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The Importance of Having a Blog and Installing that Blog IN Your Web Site
If you’re here, and wondering, “what does blog mean?", it’s pretty straight forward, actually. A blog, or weblog, is (typically) a specialized website that hosts commentary and articles on a particular subject or subject series, written by the blog owner and their associates. Blogs are served on a blog software platform in reverse chronological order (latest post at the top), and are most effective when updated regularly. Most standard blogs are interconnected with important tools such as RSS feeds and tagging (associating a general subject to the post, or entire blog) to help people access their information easily, at a glance.
Why write a blog for my company or website?
Blogs are a great way to show that you’re involved with your industry, community, and services. And being involved, and active in your industry is a positive way to show that you’re serious about what you do, and that you are, in fact, someone to pay attention to. Essentially, establishing yourself as an authority in your industry validates the services and products you offer (and associated links back to your blog by people who view you as an authority does nothing but awesome things for your PageRank and search engine optimization goals). They give you an easy opportunity to generate fresh content on a regular basis, and to reach out to people and interested readers without much hassle. And, since most Blogs are interconnected with RSS feeds, your blog is searchable, and readable by people who aren’t even on your website (having to visit your website to read a blog is so 2005).
Now you might thinking: isn’t the purpose of this article to emphasize the importance of having a blog on your website, presumably to get people to visit and read your website? The answer is a resounding yes! Even if your blog readers don’t visit your web site to read your posts, Google does. And Google, as we all know, is the titan of search engines. The point here is this: if you put a blog inside your website architecture (essentially, hosted on your websites server, stored on your domain), Google will read your blog, and associate its rich content and topics to your web site, enhancing your organic search engine optimization. Of course, search engine optimization on your blog is important, but what’s most important is that you host killer content, in a branded environment that shouts for your company, establishing your business as an authority. Additionally, RSS feeds help Google index your website, and it helps Google recognize, assuming you’re putting the RSS feed to use, when you’ve added new content for your website; and thus, that it needs to be re-indexed.
The importance of fresh, regularly updated content cannot be over emphasized. Search engines love to see new content. New content continues to establish your business as an authority, both to Google, and your readers. The kicker here, of course, is that "free" things need to be sold too. Content, and services, with a bit of emphasis on promotion are what really bring readers in, urging them to subscribe, and keep them coming back (or reading, at least, through their feed reader). Ask yourself: does a Cartier watch tell time better than a Casio? Absolutely not (well, ok, I’m a big fan of Cartier, so … yeah, they kind of do, but not really). But their authority, and branding strategy sure do a good job making you think that they do! While being an authority and regularly writing new content is extremely important, it’s not just about the content… holistic branding that develops a tool that enforces your role as an authority in your industry is how you generate buzz about your services, and ultimately make more money on what you offer. Don’t ever underestimate the importance of having a strong, holistic brand and identity.
Since we’ve been harping on the importance of generating fresh, powerful content, don’t ignore the importance of user generated content on your behalf. A good blog can generate great comments from your readers, and great comments are more (fresh) content and discussion, and authority building tools (read: validation of your authority) that people pay attention to and think about. While comments can take a while to build up on a new blog, they are a powerful tool in getting readers to come back, and engage in your hosted conversation. Authority, after all, is one of the defining factors that sets you apart from the (lazier) competitor next door.
Ok, I Get it. A blog is important. Why Not Just Use Blogger and Stay on Google’s Network?
There are a lot of valid reasons for hosting your blog on Blogger’s network. Ultimately, what it comes down to is this: if you want your blog to enhance your own website’s organic search engine optimization, then you will want the blog to be hosted in your domain. If, however, you want to be associated with other bloggers in your industry’s community, being on a network such as Bloggers will help connect you to interested readers who may not necessarily be searching for what you’re writing, but are interested in the general topic you write about. Really, both solutions have their ups and downs. Ideally, however, you are focused on writing really great content for your blog and that will bring readers in despite its "physical" location.
You should ask yourself: am I writing about, or contributing to a topic or conversation that is much larger than my business and industry (such as commenting on the news, or reporting local news for your community), or am I writing about topics that are very specifically related to my business and industry. If you are looking for a much broader topic range, being on Blogger, or WordPress’s network can be exceptionally helpful for bringing readers in of all "shapes, sizes, and interests". However, if the content of your posts is directly related to the services and products you offer, the benefit of great content dispersed throughout your website simply cannot, and should not be ignored. Search Engine Optimization is how people find you, and a blog is an authority builder that validates your skill set to the curious customer, and reader.
But Blogger lets me host my blog on my server, while still being connected to the Blogger network!
Absolutely! Except, of course, that an externally hosted blogger weblog cannot be custom designed to host your content in a highly visual, branded environment. You are stuck using bloggers standard templates; while they can look pretty nice, they simply do not exude your brand in a way that can be tied back to your web site. Heatbrain firmly believes that your corporate identity, and online presence, are most effective when cobranded to your master identity; established by your logo, and executed on your actual web site. If users don’t recognize your company, and brand every time they read your content and consider your products and services, you’re losing out valuable authority recognition. This, of course, is no doomsday scenario; but in today’s economic environment, every thing that you can do to stay on your customers minds is an important strategy that ultimately should not be overlooked.
If you feel like you’re missing out on being part of a larger social network, but still want to reap the benefits of an internally hosted blog—the solution is simple. Follow Seth Kahan’s strategy and have several blogs covering different topics (all related back, of course, to his master process: Visionary Leadership), while writing for both recognized (important) blogs (such as Fast Company), dispersing his authority and topic coverage across many different mediums.
Heatbrain has chosen to host our blog on our server, utilizing a special open source blog because we decided that organic search engine optimization, and a blog branded to our web site and corporate identity were our chief goals. We are writing highly specialized content strategized around telling the story of the important services we offer. Full disclosure, of course, and we hope that our readers will find that valuable, and consider us an authority on all things websites. We literally practice what we preach, and because our topics are related to our website, hosting on Blogger, TypePad, or WordPress was not our optimal strategy.
If you would like to learn about the impressive blog customization, and hosting services that we offer, get in touch with us and we will happily walk you through our strategies and solutions. After all, we custom designed GettingChangeRight.com a WordPress blog for Seth Kahan of Visionary Leadership, and can do equally great things for your online presence and corporate identity.
