What’s Changed, What’s the Same in Business Blog Content Writing – Part One

“Things were different back then,” observes fellow blogger Saugat Adhikari of Elist10. “Blogging wasn’t a big phenomenon back then,” he adds (referring to 2008), and there were fewer blogs. Today there is less of a focus, Adhkari thinks, on micro niche websites, and bloggers are now mostly focusing on producing high authority, high quality content.

Reading that post “How Blogging Has Changed in 5 Years” made me curious, because, like Adhikari, I’d begun blogging in 2008.  I wanted to see in what ways things I was saying in Say It For You posts back then compare with my observations today. I promptly resolved to devote all three of this week’s posts to my “findings”.

First, I absolutely agree with Adhikari’s observation that high authority, high quality content has evolved into being the name of the game today.  This is due not only to the fact that Google’s algorithms have pushed matters in that direction, but also, due to the sheer quantity of content provided by businesses, practitioners, and organizations, online readers have become more discriminating, less patient with low-quality or advertising-like content.

Still, I’m not sure I agree with the micro-niche part of Adhikari’s remarks. Five years ago, in my blog post “Business Blogs: Rated “S” For Someone”, I’d made a rather strong statement: “In order for blog posts to be effective as part of a business marketing plan, the content of the blog must be targeted towards a specific audience.” Today, I’d have to say, I still agree with blog consultant Mark White’s advice that “Your knowledge  (of your target audience) needs to influence every aspect of your blog”.

What’s changed in 5 years? There’s much more of a focus on high authority, high quality content. What hasn’t changed? The need to know your customer. Unlike video games, your business blog should not be rated “E”, intended for everyone. “S” for SOMEONE is still the best rating for business blogs!