAPHIC/td-p/65079
Might help thought this was great info from dgerryd

vonievega

Hi set your home page as a blog,
https://community.constantcontact.com/t5/Social-Media/24-Hours-in-the-Google-Economy-INFOGRAPHIC/td-p/65079
gives good lot of info.
I teach WordPress in com schools Ashton, Bishopstown etc and the one ? is TIME and SEO. Where and How. Former Latter.
If you're going for a hosted blog go Fatcow or iPage they are the cheapest and go .com and they have the best customer chatline support.
There is no way around it. I's a job in itself. Get a quick chat on your local radio and mention your site will get you more hits than any SEO.
Blogging is exhausting if you do it yourself but there are places China,Japan,America they will blog for you for $10pm. Your local Enterprise board might help you there.
The best way is to reply to others,comment on others and interact and sync your Twitter,Facebook,linkedIn accounts. Schedule your posts which WordPress allows you to do. Say do a months posts schedule them for 9am everyday. All you social media will update as well. Have others link to you and you to them.
~SEO is a job in itself~