Why is a blog useful for a business website? Will it really make a difference? In a digital-savvy world, making your small business services stand out can be tough, and so we want to equip you with the knowledge to make your website reach its true potential. You may have heard that a blog can be helpful, but we’re here to explain why your business really needs one. 

1. Get Your Website Found by and Seen on Google

SEO can seem like a mythical beast: confusing sets of instructions that change semi-frequently that people seem to think are very important. Well, that’s half right – SEO is incredibly important, but the basics are quite simple. 

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it’s all about making your content as easy for a search engine – we’ll talk about Google, but of course there are many – to find as possible. Essentially, you want to prove you know what you’re talking about (authority) and demonstrate what topic it is you’re talking about (keywords), so that Google can put you in front of interested readers, and subsequently, potential buyers. 

Blogs are fantastic for doing this, because they offer more pages for Google to look at to understand what your website wants to do. Google itself has said it prioritizes “experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness”, which it determines from a website having “helpful, reliable, people-first content”, something that is far easier to provide in a content led blog post than on a sales-led page. 

The more your content appears, and the more people utilize it, the more Google trusts you in future. Especially as other sites begin to link to you as an authority too (backlinks), the benefits snowball into an avalanche of customers on your site. 

2. Drive Conversion by Showing How You’re an Expert in Your Business

Showing you know what you’re talking about will always build trustworthiness – not just with Google above, which is a very technical and cold process, but with your audiences too. 

If readers gain value from advice you’ve provided on your blog, in the area you are most knowledgeable of, they are more likely to apply that level of trust to the rest of your site. 

If you’re an HVAC contractor, for example, you may be able to write about advancements in heat pump technology and offer recommendations of which ones are best, or what problems they may solve. Demonstrating that you are an expert gives readers a reason to pick your services over your competitors, especially when there are so many websites for customers to choose from. 

3. Blogs Show Customers You’re Present

Have you ever looked at a website and been concerned it hasn’t been updated in a while? Is this company still in existence? It could be for a perfectly good reason – if it ain’t broke, they say, don’t fix it – but that doesn’t always lend readers confidence that their order might be fulfilled if they believe the website to have not been maintained. 

On the flipside, if you’re posting blog posts regularly (it can even be just a few times a year), you’re showing that not only are you still active and available, but that you’re full of the aforementioned expertise and are willing to share it. Whether you’re sharing experiences through your business, like a success story or a customer testimony, or are offering advice, such as why a blog might be useful for a business, you’re showing up for your customers. 

4. Make Social Media Content Quickly and Easily

Social media can be a real-time vacuum for small business owners – we all know we should do it, but finding the time to post can be challenging. However, if you maximize your content across your social media, you’ll find it much easier. 

Every blog that you post can be posted onto your social networks – Facebook, X, LinkedIn, BlueSky, etc. You could share the link directly to your blog post, or you could share an image and explain part of your topic in your caption. 

If your blog post is evergreen – meaning it’s not something that’s restricted by time, a commentary on the latest football match (only relevant for a brief period) vs the 5 best football matches of all time (won’t need regular updates to stay relevant) for example – you can even post it multiple times throughout the year. 

Plus, as video becomes more and more important, with the growth of TikTok and Reels, and the likes of Meta announcing increased emphasis on video content over general posts, these blog posts can act as scripts for videos, or even multiple smaller videos. 

For example, this exact post on a blog being useful for a small business website could become a YouTube video script, which could then be cut into separate videos with each heading. 

5. Give Your Website a Voice

The telephone rings, and before checking the caller ID, you answer. “Hello!” they say, and you know instantly that it’s Auntie Muriel. Voices are recognizable, and not just to hear, but to read too. 

There’s a reason you have favorite authors, and customers who can experience your voice are more likely to form a personal connection to it, and your business will benefit from this. 

That’s the same if you publish posts under the brand, or if you tag the person responsible for writing it. The more blog posts you publish; the more people will be able to differentiate and develop a sense of who each person is. Research shows that offering a personal touch – in this case by putting your own voice forward – garners sales and loyalty. 

Do NOT Do This in Your Blog – Easy Mistakes to Avoid

So, you now know why blogs are so important, and you’re off to write your first post. Before you do, here’s a quick word of warning. 

Remember earlier, how we talked about content being ‘people-first’ as a key tenant of Google’s decision to show your website in search results? Well, that was announced after an influx of AI generated content. It flooded the internet with legitimate sounding, but often inaccurate information, and whilst Google hasn’t outright banned the use of AI, it is very good at detecting it and isn’t likely to prioritize it. 

That’s not to say you can’t use AI at all – it can be an incredibly helpful tool, even more so if you’re not a confident writer. However, it’s probably best used to outline your thoughts, or get feedback, rather than to allow it to write everything for you. 

Lastly, be careful of common mistakes people make in SEO, such as using too many keywords in an attempt to make Google understand (spamming the word “electrician” won’t make Google rank you when someone searches for an electrician), or not using headings correctly. Good, quality content that people will want to read will be enough.