We know that website traffic is one of the key benefits of blogging. A 2010 study by the inbound marketing experts at HubSpot showed that companies that blog have 55% more website visitors per month than companies that don't blog.
The study also revealed that business-to-business (B2B) companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than companies that don't blog. Business-to-consumer (B2C) companies that blog generate a whopping 88% more leads per month than those who do not.
Website traffic should not be the goal of your blog
Warning: When getting more website traffic is the goal of your blog, it will show up in your writing – and it won't be a pretty sight. I explain further in this excerpt from my series about social media writing sins (this one was #3):
While it's important to use the same language your ideal client might type into a search engine, SEO (search engine optimization) should never come at the expense of quality writing.
Trying to force particular keywords into a blog post or title can result in awkward (or just plain bad) writing – especially if you're trying to slip them in after the post is written.
Writing for the search engines, trying to get clicks or traffic at any cost, defeats the purpose of content marketing because you will repel your reader instead of attracting them. What is the gain of getting more clicks if people only leave again because you've failed to make a meaningful connection with your writing?
So how do you choose more meaningful and appropriate goals for your blog? Check out this post about planting the roots of your blogging tree.