Brand awareness

12 November 2022

What is a Blog? 5 top tips to get you started in 2023.

You’ve worked hard on your business’s online presence, and now you want to attract the kind of customer that’s looking for the ‘add to basket’ in literally seconds!

Well, it turns out that you can dramatically increase your conversions (sales) by linking a blog to your website.

Blogs are such a great way of showcasing your company’s integrity and beating heart, which will increase your brand loyalty from customers.

Tips and tricks or under the bonnet in-depth discussions about your field of expertise will draw the right visitors to your company’s site through your blog.

According to InsideView.com, B2B businesses that regularly blog have seen a 67% increase in leads compared to companies that don’t!

The word blog is a truncation of weblog and can be written in a diary-style, bringing out thoughts and opinions that invite discussion. Businesses can often appear bereft of a human element, especially when making their presence known online, so inviting people in to chat about your specialist subject is what a blog’s all about. It’s also a two-way street: customers can inform you of the glitch in your latest update; how your third-party delivery company is making you look unprofessional; give insight into why your sales are up or down; and also tell you just how amazing your products and service are and how they are spreading the word! And all of this can be a click away from your business’s website!

Tip #1 Jargon busting with your blog will lead to engagement and sales

Be informal, not formal, with your blog writing. Appear chatty to visitors who already know about your products or services, but explain (at least once) any industry jargon for those new to the subject. This also helps visitors who may have stumbled across your blog and immediately want to know more.

Tip #2 Unique Selling Points (USPs) and originality will beat the competition

Use your blog to say something original about your work sector. Tell the world about your unique selling point, be it a seasonal offer or a hint at a game-changing piece of tech that you have in development right now. As well as swelling your website’s traffic, this can get comments flooding your blog post, so make sure you have social media share buttons easily accessible.

Tip #3 Do you want to be an influencer? Then don’t skimp on links!

A blog is a place to have lots of links – but they need to be built on integrity. Getting linked to an authority or influencer in your field and getting them to return the favour gives your business the credibility boost it deserves and draws more visitors to your main website. These are called backlinks and are the backbone to a good blog as long as they are from trusted sites, with content on the same subject as your own.

Tip #4 Grow your brand, audience and business with regular blog updates

Keep your content fresh in 2023 – just like a journal – and let your clients and competitors know you have something important and, above all, helpful to say.

Excellent cutomer service - JSF SEO Services

Tip #5 Prompt replies show excellent customer service

As well as regularly updating your blog’s content, keep a sharp lookout for comments being left and the direction that conversations are taking in the comment’s section. Just like social media comments: positive dialogue needs to be highlighted, complimented on and if possible, raised to the next level – may be a voucher for the visitor that set the ball rolling…? The same can be said for any negativity that’s directed at your business. Approach this type of conversation with reassurances that things are being looked into, and normal service will resume as soon as possible. A compliment could be thanking the visitor for noticing the problem. Hold off on the vouchers for as long as possible, though!

Next step:

Boost your networking with guest blogging

A blog is also a road to linking with associates in your industry – which search engines love to see. Being invited to a business colleague’s blog to add your advice on new developments or products will bring visitors flocking to your website as they start to see you as an influencer.

Here are some examples of guest blogs:

https://www.testingtime.com/en/blog/why-content-strategy-should-be-part-of-your-discovery-phase/

https://www.testingtime.com/en/blog/pure/

So, To Sum Up “What Is A Blog?”

Blogs demonstrate that you and your company are an authority on the subject prospective or existing clients are reading about. This will lead to an increase in your services’ sales or employment because the right kind of customer is visiting your website.

If you want more advice on any aspects of blogging in 2023 then feel free to get in touch with JSF SEO Services.

4 March 2021

[A case study] 100% increase in website traffic in just one month, rising to 300%

JSF SEO Brand awareness, Case Study, User Experience, Web Traffic

Procurement Case Study – Supplier Chain Management Portal for leading UK Telecommunications Company

100% increase in website engagement in just one month, rising to 300%; and 60% decrease in procurement inefficiency.

The original Supplier Chain Management Portal

The Brief

The online supplier chain management portal was out-dated and no longer suitable for purpose for a leading telecommunications company. Potential suppliers bypassed it and found direct channels into procurement, which was inefficient and impractical.

‘The instructions are no good. I had to phone the helpdesk.’ – Existing Supplier

‘It looks like something from the 90s.’ – New Supplier

Supplier Assurance was a critical business priority for the client. The website did not enable Third Party Assurance objectives. Brand image to suppliers was behind competitors and not reflective of the company’s modern standards.
Aspirations for world-class procurement included the supplier interface and experience. It needed to convey strong, favourable impressions of the company and the procurement function.
But more importantly, the Supplier Chain Management Portal needed to be found in the SERPS. Without traffic the above work would be for nothing.

‘I don’t think the Selling2BT site has a lot of visibility.’ – Procurement Team Member

‘What is the Selling2BT site? I have spoken to our Sales Department and they’ve not heard of the site either.’ – Existing supplier

The Remit:

The procurement client requested a re-design and re-launch of the S2BT portal that represented a significant step forward from the then-current state. The SEO task was to incorporate revised keyword-rich and search engine optimised content and help to deliver a greatly improved supplier experience, which guided users through the on-boarding process through good website navigation functionality.

