Blogging may have served as a creative outlet for those who want to express their thoughts. However, in recent years, this activity has slowly evolved into an important tool not only for individuals but for businesses as well. For starters, marketers employ it to increase their traffic, inform consumers about their company’s products, and more. During the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have also turned to blogging to spread awareness to their customers. With that, one might ask, how much impact do business blogs bring to those who take the time and effort to make them? In this article, we’ve put together a number of business blogging statistics that will answer that question.
The numbers presented below are quite staggering. In fact, it’ll become apparent in a minute why your brand must take action to create a successful blog marketing strategy. That’s because blogging has now become a staple of business marketing. To know more, carry on reading.
Business Blogging Statistics Table of Contents
General Business Blogging Statistics
Blogging is perhaps one of the pillars of online culture today. As you’ll see in the statistics presented below, the use of blogging platforms like WordPress and Squarespace has become ubiquitous. In fact, millions of blog posts are published annually and there’s a wide pool of readers just waiting to access them. As such, they can be useful for businesses to tap their consumers.
- Out of the 1.8 billion active websites as of February 2021, more than 600 million are blogs (Internet Live Stats, 2021; GrowthBadger, 2021).
- Each year, more than 2.5 billion blog posts are published (GrowthBadger, 2021).
- According to WordPress, as of February 2021, more than 409 million people visit over 20 billion blog pages monthly (WordPress, 2021).
- As of February 2021, more than 7 million blog posts are published per day (Internet Live Stats, 2021).
- On WordPress, bloggers publish 70 million posts and write 77 million comments each month (WordPress, 2021).
- As of February 2021, WordPress is the content management platform with the largest market share at 64.2%, followed by Shopify (5.2%), Joomla (3.5%), Squarespace (2.5%), and Drupal (2.4%) (w3techs, 2021).
- 39% of the internet is powered by WordPress (WordPress, 2021).
- As for the number of blogs, Tumblr leads the pack with 510 million blog accounts/sites, followed by Wix (180 million), WordPress (75 million), Squarespace (2.5 million), and Blogger (657,000) (FirstSiteGuide, 2021).
- There are more than 31 million bloggers in the US (GrowthBadger, 2021).
- 71% of WordPress blogs are in English (WordPress, 2021).
How Many Businesses Have a Blog?
As mentioned before, blogging is no longer exclusive for hobbyists. Businesses have already been investing resources to generate good content. Both B2B and B2C marketers have reported leveraging blogs and similar types of content for their campaigns. However, because of the sheer number of companies leveraging this strategy, competing for the attention of readers has become more and more difficult over the years.
- 91% of B2B marketers reported that their companies blog or use other forms of content marketing (GrowthBadger, 2021).
- 86% of B2C marketers reported that their companies blog or use other forms of content marketing (GrowthBadger, 2021).
- One in three bloggers monetizes their activities online (HostingTribunal, 2021).
- The biggest challenges that bloggers face are finding time to create and promote content (52%), driving traffic (47%), consistently creating quality content (38%), publishing a sufficient number of posts (32%), coming up with relevant topics (19%), and getting enough support from the organization (15%) (Orbit Media, 2020).
Source: Orbit Media 2020
Are blogs good for marketing?
For businesses, marketing is the main activity in which blogging belongs. It’s not surprising because, through blog posts, they can spread the word about their products and services. For most of them, blogging is a great extension of the marketing tools they are already using. The question would be: how much impact do their strategies actually have on their bottom line? These business blogging 2021 statistics will show how much this activity affects profits:
- Businesses that produce 16 or more blog posts per month experience 3.5 times more traffic than blogs that post fewer than four posts (Oberlo, 2020).
- 86% of content marketers use blogs as part of their marketing strategy (Oberlo, 2020).
- 8 out of 10 marketers publish blog posts to help reach their overall marketing goals (Oberlo, 2020).
- 55% of B2B marketers consider articles as the most successful type of content for moving possible clients through the sales funnel. (Statista, 2020)
- 55% of marketers gained new customers because of blogging (Oberlo, 2020).
