Customers are writing about you online whether you like it or not and potential clients are reading what they have to say.

You can dig your head into the sand and pretend the Internet does not exist but that’s not likely to help your business. The smart move is to take the reins and manage your online reputation so that an inaccurate picture of your business is not painted online.

One way to do this is by publishing a blog. Here a couple of reasons why a blog is probably a smart move for your business.

Get a promotion to industry expert

Instead of relying solely on customers to post reviews online about your experience and expertise, you can prove your knowledge through your blog.

The great thing about a blog is you’re showing your knowledge not saying you have it. The reader will know pretty quickly that you know your stuff and will start to trust you as a go-to person in your industry. People buy from those they trust. A blog starts making believers out of your future customers.

While some business owners might be reluctant to share their most valuable industry secrets online, this unique insider information is precisely the sort of stuff that boosts sales. The more solutions you offer for free, the more likely it is customers will remember you when it’s time to buy.

Be a human

Part of building that trust is expressing who you are as a person and articulating what your business stands for.

A business blog isn’t just about sharing industry knowledge and talking about your products and services. It’s also a reflection of your thoughts and personality. A behind the scenes look at your you and your company’s values and vision.

What does your business hope to achieve? What are your goals, business related and otherwise?

Sharing these ideas through a blog helps customers get to know you and more importantly, to trust you. Every post you upload is akin to a networking event that works 24/7 and according to Forbes, trust built through blogging improves customer relationships.

Add some Google juice

Imagine that every page of your website represents one ticket in the Google lottery. One chance that when a user searches for <keyword> Google decides to point them in your direction.

Now, count up the number of pages on your website? Not that many tickets, right?

The reason is that most websites without a blog don’t have that many pages. You’ve got the front page, products & services, about us, contact information, pricing and perhaps a page or two that goes into greater depth about one aspect or another of your company.

But we’re talking 20 pages max, more likely around 10. 10 tickets in the approximately 4.5 billion web pages Google has to choose from.

Imagine you start blogging and upload just one article per week. In just a few months you’ll over double your tickets (if you started with 10 web pages on your site). In a year’s time, 6 times the number of tickets. In 3 or 4 years? Hundreds of unique pages for potential customers to land on.

How does this play into your online reputation?

It’s simple. Customers search for a range of keywords related to your industry. When they start to notice your blog pop up frequently they start to see your and your firm as a key source of information on your field.