What you really need to know about SEO (and nothing more)

Search Engine Optimisation is crucial if you want a consistent stream of leads from the web, but the jargon around it makes me glaze over. Luckily it’s not half as complex and technical as the terminology makes out. In this valuable guide I’ve ditched the jargon in an attempt to demystify SEO for you once and for all. Use these simple tips to get your content found by people searching online.

Why Search Engine Optimisation is so important

There are various ways to get people to your website: you can tell them about it, giving them a link to your URL; you can entice them there by sharing links to useful articles on social media sites; you can share links back to your site in your email newsletters; you can write a blog so valuable that people willingly refer it to their contacts.

Do all this and you will get visitors to your website. If your content is good enough when they get there you’ll build their trust, generate a lead and ultimately win their business. But if you want to maximise your investment in valuable content it’s vital to think about search engines too.

With 77% of all UK adults using the Internet to search for information on products and services, Google has become an indispensible part of modern life. As a business, harnessing the huge opportunity that search engines provide is crucial for making your online presence as effective as it can be.

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO as it is known, is a tool any business can use to ensure their content is as visible as possible to those searching for answers on the web. By getting to the first page of Google’s search results people will be able to find you more easily.

Google loves valuable content

Google loves valuable content. Creating high quality content for your site is by far the most important thing you can do when it comes to SEO. Adrian Knight of Digital Investments UK (resident SEO expert here at Spike Design) explains:

“Google’s mission is to serve the highest quality and relevant material to its searches. Help them to do this by producing high quality, valuable content created with the user in mind, and you will do well.”

Like the rest of us, Google hates spam. Thankfully it is getting far better at distinguishing and ranking sites with genuinely valuable content from those who try and manipulate search results with techniques such as keyword stuffing or bogus link building.

“Google is trying to make it so you don’t have to do SEO,” says Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam team. But we’re not quite there yet. Google still needs a bit of spoon-feeding so it understands your content, indexes it appropriately, ranks it and serves your content over your competitors’ to those searching on the web. Here’s what you need to focus on.

Top 5 ways to optimise your content for search

1. Use keywords you care about. With a little research, you can gain a clear view of the words and phrases people most often use when thinking about and searching for your topic online. You can learn how to speak their language, allowing you to create content to satisfy their needs, which is exactly what search engines are looking for.

To generate relevant keywords first talk directly to your customers and find out why they come to you. Then use Google’s free keyword research tool. This allows you to observe the keywords and phrases that people have actually used to find information online in the past.

“Keyword research is cool – it allows you to gaze into your customers’ minds.”

By carefully targeting your keywords you are more likely to answer the search query effectively or ‘own’ the search, allowing you to get to the top of that search results page. Don’t be too scattergun – keep to within 5-20 keywords for your site.

2. Label your content for search engines. We mentioned that Google needs a bit of spoon-feeding. To feed it correctly you need to set your ‘metadata’ right (<- there’s one of those off putting technical terms we mentioned at the start!). Think of metadata as data about your data, or information about your content. It just means acting like a good librarian and labeling your content correctly so search engines can find you easily. Include your chosen keywords – this is a way of saying to the search engines, ‘Hey! Look at me! This page is relevant!’

• Page titles. Use your keywords in your page title. This is the blue link that appears on the Google search page. Keep it short – up to 72 characters will be visible.  Convince the searcher your content is relevant.
• Meta Descriptions. <165 character summary of your page or article using key search terms. This is what appears on Google’s search results and it needs to be informative, relevant, interesting and succinct.
• Headings. Important for the reader scanning your article or page, and for Google too. Use them to show what the page is all about.
• Images. Google can’t read an image so help it by labeling the images you use.

[NB: If you have a blog or a website with a content management system, ask your developer to set it up so you can set the metadata yourself for each new page or article.]

3. Link intelligently in and out your site. When the search engine ‘spiders’ enter your site, you want them to stay there as long as possible so that they can find all the wonderful content that you have in there. To do this, it is important to ensure that you don’t have any dead ends – there should always be links to other pages within your site, particularly those which hold related information. The more links there are to a page, the more the search engines will think it is important.

[NB: Optimise your links by using your keywords within the link text - this is called anchor text since it anchors your web page to the keyword.]

