Webupon

There is much debate in the tech world today about just what is the best way to market a website for business. In a world where traffic is king how do you get relevant traffic to your site?

The old school way to increase your web traffic was through search engine optimization (SEO). I am one who believes SEO is a thing of the past, and I am not alone in this belief. Recently on his blog ConverStations , Mike Sansone had this to say in regards to SEO:

“I don’t know if SEO matters as much anymore – at least not like it did a few years ago. Here’s why I’m thinking this, and it’s almost accidental – almost…A couple of months ago, I launched IowaBizEvents. Launched it quickly, cheaply and have made very little change to the out-of-box Typepad template…. We haven’t put any keywords or descriptions in Meta tags – yet. Haven’t submitted it to any blog directories…I recently did a profile on Todd McDonald, who is not only a top-notch professional speaker, but also an author and entrepreneur. Yet, if you Google Todd McDonald Iowa or Todd McDonald Speaker, what comes up first? I’m getting the IowaBizEvents post as the top result.”

The biggest challenge as I see it with traditional SEO is the fact that it is typically only getting your website one entry into the engines such as Google. A blog strategy however allows you to proliferate your presence in the search engines with every article counting as its own unique entry.

Allow me to elaborate on that point a little bit so it makes more sense. Let’s say I have a section on my webpage dedicated to selling real estate. I can have 5 useful articles on my page on tips to selling real estate. Using the old SEO techniques if my site is created effectively I can have the top ranking for the search term “selling real estate” and surfers will be directed to the section of my site about selling real estate.

Now let’s take a look at what a blog strategy would do in the same scenario. Publishing the same 5 useful articles on a blog under the title selling real estate, the search engines will instead give you 5 distinct entries, with each one linking to the exact article.

This does a couple things for you, firstly you have now multiplied the chances someone is going to find you, as well as pay more attention to you. If I see your name once I may or may not be impressed; however, if I see you show up 5 times on the same page in the search engine I am much more likely to pay attention to you as a source of valuable info rmation.

The second thing this strategy does for you is it allows your readers to jump to precisely the content they are interested in reading. It is well documented how short the attention span of the average person is. In the marketing field we have a precious few seconds to grab the attention of a potential customer or we will be lost in the marketing minefield forever. Since this specific search is taking them directly to one of your articles and not your general section they are more likely to find something they are interested in before they move on to your competitor.

So perhaps you think this blog idea has merit but just how is it a blog can get such high search engine rankings? The first reason blogs are so apt at getting to the top of the search engine is they are updated regularly. The more often a site is updated the more likely it is to generate consistent traffic. For example I am a big hockey fan and I will read sites on hockey on a daily basis. I do this because the site changes daily, the info rmation is always current. A blog functions in the same way and therefore creates sticky readership.

The second reason blogs rank so highly in the search engines is they contain a plethora of links. Even in this very article I have referenced the blog of someone else. We are a well connected society and blogs cross over and spread info rmation rapidly. This interconnectivity is what search engines are looking for as it shows the resource is widely used.

I just want to make one final point before I wrap this up. Things like interconnectivity and sticky readership all hinge on one very important element and that is quality content. The single biggest indicator of a successful blog is how good the content is. In order for people to want to read it consistently, keep coming back and link to it, it is imperative you are posting good quality relevant content.

If good quality consistent traffic is what you are after, a blog is the way to go. SEO is a dated technique on its way to the cutting room floor. We live in a changing world, and blogs are the direction of the change. Learn now, be ahead of the curve and the world will be your oyster.