Why Your Website Needs a Blog and How to Start One

Posted on September 29, 2022

woman on couch working on laptop

Let’s cut to the chase––you need to start blogging.

Blogs are not just for those ranting because the sour cream was missing from their grocery order. Starting a blog doesn’t mean you must spill the tea on why you will never wear parachute pants again, but we’d love to read it if you do (#welovethe80s). Blogging is one of the most powerful marketing tools business owners can wield to grow their audience, boost sales and establish a brand voice. By the way, all kinds of fabulous content can help you stand out from the crowd. Yet, for this piece, we’re covering the OG.  

At ArachnidWorks, we know a thing or two about blogging. You’re kind of reading one now, right? 

Right! 

So, we gathered our collective marketing brains to share why your website needs a blog. 

Three Little Letters: SEO

A quality blog can boost your entire website’s SEO ranking. Here’s how. 

  • Content & Keywords – Blog posts are a form of content. Content adds keywords to your site. Search engines crawl through your site and read your content to determine what your business offers. That helps search engines find your website over others. Nice, right?
  • Relevancy – Blog posts are a deep dive into a topic. They help you gain traction and position your content in front of more eyes, leading to more conversions. And with Google’s latest algorithm update, there is a heavy focus on intent––your relevancy––which provides value for the posted content. 
  • Tag, You’re it! – Categories and tags are metadata mysteries that are not so mysterious. They tell search engines where to find your website and drive users to it.
  • Stay Awhile – A quality archive of material keeps people roaming your site longer. Extra dwell time on pages tells search engines people loved hanging out with you because your content was on point and fabulous. 
  • Internal Links – Links, links, and more links within a blog to your previous posts equal more clicks on your content. It’s all a part of strategic thinking to help users find your brand and message. 
  • Share & Share Alike – Think of it as the more the merrier. Internal linking in posts means more opportunities for other websites to find and link back to your site. The more websites linking to you as a source, the merrier, right? Right! And when you tag and repost your blog on social media, you tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on, you’re going to have more eyes on your content. 
  • Where the Heck Are You? – Tagging locations to your post is a must for location-based businesses. For the local donut shop that needs those eclairs to fly out the door, you want donut-lovers to know where to snag the best in town.

If You Write it, They Will Come

You want to set yourself apart as an expert in your lane. It helps customers get to know you and build trust. It’s not a matter of just writing content for content’s sake. You want to give the masses material that solves a problem, gives them actionable steps, and shows them YOU are the one who feels their pain (points). 

Who Are You?

You have a brand to define for the masses. That starts with creating a voice people recognize. You immediately know when you see that circular, green sign that it’s calling you toward caffeine. That smirk on a cardboard box? Something special is on your doorstep, right? These companies have defined their brand to the point that you don’t even need a name on their logo to know who they are. You know their voice, identity, and how they improve your life with their services. You can get there too! It starts with becoming an industry expert who builds rapport and connects with others.

My People!

You can’t grow your audience without content, and content helps you grow your audience. You want traffic to be bumper-to-bumper on your site to generate new leads. These leads mean you’ve found your people! A great way to keep the interaction alive on your site is to include a call-to-action (CTA) that offers them a little something. You know what we mean by CTA. Things like: 

  • But wait, there’s more!
  • Free gift just because you’re fantastic!
  • Act now. Space is limited! 
  • Sign up today, and you’ll receive an invite to my virtual bad holiday sweater party! 

Other CTAs we love include:

  • Free eBooks
  • Downloadable whitepages 
  • Fact sheets
  • Video lessons or webinars
  • Free trials
  • Donuts. The ones with sprinkles.

Okay, maybe not the donuts, and it’s obviously sugar-rush snack time at ArachnidWorks HQ, yet you see where we’re going with this. Anything you can offer users to jump into that funnel and start a relationship can drive long-term results. 

Ready to start that blog? Awesome! Want to turn to the Frederick, Maryland, marketing pros who can help you get it done? Even better! ArachnidWorks is a multi-disciplined design collective dedicated to bringing clients strategic marketing, top-quality design services, and SEO strategy that gets businesses noticed. Let us help you make some crazy-cool content. Reach out, and let’s get started!

Content and SEO Strategy––It Matters

Posted on September 7, 2022

person using google search on laptop

Believe it or not, organic search visibility, rankings, and traffic take a lot of effort. What makes a big difference in your success? Creating stellar, optimized content. 

Content and SEO are in a relationship, and their union could launch your website to the top of the rankings. Are you utilizing their partnership to get noticed? Well, you should be. 

Content That Impacts Your Bottom Line

Content is everywhere, and we mean ev-ry-where! You want your brand to stand head and shoulders above the rest. That’s why having an SEO-driven strategy is critical. It separates you from the others and gets attention. How does it work? The team at ArachnidWorks is glad you asked! 

SEO + Content = Eyeballs on Your Brand

We promise this isn’t an algebra lesson, and the math isn’t hard to master. When you marry the science of SEO with beautifully-crafted words (ahem, content), that sweet little combo produces focused marketing. It’s not just throwing words on a page, or spaghetti at a wall, hoping something will stick. It’s a strategic approach that impacts your business and a ROI that makes your bottom line happy. 

SEO combined with purposely-created content is the perfect pairing. Here’s why:

  • SEO optimizes the on-the-page experience and increases the likelihood of launching you towards the top of the search engine results page (SERP).   
  • Content marketing is the vehicle for your message to the masses, offering information and advertising your ____________ (insert company, brand, product, nomination for an ADDY award, etc.) 
  • Adding them together equals traffic that contains more than just rubberneckers. They’re stopping by, staying, and engaging because they’re enticed to investigate further. The added bonus: potential conversions that become customers, sales, and the like. 

Each company’s measuring stick for success is unique. No matter how it’s calculated, everyone wants to reach their goal numbers for growth. 

It Starts With Killer Content

You want every visitor to have the VIP experience while engaging with your brand. That begins with quality content. SEO and SERP should intertwine with your message. These are not hindrances to crafting that magical tagline or a blog post that goes viral. Think of them more like The Three Muskateers rather than The Three Stooges. When you combine their superpowers, you’ll receive:

  • Better search visibility that translates into more eyes on your page. 
  • Information accumulate about your customers, their needs, and insight into solving them.

Wait. There Are Different Types of SEO?

Yes, yes, there are. Let’s break them down and provide a snapshot of what they do. 

On-page SEO – Content, keywords, internal links, and metadata: these work together to help your page gain ranking. 

Off-page SEO – Guest bloggers, building backlinks, and social media marketing: these items build brand awareness. Although they have nothing to do with your website, they help boost your ranking with every little share and click. 

Technical SEO – Mobile-friendly, page speed, sitemaps, and site structure: these enhance user experience and engagement while also helping search engines look through your site. 

Local SEO – Google Business profile listings, relevant keywords, up-to-date company information, respond to reviews: if you want searches to convert, start local. These valuable leads in your own backyard can quickly become conversions, and that’s golden, friends. 

Every good strategy begins with a plan. From finding your brand voice to strategically sourcing strong content to drive traffic, ArachnidWorks can help you take your business to the next level. Our multidisciplinary marketing and design collective in Frederick, Maryland, is dedicated to creating unique and successful marketing strategies for our clients. Ready to make content and SEO work for you? Reach out, and we’ll get busy making your brand shine.