It is also important to link out to other relevant websites. If you write an article that draws information from and links to a host of other relevant sites, the search engines consider that you’re an expert on this subject and will place more importance on your website.

4. Update your site regularly with fresh content. The search engine ‘spiders’ that crawl around the web looking for information do keep a check on your website – they return periodically to see if you’ve modified or added anything. Google, like us, isn’t so keen on stale content – by giving it some ‘fresh meat’ every so often, by adding to your blog for example.

5. Share your content. This point cannot be stressed enough. I want you to fall in love with social media and share your content all over the place! Provided your content is of high quality, the more you share, the more you will gain link backs from other sites.

The rise of blogging and social media has revolutionised how search engines rank websites. A huge 85% of the total factors that influence search engine rankings is dependent on what happens outside of your site (according to Copyblogger’s recent SEO copywriting article).

What other people have to say about your content is more valuable than what you say about yourself. Modern SEO is all about creating content so valuable and compelling that other people naturally want to promote it, to share it, like it and tweet about it. The more that other people link to your site, the more of an authority Google will consider you to be on the subject, doing great things for your ranking.

“Try to make a site that is so fantastic you become an authority in your niche.” Matt Cutts, head of Google webspam team.

Search Engine Optimisation is massively important for anyone creating valuable content. It will help you to make the most of your investment – to get your content found. If, like me, you were originally put off by the jargon surrounding SEO, I hope this has given you some clarity and gets all that great content found by those searching on the web.

Related articles:

• How to write content so that search engines will find you and people will like you
• SEO copywriting – taking it to the next level

Many thanks to Adrian Knight and Claire Rosling here at Spike Island for their help with this article.

If you want your website to be valuable to your customers and generate a consistent stream of good leads for your business what do you need to focus on? Here are the eight most important elements you’ll need to address with your content and web design if you want your website to fulfil its potential.

1. Focus on your target reader first

If you want to create a website that genuinely works for your business, put the customer first. This means defining exactly who the website is for, building a deep understanding of what their needs are and designing the site and its content around those needs. Just describing your company, what you do, the services you deliver is not enough. You will miss the mark with your customers and miss an important trick with your marketing if you do this. Remember: your website is not for you, it’s for your customers.

2. Content matters

Some mistakenly see a website’s content purely as filler. Bung a few words down to replace all that Lorem Ipsum your designer first put in. Nobody reads it anyway do they? But the content is vital: your words ARE your message. That’s how you communicate your value and get your point across. Don’t begin the design process until you have the content. So think content first, then get the web designers in.

3. Valuable content matters most of all

We see many sites without a shred of valuable content, and some with the right type of content but it’s virtually hidden from sight. Both are missing a trick. Remember: valuable content is what your buyers seek so make your content USEFUL. Think library, not brochure with useful articles, video, slideshows. Fill those shelves over time.

“If your website isn’t getting traffic it’s because your content isn’t important or useful enough. It’s that simple. You’re not raising the bar, helping people, entertaining them, changing lives, and inspiring your readers to take some form of action. If you were, your audience would grow. Trust me.”  Mars Dorian, creative entrepreneur.

4. Good design is essential

Investing in professional design is crucial if you want to give a professional image, entice people to stay on the site, read what you have to say and find the information they want to find, fast. Skimp on good design at your peril. There’s nothing more off putting than a badly designed or confusingly laid out site with content that is hard to read.

5. Make your website simple to navigate

Make it simple for your visitors to find the information they want, fast or they’ll quickly get frustrated and click away. Can they get from A to B? Pay attention to the site’s ‘information architecture’, and make sure it’s structured around your visitors’ different needs. This takes thought and planning. Remember to follow conventions – don’t try and reinvent the wheel.

6. Your content must be scannable

Write it, design it for the busy reader. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen when asked how users read on the web, replied simply: “They don’t.”

“People rarely read Web pages word by word; instead, they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences. In research on how people read websites we found that 79 percent of our test users always scanned any new page they came across; only 16 percent read word-by-word.” Jakob Nielsen’s Alerttbox, Oct 1 1997

New visitors will make fast judgements about your site. They will scan first and read only if they can see that it is relevant. If you want to connect with them, get to the point fast. Summarise, use numbered or bulleted lists, highlight key words or phrases, use sub-headings to guide them through the page. And slash that word count. Even more important now we’re reading web content on mobile devices.

