Every marketing professional knows that your company needs a blog. It's how search engines connect you to visitors and how you begin to form a relationship with those who come to your site. But, many people have some very wrong ideas about what quality blogging involves and what results can be expected. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the whole idea or underwhelmed by the results you've had so far, putting these myths to bed and gathering these blog post ideas can help.

1. Blogging is time consuming.

Many people feel that they need to spend hours on every blog post. This idea is based on many misperceptions. For many people, it is time-consuming because writing is not their strong point. In the age where anyone can click a button and have a site, we've developed the idea that everyone should DIY everything. If you are not a fast writer, it might be a better investment to hire someone to write instead of doing it yourself. This way, your time is spent on your core competencies to make your business stronger.

2. You need to post every day.

It is true, frequently updated blogs tend to generate more business. But, a constant stream of new posts is not the only ingredient. You also need to invest time in building your readership. Derek Halpern of Social Triggers goes so far as to recommend that, until your readership breaks 1,000, you should only blog a few times a week.

3. It's easy to get traffic.

The formula sounds easy: you generate some blog post ideas, update regularly, and the traffic comes pouring in. Right? Wrong. With thousands of new pieces of content produced every day, you need to do more than just post to get on people's radar. Promote your posts on social media, participate in forums like Quora and work to become known so that your blog develops a following.

4. Guest blogging is great for SEO.

There was a time when every guest blog you contributed to another site resulted in a backlink that added a boost to your SEO. But, the proliferation of spam blog created expressly for those backlinks has made the act not just useless but possibly harmful. Guest blogging on high-value sites is still valuable for gaining readership. Just pick your venues carefully.

5. People don't read business blogs.

Marketers can get so caught up in keyword density and other SEO concerns that they start writing with an eye toward search engine spiders instead of human eyes. But, you can never forget that those human readers are the ones you want to reach. Buyers, particularly those in B2B fields, will interact with an average of 10 pieces of content before making a purchase. Be sure that your content helps them on their buyer's journey.

6. SEO concerns trump all others.

Web content development is in constant flux. As SEO experts tease out the results of each Google update, certain things that have nothing to do with the value of the content suddenly become important in the name of better search rankings. Once upon a time, it was strict adherence to keyword density rules. In other eras, people got fanatical about post length or assiduously tagging every entry. But then, when the algorithm changes again and the benefits of these tricks are removed, there's a new push toward higher quality that's written for the reader instead of the spiders.

Google has made it clear, again and again, what they want from website owners: valuable content. You can get some benefit for a time by using a search engine trick.

But, you'll lose the advantage when Google does its next dance. Focusing solely on content that is worthwhile to your readers means slower SEO growth, but it's also far more stable and dependable.

Blogging is hugely valuable for businesses. But, it needs to be performed as part of a smart inbound marketing strategy. Keep generating blog post ideas, write quality posts often and promote them well. These efforts together will result in sustained readership and stronger sales.