Most small business owners wonder if the blog is the right tool for driving traffic and generating leads. The resounding and straightforward answer is Yes! Posting articles and quality content is relatively easier and an inexpensive method of traffic generation, inbound marketing, and lead generation.

According to data released by Hubspot, 57% of companies with a blog have successfully driven traffic and converted them into leads through their blogs. The same survey also presented data, which showed 81% of entrepreneurs believe the blog to be the real tool for driving traffic and generating leads.

This blog post looks into the varied benefits a blog will add to your small business. All these points included are tried and tested; they have helped hundreds of small businesses find their share of audience on the Internet.

1. Blogs can help you improve Seach Engine Ranking.
In today's digital world, finding the right customer base is tough without looking good in the eyes of search engines. Search engines like Google and Bing make use of sophisticated algorithms for listing websites in the search results. One must follow the various paradigms, ensure proper onsite and offsite optimization, and learn PPC (Pay per click) campaigns to acquire traffic from search engines. With a website's scope of SEO, improvement is limited, but one can always depend upon blogs for improving the SEO of the website.

Here are some quick tricks that will help your Search Engine Optimisation efforts and improve your website's ranking in Google search results. 

• Create Internal Links: Pass valuable links to your website from your blog. Use your blog to educate your audience about the use and benefits of your product or services. Use internal links for redirecting customers from the blog to your website. Every customer reading your blog will not go to your site and make a purchase, but if you have successfully established yourself as a leader in a specified niche, then people in need will come to your site and make a purchase. Creating internal links from your blog to your website will increase traffic and generate sales opportunities.
• Integrate Social Media: Integrate Social Media buttons and social media plugins for Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ on your blog. It will help your blog readers to find you on Social media and be connected there as well. Social Media can help with backlink generation and will also open new doors of possibilities.

Creating internal links and focusing on inbound marketing can bring fringe benefits for your site but planning things in advance and launching a blog way before your business website makes a debut is yet another popular strategy.

Here are some of the common benefits of starting a blog way before you launch your business website -

• Domain Authority: Launching a blog before you start your business website will help you improve your domain knowledge authority. With a better leadership image and quality blog content, you will enjoy better search engine rankings for your website.
• Page Rank: Starting a blog before launching your website is a new trend, and it helps the website look good in the eyes of search engines. Google PageRank (Google PR) is one of the methods Google uses to determine a page's relevance or importance. Important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results.
• Creating Indirect Links: A blog that has been there for a long time will work in favor of your blog. All the valuable links pointing towards your blog will start pointing towards your website the moment you start generating internal links to your site; such Backlinks are also referred to as Web 2.0 backlinks.

2. Convert blog readers to newsletter subscribers.
Publish quality content, optimize them for search engines and create quality backlinks, and traffic will follow. But such traffic is raw traffic, and it needs to be worked upon. The use of tools like Google Analytics will help entrepreneurs discover their targeted set of audience. Use the analytics tool efficiently for targeting your desired base of audience. Create content that sells more and improves the pages from where customers are bouncing.

Once you start creating relevant content for the targeted audience asking them, their email ids become easier. Now start generating a subscriber list. The readers on your blog are already interested in the content on your site; all you need to do is show an email subscription box, and they will subscribe to your mailing list. Now start using this mailing list to make special announcements for your business, services, and products.

During Festivals or the launch of any new product, you can use this email list smartly for reaching out to people. Email allows small businesses to reach out to every customer individually and personally let them know about the latest updates. Email marketing is one of the most successful marketing formulas in the contemporary world. Customers love their mailbox, and they will read your email, and the chances of generating sales will increase. 

Four things that will help you take your email marketing to the next level: 

• Use Quality Content: When we say quality content, we refer to a type of content that is relevant and simple to read for your readers.
• Proper Use Of Images: Using email marketing properly is crucial to your success. Do not overdo and lose the essence. Make sure that the message is relevant and should be delivered when the reader wishes. Allow them to unsubscribe or opt-out from your mailing list.
• Link Perfectly: Link to the most important pages on your site. If you are sending an email to inform customers about your new product launch, then make sure you are providing a link directly to that product page.
• Offer Something Exclusive: Personalized Discounts or offers are always going to do the trick for you. Making your customer feel special is especially important for you.

3. Bad Reviews are good for your business.
There’s nothing like negative publicity in the modern age. Everything coming your way can be used for your benefit. Be it a bad review on your blog or an outrageous comment on your social media account. 

While many entrepreneurs don't respond to bad reviews and negative comments on their blogs or sometimes remove them, by doing so, they are losing a valuable opportunity to reach out and understand customers. 

Understanding customers and resolving their problems will help you retain a client. Entrepreneurs need to be really outgoing and bold about the feedback of their products and services. Get to know the problem your customer had and assure a better service the next time and this way you will be able to retain the client. Blogs and forums are great places to interact with your customers.

Lack of funds should never be a constraint for small businesses. Efficient use of technology will help them discover the perfect audience base and also empower their businesses in the long run. With a blog, small businesses can unlock amazing benefits. 

If you have plans to start a business on your own, then NOW is the time to start a blog and prepare the ground for your business.