Time to answer the million-dollar question: as a business owner, is it worth starting a blog?

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1 Apr 2024

It’s no secret that starting a blog can expand your online reach and help people discover your business. But, as with any popular marketing strategy, creating a successful blog is often easier said than done.

And while we don’t want to disappoint, there isn’t a simple answer to this question. To truly understand whether a blog is worth your time, you’ll need to consider various factors. Below, we address some of the most commonly asked questions about blogging and share our own learnings. Keep reading for candid tips on why, how and when blogging is still worth it.

What is blogging in 2024?

It wasn’t all that long ago when Xanga and Myspace were the “it” platforms for blogging. But throughout the years, blogging has evolved far beyond online diaries.

Now, in 2024, blogging encompasses the art of writing articles that reflect your brand’s voice and message. Blogs serve as a hub for consumers seeking information on the latest news, tech, events, life hacks—or even recipes. It hardly matters whether a blog comes from a publication, brand, organization or single author. As long as it’s interesting and relevant to a particular audience, then a blog has the potential to grow and be seen.

From the business perspective, blogs have become sales engines in their own right.

“Our blog is one of our top organic traffic drivers,” says Rebecca Tomasis, Wix Blog SEO team lead, about the Wix Blog. “Our blog brings millions of first-time visitors to our website every year, many of whom either create an account with us or join our newsletter to stay in touch. Without our blog, we could safely assume that many people would not have paid us much attention or converted as quickly as they did.”

Blogging as a tool for personal branding and small business marketing

Perhaps the most advantageous part about blogging: having a space to prove your expertise in front of relevant audiences. In that sense, blogging is far from one-dimensional. Blogs can be both commercial and informational, spanning content like:

Case studies
How-to guides
Expert tips
Expert interviews
Product announcements
Product demos
Event highlights
Industry news
FAQ articles
Data reports
And more

They can also drive various business results, such as:

Newsletter signups
Demo signups
Content downloads
Purchases
Subscriptions
Donations
Free exposure

To that end, blogging is often associated with having a strong organic search engine optimization (SEO) strategy—and for good reason. Blogs offer a space to produce fresh, creative and highly targeted content.

As Google further prioritizes “people-first” content, blogs are where brands and professionals can let their hair down and speak at greater length about the topics that their consumers care about. With a blog, you can touch on everything from “how to potty train my puppy” to “why do I need to hire [your service]?”

And if I’ve learned anything from managing business blogs for nearly a decade, it’s that having a place to build up your authority and credibility as a business is invaluable. With so many businesses vying for attention, blogs give your audience a non-intimidating way to get to know your brand and gauge if there’s a good fit. (Google, for that matter, will appreciate and often reward demonstrated expertise, too.)

Is blogging too saturated in 2024?

Of course, we can’t forget to address the elephant in the room. The blogosphere is without a doubt crowded. It’s estimated that there are more than 600 million active blogs today.

However, consider these statistics:

Websites with active blogs have 434% more indexed pages and 97% more inbound links (i.e., links from other blogs that assist with visibility, authority and overall online rankings) than those without (BKA Content)
Companies with a blog get 55% more site visitors than those without (HubSpot)
82% of consumers feel more positively about a company after reading their content (Demand Metric)
Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing while generating about three times as many leads per dollar spent (Demand Metric)

Some more food for thought: while there’s no shortage of bloggers in the world, you’re not realistically competing against all 600 million blogs out there. Maybe not even a fraction of that. Every search engine result page (SERP) is different; from an SEO perspective, competition is all relative.

“It's true that many niches are saturated. But with a unique angle or untapped sub-niche, you can still stand out,” says Rebecca. “For example, let’s say you want to write about soccer. You may really struggle to rank for a keyword like ‘soccer’ that gets hundreds of thousands of hits each month. However, something like ‘soccer drills’ that still gets thousands of searches but is far less competitive could be well within your reach.”

Competing on SERPs may, in reality, be far easier than competing on other channels (such as paid channels) where the biggest spender often gets the most exposure.

Not to mention, when it comes to SEO, you won’t necessarily be competing with the behemoths of your industry whose reputations dwarf many others. Rather, it’s entirely possible that you’ll be competing with blogs in the same weight class; by strategically targeting long-tail keywords, you can avoid ultra-competitive SERPs and still reach a relevant audience.

Is blogging still worth it, profitability-wise?