6. Learn to label for search engines

Search engine algorithms are getting better and better but if you don’t label your information properly then they will struggle to index your stuff. If you’re going to get the most from your investment in great content, learn how to index it properly so that the Googlebots can can find it. That is, in a nutshell, what search engine optimisation is all about – no black art – in essence it’s about good labelling. Make like a good librarian and index your stuff appropriately.

7. Make your website sticky

The longer your visitors stays on the site, the higher their level of engagement and the more chance you have of starting to build that relationship, get them to sign up, contact you, buy your stuff. So you have to make your website ‘sticky’. Fill it full of information they genuinely value. Link and direct them to related content: “If you like this, you might also be interested in this.” And give them an opportunity to come back: invite them to join your mailing list and, if you continue to deliver them value, you’ll motivate them to come back to your site to learn more.

8. Clear calls to action

We don’t mean just putting your contact details on the Contact Us page. We mean having clear signposts to action across the site – telling your visitor what you want them to DO if they like what they find. So many sites miss out on this. Retailers tend to be better at it – ADD TO BASKET, BUY NOW. For service firms – the purpose of the site is to engage your visitors, to build the relationship, not always to elicit an immediate purchase. The action you want is for visitors to either get in contact with you or give you permission to stay in touch (sign up to your mailing list). Give clear calls to action and spell out the next step you want the reader to take. Make it easy for them.

Build your website around these eight elements and you’ll reap the rewards in terms of visitors, leads and sales in 2012.

Related articles:

• How to create a lead generating, high performance website
• Pack your website full of value

You know that writing articles is a sound, cost effective way of building your reputation, and getting more inbound leads to your website. You’ve got a couple of ideas of things you could write, but still, there’s something holding you back. And it’s the big one. How do you actually do it?

This blog was originally going to be called ‘How to write a brilliant article,’ but I realised that  I’d be adding to the pressures holding you back if I threw being brilliant into the mix. So this is a guide to how to write a good enough article, because that’s all you need. Here’s everything you need to know to get you started – a quick checklist to structure your writing and keep it on track. All you need to do is roll your sleeves up, and get writing.

1. Know who you’re writing for.

It helps with relevance, tone and focus. Keep this real person in mind throughout the process – what questions do they have? What issues can you solve for them?

2. Be useful.

Choose a subject and angle that will help your readers with a real problem, and they’re more likely to want to read it.

3. Keep it focused.

The temptation when you start writing is to try and get everything into your article. All those ideas buzzing around suddenly pour out onto paper, and you find you’ve written something that dashes from A to B via L, Z, P and Q.  Tighten your focus, and write clearly about one thing. Save your other ideas for the next one.

4. Use simple words.

It’s not dumbing down to make your writing easy to read, it’s kind to your reader. Pick the shorter word over the more longer one. Make it easy to read, and easy for people to share with friends and colleagues.

5. Beginning, middle and end.

a) Start with a clear introduction – who are you writing for, and why? Set up the question you’re going to answer, or the problem you’re going to solve.

b) Answer it. Structure your thoughts, step by step. Imagine taking the reader with you – you’re guiding them on a journey. Changing track suddenly is like chucking them out of a moving car, so keep things moving smoothly

c) Sum it up. Readers like to know they’ve finished. And they all lived happily ever after isn’t necessary, but it’s a good idea to reiterate your main point again at the end. Add a call to action if you’d like your readers to get in touch. Add a question if you want to keep the conversation going.

6. Basic grammar and spelling matter.

I’m all for freedom of expression and playing with words, but the articles on your website need to demonstrate that you can communicate clearly. If your spelling is a bit wonky, ask a friend to read through and check before you press ‘publish’. Spell check will only pick up mis-spelt words, not mis-substituted ones. Even if you’re confident about your writing skills, getting a friend or colleague to check is still a good idea.

7. Think about headlines.

Your headline is your hook to pull readers in, so give it some thought. (Article on writing headlines for you here)

8. Break it down.

Busy web readers skim using headers to pull them through. Break your writing down with signposts that sum up your points throughout your article.

