Blog advice needed

[xhale2007]

Morning guys

Having been recommended a blog add on for my ecommerce site, I have installed one.

Now it's installed should it be linked from my main page? Or should it remain separate? I have installed it so that my menus etc are all the same. So people can find my items from the blog.

Once I've written blog posts, what should I be doing with them?

Thanks in advance for your advice

Dan

[sess4561]

you'll want to link you blog into your site and sitemap, so search engines and visitors can find it.

If you are writing daily/weekly blog posts, start writing semantic links into your posts, that link back to deep pages, other blog pages, etc on your site.

You will also need to ping your blog, and social bookmark new posts.

For social bookmarking, have a look at 'onlywire', also I normal use 'pingomatic' for my pinging.

Hope that helps

[xhale2007]

Thanks. Excuse my ignorance but what is meant by pinging?

Dan

[fisicx]

Who said you need a blog?

What do you intend to blog about?

Ecommerce sites are all about selling stuff, anything else is a distraction so you don't really want people heading off to your blog and away from the products.

If you intend to blog about the products then don't. Put the information on the product pages.

Have a good think about your blog and your writing skills. Unless you can comfortably create an informative and interesting blog post on a regular basis that isn't just a bit of self promo then there is no point in having the blog.

[sess4561]

pinging is basically letting blog sites know you have updated your blog.

if you google 'daily blog tips', site of same name has lots of info that will help you.

[JoeHa]

Think about your blog entries and the content - keep it interesting and informative.

[xhale2007]

I was advised by an seo company, that it would be a good extra to add to my site.

I am planning on adding informative information, related to my products, with deep links to products etc.

Dan

[fisicx]

Whilst there may be some SEO value you would be far better off working on the main site and improvinmg your conversions.

If the material is informative then put it on the product pages! Writing a blog post about the advantages of sponge sharpeners with a link to the ptoduct page is pointless. Wite about the advantages and add it to the product page, this way you get your visitors landing on the converting page rather than a feeder page.

If you still want to blog then don't do it about your products. Discuss the waether, industry changes, what you did at the weekend, trade shows you visited and so on. Slip in relevant links where appropriate and don't self promote. Spend some time on copyblogger.com to get some ideas.

[xhale2007]

Just to change the sugject slightly, a magazine for uni students, which is posted out to 400000 students with the uni info packs.

The company behind it, have offered me a 1/4 page (c5) and a website banner on the main page of whatson.uk.com for £100

Would i be stupid to turn it down, or stupid to take it up?

Dan

[tomderrig]

Dan,

Whats the name of the magazine?

[terryuk]

If the site is the one discussed in PM I wouldn't bother with the uni advertising for now... that's me personally.

With your blog you need to be writing about topics around your products and can always link to them or the categories from articles. Social bookmark, submit rss and more to the blog posts

[xhale2007]

Hi tom

The magazine is Whats On UK student guide.

The site is whatson.uk.com

Dan