Are blogs useful?

[Gifts for little ones]

Hi, we are thinking about adding a blog because we understand that google ranks you more highly for this type of content. Does anyone have any advice regarding the most straight forward way to get started - is it best to use something like 'Wordpress' or is it better to have it integrated into your website from the start?

Many thanks

giftsforlittleones.com/vilac

 

[cornish hosting]

Hi, we are thinking about adding a blog because we understand that google ranks you more highly for this type of content. Does anyone have any advice regarding the most straight forward way to get started - is it best to use something like 'Wordpress' or is it better to have it integrated into your website from the start?

Many thanks

giftsforlittleones.com/vilac

I would use Wordpress and once its setup get someone to integrate into your site so it all looks the same.

 

[andygambles]

Hi, we are thinking about adding a blog because we understand that google ranks you more highly for this type of content. Does anyone have any advice regarding the most straight forward way to get started - is it best to use something like 'Wordpress' or is it better to have it integrated into your website from the start?

Many thanks

giftsforlittleones.com/vilac

It only ranks if the content is any good.

It is not about a "blog" ranking higher it is about the content you put on the "blog" which could just be a website.

 

[fisicx]

Do you enjoy writng? Can you churn out hundreds of words is interesting and useful content every week? Can you devise catchy title that will attract searchers?

If not then don't blog. If you do then integrate it into your website so that your visitors can't tell when one bit starts and the other bits end.

Google just likes content. It doesn't really care if it's a blog or not.

 

[MokaBox]

Hi Gifts for Little Ones,

I asked a very similar question here a couple of weeks ago and was advised to use wordpress too. Great advice. Go to www.wordpress.com and get started, it's really easy to use and it's free.

http://en.support.wordpress.com/introduction/

Since I started my blog I've been doing quite a lot of research on the subject, and one of the best pieces of advice I have seen is to run a testblog. Just play with it, the appearance, the content, the links...learn to use it and then launch your active blog when you are happy with the way it looks and are sure that you want to commit to it.

As one poster (Fisicx I think?) said, you need to be able to write original content on a regular basis for it to really work.

 

[HazelLCottrell]

Hello,

If you decide to do a blog then it is highly recommended you put it on your website and not just a random blog elsewhere. Wordpress is a highly recommended plug in for your blog.

Next up you need to think about the sorts of things you are going to write, you need to include your keywords in the content but not over do it. You may consider posting one blog a week with one or two keywords in each one. Some businesses blog more and some less.

I think another responder said about keeping the content engaging as well, this is easier if you enjoy writing otherwise you may chose to get a content writer (like me) to write the content for you?

I often put blog posts on my own site with tips for bloggers so if you want to do it yourself then have a look

If there is anything I can help with, advise or doing it for you give me a shout

 

[Peanut Butter Man]

Do you enjoy writng? Can you churn out hundreds of words is interesting and useful content every week? Can you devise catchy title that will attract searchers?

If not then don't blog. If you do then integrate it into your website so that your visitors can't tell when one bit starts and the other bits end.

Google just likes content. It doesn't really care if it's a blog or not.

Or get someone who can while you get on with your business

 

[fisicx]

Or get someone who can while you get on with your business

Indeed, but do the sums. £50/week for a content writer that may bring in new business or £50/week for some hightly target advertising that will pay for itself.

 

[Peanut Butter Man]

Worpress as suggested is the way to go here and it's easy to use

Iv'e just looked at your site and it seems you should be able to write on a regular basis (Or pay someone to) on topics such as keeping the kids busy in holidays, edcuational toys for kids. You could even look to build a Youtube channel later and have videos on how kids can make their own toys with links back to your site.

Start off small, read up on keywords, seo and other things, or as I have said, farm the work out.

I, and plenty of others write for companies as yours and its not always expansive.

 

[Peanut Butter Man]

Indeed, but do the sums. £50/week for a content writer that may bring in new business or £50/week for some hightly target advertising that will pay for itself.

The writing doesn't have to cost £50 pw. she may only need 1 article a week so that will cost say £25 for 300/400 words or more.

How about having a guest poster for £0

But Yes, I take your point about the advertising. However, I think it is better as a sum of parts, a little of each.

 

[Murray Cowell]

If I were you, I'd choose Wordpress, but what you need to know is that ranking and traffic to your site could also be achieved through email marketing and social media, I hope you're already doing both of them.

All the best!

 

[rsalemseo]

Hi Gifts for little ones!

Being into blogging, SEO and internet marketing here are a few of my suggestions:

1. A blog is always a great addition to your site especially if you can write posts about how kids enjoy your products, promotion related posts, new products, etc. Its a great way to keep people updated and acts as a portal to specific products in your site. Always remember that new content should be created every once in a while so as not to bore your audience and all content should be unique.

