Do People Even Read Blogs? (Yes, And Here's Why Your Business Needs Them)
"Do people even read blogs anymore?"
It's a question I hear surprisingly often from business owners, especially those feeling the pressure to be everywhere – on Instagram Reels, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn... the list goes on! With the rise of short-form video and rapid-fire social scrolling, it's easy to feel like long-form written content is a relic of the past.
You might be thinking, "Is putting time and effort into a blog really worth it when attention spans are so short?"
As your Social Media and Online Presence Expert, my answer is a resounding YES! But the way people read blogs, and who is reading them, might be different from what you imagine. Understanding this is key to making blogging a powerful tool for your business, not a time sink.
So, Who Exactly Is Reading Blogs? (Spoiler: Your Potential Customers)
While not everyone is casually Browse blogs aimlessly, there is a specific, highly valuable type of person who absolutely reads blogs: Someone actively looking for information, answers, or solutions.
Think about your own online behavior. When you have a specific question about a product, a service, a problem you're trying to solve, or a topic you want to learn more about, where do you go?
You go to a search engine.
And what do search engines show you? Websites. Articles. Guides. Tutorials. Often, these are blog posts!
The people reading blogs today are:
The Researchers: They're doing their homework before making a purchase or hiring a service provider.
The Problem-Solvers: They have a specific issue and are looking for "how-to" guides or explanations.
The Evaluators: They're comparing different options and looking for in-depth information to help them decide.
The Intentional Learners: They want to understand a topic thoroughly, not just get a quick summary.
These aren't casual scrollers; these are people with intent. And those people with intent? They are your warmest potential leads and customers.
The Unsung Hero: How SEO Gets Your Blog Read
Simply writing a blog post isn't enough, of course. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) becomes the engine that connects your valuable content with those intentional readers.
SEO is the process of making your website content (including your blog posts) visible to search engines like Google. When someone types a question or keywords related to your business into Google, you want your blog post to show up as a helpful answer.
Why is this crucial for blogging today?
High-Quality Traffic: People finding you through search are actively looking for what you offer or information related to it. This is much higher intent traffic than someone stumbling upon you on social media.
Authority & Trust: Consistently providing helpful, informative content through your blog, optimized for search, positions you as an authority in your industry. This builds trust with potential customers before they even contact you.
Long-Term Visibility: A well-optimized blog post can continue to attract traffic and leads for months, even years, after it's published. It's an evergreen asset.
Your blog becomes the destination where searchers land when they're looking for the expertise your business provides.
Blogging: The Foundation of Your Online Presence
Think of your blog as the detailed library of your business's knowledge. Your social media posts are the announcements pointing to new books or interesting sections in the library.
Blogs provide the depth and detail you can't fit into a tweet or an Instagram caption. They allow you to fully explore topics, share case studies, explain complex services, and demonstrate your unique value proposition.
Furthermore, your blog lives on your website – your most important online asset. It drives traffic to your site, improves your site's overall SEO authority, and provides content you can repurpose into countless social media posts, email newsletters, and even ideas for those videos!
Bringing it Home for Your Maryland Business
For business owners here in Maryland, blogging with a focus on SEO is a fantastic way to connect with local customers who are using search engines to find solutions in their area. Are people in Annapolis searching for "best plumber for old pipes"? Is someone in Baltimore looking for "signs my roof needs replacing"? Blogging about these specific problems, using local keywords where relevant, helps you appear when local customers are actively researching.
The Verdict: Yes, People Read Blogs (The Right Ones)
So, do people still read blogs? Absolutely. The people who read blogs are often the ones you want to attract most: those with a need, doing their research, and looking for a trustworthy expert.
Don't abandon blogging. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, helpful content that genuinely answers your potential customers' questions, and make sure it's optimized with SEO best practices so those intentional readers can actually find it.
It's a cornerstone of a robust online presence and a powerful way to attract warm leads to your business. Need help figuring out what to blog about or how to make sure your content gets seen? That's exactly the kind of content strategy and SEO work I specialize in!
Ready to make your blog a valuable asset for your business? Let's discuss a content strategy that attracts your ideal customers!