9. Size matters.

Around 500-700 words works for us as a good length for a website article – room for some useful detail, not so long it’s a chore to read. No longer than it takes to drink a cup of tea is a good rule of thumb.

And that’s all there is to it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, the important thing is to start. (It might make you feel better to know that Sonja and I are both a bit embarrassed about our early blogging efforts – I fell into the trap of trying to say too much, Sonja slipped up on trying to be too clever.) Once you start writing, it will get easier. The more you write the better you get. And once you start seeing results, it will become more rewarding.

So, now there’s no excuse. What are you waiting for?

Other articles you might like:

• 20 Article Ideas to Get You Writing Again (and Again)
• 5 Reasons NOT to Blog
• Writing Rules You Should Break

Here is a list of different types of articles you can write for your website or blog. I hope it gives you a bit of inspiration if you are struggling with what to say.

1. Lists of tips or ideas, like this one. Numbered lists work well.
2. Reviews of books that you recommend
3. ‘How to’ articles
4. Your comment on news that’s relevant to your clients
5. ‘Why?’ articles
6. Articles stating the benefits of your recommended approach
7. Your response to a question you have been asked by a prospect or client
8. Articles that state what your clients should avoid like the plague
9. Add a seasonal twist – refer to a recent celebration or seasonal event
10. An interview with one of your clients or customers
11. A critique of someone else’s article or opinion, with your view on what works or what does not
12. Like a journalist, review what you learned from a recent talk, industry conference or event
13. Ask other experts a question and share their response
14. A case study on a company you have worked with or who can demonstrate success in your field
15. Conduct a survey and share the response (Survey Monkey is simple way to do this)
16. A roundup of topical news for your community
17. Share slides from a recent presentation you have given (Slideshare is excellent for this)
18. Feature guest posts/articles from experts in your field
19. Information on products or services that will benefit your audience
20. Share or create a cartoon or graphic that sums up your argument nicely

Experiment. Mix it up a bit. Help, educate or entertain your clients and contacts in different ways. Variety adds to the value.

Have I missed anything? What type of articles work for you?

Other relevant articles:

• Writers block? Read Jane Northcote’s superb post – Getting Writing Done
• 5 Reasons Not To Blog by Sharon Tanton
• Our ‘Valuable Content Award’ winners have all mastered article writing – check them out
• For more inspiration, download Hubspot’s excellent ebook: 100 Inbound Marketing Content Ideas

Twitter is a remarkable social media platform for businesses. We love it as a way to connect with new people, keep in touch with those we know, find out what’s going on in our world and get our message out there. And all in 140 characters too!

But if you’re new to Twitter it can be more than a little confusing. You’ve set up your account but just exactly what do you say? What sort of information should you share? What rules do you have to play by?

Here’s a quick guide to the type of Twitter activity we see to work best. We hope it helps.

1. Fill in your Twitter profile completely. You’d be amazed at the amount of people who don’t put any effort into this. You have about 3 seconds when people check you out so make sure you write it well.
2. Have a good icon or image. Photos work best for a personal feed. Professional shots are best of all.
3. Include a link to your website or blog. This is VITAL if you want to be trusted on Twitter.
4. Find people to follow. Connect with others who you find interesting, people you know, clients, organisations you rate, authors, commentators in your field or journalists you admire. What type of Tweets do you respond to best?
5. Follow back. If people follow you and they look interesting, follow them back and see what they’ve got to say.
6. Be polite. Thank your new followers, acknowledge those who mention you or ‘retweet’ your posts.
7. RT, @, #, DM? Get up to speed with Twitter lingo. Learn from Twitter’s glossary here – http://business.twitter.com/basics/glossary.
8. Stay on message, most of the time. What do you want to be known for? Put thought into what you want to talk about. What’s the ‘red line’ that runs through all that you do? Have an opinion. A strong theme to your Tweets really helps.
9. Write for your particular clients and customers. What do they want to know? What do they ask you? Educate, inform and entertain them. That’s the point.
10. Share valuable content. Post information you think they’d find useful or interesting – links to articles or video, share quotes, relevant news, books you’ve read, opinions, tips.
11. Make sure it’s not all about you. Me, me, me is seriously off-putting.
12. Use shortened links rather than full blown URLs. Bit.ly is good for this.
13. Don’t sell. This is not the place for a stream of high pressure sales messages. Think of it as an online networking event, if you like that sort of thing. Promote your services occasionally but this should not be the main event. Far too many people get this wrong.
14. ‘Curate’ good content. Share posts and articles by others that you think your readers will find valuable or back up your approach.
15. Engage. Talk to people directly by using @theirname. You’ll be surprised by the depth of relationships you can create here.
16. Ask questions. You can learn a lot from your followers (we’ve learned loads!). It’s incredible how supportive and useful this platform can be.
17. Tell them a bit about you. What are you up to? What’s news? Your choice about how much personal information you feel comfortable to share. You’ve got to find a voice that feels right for you.
18. Recommend others you rate and say why. Twitter is a trusted referral engine. Recommend suppliers, clients, commentators, friends, other Tweeters.
19. Organise your connections into lists. This will make it much easier for you as your Twitter connections build, and enables you to check into conversation on a particular subject.
20. Show up regularly. It doesn’t have to be every day (although that helps). Consistency is all. Check what people are saying about you often and reply promptly.