2. As for domain, it would be preferred to host your blog on a sub domain example "blog.giftsforlittleones.com/" that way it is integrated into your site. As for the blogging platform, nothing beats wordpress in versatility and ease of use.

3. All content should at first be written for free by company employees or owners or maybe even come from emails from satisfied customers in the form of testimonials. AS much as possible, it would be great not to spend on the blog until it gains good traction online and it becomes feasible to expand it by hiring people to write posts. There are also a lot of people online who will be more than happy to write guest posts in exchange for a link or two.

Overall, a blog would be a very helpful and if done well, it can even increase conversions.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gifts for little ones]

Thank you to everyone who has responded to my question about blogs. You have all given me great advice and plenty to think about, really appreciate your responses.

Regards
Giftsforlittleones.com/vilac

 

[ther]

And when you use blog to create your mailing list and building relationship with readers - easly you will find group of very stable clients...

 

[robertjames123]

Hi, we are thinking about adding a blog because we understand that google ranks you more highly for this type of content. Does anyone have any advice regarding the most straight forward way to get started - is it best to use something like 'Wordpress' or is it better to have it integrated into your website from the start?

Many thanks

giftsforlittleones.com/vilac

I think wordpress is one of the best platforms and you can easily change your website content anytime that is also useful for your website ranking.

 

[zigojacko]

Hi, we are thinking about adding a blog because we understand that google ranks you more highly for this type of content.

Wrong approach entirely.

Google prioritised fresh content. The more regular fresh content your website publishes, the more frequent Google is to return to your website and crawl your content. Amongst 200 other ranking factors, the freshness of content plays a part in what is ranked highly as it is deemed to be more accurate and up to date for the end user.

Don't blog for the sake of it. This is why the web is cluttered with so much mediocre low quality garbage already. Only blog if you're solving a problem and providing value to your website visitors. So before getting started with a blog, you need to know what your target audiences' problems are.

 

[jack_sparrow]

Wordpress is very user friendly. Even if you have never posted anything on the Internet before, it will take you step by step through the whole process. Plus, it has a lot of options.

 

[That Bates Girl]

Wordpress is great, I use it, and recommend it. But you shouldn't worry about the platform (and certainly not about what layout/theme/colour you want) until you've worked out what the blog is for.

If you're putting time and/or money into a business blog, you need to know what results you want from it. And I'm talking about business results here, not things like "increased traffic" and "comments per post".

Then you need to plan the content that can help you get those results, and if you're writing it yourself, you need to start writing. Write *a lot*, leave it for a while, look back at it, edit it, throw most of it away, and start writing again.

Almost all businesses can benefit from having a blog, but only if it is taken seriously as a business tool - planned, resourced, and maintained.

It 's not magic beans.

Lyds

(Full disclosure: I'm putting together a business blogging course, but I'm not trying to pimp it here)

 

[StevePoster]

I usually used blogger and wordpress for blogging but don't just blog be creative to generate quality and interesting content for your targeted visitors.

 

[andygambles]

Yeah, Blogging is one of the most important factor in search ranking.

Why do you think it is?

 

[fisicx]

It is not my opinion actually whereas it is provided by Google.

When does Google provide this information? Can you provide a link to the relevant document.

Everyone knows about it.

No they don't. If everyone knew about it this thread wouldn't exist.

 

[andygambles]

It is not my opinion actually whereas it is provided by Google. Everyone knows about it. Why there is some confusion in your mind.:|

Link or evidence?

 

[Michael Nguyen]

Everyone is making assumptions here. None of you know including myself what Google wants. We do here a lot from Matt Cutts that Google wants "fresh content" but we mis interpret that to plain old daily blogging.

I'm not so sure it's a factor for ranking...and besides, with the current algo, I don't think Google can tell what is high quality content and what is not as there are so many other external factors that would rank that page.

What you can guarantee from Google if you're blogging regularly is that the spiders will keep returning to your site to index your content, now that's got nothing to do with your site having great content. You could rehash articles for ever and Google will keep coming back to index.

Here is my view point and blogging:

Use blogging to release new content (that's worth blogging about) to create new openings in the search index in case someone searches. Your page will most likely rank highly if the topic is obscure or you're one of the first to talk about. Is that SEO? hmmm to some extent yes but seeing as you'll rank high by default (as there is no competition), I'd rather call it good content marketing.

 

[That Bates Girl]

How should we write Blogs and what is that factor that must be considered when writing a blog.

1/ work out what business problem your blog is going to help solve.
1a/ make sure that a blog is the best way to solve this business problem
2/ work out who can help you solve this business problem (clients, customers, referrers, prospects etc)
2a/ work out why they should bother reading your blog to help you solve your business problem
3/ work out how much time/money you can spend on your blog, who can help you, what you can use to make your blog stand out
4/ using 3/, write content that appeals to 2/ to help solve 1/

Added bonus : the answer to questions in 1,2 and 3 is pretty much never going to be 'Google'.

