If you own a small business, you need to find ways to distinguish your business from your peers as well as larger competitors in your industry.

An effective way to advertise a business involves being open and public about its essence. People prefer to buy from recognizable sources. Here, we discuss how blogging helps you interact with public, speak about your business and attain recognition for your company. Following are some of the reasons every small business must start a blog and update it regularly.

* Inexpensive Marketing: Updating your Website regularly or using traditional means of advertising is expensive and you may need assistance from IT folks in your company. However, similar updates can be provided regularly on a blog at almost no additional cost.

* Direct Customer Feedback: Companies need feedback from their customers regarding their products, to assist them in developing their current and future business strategies. This feedback is obtained with the help of various marketing agencies, polls, surveys etc. Blogging, on the other hand, gives businesses an opportunity to obtain feedback directly from the customers. Companies may even get new ideas or suggestions regarding their products from the comments that customers leave on the blog. These comments also give very clear idea about the customer’s perspective.

* Improved Search Engine Ranking: Search engines rank Websites based on their content. Higher the rank, better the chance that the Website will appear in search results. Writing regularly on your blog can result in better ranking and visibility for your blog, which in turn may provide better visibility to your Website on the internet. There is stiff competition in marketing on the internet. However, a small business can do as well as its high profile competitors by writing meaningful and original content in their blogs, irrespective of their financial status.

* Personalized Marketing: Writing a blog helps you interact directly with your customers. You need not adopt conventional means like e-mails, writing on billboards, tradeshow booths etc. Writing regularly on daily basis on your blog gives better exposure and understanding of your business to your customers, and you get to understand them through their feedback and comments, forming a relationship with the customer, which is highly valued in the business world.

* Corroborates your marketing: Conventional marketing techniques tell the customers only about the product and the company. However, blogs go a step further. They speak at great length about what you know and are a good way to demonstrate your expertise in your industry. Being considered an expert is in itself a great way to market your products and services.

* Link to your products and services: Blogs are a great way to create links to your products and services. It helps in directing customers to make a purchase and improves search engine ranking of your site.

Blogging is an inexpensive but extremely effective way to market your small business and build your reputation as an expert in your industry. Create a blog and post regularly to build awareness about your brand and products.

Author Bio: Daljeet Sidhu. Read our search marketing advice and pay per click blog. Compare search marketing quotes.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: search marketing,search engine marketing,sem,pay per click,ppc