International SEO
I Have Industrial Business Blog… ( Now What? )
To every B2B company out there striving for first page Google placement, we say, These are changing times. A standard 5 page site brochure type site will never see the top of the SERPS in todays competitive online market. These days virtually every business is engaging in ‘on page’ SEO methods to gain rankings, which is ultimately forcing a new SEM model into the top spot as “the new top ranking tool.” We’ve talked about social search, industrial directories, link building, and other ‘off page’ topics. But one area that will quickly leave behind the unprepared is business blogs.
I think a lot of industrial business owners try and ‘fake’ their blog. They start a business blog because ‘they have to.” What’s important to understand, is that you CAN have an authentic, successfully maintained and trafficked blog even if your topic isn’t as web savvy as the blogosphere itself. We understand that industrial business owners aren’t necessarily captivating writers. However, by first understanding a few key concepts, and then by following a few key steps, your business blog, can in fact become more successful than perhaps you think.
Because Industrial business owners are experts in… well… their industrial businesses, we’re going to reveal some of the mystery behind the blogosphere and set a template for creating the best business blog in your industry. Brace yourself… we’re giving away all our goodies!
A Business Blog Can Only Be Ranking Tool if it Provides Valuable Content to a Niche Audience.
A blog without traffic is useless, and the most effective way to gain traffic is to earn it. This is the principle of attraction above promotion. Remember that the goal here is to attract links by becoming a resource. What do your readers want to know? What kind of information do you have to share? Plan your message, and stick to it. Write in a way that appeals to your audience.
A Successfull Blog Appeals to ‘Linkers’
This is the point where so many industrial bloggers get stuck. For a blog to really take off, it needs links. If your audience isn’t the web-savvy blog-gor-ific link-duelling type, (which they probably are not if you’re starting an industrial business blog) you’ve got to focus on form as well as content. The does still apply. however, in order to achieve things like getting hits on digg, getting your blog on other blog rolls and in social bookmarks, you must convey your content in a unique, web savvy way. Put video on your blog. Inject some creativity. Tell a story. If all else fails, ride the coat tails of other news stories. If your a robotics company, talk about the new “Human Robots” that the british are developing!!! (Credits to BBC.Co.UK)
A Successful Business Blog is Well Maintained.
Our last post was 9 days ago. Traffic graphs don’t lie. ‘Nuff said.
A Succesfull Business Blog is Well Optimized.
This point is often highly neglected. What many bloggers fail to note is that a blog can be optimized much in the same fashion as a website, but with a few blog - specific twists:
- Host your business blog on it’s own domain
- Name your categories after targeted key phrases
- Provide ping backs and internal links to other blog posts, and to your website using anchor text
- Set your URL preference as your post’s title
- When planning your post, first do keyword research. Saturate your post with highly searched phrases.
- Use heading and formatting tags for important phrases within your post.
A Successfull Business Blog Requires Participication and Promotion.
If you want community to embrace you, you must first embrace the community.
- Post comments on other blogs (Search technorati for posts relating to topics you’ve written about. Cross reference! Start a dialogue!)
- Add blogs to your blog roll (share traffic)
- Research the best blog directories, and submit your blog to all of them. (Be availble)
- Link to your blog in your email signature, and print the domain on your advertizing materials
- Submit your posts as articles at free article directory sites. Link back to your blog and to your website.
- Visit digg.com, zimbio.com
- Submit white papars to techrepublic, manufacturing.net and other industreial portals. Link to your blog.
A Successfull Blogger Stays Focused!
Remember your purpose is to provide value. Getting lost in promotion and optimization can sometimes mean less time spent providing good content to your audience, which by now we know is the back bone of blog success.
In Conclusion:
- Pick (Your Audience)
- Plan (Your Message)
- Provide (Valuable Content)
- Attract (links from your niche audience)
- Focus on Form (for your web savvy linkers)
- Maintain (post frequently)
- Optimize (to gain search engine traffic)
- Particpiate and Promote (embrace the community)
- Stay Focused (on your message)
Ecreativeworks provides blog set up and optimization services to help businesses achieve their search engine marketing goals. For information about about our search engine marketing programs, contact Ecreativeworks today!
