SEO Tips for Your Blog, Business

For Michael Wink, when starting a law firm last summer with his wife Gailyn, co-authoring a blog was a no brainer. The husband and wife bankruptcy-attorney team started Wink & Wink in Broomfield, Colo. to both make a living and help people – and, they said, a blog helps facilitate both goals.

“We can share information about bankruptcy law that can be quite useful and for people looking for an attorney it gets us through to prospective clients,” said Wink.

Increasingly small businesses are embracing the idea of writing blogs to coincide with their business. For many, it’s a way to connect with existing customers and reach out to potential new ones. The successful ones are able to strike a balance between offering opinions and coming off as an expert in their chosen field.

“There’s a lot of sources of information on the Internet. To the extent you’re merely authoritative you may not stand out quite enough. Of course if it’s only opinion it may not come across as professional enough,” said Wink.

Both husband and wife take turns writing the Wink & Wink blog called He Said, She Said. The blog, which is updated at minimum once a month, focuses on interpreting the laws of bankruptcy, issues facing people considering it, and current events that may impact a decision to file.

“People don’t always understand that bankruptcy can help them,” said Wink. “At the minimum they need to understand their rights with bankruptcy.”

For Wink, starting the blog wasn’t too overwhelming of an endeavor. He had dabbled in using the medium with his former venture, running a fish farm. There he said he first discovered the power of a blog to share information.

While it’s hard to quantify how many new clients came to Wink & Wink because of the blog, Wink said it has helped the law firm move higher in rankings on Google when someone searches for a bankruptcy attorney in Colorado.

“One of the most palpable marketing goals achieved through the blog is search engine optimization,” said Wink. “The more authoritative content the better ranking it gets you.” For Wink & Wink, a new firm trying to gain market share, a blog is a “relatively inexpensive” way to gain clients.

Wink said for small business owners considering writing a blog, one of the best things to do is actually write it, instead of having a ghost writer. After all, the goal of the blog is to connect with clients and what better way than by showing your true voice.

Stacks & Stacks, the San Francisco retailer of de-cluttering products, said its goal of staying on top of current technology pushed it to launch its blog cluttercontrolfreak.com in August of 2007. The blog, which has content written by company staff as well as experts in the field of organizing, provides consumers with tips to reduce the clutter and get organized.

Eva Wallace, Web site and social media manager at Stacks & Stacks, said the blog garners positive feedback, but measuring how many sales come as a result is difficult to do. She said it gets 9,000 to 10,000 visits per month.

Wallace tries to keep the blog casual and doesn’t shy away from including personal stories.

“It’s not too personal, but enough so there’s an actual face behind the brand,” said Wallace, noting she does try to inject some humorous pictures and stories. One recent blog post focused on washing clothes by hand after the washing machine broke, while another simply said Happy Easter and features a picture of a dog with bunny ears.

Wallace said that small business owners considering launching a blog should be sure you are willing to commit the time needed to update and manage it. Spending two-to-four hours a day on the blog isn’t unheard of for Wallace.

“You have to be consistent and put up posts two to three times a week at least,” said Wallace. What’s more, she said small business owners need to be transparent and balanced when it comes to the blog.

“They have to let readers know they do represent a brand and not try to hide that,” she said. “[But] try not to be really self serving [and/or] make everything about the company.”