I was doing my usual routine Analytics check up on my blog yesterday and decided to checkout my keyword report with an emphasis on my ‘long tail’ keywords. Long tail keywords are niche or very specific keywords used in search engines to reach a webpage, site or landing page.

I was quite suprised to see so many keywords and search terms used to get to various posts or information on my blog. I then decided to apply a filter to my long long long list of keywords and search terms which included the keyword ‘construction’. I was suprised to see some of the search terms used in search engines to get to my blog which were construction related. Below are the 13 search terms which include the keyword ‘construction’.

Now, just by looking at the keyword report which includes the keyword ‘construction’ it gave me an idea of what people are searching for and the infomation they require…..hence….the title of this blogpost is in relation to search term number 10. Just by looking at the above search terms I am so so so pleased to see people searching for advice and guidance on social media use for the construction industry. High five!!

TIP: If you ever get writers block then use your keyword report and view the long tail keywords for inspiration for your next blogpost.

Ok so, what are the benefits of blogs for the construction industry?

Well, firstly blogs can be used to promote your business and provides a platform for your business to give information, opinions and reviews about anything construction related and will be of value for your target market. Notice I say VALUE!! For example, a company involved in the drainage sector, could blog about recent legislative changes and how it will impact others within the drainage sector or provide design guidance to engineers and design managers. In addition to this, the blog can be used to enhance brand perception and reinforce ones business as the technical experts or market leaders within the industry.

See, the beauty of the construction industry is that there are, and I know there are, so so many things anyone could talk about. The construction industry revolves around legislation, economic impacts, regulations and best practices.

• Upcoming Legislation or Legislation Explained
• Sectors which are booming
• Impact on Goverment spend
• Buidling Regulations/cutbacks
• Design Guidance
• Installation Guidance
• Project/Life time cost analysis
• Benefits of one material to another
• How-to’s
• Do’s and Don’ts
• Products technical capabilities
• Reviews
• Real in-depth Case Studies

TIP: Brainstorm with your team and come up with a list of ideas or topics you could blog about and then either use intelligent people within the business to write a short post or use a specialist to do it for you. Always remember to target your blog posts to someone and make sure you understand their needs prior to blogging.

Product manufacturers can use blogs to inform architects, designers, technical designers, design managers, contractors, sub-contractors and installers (entire target audience) of all the reasons why your brand is the market leader. Today’s Buyers now use online as a medium to source product informaiton when making buying decisions, Consulting Engineers and Specifiers are using the web for more detailed and technical analysis of products and require education prior to specifying a product. Give them what they need! This is where blogs can come into play. Provide information of value and educate your audience. Don’t just keep putting news stories on your blog, that is why you have a ‘News’ section on your corporate website.

TIP: Blogs are not a place to sell. It is a place for your to provide information of value to your target audience. Notice I say VALUE….again!!

Another benefit that a construction blog will provide to your business is traffic. A blog will increase traffic to your corporate website or campaign landing pages considerably. Traffic from your blog can be of much higher quality too as the referred traffic has come from a post which maybe of real value and is now looking for further information or even have a live project enquiry!

TIP: Use the blog to link to useful whitepapers, brochures, technical documents on your own business website. Measure how many people are referred to your website from your blog and then converted into a newsletter subscription or brochure download/request or registered for further valuable information.

Ok, so there’s a bit about Blogs for the construction industry and particular product manufacturers. But, what are the benefits of a blog from a search engine optimisation point of view?

Search engines love blogs! Simple. A blog has new, fresh content regularly and therefore search engines love new, fresh content. Obviously this depends on the blog owner whose responsibility it will be to make sure the blog stays topical, informative, new and the content is fresh. Blogs are free to set-up. Ok, they may be free to set-up but also think about the time and resource required to keep it up to date.

I am not going to go into all the detail  blogs, traffic and SEO as this info is widely available on the web already. Do a search! So, there it is. A brief but helpful look into why construction businesses and especially product manaufacturers should use blogs to:

• Become an expert within the industry
• Break news
• Provide guidance and expertise
• Drive more traffic and quality traffic to your corporate website
• Increase web conversions
• Perform research in the way of polls or surveys
• A platform to allow your target audience to provide feedback in the form of ‘comments’
• Most importantly – become a resource! A valued resource!