Most small business websites have a handful of pages: home, about, services, contact. That covers people who already know your name. It does nothing for the much larger group typing a question into Google or asking an AI assistant, who have never heard of you.
Articles are how you reach that second group. The word "blog" puts people off, so call it guides, advice, news, whatever you like. The idea is the same: a page on your site that answers one question properly.
When it is worth doing
People ask you the same questions. If you answer "how long does it take" or "do I need council approval" every week on the phone, you already have a list of articles. Each one written down once can answer the question for everyone.
Your work involves decisions. Trades, health, finance, property, anything where the customer has to choose between options they do not fully understand. Explaining the choice honestly builds trust before they ring.
You are in a competitive area. When ten businesses offer the same service in the same suburbs, the one that explains things is the one that looks like it knows what it is doing.
When it is probably not
You will not keep it up. A blog that stops in 2024 tells visitors the business might have too. If you cannot see yourself writing even one piece a month, leave it off the site. Is your website losing you work explains why old dates hurt.
Your customers do not research. Some trades are pure urgency. Nobody reads three articles before calling about a burst pipe. Spend the time on your Google Business Profile and reviews instead.
What to write about
Start with the questions, not the topics. Keep a note on your phone for a fortnight and write down every question a customer asks. Then answer each one the way you would across a counter.
Good articles usually look like one of these:
- What does it cost. The most searched question in every trade, and the one most businesses refuse to answer. Even a range with honest reasons it varies is enormously useful. We did it ourselves in what a website actually costs.
- How long does it take. Same idea. Explain the steps and what slows them down.
- A or B. Repair or replace. Timber or composite. Hire or buy. Lay out both sides fairly.
- What to have ready. What a customer should prepare before you arrive, so the job goes smoothly.
- Mistakes we see. The things people do before calling you that make it worse or dearer.
- Local knowledge. Council rules, climate, soil, whatever matters in your area that a national website would never cover.
How to write it
Write the way you talk. Short sentences, plain words, no jargon unless you explain it. Answer the question in the first paragraph, then give the detail. A heading every few paragraphs so people can skim. Five hundred to eight hundred words is plenty.
Use your own photos where you can, even phone photos. Website photos with your phone covers how to make them look decent.
Finish with what to do next. Usually that is a line and a link: "Not sure which applies to you? Call us and we will tell you straight."
A word on AI tools
They are good at a first draft and terrible at knowing your trade. Use one to get past the blank page if that helps, then fix every fact, cut the padding, and add the things only you would know. If you would not say it to a customer's face, it should not be on your site.
What to expect
Be patient. New articles usually take weeks or months to start showing up in search, and some never will. The ones that do tend to keep working for years, which is what makes the time worthwhile. We publish guides on this site for exactly that reason, and the first ones only went up this month.
If writing is not your thing, say so. Plenty of businesses have the knowledge and simply need someone to interview them and type it up. That is a much smaller job than it sounds.