And finally….here are a three very different Twitterers we think do it really well. Watch and learn from the best.

• Author Charles H Green: @charleshgreen – on the subject of trust in business relationships.
• Nick Hall, The Local Expert: @nicklocalexpert – championing quality independent businesses in Devon.
• MD of law firm Silverman Sherliker: @london_law_firm – Chris Sherliker shows professional firms the way.

Staying in touch with clients and customers is part of Valuable Content’s approach to marketing – providing helpful advice and content keeps your profile high and boosts your business ‘feel-good factor’.  Newsletters are a great way of doing this, so we’ve put together some quick tips for getting them right.

1. Get sign up first. However lovingly worded and beautifully designed, if they didn’t ask for it, it’s spam.
2. Be brief. People are busy. Even scrolling down too far is too much. One page max.
3. Grab their attention. Headlines matter. Newsletter 73 isn’t going to get anyone rushing to click, but a great offer just might. Be careful though. We all love a bargain, but too many once in a lifetime sales make you look desperate.
4. Use your voice. Newsletters need to follow your brand guidelines, in a tone of voice that matches the rest of your communications. So no text speak if you’re a firm of solicitors, and no stiff formality if you plan parties. (Actually, no stiff formality anywhere. Straightforward, honest and warm covers most bases).
5. Reward. People on your mailing list are your special customers. Make them feel part of an exclusive club and they’ll reward you with loyalty. Money off deals work, but so does information. Letting your favourite customers in on the news before the rest of the world makes them feel important.
6. Get the timing right. Once I signed up for a diet newsletter and they mailed by twice a day. Way too much. Once a year, and your customers might have forgotten who you are. (Unless you sell Christmas trees).
7. Share success. Letting your clients know about your latest award makes them feel happy to be associated with you. It’s an affirmation that they might the right choice in working with you. We all like to be right.

If you need help with your newsletter, call us on 0117 9544023

“If it’s important enough for you to spend your time finding and connecting with new people online, it’s important enough to get the first impression right.” Seth Godin

Your profile picture is crucial if you want to make a good first impression - on your website, social media profiles and other marketing literature.

Valuable Content associate Mick Dickinson explains the importance of investing in the right profile shot.

“They say “a picture speaks a thousand words” and they are right. Now, if you don’t trust ‘them’, please trust me. Because the first thing I do when I check you out online is look at your profile picture. Your personal brand is online and public, so you really should make the most of it.  

Commissioning a professional, memorable, striking photo of yourself is an investment.  Just like any valuable content, a bang-on photo of you is a gift that keeps on giving. How? Because you pay for it once — and it pays you back forever.  

Yes, we all have camera-phones and domestic digital cameras. They do a job, and indeed most people use them to snap a quick self portrait for Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. And boy, the web is littered with poor quality, blurry images of uncomfortable-looking people…  

Those home-made pics are just that – home-made. Generally speaking: 

• They don’t make you stand out from the crowd. 
• They aren’t good enough for print reproduction 
• You are not 100% happy with them. 

A really good personal portrait is something you’ll be proud to flaunt. It presents a professional image to the world and it needn’t cost the earth. So scrub up and get yours sorted.”