Lyds

 

[fisicx]

As I know about Google Blogging and I told you.

You said the information was provided by Google. Where is this information published? Where is the Google article that says: 'Blogging is one of the most important factor in search ranking' (your words).

I agree that content is an important factor but it doesn't have to be published in a blog.

 

[Lynette]

Jeff Bullas has loads of tips on blogging to boost your SEO and you can also find tips on blogging by visiting sites like copyblogger and problogger.
A blog can be an excellent tool but you will need to spend time on it and create regular content. As other people have mentioned you can pay someone to do it for you if time is an issue or ask for guest posts but make sure they are good quality.

Here are some tips on Blogging for SEO from Jeff Bullas

The post URL should default to display the post title.
The post title (H1 tag) should default to be the post Meta title tag.
The post title should include keywords, preferably at the beginning of the title.
Post titles should always be unique and relevant to the content.
Always write a unique and catchy Meta description tag, with a call to action if applicable, for your post, as it will attract more click-throughs.
Read this page from Google with extreme care for a foundational working knowledge of key SEO content considerations.
Include prominent social media share buttons in the post template, as social shares are correlated to rankings.

Read more at jeffbullasdotcom one-sentence-seo-tips-for-bloggers

 

[RH-Calvin]

If you require to play it cheap, then you can go around with a blogger.com and experience a pure HTML website. But if you are seeking for a professional advice then go for a Wordpress blog where you have customizable CSS with SEO friendly plugins and lots of customization.

Blog sites are really very valuable to Google as they provide regular updates of news and information about various topics and events.

 

[MilesWeb]

Adding a blog to your website is extremely beneficial. This is a great way of getting higher incoming traffic. However, it is important to make sure that you are publishing fresh content on a regular basis for getting the best results.

 

[helmuc]

My suggestion - go for it!

Not as much for the seo needs - but blogs tend to prove your knowledge in the particular niche you are working in. And that will result in the deeper level of respect from your visitors.

Have a good day,
Helmuts

 

[amitaharij]

Hi,

It is better to integrate into your own website, because link juice can pass from main page to sub-pages including blog.

Thanks!

 

[Alby10]

Bottom line is that a blog is useful for many reasons, however the content really should be interesting and informative. You can use a blog to engage with potential and existing clients as well as use it for social interactions.

 

[matt.chatterley]

It only ranks if the content is any good.

It is not about a "blog" ranking higher it is about the content you put on the "blog" which could just be a website.

As Andy says above - it's not that 'this type of content' performs better, it's about the content itself. If you use your blog as the way and means of constantly adding fresh, well written content to your site, then it'll perform well. If you chuck up one 'welcome' post and then let it stagnate for a year, it won't do you any good at all

 

[Eddie_J]

I find blogging to be extremely useful for my business as it is good for SEO and it brings me a ton of traffic. I also tend to do a bit of guest blogging from relevant blogs in order to get quality backlinks.

 

[jonrod]

Creating a blog to your website is like adding more features to a cell phone. If it has more information in it, people will surely think no second chances to buy that phone.

 

[threenine]

Don't just blog, because you think Google wants you too! Blog because you want to solve problems your customers!

You can blog for Google Crawler if you want too, but you'll actually have more success writing stuff real people want and need to read!

 

[ReviewsThatStick]

I use wordpress and integrated it on my site. I also have a blogger account and just direct them to my site. If your gonna blog then you have to keep it updated with fresh and unique content from time to time.

 

[theseomarky]

blogs create content-- content brings links. links help you rank. but be carefull not to saturate your page rank.

 

[ReviewsThatStick]

what is mean by archiproducts. Is there a SEO term.

I think there is a site that has the name archiproducts. I think that's what it means.

 

[HazelC]

I highly recommend you put the blog integrated with your site otherwise it will have no major impact / benefit on the SEO of your site. You can use a wordpress plug in for this (that's what I use and I find it really easy to use!).

Secondly, can you blog? Do you enjoy writing? If not then this can be obvious to the reader so you may consider choosing someone else to blog on your behalf such as a freelance blogger? This way you can get on with running your business knowing that your blog is being kept up to date.

As someone else mentioned - it's not just about having a blog - it needs to be good quality content on a regularly updated blog.

Good Luck

 

[dasmon777]

It seems a bit unfair to me that those who blog should get better returns than them that don't.

Most small business people I know would not have the time or desire to blather and blog about what they know, regardless of how helpful it is to their customers. Yet meet them face to face and the wealth of knowledge is amazing.

I also know many business people who are dyslexic and would never consider blogging. It seems a little unfair that those who blog could be more advantaged in achieving placement.

Nature of the new world order I suppose.