Supplier chain management competitor analysis

Competitor analysis:

Third-Party Supplier Portals: there were instances of no explanation that third parties were behind the supplier portal linked to the main website. This can become confusing and untrustworthy for a user, leading to abandonment.
Not all websites were responsive. The website should be set up for all devices so that anyone can access it.
The majority of the supplier websites didn’t have Search Engine Optimisation set up correctly. Online visibility needed to be given greater priority.
Strong backlink set up from a company’s main site can bring traffic to the supplier portal. The higher-ranking competitors had trusted links to their supplier portals.

Best practice and user feedback

Expert analysis carried out by ourselves and the development team was collated alongside research involving user interviews and remote card sorting via a Trello board.

Trello board used for remote card sorting research

Assumptions from insights were then validated with users and stakeholders:

The professional Search Engine Optimisation would give greater online visibility meaning more traffic and registering of new suppliers. Site-wide SEO would bring better navigation and enhanced legibility by dividing information into headers and sub-headers to easily locate all the information. Less drilling down.
A Frequently Asked Questions or Most Popular section would help answer generic queries.
Breadcrumb links would help users to navigate more efficiently, even prompting them to bookmark pages used regularly.
Backlinks from other BT online property would enhance user experience and visibility.
Content would need re-writing by content owners. (Subject matter experts able to assess what is overly complex or too wordy.) Writers to liaise with SEO professionals to create keyword-rich content.
Re-design of site navigation to be tested via heat mapping and A/B testing to be implemented if necessary.
Analytics to give feedback and validation.

The outcome:

Over 300% increase in website engagement in 12 months with a 100% increase in just one month from launch.

Plus, a 60% decrease in helpdesk and procurement team phone calls and emails, therefore, increasing efficiency.

The improved and current Selling2BT supplier chain management website

Increase in web traffic for the client

Categorised content for better user experience

Frequently Asked Questions section to decrease procurement inefficiency

Interested in working with JSF SEO Services? No matter what size of online business or budget, we can help.

1 March 2021

7 tips to getting increased traffic with Google My Business as lockdown in UK is lifted.

JSF SEO Blogging, Brand awareness, Google My Business, Lockdown in UK

There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. We do our best to keep the details of the search algorithm confidential to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone. – excerpt from Improve your local ranking on Google from Google Support Centre

Get your Google My Business account here. It’s free!

So you’ve got your GMB account sorted, but is it lifting-of-restrictions ready?

Relevant business information: Check and double-check that all of your business information is accurate and gives the best overview of what you do. The physical address, phone number and category are the bare bones, so the meat needs to be more about your services and when you are open for business.
Keep your hours of opening up to date: If you’re open on bank holidays or have late opening times on designated days of the week, let the people know! If you’ve had to alter opening times due to Covid, remember to amend them as the lockdown starts to lift. There’s nothing worse for a potential customer than finding your online trading hours info contradicts the ominous CLOSED sign in your window or the out-of-hours phone message. This could then lead to bad reviews online.

A good Google My Business listing can boost your rankings: Well-established companies will be seen in a good light by Google, especially if they’re utilising the benefits of pay-per-click. But your business could be placed in the searches just beneath these paid ads by appearing in the GMB 3-pack! This is where Google highlights three local companies on page one search results. Businesses of all sizes, including Startups or SMEs, can also gain low-cost prominence by having websites with best-practice SEO coursing through their digital veins. A keyword-rich description on GMB linked to such a website will help bolster it even further in search engine rankings!

Haven’t got a website? Then grab a Google My Business website! It’s free to set up, and although it doesn’t have the power and versatility of a dedicated site, it’s a great place to start if you’re on a tight budget.

Offers section – everyone loves a bargain: Got a seasonal or new customer offer? Here’s the perfect place for it! This has worked incredibly well for local car dealers and restaurants offering a takeaway service during the lockdown.
Online reviews require a response… Quickly: Interaction with customers shows that you care. Positive reviews and fast responses from your company will give Google a good impression of your business’s values and help your ranking. Always keep an eye on your Google My Business reviews.
Photos complete the story: Pictures of your services, shop front and staff at work help with your business’s appeal. Product photos also give the prospective customer peace of mind that you stock precisely what they’re looking to purchase. Ensure your images enhance your GMB listing content, and don’t forget to name the image files with a short description to gain even more online visibility for your business.
Google My Business posts: Product posts work hand-in-hand with Google My Business’s services’ section. Another perfect area to embed keywords, have showcase photos and mention the latest offers.

The next step to getting increased traffic with Google My Business as lockdown in UK is lifted:

Submit your details to local directories.

Links to online directories such as Yell, Yelp and Clutch will also help with your website’s performance. Ensuring that all of your business’s details on these directories align with your Google My Business page will help increase your relevance in Google rankings.

The above tips should get your Google My Business listing and other online content strategies, including local citation, ready for the lifting of the UK lockdown.

For more help and advice, please get in touch with JSF SEO Services of Birmingham.