Article by Mick Dickinson www.buzzedup.co.uk, email mick@buzzedup.co.uk

Further information

• Read How to prepare for your photo-shoot
• Read Seth Godin’s useful article on ‘The Power of a Tiny Picture“

We highly recommend photographer Harry Duns (he even made us look good!). More information here http://www.buzzedup.co.uk/index.php/portraits

‘Mobile marketing’ has arrived; a major promotional trend for of 2011, but how can small businesses use it to their advantage? QR codes are a simple, cost effective opportunity to get you started. Richard Gauder of Canadian web design company CMS Web Solutions explains.

What are QR codes? “You’ve probably started to see them without knowing what they are for. QR codes or Quick Response codes are a 2 dimensional barcode that can be read by smartphones with a camera. They’ve been a common sight in Japan since 1994 and are becoming increasingly popular in the rest of the world.

With the remarkable growth of smartphones, businesses are finding all sorts of marketing and operational uses for them.  You can place them on printed marketing material, on products, in store windows, on billboards, TV commercials, newspapers, t-shirts, anywhere!

When a smartphone user takes a picture of the code they are directed to a page on a website. That’s the opportunity businesses are now taking advantage of. A business could have anything on that webpage. We’ve seen product/service information, coupons, store hours, promotional offers, even links to the company’s Facebook page.”

Why should businesses use them? “QR codes are a fantastic marketing opportunity that will delight the growing community of smartphone owners, helping them to find your information more quickly.

Worldwide smartphone sales grew 96 percent in 2010 and accounted for 19.3 percent of mobile sales, or 81 million units according to Gartner. In the UK research by Ofcom found that smartphone take up in the UK is growing even faster than other leading nations. As more customers move to smartphones, they’ll increasingly expect instant information: take the opportunity to lead the way in giving them just that.

QR codes are taking off because they are quick, convenient and easy for the consumer. For businesses they are simple to set up and can be generated for free – a great new way to interact with your customers. Results are easy to track; you can quickly adjust your marketing strategy based on what works best.”

Smart marketing ideas: “Why not use a QR code to direct them to customer reviews? How about a page that they show on check out that gives them an extra gift or discount if they sign up for your newsletter? Heck, put it on the label and their friends will know where they bought the item.

They are not just for retail. How about putting one on your business card sending people to a vCard so it’s easy for them to make you a contact? Estate agents – consider adding a QR code to the For Sale sign: interested buyers can scan the code and immediately access details about that property.”

Setting up a QR code campaign: “For best results, direct visitors to a customized landing page on your website. Visitors to that page will be using a mobile device, so make sure your page is mobile-friendly. You want it to load quickly and have the most important information near the top.  Include contact details so that visitors can quickly connect.

Once you’ve created your landing page, you’ll need a QR code for it. It’s easy to generate – URL shortening services such as bit.ly or goo.gl, let you create a code from any web page address (usually by adding a ‘.qr’ to the end of the shortened URL). With services such as goqr.me you can create other types of response such as text messages or phone numbers. It’s simple. Use QR codes to engage and delight your customers and prospects.”

Thanks Richard – valuable information and a neat marketing idea for companies looking to take a first step into mobile in 2011. I’m thinking of adding them to my business cards and printed literature. One of my marketing savvy book author clients is including them to the end of each chapter to take readers to extra resources online. Anyone else? How will you use QR codes to direct mobile users to your valuable content?

January is the season for  TOP IDEAS, TRENDS, RESOLUTIONS, TOOLKITS for the new year…I’m a sucker for articles like these: compelled to read them to see if I’m doing the right stuff, to find nuggets of wisdom to help me plan my year. Perhaps you are too.

With that thought in mind here’s my contribution from the world of content: 10 content trends you should sit up and take notice of this year. They are not all new but they are certainly all important if you want to propel your marketing to new heights in 2011.