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:55 am
Commitment is one you missed. But that is a hard thing about blogs. I don’t know if you can ever tell when a new blogger is going to stick-it-out, or when he is going to falter. You have to just let them try. But in a business-blog, a failed blog seems negative on the brand, so its risky.
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:03 am
So true, Dave. I think by preparing would-be bloggers with info like this helps them get an accurate view of what an undertaking a blog can be. Commitment is right! At some point though, its gonna be a mandatory commitment. more and more blogs are created every day….
April 23rd, 2007 at 3:46 am
Related to Dave J’s point, a consideration is the integration of a b2blog in a corporation’s website. The combination can be powerful, but if the blog fails, the negative impact is reinfored.
Referring to ‘Linkers’, a b2b blog often can be supported by a large sales force in the field promoting the website to prospects and customers in their daily visits. This is quite different from the lone freelance blogger who needs traffic for adsense revenue.
I find digg.com covering actually quite a narrow part of the technology fields, and if you’re for example in manufacturing operations, it’s very likely that digg’s target audience is not at all yours.
Finally, on frequency, this is a major issue when you’re busy filling up a factory and serving customers. I’m not sure many businesses would have so much to tell to allow them several posts per week, or even per day. On the other hand, if the purpose of a business blog is a dialog with customers, suppliers and others, a high posting frequency may actually be counter-productive. It may be better to give your customers a bit more time to reflect.
April 24th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Thanks for your comments, Hans.
Point one: Yes, depending on the reach of a blog at the time of failure.
Point two: Totally agreed! We ourselves exercise this tactic, along with internal promotion amongst industrial advertising reps and our current customers.It’s helpful all around. The traffic benefits rankings, which enhances credibility, the content fosters an active community, etc.
Frequency: You raise a good point. For these folks, outsourcing a blog can be a good idea, or as a part of an integrated SEM campaign. In these cases evaluating the purpose and message of a blog is is important so that the SEM firm can adequately stay on topic.
November 10th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I agree that optimizing your blog as you would a website is very important, as well as the appearance. A blog must be interesting and visually appealing in order to maintain a good flow of traffic.
David
http://start-office-cleaning.blogspot.com
January 19th, 2008 at 3:11 am
I have used some of these tips and they worked pretty well for me. I am glad I stumbled onto this blog of yours.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I am just starting out. I am trying this out for the first time today. Great Tips!
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Metal Roofing Company in Oakvale, Mississippi http://jandjcustommetal.8m. Check out my website
February 14th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Great article! I am new to blogging, as my business focuses more on cold calling to get sales leads for manufacturers. I just wrote a book about starting up a successful manufacturing business, called “Start Me Up”, available at my website. However, I will definitely start using the tips you have here & will refer customers to this post if they want to start blogging. Thanks!
May 15th, 2008 at 11:59 am
ihype.com is a new startup that supposed to introduce socialsphere marketing to advertisers.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Wow.. this is pretty comprehensive and well themed. I totally agree about the tight niche appeal aspect.
November 20th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Really good article on blogging. I have three business blogs and I have been blogging for 3 years. It has to be niche targeted, useful, frequent and linkable! right on!
February 5th, 2009 at 4:54 am
I am totally agree with you, with 5 pages of website it is next to impossible to get top ranked in google, they will need tons of back links.. even then i doubt it will rank on google…
well its nice post
March 10th, 2009 at 6:18 am
A successful business blog should be designed in proper manner.
March 24th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Check out my website :
http://www.industrial8.blogspot.com
Wow.. this is pretty comprehensive and well themed.well its nice post !
March 24th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Thanks! Great article!I will definitely start using the tips you have here & will refer customers to this post if they want to start blogging.
http://www.industrialbar.blogspot.com
March 24th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Great Tips! A blog must be interesting and visually appealing in order to maintain a good flow of traffic.http://www.industrial-best.blogspot.com
March 24th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Commitment is right!
my website :http://industrial-home.blogspot.comMight as well put these prisoners to work. They’re extremely cheap labor and they’re always there. Sometimes for life. lol!
March 24th, 2009 at 8:22 am
This is awesome. But in that mission, I had to fight through the king’s security before I got to him. Maybe I should try your more sneaky approach in the future.
http://industrial-all.blogspot.com