Running a successful online store means taking advantage of every available resource that’ll help your business grow and expand. Increasing traffic, no matter how large your business may already be, is an absolute must for long-term success. Unfortunately, many businesses are failing to utilize one of the greatest resources for generating website traffic: blogging.

Blogging will not only help you garner a bigger customer-base, it’ll boost sales and allow you to connect with your customers on a personal level. Whether you post daily, weekly, or monthly, blog posts are a great way to keep your audience informed of the latest news, trends and information related to your store and industry, all while promoting increased traffic.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at some of the ways blogging can help your online store.

Blogs Drive Traffic

Perhaps the greatest benefit of blogging is its impact on SEO. Every time you write a new post, you’re adding new pages to your website. And what’s the big deal about that, you ask? Well, when Google checks your website, new content ranks higher! That’s because Google loves to see that a website is being continuously updated. Furthermore, the more pages you have, the higher you’ll rank. Reports show that businesses with websites of 401-1000 pages get six times more leads than businesses with 41-100 pages (source: HubSpot Lesson).

But internal links aren’t the only way to improve rankings. Links from social media outlets and other sites go a long way toward improving SEO. When your pages are linked on other sites, such as social media websites, page rankings skyrocket. Of course, product pages alone won’t get you to the top of search engines. You’ll need to create consistent, interesting content that people want to share in order to maximize the effects of a blog.

Create Social Media Buzz

Speaking of social media, why not increase sales and generate traffic with a little media buzz? Nearly one-third of the entire world is an active user of a social media platform, creating a golden opportunity for businesses everywhere to easily market their goods and services.

Direct social followers to your blog and encourage them to “like” and “tweet” your posts. Furthermore, use your own social media business accounts to link back to your blog. But don’t go posting just anything – ensure you’re creating content readers find valuable. If they don’t find your posts informative or interesting, they’re not going to share it, so always put as much effort as possible into creating the best content for your readers.

Humanize Your Business with a Personalized Voice

Your About Us page can only tell your customers so much about your company. With a blog, you have a daily means of personalizing and humanizing your company. Your words and the personality you adopt will define your brand, so always be aware of how your posts will be interpreted by readers.

Don’t be afraid to interact with readers in the comment section. Allow them to post their thoughts and opinions and reply to any feedback and inquiries whenever possible. Readers will appreciate the time you take to acknowledge them, creating a sense of loyalty that’ll lead to long-term relations.

Furthermore, use your blog as the marketing tool it is to tell your business’s stories. Let readers get a chance to know who you are, what you stand for, and what’s going on with your business and its future (attend an industry event recently, perhaps? Share your story!). By sharing your experiences, you’re providing readers with not only valuable insight, but letting them know your business is up-to-speed on the latest trends.

More Reads Equals More Leads

Your goal as an online store owner isn’t to just attract new customers. Targeting repeat buyers is an absolute must to any business’s success. Once you start posting interesting, valuable information on a regular basis, you’ll find more and more readers coming back on a regular basis.

This increase in reader-base directly translates to an increase in sales. Readers are coming back because they like what you have to say! Use this fact to your advantage by promoting sales, news and incentives that are sure to create a buzz.

Blogging Puts You in the Spotlight

By writing frequent blog posts, you improve your chances of experiencing the limelight. Awesome marketing content isn’t limited to just social media, but countless outlets, including news media. If you’ve written a particularly good post, you may find your material featured by a news source specific to your industry or even a news outlet outside of your industry.

Being featured in the press is a surefire way to increasing traffic as this channel is often regarded as an invaluable, secure source of information and/or recommendations. Of course, not any content will get you covered by news media, so treat every post as the potentially golden opportunity it is.

Get Started

Start blogging today and experience the positive impact fresh content can have on your online store. As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure you’re doing everything you can to succeed in one of the most competitive markets. Why not utilize a resource that has proven itself time and time again as an invaluable aid in long-term success?