1. Yup, content is still king in 2011, the heart of all effective marketing today. But we are not talking just any old content – make sure yours is VALUABLE, to your readers and to your business. Your number one focus for the year? Pack your website full of valuable content
2. Articles and blogging remain a crucial way to get your message across – appreciated by your prospects, clients, contacts and Google too they increase awareness, trust, referrals and sales: see – ‘5 reasons to start a business blog’
3. Social media really is mainstream now but remember, you need good content to make it fly. Regularly share links to your articles and blog posts as well as industry news, statistics and great content from others to back up your approach
4. Printed content is making a resurgence – useful guides, printed pamphlets, even hard copy sales letters make an impact in our digitally-focused world, if they are crafted well
5. Create content with a shelf-life: add heavy-weight stock to your general content flow – gold standard articles, guides and give-aways – cornerstone content that retains its value and sets your business apart
6. Business books - forever guaranteed to give you expert status. Make your business book a reality this year with our help
7. Use content to keep in touch, to keep the conversation flowing until they are ready to buy – newsletters, auto-responder emails. see - ‘How to keep in touch with potential customers until they are ready to buy’
8. Get creative: not just written content – mix it up with videos, animations, slideshows etc. This is on our list for 2011 as we’ve focused purely on written to date: should be fun
9. Mobile – the buzzword of the year. With the incredible growth of smartphones, businesses can no longer ignore the need to adapt and create content for mobile users. Make sure your website is designed with mobile in mind and make use of new ways to engage with the mobile community (e.g. we’re excited by ‘QR codes’)
10. Write it well! Last but not least, don’t forget to focus on the quality of your content. Throw out jargon, but don’t replace it with plain language.  Instead choose lively, compelling words that make connections with your readers.  Sharon’s articles on this blog will show you how.

We’ll be writing more on all these subjects on the Valuable Content blog and in our newsletters throughout the year. Sign up to the Valuable Content mailing list and we’ll keep you up to date with the latest trends, news and views from the world of content.

A happy and successful 2011 to you all.

Many different types of business now benefit from running an active blog as part of their online marketing mix. Blogs have become mainstream in the last few years, but that doesn’t mean that all business owners understand the benefits they can bring. I’ve written a blog for a couple of years now and though it might be helpful to share my experience – the results have really surprised me.

Here are my five top reasons to add ’starting a business blog’ to your to do list:

1) Blog articles are the kind of information your potential buyers benefit from

People go online predominantly to find answers to their problems. A helpful blog article can answer their questions. Give your buyers value by publishing this type of information on your blog - ideas, tips, techniques that help them be more successful – and you’ll position your company as a knowledgeable resource, proving your expertise in what you do.

Recent research from Hubspot found that 71.4% of users say that blogs affect their purchasing decisions “somewhat” or “very much.”

2) A blog shows the human side of your business

This is important: people want to do business with people and they want to be sure that they can work with you. A blog gives much more informative than the ‘corporatese’ they find on pure, brochure-style websites.

Show your enthusiasm for what you do, give your opinion on the things that are important to you, put your passion online (in the right way!), engage with people and you’ll demonstrate the type of company you really are – the type of company people WANT to do business with.

3) Google loves blogs

Posting regular articles increases inbound links and site traffic and pushes up your natural search rankings.

“If you want to use the internet to market, you need to be found in search. If you want to be found in search, you need to create content regularly.” (Hubspot)

I found out something new on this subject from Matt Lambert of www.conversationware.com recently – search engines actually ‘value’ blog content more than static!

“Google applies something called QDF, Query Deserves Freshness in their google machine, and as blog posts are published like news, they often push to the top of the rankings, sometimes within minutes of posting.”

4) Blogging gets you better business results

• Increased awareness – more visitors through search and sharing of good content
• Increased trust which delivers more leads
• More referrals – it’s the type of information your contacts and fans find it easy to share
• More sales – write a blog article on a subject that you’ve been discussing with a prospect and it can help to close the sale more quickly (see: Write articles for your clients and shorten the sales cycle). Try it – it really works!

5) Blogging will make you better at what you do

More ideas, more thought and structure around your expertise, more clarity on what you know and what you love to do: blogging will help you develop and build your brand.

My blog really does help me get more clients. I hope this article gives you a bit of clarity on the real benefits your company could see too. It’s a genuinely valuable tool for any business.

If you have a business blog do share your experience. What has worked for you?

Related articles:

• Write articles for your clients and shorten the sales cycle
• 5 reasons NOT to blog
• How to write a ‘good enough’ article