Running a small business blog makes a lot of sense, marketing-wise. It’s great for SEO (search engine optimization), because search engines love websites with a steady stream of fresh, quality content. It’s great for engagement because visitors enjoy looking forward to new articles, resources and information on a regular basis.
So How Often Should You Update Your Blog?
You’ll find all sorts of advice out there on this topic. Some experts advocate quality over quantity, and say you can post to your blog once a week, or even once a month, as long as it’s consistently high-quality material – long, well-written posts with authoritative links and statistics and research.
Others adhere to the idea that it’s imperative to update your blog every day, even if you just throw up a dashed-off post that consists of a link and a few sentences of commentary. Frequent posting, they say, drives search engines more impressively than quality.
So, who’s right?
What’s the magic number for updating your blog that will give you the right balance between quality and quantity, keeping both search engines and visitors happy and returning to you again and again?
The unfortunate truth is there’s no magic number. But there are some updating frequencies that are better than others, and there is a right number of posts per week for you and your particular small business.
Here’s What You Shouldn’t Do
Don’t Post Less Frequently Than Once Per Week
Even if you have the most amazing quality blog posts ever written, if you’re not updating at least once a week, you’re losing momentum. Search engines crawl your website less often. Visitors and potential customers forget that your blog exists.
If your updates are more than a week apart, it’s about as effective as not blogging at all.
Don’t Set a Schedule That You Can’t Adhere To
While it’s true that daily content can give your small business blog a great boost, it’s equally true that a sudden drop in publishing frequency can damage your efforts.
Burnout can be a serious problem for bloggers. If you’re trying to write fresh content every single day, you’re probably on a fast track to running out of steam.
Unless you have someone whose only job is to write daily blog posts, or you’re planning to supplement original content with guest posts, reprints and material, you don’t have to write fresh. A daily post schedule probably isn’t the best choice for your small business blog. After all, you’ve got a business to run.
Here’s What You Should Do
Realize Blogging Done Right is Good for Business
When you have a regularly updated and engaging blog, you’re positioned for more website traffic and increased lead generation. According to recent data from marketing company Hubspot:
- Companies that blog 3 to 5 times a month, or around once a week, have more than twice the traffic of companies that don’t.
- Company blogs with 15 or more posts per month see more than five times the traffic of non-blogging companies.
- Small businesses have the most significant results and the greatest traffic gains when they update blogs more often.
- Increasing your publishing frequency from 3-5 times per month, to 6-8 times per month, can nearly double your inbound sales leads.
Set a Realistic Schedule and Stick to It
Consistency is the most important aspect of small business blogging. Once you have a regular schedule, your visitors will know to expect new material at those intervals. They’ll come back to look for your latest post. Search engines also give higher preference to regularly updated websites over those that update sporadically or infrequently.
For most small businesses, updating your blog one to three times per week is a realistic and effective schedule. Make your blog updates a priority, continue to provide quality posts and resources, and you’ll see returns in the form of more traffic and increased sales through your small business website.
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