Back in December we wrote about the usefulness of blogging for SEO as part of a series of posts on social media SEO. We focused on the fact that Google loves fresh content, and a blog is a great way of getting Google bots to come back for more. We also shared how to optimize your blog for those bots and to make sure you’re getting the best out of your keywords. But blogs are such useful little beasties that we felt another blog post highlighting their additional benefits was in order.

To begin with, a blog can make your site a destination by providing useful and/or interesting content to your customers. Succeeding in the business world is all about providing value. You can do that in a lot of ways–by having the best prices or the best selection, for example. A blog allows you to offer your customers value that goes beyond price. You can give useful advice on products, related news and stories from yourself and other customers. For example, if you sell hiking gear, a blog that includes stories from hikers and hiking news as well as information on the newest products will be of great interest to your customers and they’ll be more likely to continue to visit your site and buy from you.

A blog can also help you to build your brand’s credibility and personability. Consumers are more likely to buy from a source they trust, and both credibility and personability factor into whether they’ll trust you. By commenting on the latest industry news and providing useful insight and information, you build your credibility not only in the eyes of consumers, but in the eyes of your peers. If you can do this in a personable, easy-to-relate-to way, your readers will begin to feel that they know you personally, which will also encourage them to trust your brand.

We’d love to hear about your experience with and hesitations about blogging in the comments. Does your business have a blog? If so, what works well for you? If not, what’s stopping you?