Enables a higher number of conversions on your website
Increases your authority as an expert in your industry
The most convincing example of successful business blogging for me is painter Deck from Karlsruhe. Master painter Deck has been writing a business blog for 3 years and currently has an incredible 214,000 readers per month! Last year he increased his sales in the young target group by 17%.
New blog or completely new website?
When you create a blog, you are faced with the question: Should I add a blog to my existing website or should I create a completely new website with a blog? If your website is older than 3 years, you should at least make two considerations:
Does my website have a responsive design? A responsive design adapts your website to all end devices, such as smartphones and tablets. This is very important today, since in 2016 more people were already using the Internet via mobile devices than via the fixed network or via cable. Responsive design is also a ranking factor. That is, Google penalizes sites that don’t yet have this technology.
Is my CMS “search engine friendly”? Test your current website. Enter your services or products on Google. Look for other terms from your industry. Is your website on the first page? Are your pages at least found?
No? Then create a new website right away. What you should look for in a new website, we have summarized in the article The 10 most important points for the website relaunch.
Meeting the high demand for information in cyberspace is a task that requires the creation of new web pages with high-quality content. For this reason, here are 5 tips for achieving success with website design az.
- Choose a blogging platform
Free option
There are many free ways to create a blog. I personally can only recommend WordPress. With over 76 million blogs, WordPress is not only the most used platform, but also big names like The New York Times, CNN, Mashable and Ebay use WordPress.
Paid option
If you have a marketing budget, you should install the website and blog on HubSpot’s COS. This greatly simplifies your work and helps you create landing pages, call-to-actions and email workflows.
Recommended reading: HubSpot COS vs WordPress CMS: What does the change bring?
- Hosting and domain
Hosting is nothing more than where your blog is stored online. No matter where you create your blog, you should always have your data on an external server. “Never build on rented ground”, the English say so nicely. If one day your blog platform stops working, you still have access to your data.
Hosting is available from less than € 3 / month, for example at easyname.at.
Domain, that’s your address. Ours is: takeoffpr.com. If you are looking for a new domain for your blog, make sure that the address is as short and easy to remember as possible. You can also register your domain quickly and easily.
At world4you this is done faster than you can make yourself a tea.
- Choose a blog layout
The look of blogs is constantly changing. Two years ago, sliders were very modern, then paralax scrolling. I will show you the most common blog layouts and their advantages:
3 column blog
A blog divided into 3 columns, as we see it here from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, is rarely found today. The advantages are a lot of space for left and right advertising space and the possibility to incorporate a lot of information (in this case a themed cloud).
2 column blog
A blog with only one sidebar draws more attention to the text. There is a significantly reduced advertising space and the reader is less tempted to click anywhere else. The sidebar is used here in Herold’s business blog for newsletter subscriptions and Facebook.
1 column blog
If we look at modern blogs from Buffer, Medium or in this case Hootsuite, we notice that they no longer have any sidebars. The focus is clearly on the content itself. Better reading experience and less advertising.
We use and recommend the last variant. Not only because we value content, but also because we have noticed that advertising is no longer working so well. Many people have installed ad blockers and therefore no longer see advertising banners. The inbound method has proven itself for us and many other B2B companies.
Finished template or individually
The easiest way to do this is to choose a so-called “theme” in WordPress. Functions and basic design are already specified in a theme. But since there are thousands of themes, you will almost always find something that suits your needs. One of the most popular theme providers is ThemeForrest. 21,988 themes are currently offered here. The big advantage of a “theme solution” is the low cost. Usually you pay about $ 50 for a theme.
On the other hand, you have to expect a few thousand euros for programming for an individually designed blog. There is also a design concept that can cost so much again.
We recommend you choose a theme that comes very close to your expectations. You can have small changes made by a web agency.
- Choose a web agency
When choosing your web agency, make sure that the agency works with WordPress. WordPress is very easy to use, offers many free additional programs (plugins), and is very search engine friendly. Also note:
Your web agency should be ready to create websites and blog solutions with pre-programmed themes. This is the only way to really save money.
Your web agency should understand a lot about search engine optimization, because “being found” is almost everything today.
Arizona web design is a team of all the Web Design Expert. From simple site design to sophisticated feature implementation, our experts know how to complete a project.
Check out websites and blogs that agencies have implemented. Don’t let the pictures blind you. Above all, websites have to work and not just be beautiful.
We are already working with Ben on many projects and can highly recommend him.
Important functions for a business blog
Options for opt-in: On our website you will find the possibility to download something anywhere. At the end of this article there is also a call-to-action that leads to a white paper. Without opt-in, no conversions. An excellent program if you are using WordPress is SumoMe. The best solution (which we also use) is HubSpot’s Marketing Automation.
SEO: Your blog must be optimized for search engines. That means you have to be able to assign SEO titles, meta descriptions and alt texts for your blog posts. For WordPress we can recommend SEO by Yoast. HubSpot has already integrated this function.
Responsive design: As already mentioned, most people surf on the go. Your blog must also look great on smartphones, tablets and laptops. Most blog templates already have this function. To check, you can simply minimize and reduce the browser window. If the blog adapts to the smaller window, it is responsive.
- Start your blog
Your blog is ready and you like it. Above all, it fulfills the necessary functions for a business blog. Now you can start with the first blog posts. Write regularly. We recommend twice a week. Write useful content for your target group and offer you interesting downloads.
Conclusion
If you follow all of these steps and blog regularly, you will quickly build an audience. An audience that is interested in your content and offers. The following ebook could help you:
