ST. LOUIS – Continuing with the Associated Geos series on interviewing outside web experts and vendors, the subject here is business blogs. And the interview is with Derrick Sories, the owner of a Chicago-based company called Business Blogging and Web 2.0 Consultants.

Sories outlines why you need a blog today, and what the benefits are.

Associated Geos: First off, why is a blog important to a business?
Derrick Sorles: There are many great reasons a business (or person) must have a blog site. And if you don't have one, you are going to be behind your competition. And we discuss many of these reasons on our site. But the number one reason to have a blog, is because blogs can get new eyes and users towards your business. Whether you are selling widgets, financial consulting, geo domains or even if you are an artist or author. EVERYONE can benefit from these new Web 2.0 tools.

AG: Historically, when did blogs come into prominence for business sites and what is different now than when the phenomenon started?
DS: I think about 5-6 years ago, big business started getting into blogging as a way to connect with customers and to expand their internet presence. We entered into this arena about 4 years ago and we discovered blogs and social media were tools that could be used for marketing, and bring more users to a website.

AG: How do you assess clients to find the right voice for them if they've never done a blog?
DS: It's all about their area of expertise. We look at each client and suggest ways for them to present good content. It all comes down to the search and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). How will the reader find you? What questions are they looking to get answered? We position our clients as the expert. Anyone and everyone can benefit from blogging. It's a tool to broadcast your voice, get your message out, and attract new users to you. Just having a website cannot do that. 

AG: What do you recommend to businesses who admit they aren't writers?
DS: I think the content you deliver is most important. What you blog about. Is it of value to readers? You don't have to be a writer to deliver good content.

AG: In perusing some Geo Domain sites, what type of blog do you think is most appropriate in general for that website business category?
DS: I think in the case of Geo Domains, looking at Atlanta.com for example, they’ve got their information laid out in an elaborate website, with different categories and tabs. The blog format would be laid out in a different way, we’d recommend articles every week to highlight elements like properties, events or visitor advantages.

We had a travel site where we highlighted upcoming events, which included specifics on certain events in a blog. So if someone Googled that event, our site would come up at the top two or three pages there. It is a way to present information differently, with the contrast between a website and a blog being the way a search engine is going to index it. The same information is on both sites, but it’s presented differently.

AG: What are the three most common problems that business blogs have, that you've observed over and over in your consulting work? 
DS: Bad domains. Bad content. Bad SEO techniques. A blog must be done right to work for you properly. Anyone can blog, but will people find you? We help clients pick a good domain for their business, then help them figure out what kind of content they might need – how to title it, how to seed it with keywords and to optimize it – so that readers and search engines can find it. There are millions of blogs out there. You have to set it up right if you want it to be found.

AG: What does the term ‘Web 2.0’ mean to you and how do you use it in consulting clients today?
DS:  Websites are what I consider Web 1.0, old school and non-interactive. Web 2.0  refers to interactive elements like blogs, blog comments, social media, etc. Web 2.0 is  when the Internet shifted to dynamic and when everyone could join in the fun. Think of it this way – when the internet and web development first started, it was just this huge space to post things to be read. There was no interaction. Web 2.0 is all about interaction, sharing and linking. It's social now and everyone can get involved.

First and foremost, clients usually come to us because they find us when searching. Google ‘Web 2.0 consultants’ and we are usually on page one or two. It's all about connecting to others.

AG: In this world of Twitter, Facebook and the like, how does a blog keep visitors coming to it, especially in the age of the ever-shrinking attention span?
DS: You have to be found in the search engines. If they keep finding and indexing you, readers keep coming. Good content, properly optimized, will do this. You have to keep it fresh, timely and interesting. Also you need to keep growing your networks. Every week, you need to add new friends in social networking and gather new connections. The more time you invest, the faster the payoff will come.

AG: Finally, tell us about a success story in your consulting work. What step-by-step procedures did you use to get the client example situated with a new blog?
DS: We have many great success stories. But the key to business blogging success takes place in the first few weeks the blog is built. Domain selection is number one, identifying keywords for them, building a great template and optimizing that template with techniques and tools we suggest. 

Then setting up accounts with them on various social media sites, properly installing the content, making it look nice to the eyes and optimizing it for search. Then it is up to the business to post blogs consistently. We have invested over 15,000 hours playing in these various sandboxes. We try to teach and educate the client as best we can as to what will work for them and how to use these tools.