- Blogs are rated as the 5th most trusted source for online information in terms of accuracy (Optinmonster, 2021).
- 55% of marketers believe that blogging is the most critical inbound marketing channel (GrowthBadger, 2021).
- 37% of marketers believe that blogs are the most essential type of content marketing (Taxoo, 2020).
SEO
Blogging is a helpful tool for boosting SEO quality. That’s because the content within could be viewed by search engines as a relevant answer to a customer’s question. But, by how much? The statistics below will give you an idea:
- 70% of bloggers update their old posts (Orbit Media, 2020).
- 40% of bloggers who always perform keyword research produce strong results (Orbit Media, 2020).
- Blog posts that carry 7,000 words or longer have better SEO performance and get more shares (SEMrush, 2020).
- 14.6% – the close rate of SEO leads. This is substantially higher than the 1.7% close rate of outbound links (Optinmonster, 2021).
- 70% of online marketers say that content creation is their most effective SEO strategy (Optinmonster, 2021).
- After hitting 52 blog posts, an increased traffic rate of up to 77% might be experienced. (Traffic Generation Cafe, 2020)
The impressive numbers mean that those who are more adept at handling SEO software in tandem with blogging stand to benefit more.
Leads Generation
At the heart of business blogging is the motivation to increase in the generated leads. That’s why companies invest in good blog software because they know it’s profitable in the long run. The following statistics cements the notion of getting more customers through blog posts:
- B2B marketers that blog gain 67% more leads than those who don’t (Optinmonster, 2021).
- Organizations that blog actively increase their ability to generate leads by 126% (FirstSiteGuide, 2021).
- Inbound content marketing generates thrice as many leads as paid advertising (Oberlo, 2020).
- 80% of companies that use blogs for their marketing strategy said they acquired customers from their blogging efforts. (HubSpot, 2020)
- Organizations that blog over 16 times per month receive 4.5 times more leads than those that produce four posts or fewer (GrowthBadger, 2021).
- The estimated average cost per lead for content marketing in 2021 is $92 with a high of $140 and a low of $43 (Linchpin, 2020).
- 50% of people who arrived at a business blog or website are more likely to purchase than those who came from an organic link (VisitorQueue, 2020).
What Makes a Good Business Blog?
We’ve now established how a blog is useful for a business. However, just any post won’t do. According to HubSpot, 43% of blog readers say that they skim blog posts. And that’s not a good thing, therefore, something has to be done. You can start with the optimization of your posts by keeping up with trends in blogging such as creating a data-driven content strategy, optimizing voice search, using interactive media, and the like. Aside from these, you must learn more about the topic. So, here are some statistics that’ll provide you insight into what’s needed for a business blog to be good.
- 36% of readers prefer headlines that are list-based (CXL, 2020).
- Blog posts with one photo can get two times as much traffic as posts without. Moreover, they get 30% more shares. (SEMrush, 2020)
- Including 10 or more images in a blog post has a 56% chance to bring in strong results (Orbit Media, 2020).
- Although the average length of a blog post is 1,269 words, posts that have 3,000 or more generate the best results (Orbit Media, 2020).
- 71% of marketers use visual assets for their content marketing. (Social Media Examiner, 2020)
- 76% of B2B marketers prefer to focus on the quality of content over its quantity (Content Marketing Institute, 2017).
- Listicles get shared twice as much as other blog formats (Hubspot, 2020).
- Researching keywords brings in a success rate of 80% in terms of getting strong results (Orbit Media, 2020).
- Headlines that have 14-17 words generate more shares than other lengths (Bloggingwizard, 2021).
- Statistics in a blog post increases its credibility (Forbes, 2018).
- 49% of bloggers say that spending over 6 hours per post creation shows bigger payoffs (Responsive Inbound Marketing, 2018).
