By: Rebecca Rubin

“Write a blog post about something you’ve learned this summer. That’s really all the guidance I’m going to give you.  Let’s see how ya do,” my boss instructs, and so I begin my final assignment as the Blue Water Media 2009 summer marketing intern.

If I had a dime for every time I received a project followed by the phrase, “let’s see how ya do” I would be rich (alas, this is not the case and I remain a poor college student).  The words once petrified me because being an intern, like starting your first day of kindergarten, is fraught with new challenges.  Feeling unsure, slightly overwhelmed, and overly excited about mundane tasks is the norm.

Our clients often ask us if they should add a blog to their company website. Often times, they’ve heard from a friend that blogs can improve search engine rankings or that somehow a blog will increase revenue from the site. In short, they are right – A blog can help with visibility in the search engines and it can boost sales on the site.   However, maintaining a quality blog does require continuous effort.

So, the question isn’t “should I have a company blog?” but rather, “do I have the time/resources to continually write and maintain a company blog and is it worth my time?” To answer to this question, we encourage you to consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of a company blog:

Advantages of a Company Blog

• Communicate news and promotions
• Announce product/service updates
• Discuss customer satisfaction and receive feedback

By now, we are all tired of hearing it – stock market woes, the government bailing out banks, car manufacturers, airlines, and limited lending capabilities.  Understand that for most of us there will be no handouts, what is the small to midsize business to do? The answer, for the most part, may sound counter-intuitive.

In 2001, the majority of my clients were in the marine industry; boat manufacturers and the like.  Most of their products would be considered luxury items, or at best discretionary income items.  When the market suffered after 9/11, most of my clients were facing a hard truth.  Luxury items were falling by the wayside and sales and profits were falling dramatically.  People were scared with their money, and were “waiting to see what the market would do.”  My boss, and mentor at the time, met individually with most of our clients, and repeated the same mantra over and over:  “This is the time to gain market share, to establish a position of strength.”  After getting many raised eyebrows and few chuckles, he would go on to explain.  There is no easier time to gain market share than when everyone is contracting their marketing efforts.  The market will balance out again, people will spend again, and those that have made the effort to stay in front of the marketplace will stand to gain the most growth.

In the 1930’s there was a man named William Knudsen, who worked his way from the assembly line floor to become President of General Motors (and was eventually commissioned by President Roosevelt for his services to the War Department).  When asked about his tireless work ethic, he was famously quoted as saying:

“In business the competition will bite if you keep running.  If you stand still, they will swallow you.”

While this isn’t an earth shattering revelation, the fundamental idea behind this statement can’t be underestimated. It becomes particularly important when applied to new media. In today’s business environment it’s simple: Your competition is online, and they are working to make their presence known.  They are improving their sites.  They are utilizing new technologies.  They are driving online marketing campaigns.

Which brings us to the obvious question: How can you keep up?

While SEO principles such as keyword analysis, meta tag usage and link strategies are vital to attaining high search engine rankings, content continues to be king.  Search engines love to find new content on websites, and lots of it.  Therefore, site owners should make it a priority to continually add fresh, relevant content to their portals.

One approach that has been gaining steam among sites across various industries is the use of blogs.  A number of webmasters have learned to effectively use blogs to increase their search engine rankings by posting relevant articles with strategic keyword positioning in the titles and within the posts. If one has the resources, ideas and importantly, the time to blog consistently, it can bring very positive and measurable results.

For those who don’t have the time or the resources to maintain a blog, there are other ways to increase the amount of content on your site.