How a Blog can Increase Traffic to your Web Site

How a Blog can Increase Traffic to your Web Site

"Why YOU Should Blog - You Can Receive More Traffic"

Normally, I save the punch line for the end of an article, but this time, the conclusion could impact your site is such a dramatic manner, I am including it up front -- you need to blog your site.

I wrote this article on blogging because many mortgage site owners can add valuable content to their site; but don't because they don't know HTML or because they think they don't have the time to do it. By using a blog you can add your views and comments to your site by simply going to your blog, typing in the entry box and then hit "submit." Yep, (once set up) it is that easy.

That's it - no FTP program, no HTML editor program and no special knowledge (hey, my mom is doing it and she calls me on the phone asking me how to spell a word). You type what you want to say and it is posted to the net. It is that fast and that easy. And a blog can be set up with a free host in minutes or routed to your own domain with just minutes more worth of work.

Of course, I am not talking about your site when I say that many corporate mortgage sites reek of content as if written by emotionless mannequins in a faraway place. The site content has a predictable, high school textbook like quality; somehow attempting to be knowledgeable yet officious, with the only result often achieved is a dull glazing of the eyes and a quick click of despair with the mouse. A blog gives you the opportunity to escape the veil of corporate protocol and drudgery and add a "human voice" to your site, to let your visitors know that there is actually something with a pulse behind the written words.

Now here is where it could get interesting for you. A well-written blog can bring additional traffic to your site, which in turn converts visitors to customers. You need to be blogging.

Just What is a Blog?

A blog is an online journal that is kept on the web. The term "blog" is derived from a blend of the words web and log (Web log) (sorta' like that old FedEx commercial when the actor spoke at 500 words a minute to illustrate how fast their service was). The activity of updating a blog by writing a "post" is called "blogging" and if you have a blog you are a "blogger." One of the reasons blogs are so popular is that you can post to your blog with little or no technical background as the software does all the work for you. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs.

We even set up a blog to show the past seven years of articles we have written for NAMB magazine at MortgagePromote.com/articleslist.htm on everything from internet marketing to mortgage leads.

Some of the reasons people blog include:
* to be creative (some people are good writers and they blog because they can)
* to release stress or serve as a personal diary (I have a friend who recently became single and is blogging about dating in your 40's)
* to share news with friends (here is what is happening with the proposed park)
* to talk about a favorite item (wine or Chargers Football) or hobby (organic gardening or stained glass), and
* to attract business (that's you)

Can A Blog Increase Traffic To Your Site?

Well, yes, it can... but only for "good blogs." The same way that there are many mortgage sites; but generally web sites with quality and many links get ranked high, works the same way for blogs. You can receive traffic, but it is often related to the quality or appeal of your blog.

What To Blog on your Mortgage Site

You can take a few lessons from real estate agents who operate their own personal sites. Add links to local schools, reference news articles on how testing scores were for each grade, comment on how the new widening of the freeway, while a drag for the next two years, will actually make some communities benefit in the long run (which may subtlety help convince a potential buyer to purchase a home there, leading to a loan for you).

You can also discuss sites that make your life as a member of the community a bit easier. You might include a link to the online traffic report saying you always check that site before you leave for work and before you return home. If your company recycles, be sure to include that type of info in your blog, saying how you arranged with the local girl scout troop (add a picture if you can) to come in once a month and collect all your cans and bottles so they can raise monies for their projects.

You can pepper in a SMALL does of corporate advertising, but try and masquerade it somewhat either by using a testimonial format (John and Tami Smith recently closed a home loan with us and they said they really appreciated us sending our notary to their office) or "news-like" bulletins (Interests rates dropped today, and according to CNN, this appears to be the bottom of the market - possibly, a good time to reexamine your home refinancing needs).

Use a Human Voice

There is a scene from the movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey, where the voice of the HAL 9000 computer, says, "It can only be attributable to human error." HAL says it with such remarkable efficiency and conviction, that it initially is hard to doubt the computer, except... that it is a computer.

Trust, charisma and credibility are precious traits, and they are difficult to convey via a blog. Your readers will appreciate empathy, compassion, authority, honesty and even humor. A little humility (umm, my wife suggested this after reading my first draft) in your blogging is also helpful.

In the same vein, don't write about your favorite Star Trek episode, what kind of car you just bought or how that vacation at the six star hotel on the remote South Pacific island is soooooo overrated. But, if you did happen to catch the largest trout in the last four years at Long Lake, you could probably mention that and get away with it.

And don't forget the little things to mention, such as if you sponsor a soccer team, you can add to your blog, "The mighty SoCal Loan Warriors won two of their last three games in convincing fashion in the tough 10-12 age category. Their next game is Saturday at noon, at Johnson's park. Be sure to arrive early as the game will probably sell out."

Next month we will talk about how to choose the right blog software for you (and more importantly which software not to use), the biggest mistakes companies make when they blog and, most importantly, the hidden secret to use in order to make your blog found, almost instantly, on the net.