If I were starting my business today and was evaluating my
website options, I would pick a blogsite over a stand-alone
blog or a traditional website. What's a blogsite? I like
to think of this as a blog/website hybrid. It has all the
features of a blog, yet acts as a website to help you
promote your business.
More and more I see new online service business owners
choosing blogsites over traditional websites. Some who have
started with a traditional website have switched over to a
blogsite in the last year. Here are 7 reasons why a
blogsite attracts more visitors and helps you get more
clients online than a traditional website:
1. Easy to update and maintain. Once created, your blog
is almost effortless to update and maintain on a regular
basis. All you have to do is log into your administrator
interface, create a post in a Word-like environment,
publish the post, and it instantly appears on your
blogsite. A well-maintained and updated site is one to
which visitors return. No longer will your website be the
site that you (and time) forgot.
If you are tech-savvy, you may be able to create and
install your blogsite yourself using open source software
like WordPress, or using a fee-based blogging service like
Typepad. If you require technical and graphic assistance
to get your blogsite up and running, you can expect to pay
at least $300 to create a simple blogsite. The ability to
update your site yourself frees you from the need to learn
an HTML software program. However, if you choose to use
open source software for your blog platform, be sure and
have someone on call who can help you troubleshoot when
there is a technical problem. As with all technology, it's
not a matter of if a problem will happen, but when it will
happen.
2. Create static webpages. The best feature of a blogsite
is the ability to create static webpages, like About Us,
Our Services, How We Work, etc., as found on a traditional
website. Your static pages can be displayed in a
navigation bar across the top or down one side of your
blogsite, as in a traditional website. These pages can
serve as your home page, or the blog part of your site can
serve as your homepage instead. Now, anytime you add an
additional program or service, you can simply go to your
blogsite and instantly update your offerings.
3. Create relationship with visitors. Unlike a traditional
website, a blogsite has the blogging feature built in,
which permits your visitors to comment on your posts. You
do need to post 2-3 times per week to the blog to begin to
build the relationship, and then reply to the comments that
come in from your visitors. And, your visitors are much
more likely to return to your blogsite to see what else you
have to say. That doesn't happen often with a traditional
website.
4. Attractive to search engines. Search engines, Google
in particular, love blogs. I've posted a comment to a blog
and had Google index that comment within 5 minutes. How
did I know this? Because I have a Google Alert set for my
name, and that alert about that post was emailed to me
about 5 minutes after I made it. No more waiting for weeks
for the search engines to find your site!
5. Uses RSS feeds. No longer do you have to hope and pray
that your email reaches its intended target. With the use
of RSS feeds, your blog posts are automatically syndicated
to anyone who has requested them, and they arrive in your
reader's RSS feeder almost instantly.
6. Promote your business throughout the site. Have a free
giveaway or product or affiliate program you want to
promote? Now you can easily add that info to a sidebar of
your blog and have that show up for the visitor regardless
of what page the visitor lands on.
7. Offers Web 2.0 functionality. If you're using any
social networking like Facebook or Twitter, most blogging
platforms offer a widget or plug-in that will connect your
visitor to your social networking profile. There are other
plug-ins that make your blogsite searchable, show related
blogsites or related posts, display your favorite
Amazon.com recommendations, etc. More widgets and plug-ins
are being developed every day to help you better connect to
your visitors.
If your website needs an overhaul or you are about to
launch your first site, seriously consider a blogsite. A
blogsite will save you money, time and aggravation and get
you connected much more quickly to your visitors and to the
world at large.
----------------------------------------------------
Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Online Business
Coach Donna Gunter helps independent service professionals
learn how to automate their businesses, leverage their
expertise on the Internet, and get more clients online. To
claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing
Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.OnlineBizU.com . Ask
Donna an Internet Marketing question at
http://www.AskDonnaGunter.com .
1 comment:
A very important factor with your home based business ideas is time management. You need to have a plan based on priorities, and by staying focused, your home based business idea will be successful.
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