I admit, the word “blog” does sound kind of funny. “What are you doing today? Well you know… Just blogging!” Yes, it’s a weird sounding word that doesn’t necessarily get detailers fired up with that passion for car care. However, it is a key component to your website that gives you the opportunity to create new & fresh content for your customers.

Why It’s Important To Have A Blog On Your Website

1. Most companies that utilize blogs properly, do so to pull more traffic to their website. Blogs are the best way to keep your customers up to date with the latest news or any other offerings. By creating new content consistently and sharing with your fans you’ll stand a better chance at increasing your website traffic.
2. Your blog is the root of all of your social media activity. Once your blog post has been published you now have that post to refer to as the main source of the information. Whether you’re sharing your blog post to Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Tumbler etc. etc. blogs make social sharing very easy. Once you have a post that captures someone’s interest you will stand a better chance of the viewer looking into you and your services further (You got them to your website and engage in their interest(s)). If you’re able to create content that the viewers found educational or inspiring, it’s likely that the post will get shared continuously. Ultimately increasing the web traffic and working in hand to promote reason number 1.

   A great example here at Detailed Image would be “How To Properly Wash and Dry A Car” by Todd Cooperider. This post gets nailed every single day with multiple views and continues to work for Mr. Cooperider. Created (posted) back in 2009 and has been well worth the time and effort.

   Note: Once you have created a blog post you will “always” have that post to refer back to when needed and it will “always” be working for you in the chances that someone out there is looking for it. Search engines will not find your Facebook post even though it was an incredible detail…. If it’s not on the internet, no one will know about it in the future (Recommended – WordPress, Blogger or Forums to keep your work alive).

   In the past I found myself using forums as my media outlet to display my work before I got involved with blogs. After a few years of dabbling with forums I noticed my work was mashed together with everyone else and I was losing track of my posts. I found myself looking into blogs as a place to compile my own work after that. As posts begin to build with your blog, you will effectively be building a secondary portfolio. With almost every car I do, the customers mention the amount of stuff to look at on my website and how the pictures helped them come to conclusion of hiring me. It could be either the pictures or the content that get viewers interested… or both (Both would be best). But by doing so you are now building a brand and creating the root value of your company with anytime sharing capabilities.

3. The building of your brand allows you to be the expert in your blog post. It’s always your decision on how much or how little you decide to share in each post. I admit that trying to come up with good substantial posts is a very difficult thing to do. Writers block or a topic of minor interest can be very challenging. Lucky for us clean cars are awesome, therefore creating a blog section on your own website should be very exciting along with consistent activity. The topics you choose to write about will ultimately define you & your services and help form a brand. At my own website (aowheels.com) I generally keep the talk short and allow the pictures to do most of the work.

   Note: Over Advertising- Be careful of how much you advertise another product or tool that does not belong to you. Remember, It’s your brand you’re looking to build, not theirs. Advertising a “service” and advertising a “product/tool” are two separate things.

4. Being able to share your insight and knowledge on topics to help others improve! Number Four has to be my favorite! Pass it on! Have you ever wondered how many people have potentially visited your site, searched through your services etc. & moved on? Most people will visit your “services” to see the cost – then your “about us” for some form of confidence (or some other service that may be specialized). Those are all the most important call to action sections of a detailers website, but they’re also the most common. There may be a topic that’s appealing in the blog, but not on the website and it’s quite possible it will keep people on your site longer.

   Having a blog could help others get the answers they’ve been searching for and it keeps you in charge of your business (your on-line business).

5. Content marketing and the practice through building a blog will help your SEO rankings (search engine optimization). If you don’t understand SEO or how to make it work for you…? That’s okay. The hardest part is getting in the habit of putting your work up and understanding the basics. If you’re not using a blog, there are other ways of going about SEO. Paying for SEO or AdWords may be a good idea if you know you’re never going to give it your time. Personally, I don’t like paying for the “what if” emails or phone calls from paid ads. Content marketing is a great way to get alternative results.

   If this sounds like something you have not done before and would like to give it a try? I would recommend starting with Google Blogger. It’s easy to set up and the app makes it simple to post. You can do a blog post just as easy as an Instagram post through their app. Do you get all the benefits from doing the post from your desktop vs. the app? No, but it’s more about getting into the practice. My best recommendation would be a WordPress blog running on a page / website that has all your other information.

Quick Overview – 5 Reasons

• Pull more traffic to your website – Blogs can be a great key tool in your online marketing strategy
• The root of all your social media activity – Easy sharing
• The building of your brand – Your social outlet where you’re the expert
• To help others – Educate your viewers
• SEO (search engine optimization) – Content driven