Content Marketing Made Simple

Is your Business Blog Working for You?

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You probably started your company blog with the idea that it would somehow lead to better rankings and increased sales.  If this was your reason, you're not alone.  Everyone starts a blog with those goals in mind.  We're not doing it for our health!  But, how can you tell if your blog is effective?  Think of it this way:  every page on your site should pull its weight, and your blog is no exception.

So, it's time to take stock of your efforts.  There are a lot of things a blog can do for you, but you should think about which of them are important to you, then evaluate if those objectives have been achieved. 

Here are some reasons why you might have started your blog in the first place:

• Increase search engine visibility
• Increase traffic to your site
• Establish your brand
• Become an authority
• Get customer feedback
• Increase leads and sales

Ideally, these objectives won't be achieved by accident.  The only way to ensure that you get what you want from your business blogging efforts is to have clear goals in mind from the beginning, and keep measuring the results along the way.  In order to know how well your blog is working for you, try the following analytic tools-

1. Analytic software-  We've talked a little bit before about what analytics can do for you.  Tools such as Google Analytics measure aspects of your blog such as page views, unique visitors, repeat visitors and bounce rates.

2. Feedburner- Any self-respecting blog allows readers to subscribe to it.  So use this software to manage your RSS feed, see how many subscribers you have and get detailed analysis of your RSS traffic.

3. Comment management-  Engaging with your readers is important, and one of the big advantages of blogging.  Comment management tools make it easy to monitor your posts and reader comments so that you can follow up more effectively.

4. Conversation tracking- You should know what people are saying about you and your blog.  There are several tracking tools that alert you to anything that is posted about you on any site, including social media and forums.  You can then respond quickly, if necessary, to prevent any unnecessary headaches.

5. Clipping services- Similar to conversation tracking, clipping services search press releases, articles and other news media for any mention of you, your brand or your site. 

What do these tools have in common?  They put your finger on the pulse of your blog.  They give you the information you need to determine how well it's doing-before you've wasted time and effort, in time to make changes, respond to criticisms and suggestions and change course if necessary. 

They say that hindsight is 20/20, but when it comes to your blog, who needs hindsight when you can have foresight?