What is the point of having a business blog? Well, there are many reasons to have a business blog. It can help boost SEO efforts, fuel a social media strategy, and help a business establish itself as a trusted thought leader in a particular niche. Just getting someone to visit your blog is important, but ultimately you want that person to not only become a regular visitor, but also to take some kind of action when they visit the blog. You want them to convert. Here are 5 tips to improve the conversion rate of your business blog:
Include It On the Business Website
Some businesses may opt to host their blog on a separate domain from the main business website. What this kind of blog is missing is the information that conveys trust to the visitor. If the blog is part of the business website the visitor automatically knows who the author is, what the industry is, who they can contact, etc. The website navigation is right there for them to see.
Post Only Good Content
Duh, right? Well, you'd be surprised. There are some very low quality business blogs out there that include content that was written overseas for $5 and content that was pulled directly from another site with a link back to the source. If you are going to operate a business blog, create your own original content. A blog should be updated regularly, but if you can create a good post every other day as opposed to an OK post every day, go for the every other day option.
Don't Emphasize Social Profiles
It's quite alright to include buttons to follow your business in social media on your blog, but it shouldn't be a focal point of the blog. The goal of a brand social media page is to get a follower over to the website/blog, not the other way around. If they click over to your social page, they may not return and may not convert.
Include Call to Actions and Lead Forms
On many business blogs, the conversion point is getting a visitor to fill out a lead form. Besides the post content, the lead form should be the most prominent item on the page and should even be there more than once. Consider adding one to the top and bottom of the page. Make sure that lead forms aren't too complex. If you want a visitor to sign up for a newsletter, just ask for an email address. Keep it simple.
Remove the Clutter
Some blogs have great content, but there is just too much going on to distract a visitor. If there is too much "noise", a visitor won't know what to do next. Remove anything that's non-essential so that what is clear and visible is what matters; the content and the lead form.