My Local Business Online

Jan Kearney - Your Local Business Online Marketing Consultant - call me 07847 554418

Jan Kearney – My Local Business Online

Helping you get your business found online by LOCAL people

  • Home
  • Problems I Solve
    • I need a website that works
    • I need more online visibility for my local business
    • I want to start video marketing
    • My WordPress site baffles me
  • Why I Do It
    • Privacy
  • Toolbox
  • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Blogging / Blogging For Business: Lessons from the Ultimate Blog Challenge

Blogging For Business: Lessons from the Ultimate Blog Challenge

July 31, 2012 by Jan Kearney

One of the great things about blogging for business is you can chat away sharing your knowledge and it brings people to your website, mainly through long tail searches.  

What do I mean by long tail?

blogging for business attracting long tail trafficPeople often type in longer phrases into the search box, sometimes even whole questions.  

Many people dismiss this “accidental” traffic, but it’s often far more targeted than more competitive keywords. 

Needless to say, blogging is great for the long tail!

Hubspot found that businesses that blog average 55% more website visitors than those that don’t.  From experience, the more you blog, the more natural organic traffic you achieve.

Blogging for business is a long-term strategy that helps to increase trust, increase traffic and bring in new leads and clients.  It doesn’t bring in results overnight and works best when combined with an overall social media strategy.

The Ultimate Blog Challenge

blogging for business? join me in the ultimate blog challengeThis month, I’ve been taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge to complete 31 posts in 31 days and comment on other people’s blogs. 

I won’t complete this particular challenge, and that’s OK.  I knew it would be a tough one this month, and I have blogged far more than I expected! While I am flagging at the finish line, four posts behind and I am seeing a difference.

It’s worth remembering that I was taking part in the UBC to basically kick myself up the backside and remember to blog for my business.   I did it for the challenge of posting – and of course inspiration.  I know from my last challenge there are business bloggers out there, reading other points of view is always good!

Other than numbers coming to the blog, I can’t really compare stats with last month nor May as my cookie optin totally screwed my analytics.  So, percentages of new visits, bounce rate, pages visited, where they went next are all out. 

They’re just stats anyway – and stats aren’t results.

I can see that my organic traffic went up 16.2%, much of which was from long tail searches.  Facebook referred quite a bit, hardly surprising since I was posting in the UBC group.  Despite me often forgetting to tweet with the #blogboost tag, Twitter traffic went up too. 

Of course, I am seeing some traffic come from blog comments – even though I struggled to keep up with commenting!

I’ve gained three new clients directly related to my blogging and several enquiries.  I’ve also had mails from peers in similar lines of business from saying hi to possibilities of working together in the future.  My email list has increased by 22%.

Let’s not forget I have had my thoughts and perceptions challenged and learnt so much by reading other peoples blogs.  I’ve come away with points I can put into action to improve how I operate – and a raft of ideas and inspiration.

I do have many things I want to change with my set up here on My Local Business Online.  None of it is rocket science or even new – I just need to take more of my own advice! 

I’m disappointed I have not completed the Challenge, but it has highlighted again that blogging for business regularly can work well.  I need to streamline it more so what I blog about relates to the services I offer with a call to action and specific landing pages – I know this, don’t ask why I haven’t already done it!

My quest to get local businesses blogging (and using the Internet for their business) continues!

To all the UBC bloggers I’ve visited this month, thank you for the inspiration and interesting articles.  I hope you got as much out of it as I did – keep blogging! 

Whether you are taking part in UBC or not – thank you for stopping by my little home online.  If I can help you get your business blogging, simply get in touch 🙂

Blogging For Business: Lessons from the Ultimate Blog Challenge by Jan Kearney

Related Posts

  • Ultimate Blog Challenge Accepted (Again!)

    It’s that time again – the Ultimate Blog Challenge. 31 posts in 31 days of…

  • blog challenge complete!
    Lessons Learned From The 30 Day Blog Challenge

    Hurrah, I made it! This is post 30 in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I must…

  • can your Christmas jumper teach you to blog?
    7 Blogging Lessons From Your Christmas Jumper

    It's Save The Children's National Christmas Jumper Day today, 13th December.   You can take…

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: blog commenting, blogging challenge, blogging for business, business blogging

About Jan Kearney

I believe that every business, no matter how small or how local can use the power of the web to gain more customers. I offer no bull coaching and mentoring so small business owners can strategically put the web to work for their business. I've been called a "compass" and a "navigator" and probably a few more names that aren't suitable for a profile!
Connect with me on Google+, Facebook, Pinterest

Comments

  1. Steve says

    July 31, 2012 at 4:02 pm

    Refreshing to see someone else who values the power of the long tail. And well done, 30 posts in 30 days is much harder than it sounds!

    Steve

    • Jan Kearney says

      August 1, 2012 at 8:18 am

      Hi Steve, thanks for popping in and your comment. Local too! I didn’t hit my target 4 short, but it was good practice:) I knew this month would be a tough one.
      I’ve seen the power of the longtail in action, blogging is great for it

Meet Jan Kearney

I believe that every business, no matter how small or how local can use the power of the web to gain more customers. I offer no bull coaching and mentoring so small business owners can strategically put the web to work for their business. I've been called a "compass" and a "navigator" and probably a few more names that aren't suitable for a profile!
Connect with me on Google+, Facebook, Pinterest or Discover More About My Local Business Online…

Also On The Blog…

7 Useful image optimisation tips for search and social media

7 Useful Image Optimisation Tips For Search And Social Media

A web page without an image is almost naked, missing something, a finishing touch. Basic image optimisation can transform your web pages, product … [Read More...]

50 Fabulously free stock photo sites to bling up your blog

50 Fabulously Free Stock Photo Sites To Bling Your Blog

Not all of us have photographic talent. Creating your own photo images for your website, social updates, blog or presentations is HARD.  When the … [Read More...]

Is your business website Google-worthy in 2016?

Is Your Business Website Google-Worthy In 2016?

Creating your own local business website is never an easy task, especially when the guidelines change regularly. As always online, the only thing you … [Read More...]

Jan Kearney
and My Local Business Online
Helps small business owners get to grips with the web and get found online.
2 Stanley Villas, Greenway Road, Runcorn, Cheshire
Phone: 07847 554418

You need to know

This website uses cookies. By continuing using the site, you are agreeing to the use of cookies. Info on the cookies used can be found in my privacy policy.

Jan Kearney is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

More Info

  • Contact Me
  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2021 · Epik on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in