The other question we frequently get asked: How easy is it to make money with blogging? To say blogging is easy would be a lie, similar to saying that by posting a few YouTube videos, you’re bound to get rich and become an influencer overnight.

With that said, blogging can, in fact, be a profitable venture (we can personally testify to this). It takes grit and commitment, but there are a variety of ways to monetize your blog in the long run:

Using your content to promote your own products, events or services
Selling digital products, like eBooks, online courses and reports
Participating in affiliate marketing programs and showcasing third-party products or services in your blogs
Accepting sponsored posts
Displaying ads on your site
Gating members-only content

The exact monetary potential of a blog ranges wildly. Some bloggers may make a few thousand dollars a month, while others with large audiences may make over $100,000 a month.

“If you're looking to monetize your blog, you need to treat it like starting a business from the start,” says Rebecca. She adds:

“There’s practically no limit to your earning potential, but you must invest time into understanding your audience, marketing your content and continuously optimizing for search engines. Blogging is part science, part art, and needs to be done tastefully to work.”

Starting a blog in 2024—and how to make it worth your time

So, how do you get started? Here's a quick overview of what blogging will entail.

01. Choose one audience to focus on

Choosing the right blog niche is the first step to any successful blog journey. Just like how your business can’t be for everyone, your blog can’t be either.

The easiest way to start is by thinking about the community that you’re a part of, or the audience that you already engage through your business. In either case, you’ll still want to do your due diligence (i.e., talk to people and ask what kind of content they’d like to see, perform competitive research and scour other resources at your disposal to understand your audience’s needs).

Go beyond saying that you want to create a fashion blog. Narrow your audience down to the core demographics, interests and values of your target reader.

Speaking from personal experience, this will pay dividends in the long run. It’s much easier to broaden your scope in the future, as opposed to refocusing your content if your blog starts out too broad.

This is why Wix has several distinct publications:

The Wix Blog (the one you’re reading now), dedicated to small business owners and entrepreneurs seeking to grow their online businesses
Wix FWD for agency owners and web professionals
Wix SEO Hub for SEO and marketing professionals

Each has a team fully invested in delivering content that satisfies what each of these audiences actually wants to read. Moreover, each blog embodies the language and interests of its core readers—and no two blogs share the same anatomy.

02. Pick the right platform to design and host your blog

When it comes to building your blog, the blog maker and web hosting service you choose matter. These make up the bones of your publication. Without a sturdy foundation, your blog may be susceptible to costly risks. Think: poor website security that leaves you exposed to hackers or other bad actors. Or, poor site performance that leads to slow-loading pages or spotty uptime.

You’ll want to work with a trustworthy provider who can support your blog, both now and as it grows. We’d be remiss not to recommend Wix. Wix takes extra care in creating a safe, stable environment for all of its users. Plus, our platform offers easy-to-use tools for making a website, including blog templates and an AI website builder that can whip up a site for you in minutes.

Make sure that you have the tools you need to create an attractive website and monetize it as you envision. (Wix, for example, has built-in marketing and analytics tools, as well as tools to manage eCommerce sales, events, donations and online bookings. You’ve also got AI-powered capabilities for SEO, emails and more to help you run more efficiently.)

03. Think of a catchy blog name

Your blog’s name will be instrumental in developing a recognizable, memorable brand around your publication. If you’re stumped, try a free blog name generator. Bounce around ideas with trusted friends or connections, and check that the matching domain name is available prior to committing.

04. Brush up on your SEO skills

While you don’t need to be an SEO mastermind to get started, you’ll want to be somewhat familiar with SEO. SEO itself can get very technical and nuanced, but having a base knowledge of how it works can help you create content that has a real chance of ranking on search engines.

At minimum, you’ll want to perform proper keyword research. Start by identifying terms and phrases that potential readers might use to search for information. Free tools like Google Trends or Google Keyword Planner can help at this stage (though keep in mind that Google Keyword Planner is tailored towards advertisers, so metrics regarding competition around a keyword are specific to paid search). Other popular keyword research tools include Semrush or Ahrefs.

