9 facts with charts show how blogs drive sales

 
90% of purchase decisions begin online. Wouldn’t you like it to be someone you know?
That’s what blogs do. They help us to get to know someone better. Does it increase sales?
For people and companies that invest the time, the numbers are in your favor you will see significant results.  Need proof?  Here are 9 facts with charts that show how blogs drive sales.
1.  95% REPORT HIGHER SEARCH RANK:  Blogs can drive search rank with a bullet.  They are a dynamic way to:  1) Use the keywords consumers use to find you and 2) generate “links” from others who share similar interests as well as exchange your “links” by commenting on their blogs.  The value of “links” is they establish “authority” in your areas of expertise.  “Authority” is the primary criteria search engines use for rankings.
2.  75% OF US READ AT LEAST ONE BLOG A DAY:  Blogs are read with a great deal of frequency these days.  In fact, the great majority of us read at least one a day.

2.  70% SAY BLOGS INFLUENCE WHAT WE BUY:  Most of us respect information, advice and opinions we get from blogs to the point where it “somewhat” or “very much” affects our purchase decisions as this chart from Hubspot shows:

4.  55% OF COMPANIES WITH BLOGS DRIVE MORE VISITORS TO THEIR WEBSITES:  Traffic from blogs can go to websites and be captured by the search engines as web traffic.  There are a number of way to integrate your blog to your website.    From worst to best, they are: 1) Host on a unique domain through a solution like WordPress or on a sub-domain (these can be treated as unique from the primary domain by the engines) and 2) add as a sub-section of the primary domain (in a sub-folder or page – this is the best solution).  Regardless of how you do it, the numbers indicate you will drive more web traffic.
5.  45% TRACK ADDITIONAL REVENUE DUE TO THEIR BLOG:  Almost half of the people or companies who blog realize revenue from their blog.  This is reported as direct revenue from: 1) Consumers who first write comments and then turn into customers or clients, 2) prospects who find a company through the immediacy of a blogpost that speaks to them as opposed to numerous navigation tabs that don’t, 3) customer service issues that are addressed and resolved on blogs, 3) direct sales from blogs and 4) ad revenues for blogs that generate sufficient traffic.
6.  43% OF COMPANIES IN 2012 ARE USING BLOGS FOR MARKETING AND THE PERCENTAGE IS GROWING:  Trends show blogs are being used with increased frequency by almost half of all companies as a marketing tool. Is yours?

7.  36% INDICATE A BLOG IMPROVES CUSTOMER PERCEPTIONS:  People like to do business with people they know.  Blogs give businesses a human voice.  Maybe that’s why one of out every three companies notices a blog image perceptions with their customers.
8.  #1 SOCIAL CHANNEL FOR GAINING TRUST:  eMarketer says blogs are the most trusted source of information in social media.  They also point out, if is a company blog, the level of trust is greatly improved if the writer’s name is featured as opposed to the company name.

9.  BLOG CONTENT CAN BE RE-PURPOSED:  Blogs take time to write but the same information can be used to reach different audiences.  For example, a blog can also be used as an email because the former creates outreach while the latter speaks to current prospect.  The investments in time can do double duty.
For all of these points, the numbers would be 0 if it weren’t for blogs so all percentages represent incremental gains.
The sources for this post include: comScore,eMarketer, Heidi Cohen, Hubspot, Nielsen, Penn Olson, SEOMoz and WebTrends with my thanks for their smart thinking.
Does this help show you how blogs drive sales?