The term “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO) has been abused and seems to have become a catch-all for anything and everything related to increasing search engine ranking/visibility and user traffic to a given website. As I see it, “optimization” is the act of making the website easy for search engine bots and spiders (and bears, oh my!) to crawl through a website and parse the content easily. So, that would include things like:

• Making a website standards compliant
• Appropriate use of “alt” attributes on images
• Appropriate use of “title” tags (and attributes)
• Using CSS for layout (thus making the HTML more compact and easier to get through)
• Use of appropriate content and keywords

The list above won’t do much to increase your rankings in the search engines unless your competition is nonexistant on the web. So, what needs to be done to actively pursue increasing your ranking in the search engines? Well, that is where “Search Engine Marketing” (SEM) comes in. With an active search engine marketing campaign, you can cultivate your website over time and show those search engines that you have a site that is well taken care of and relevant to people.

Websites should not be viewed as static bits of code that just “sit there” until someone stumbles across them. They should not be put out on the web just “to have something out there”. With a nurturing environment, a website can grow and thrive and attract a community of users that value what the site has to offer. Just like people need to be taken care of and encouraged, websites need frequent attention to be seen as successful, high-ranking sites in the eyes of search engines (and users).

A company blog is an important piece of your internet marketing strategy.  Engaging your customers in real conversations allows you to become a valuable resource that can fill a need, instead of focusing solely on the hard-sell.

Here’s a list of 29 benefits you should consider for using a blog on your business’ website:

1. Build an active community around your company & products (subscribers, comments, etc.)
2. Easily generate new content, quickly
3. Search Engine (SEO) benefits from the additional content
4. Humanize your business
5. Create more inbound links to your fresh content
6. Promote your brand
7. Direct communication to your clients & potential customers
8. Reputation Management tool allowing you to respond to any negative comments and address criticism directly
9. Inspire others to use your product/service through real stories of helping your clients succeed
10. Great public relations tool that the media can reference in their articles & reports
11. Become an industry expert & resource
12. Supports & integrates with all of your company’s marketing initiatives
13. Gives your visitors a reason to return to your site
14. Introduce clients & potential customers to your new products and/or services
15. Encourage ‘Word of mouth’ advertising in the online world
16. Network with others in your industry
17. Educate your customer about you, your company and your products / services
18. Evaluate your customers’ opinion of your company / product
19. Earn credibility by sharing your challenges & solutions
20. Increase Search Engine visibility easily by creating a wider variety of content
21. Allow your colleagues to contribute content without technical limitations
22. Blogging is fun
23. Communicate in a more casual/candid way
24. A great recruiting tool
25. A crisis management tool
26. Encourage interactivity within your organization
27. Respond quickly to current events
28. Another excuse to fill your meetings with buzzwords… “Blog”
29. Impress your neighbors