Factors of a successful blog rated 0-10 by bloggers earning over $50k/year in 2019
Quality of Content: 8.8
Quality of Content
Eye-catching Headlines & Intros: 8.5
Eye-catching Headlines & Intros
SEO: 7.6
SEO
Email Subscribers: 7.2
Email Subscribers
Good Blog Name & URL: 6.3
Good Blog Name & URL
Social Media Shares & Follows: 6.0
Social Media Shares & Follows
Source: GrowthBadger
Designed byIs it worth blogging in 2021?
To cut to the chase, yes. Blogging today has become a platform that accommodates millions of readers each day. This is the reason why business blogs are in the prime position to help companies build their branding. It can also help businesses reinforce their reputation and credibility by giving their opinion on industry disruptors such as the ongoing pandemic and by providing valuable information on worthy causes that their business support.
However, it’s now harder to make it to the first few pages of search results for various reasons. For instance, the sheer number of blogs that exist makes competition really tight. Another thing is that the ever-changing algorithms used by search engines can be difficult to keep up with, even for the most seasoned content creators.
However, the statistics presented in the article implies that business blogs even today can still give lots of benefits. It’s up to you to find ways to improve your work and your connection. You can read tips about writing personal finance blogs, marketing blogs, product blogs, and other business blogs to widen your understanding. Make sure that the blog software you’re planning to use is a good match for your company. You can even read a business blog that will teach you how to make a better business blog.
Beyond blogging and marketing in general, you might also want to keep tabs on the current strategies for digital marketing to add more substance to your blogs.
Key Insights
- Prevalence of Blogging: Out of 1.8 billion active websites, more than 600 million are blogs, with over 2.5 billion blog posts published annually.
- Platform Dominance: WordPress is the leading content management platform with a 64.2% market share, followed by Shopify and Joomla.
- Blogging Reach: More than 409 million people visit over 20 billion blog pages monthly on WordPress alone.
- Business Adoption: 91% of B2B marketers and 86% of B2C marketers use blogs as part of their content marketing strategy.
- Impact on Traffic and Leads: Businesses that publish 16 or more blog posts per month see 3.5 times more traffic and generate 4.5 times more leads than those with fewer posts.
- SEO Benefits: Blog posts longer than 7,000 words perform better in SEO and generate more shares. Updating old posts and conducting keyword research also improve results.
- Monetization and Challenges: One in three bloggers monetizes their blogs. Key challenges include finding time to create content, driving traffic, and creating quality content consistently.
- Quality Content: Successful blogs often feature list-based headlines, multiple images, and extensive research. Long-form content (3,000+ words) yields the best results.
- Trust and Credibility: Blogs are rated as the 5th most trusted source for online information, with statistical data enhancing credibility.
FAQ
- Why should businesses invest in blogging? Blogging helps businesses increase their online visibility, drive more traffic to their websites, and generate leads. It also supports SEO efforts and establishes the business as an authority in its industry.
- How frequently should businesses publish blog posts? Businesses should aim to publish at least 16 blog posts per month to maximize traffic and lead generation. More frequent posting can lead to even better results.
- What type of content performs best in business blogs? List-based headlines, long-form content (3,000+ words), and posts with multiple images tend to perform the best. Content that is well-researched and includes relevant statistics also yields better engagement and credibility.
- What are the common challenges faced by bloggers? Common challenges include finding time to create and promote content, driving traffic to the blog, consistently producing quality content, and coming up with relevant topics.
- How does blogging impact SEO? Blogging boosts SEO by providing fresh, relevant content that search engines can index. Long-form blog posts, keyword research, and regularly updating old posts improve SEO performance.
- Is blogging still effective in 2024? Yes, blogging remains an effective strategy for businesses. Despite increased competition and evolving search algorithms, a well-executed blog can drive traffic, generate leads, and enhance brand credibility.
- What makes a blog post credible? Including statistics, conducting thorough research, and providing high-quality, well-structured content makes a blog post credible. Engaging headlines and visual assets also contribute to the credibility and attractiveness of the content.
- Can blogging help with lead generation? Absolutely. Businesses that blog actively can see a significant increase in lead generation. Blogs help nurture potential customers through the sales funnel by providing valuable information and establishing trust.
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