Like a warm towel right out of the dryer, you want your blog to be fresh, not stale. No one likes a mildewy towel, right?
Of course, this should be an obvious fact. You don’t want your audience to get bored with your old content, and you certainly hope to draw in new readers by giving them something interesting and useful to chew on in your small business blog.
Consistent blogging is essential for building up your content reserves. It creates more opportunities for content related to your business to be found, which means greater lead generation and conversations around your brand. It also develops connections with your audience.
And it’s not by accident. It’s all a part of an intentional digital marketing strategy that works.
Check out some of these stats about the importance of maintaining your small business blog:
- Small businesses that consistently blog are 13 times more likely to see positive ROI
- 51 percent of B2B buyers use educational content to inform buying decisions
- Changing blog headlines can lead to 10 percent increase in clicks
You get the idea. Blogging matters. But what all these stats have in common is that they all relate to fresh content. Whether it’s the body of your blog, the headlines, the tags, or the number of blogs you publish, keeping it fresh needs to be a part of your long-term digital marketing strategy.
Let’s learn why!
A Change is Gonna Come…
Change is good. It can be uncomfortable sometimes, but it’s essential to growth, even to audience growth and engagement.
When it comes to a small business blog, change is also good. But the type of change is key. Changing a single sentence in a blog or in body text won’t make a dent in rankings. But, changing a large amount of content perks Google’s interest enough to start noticing.
It can be challenging to fill your blog with new and interesting content, but it’s not terrible to re-purpose and expand on previous topics. But it must be different enough to interest your audience.
This is where doing some good keyword research can really help you. Popular search terms are constantly changing, so if you’re using a keyword from five years ago, it may no longer be relevant. Understanding the needs and wants of your target audience TODAY can really help you create content that sparks interest and gets people talking.
Timing is Everything
As with anything else, timing is integral to your small business blog strategy. Let’s say you have a blog, but it’s been two years since you’ve updated anything on it. The chances of that content being relevant or discovered is minimal.
Furthermore, Google sees you. They know that your blog content is not fresh and may treat those old pages differently.
As we’ve said before, consistency is the rule when it comes to blogging. You’re not going to see a sudden spike in leads after one post. But after a few months of posting on a consistent basis, your readers will start to see you as a credible source of new and exciting information. You’ll become the authority on the subject! They’ll start clicking more, sharing more, and taking action.
One more thing to consider for a small business blog is the time of day you choose to post. Along with fresh content, knowing when your readers are doing the most searching can really help to plan your blogs. This is where partnering with digital marketing experts who can help you strategize your blog posts is super beneficial. Between their marketing expertise and research abilities, they’ll help you get the timing just right.
Link it Up
Using links in blog posts is SO important. Whether it’s linking back to your own website (another reason to always have fresh content!), or linking to other reputable sites, using links can help to keep your small business blog totally fresh.
When including links, though, it’s important to do a little research first. Ask the following questions:
How old is the link?
If the link is quite old, you may end up back in the stale category. What’s relevant and useful now may not have mattered 3-5 years ago. Make sure the links you use are still helpful for your readers.
Is the link to a reputable website?
It may take a little time, but checking out the website you’re linking to can be a game-changer. Check that the site being linked to is in line with your values and industry. If there’s questionable material on the site, or it lacks credibility, find a different source.
Is the link from a competitor?
This can be tough when you’re researching content for your industry. But it’s crucial to find neutral sources of information, i.e. not competitor websites. Like you, they’re probably trying to keep their content fresh, but you never want to link back to a competitor’s business. Put your own spin on the content and find reliable sources that help support your small business blog post.
Staying fresh does take work, but it’s worth it. The most important thing to remember is that it’s not just about getting more leads or ranking higher—it’s about educating and informing your audience. It’s about benefiting them. When you approach content creation from that perspective, your small business blog will come out looking and smelling totally fresh!
We like to think we’re experts at giving small business blogs that fresh-out-of-the-dryer feel. Whether it’s creating content calendars, developing blogs, or keeping your social media up-to-date, we can help. Contact the Wayward Kind team today and we’ll help you freshen up!
