Exactly for the same reason, many people like blogs, bloggers, blogging evoke extremely negative feelings. We all remember the incident from the Los Angeles Fashion Weekend event, during which the journalist decided to “verify” the knowledge of bloggers and dressmakers. The effects only fueled the negative feelings, however, it can not be denied that well-conducted blogs are very popular, meeting with a considerable response from the public. They are founded by well-known actors, politicians, organizations or online stores. We will focus on the last mentioned group, namely how to use all the advantages of this form of communication in favor of your store to achieve the maximum benefit? How to choose topics and create valuable content? Many factors affect it, but an effective blog must fulfill the following functions.

It is an effective marketing tool

Properly selected strategy, interesting content and composition of the blog is an ideal way to generate new sales leads. We get the opportunity to enter into a dialogue with the client, which we can use in a way chosen by them.

By introducing a completely new product line, we have the opportunity to present it to the client and make her aware of it. The customer can, without leaving the house, view the selected product, read its description, as well as the price. Nowadays, such a model of a customer shopping online is becoming more and more commonplace. The boundary between whether he decides to buy or resign from it is very thin. The final decision will be influenced by what we have presented – comprehensive content, used language, and attractive graphics.

Sometimes getting a client is associated with a psychological approach to the topic, more precisely, the use of sales psychology. What is it based on? A great example may be the sale of perfumes via the Internet, where we can not present it by selling a fragrance. A product of this type must be described in such a way that it acts on the imagination – it has awakened the senses and offered benefits that the chosen person is looking for. No one will be interested in a beautiful fragrance, but one that will give you confidence and make you attractive to the environment is a specific advantage of a product that should convince the buyer. Combining this with a beautiful photo of the bottle, inspiring celebrity and catchy slogan, we will achieve the desired effect.

By the same way, we can sell selected products, creating lists for groups of recipients, responding to their specific needs and giving them freedom of choice. Examples are entries with titles:

– TOP 10: Watches for an elegant man up to $ 250
– Compact and functional smartphones available on the market
– Dresses perfect for the office! Check the collection 2019

We can demonstrate knowledge, compare the features of products and thus go to the next condition that the blog should meet

It builds the image of an expert in a given industry

An expert in a chosen field not only knows, uses it, but also knows how to share it with others. In this way, the brand’s authority is built. There is no doubt that we are more likely to buy a product from a passionate than from a “seller of everything”, who has insignificant knowledge and “only sells”. We will shape the image of a specialist by creating various types of guides that will answer questions and create solutions for the seekers. For example:

– How to set up a blog in WordPress?
– Why is New York a great city for career development?
– What to avoid when positioning websites?

Titles have a structure of simple but precise questions, promising to solve the problem. These types of entries, if of course they answer the selected topic in full, will keep the user for longer and will be interested in our store.

If we want to create a title that will generate traffic on our site, we can use the free AnswerThePublic.com tool, which will generate questions based on the selected phrase that have search on Google. By typing the phrase positioning of New York websites, the program will soon show that the chosen password most often appears with the following queries:

– How? (e.g. How to position yourself?)
– Where? (e.g., where positioning makes sense?)
– What? (e.g. What is it and what is positioning?)
– Which? (e.g. Which SEO positioning services should I choose?)

In the case of the above phrase, ATP did not show creativity, but rather gave us suggestions and tips. However, choosing a less complicated phrase of paint for the walls, we get, for example, for the question How? a series of precise proposals How to thicken? How do you wash your clothes? How to brighten up? allowing us, with a little exercise, to create an effective Long Tail, meaning a long tail phrase, having a high conversion rate and much less competition. On their basis, we can confidently create our guides and demonstrate knowledge of the industry. Nothing prevents you from advertising your solution in a subtle way in the form of a product or service. To this end, we must apply the appropriate phrase and linking, thus going to the next issue.

It affects the positioning of the page and increases its visibility

Running a blog can affect SEO processes and strengthen the position of our website. Google’s crawlers are becoming more and more intelligent and accurate from month to month. We must focus mainly on users and their benefits, and the algorithms will certainly appreciate that. However … It does not hurt them to “help” a little.

Articles must be distinguished by valuable and unique content, which will be appreciated not only by people but also by the robot. We then deal with the Topical Authority, a concept according to which Google refers to the most comprehensive websites focusing on a given topic. Having enough long and valuable text, we can put a key phrase, ensure proper text construction, titles, headline hierarchy, as well as general page optimization.

The entry will also be an excellent opportunity to perform internal linking. Having entries generating high traffic, we can redirect it to our offer, the selected product (eg which is the answer to the problem described above). In the case of the chosen strategy, the traffic can be directed to the main page or selected subpages. In this way, a clear navigation system is created, which will be appreciated by customers and artificial intelligence of Google, which will result in an increase in position.

In addition, valuable content is very often made available on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. The links posted in this way are not subject to indexation by Google (these websites have completely different rules), but allow you to reach even more audiences, increasing visibility and traffic on our store’s website.

Main sins or what to avoid in running a blog?

A badly run blog will, in the best case, not bring any effects, becoming a mere waste of time and in the worst, we may lose position, filters will be imposed on us or even get Google ban – we will disappear completely from the search results.

– First of all: Do not copy!

The basic and fundamental mistake is the so-called duplicate content, or duplicate content. Copying content from third-party blogs, bypassing legal and criminal aspects, Google is not only badly perceived, it is severely and mercilessly punished.

– Second: You will remember your publications!

Another is the low regularity of posting entries. People with a flash of enthusiasm or poorly organized people will not receive good news. Monthly entries are the most common option and the absolute minimum. In this way, we accustom both our readers to regular visits, as well as the robot, which will record the continuous development of the site and our position to grow. When we neglect it, the publications will be sporadic and chaotic, we will get a completely opposite effect.

– Thirdly: You will not discourage your reader!

The content of the blog should be attractive, it was mentioned earlier, but also consistent in terms of subject matter and style. For this task, it is best to allocate one person in a given company or use an agency that will create them. A longer text, even the most valuable, can not be discouraged. Therefore, the error will be an entry undivided into sections and devoid of multimedia such as graphics, animations, video clips etc. In this way, we are tired of our recipient who may not be able to reach the end of the content.

Summary of the topic and conclusions

A properly created, run and optimized blog can be a great asset of our store. This will translate mainly to a large turnover and profit for the company, so it is worth investing in such a solution. However, an inexperienced person, even possessing a wealth of theoretical knowledge, can make the online store blog become a metaphorical gallows for him. Even such a seemingly simple issue requires the development and implementation of an appropriate marketing strategy and ongoing analysis of results. In order to familiarize you with the topic, this article was created. We hope that after reading you have learned a few interesting things, how to use them and what to avoid.