Consider multiple factors around keywords, such as:

Search volume: The amount of monthly searches a term or phrase gets
Search intent: The motivations of most searchers (e.g., are they looking to make a purchase? Researching a specific brand? Just browsing for information?)
Relevance: How important a topic is to your audience and/or brand
Organic competition: The types of pages that actually appear on the SERP (will you be competing against other blogs, or are you seeing a lot of news sites and product pages rank?)
Branded vs. unbranded: What words are people already searching to find your brand or brands like yours? On the flip side, what general topics are they searching to find products, services or advice that relate to your business?
Short-tail vs. long-tail: What are some popular keywords and variations of them that you could target?

Create a bank of keywords that you can start targeting with different pieces of content. Keep in mind that one blog will likely rank for multiple keywords (if two terms are very similar, you could potentially rank for both in one article), and that ranking isn’t simply determined by how many times a word appears in your article. In fact, search engines may penalize you if they think you’re trying to game the system.

Here are some general best practices to keep in mind when blogging:

Incorporate relevant keywords naturally into titles, headings, body text, meta descriptions, and URLs.
Prioritize high-quality, experience-based content that fully addresses a topic that your audience is interested in.
Organize your posts with header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to enhance readability.
Optimize meta titles, descriptions and image alt text for every blog (use AI to assist with meta tags if you need).
Link to other relevant content on your blog to spread link equity and keep readers engaged.
Ensure your blog is easy to view on mobile devices.
Have a distribution plan in place for your blogs to proactively drive engagement or earn backlinks to your content that prove the credibility of your blog to search engines.

Need an extra hand? Wix’s SEO features can keep you on the right track.

05. Create a well-rounded content calendar

All in all, a strong content calendar requires a delicate balance between optimizing for SEO and providing genuine value to your readers. Your content should always provide value to your audience, whether by answering their top questions or offering entertainment (as examples).
Avoid common pitfalls like being too self-minded and only publishing content that serves to promote your brand. Or, only pumping the same type of content (similar to when your favorite TV show starts to become too redundant or predictable).

Think of various topics—as well as formats—to showcase in your publication. Experiment with blogs that cover trends, tutorials, expert tips, opinions and more. See what sticks with your audience and lean into those things.

As you create your calendar, use tools like Google Calendar or Trello to plan your content themes, keywords and publication dates ahead of time. Consistency is key to blogging. Set an achievable goal—one that you can commit to for the better part of a year at least.

06. Promote and maintain your content

Your content isn’t going to sell itself, especially not at first. “Grease the wheels” of your new publication by incorporating strategies like email marketing and social media promotion to drum up attention around your articles.

Invite people to contribute to your blog. Ask them to write for you or participate in interviews, or conversely, contribute to their platforms. As with spreading the word about any new business venture, you’ll want to build out multiple ways to distribute your content. Note how one blog can yield multiple social media posts, emails and even videos that point back to your blog.

Behind the scenes, your investment in SEO will hopefully work its magic as well. Over time, you should see “passive,” organic traffic coming in through your optimized articles. However, make sure to also revisit old articles and update or expand upon them as needed. Avoid letting old content collect dust on the shelf.

According to Rebecca:

“To date, our best-performing content is content that has existed for years. But those blogs weren’t overnight hits. They’re blogs that we’ve updated time and time again to include the freshest stats, tips and information. So, even as SERPs and audience interests change, our blog continues to remain relevant.”

How to make sure your blog stays relevant: 9 quick tips

To keep your blog fresh and relevant throughout the years, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Define a unique value proposition (UVP). Clearly define (and demonstrate) what makes your blog different and why readers should choose it over others.
Be consistent with your branding: Use a consistent tone of voice, visual style and messaging so that people view your blog as an extension of your brand.
Talk about what you know. Focus on topics that you have experience in and avoid simply regurgitating what you see on the internet. If you want to delve into uncharted waters, partner with people who do know that space well.
Use AI—without over-relying on it. While AI can be a great tool for proofreading or jazzing up your work, Google and your readers are developing a sixth sense for content that lacks authenticity. Remember to always have the final word over your content; don’t simply rely on AI to churn out work for you. Learn more about using AI to write your blog posts.
Stay ahead of trends. Keep an eye on trending topics as they crop up on SERPs, social media, customer convos or other forums that you’re a part of. Produce timely blogs and don’t be afraid to try new ideas, whether it’s a different content topic, format or promotion strategy.
Embrace multimedia. Social media has changed how the world consumes content. Incorporate videos, podcasts and infographics to cater to diverse content consumption preferences.
Focus on evergreen content: While timely posts are important, evergreen content remains relevant and