Need a low-cost Web presence? You might want to consider a blog.
Blog. It’s an Internet buzzword/phenomenon. Google the word “blog” and you’ll get over two billion results returned. Everyone’s talking about them, and it seems everyone’s got one. But what good are they to your small business or organization? You might be surprised to know they can be a great addition to your Internet marketing campaign.
First of all, what is a “blog”? Wikipedia defines a blog (also sometimes called a “Weblog”) as “a Web site where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.” Entries can be anything: from events listings, to commentary/opinion, to news or personal journal logs. You’ve probably seen many blogs if you’ve ever searched for information on the Web.
Blogs are a great way for businesses and organizations to connect with and keep their customers/supporters up-to-date on events and news, build traffic to your main site, and share your expertise.
But what if you don’t even have a Web site yet? A blog can be an easy way to break into Internet marketing and get your name out there on the Web. Let’s take a look at some advantages to having a blog.
LOW COST
Blogs can be maintained at very low cost. Updating most aspects of a blog is like working in a word-processing program. Since they don’t need to be updated by a Web professional on a regular basis, blogs can cost considerably less to maintain vs. a static website. You can input your own events and update pages at your convenience. This can be an advantage or a drawback, depending on your staffing, but if you know you have someone sitting around with a few minutes of extra time every month, why not have them write up a few blog posts?
SEO
Blogs are great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Everyone wants to be on the front page of Google when someone searches for their name or type of business. Besides buying Google Adwords, one of the best ways to get your name up there is content, content, and content. The more quality, up-to-date content you create for Google to find, the more likely it is that your site will show up in searches towards the top of the list. With blogs, you can come up with a wealth of timely and relevant content over the course of several months, instead of trying to generate all of it up front.
ALTERNATIVE
Blogs can be used as an alternative to a large site. Most business blogs are used in addition to a main site, but in some cases a blog can be modified and customized to perform almost like a larger site. With a wealth of add-on options, you can now set up a blog that has normal static web pages, event calendars, e-commerce, contact forms and more. Also, a blog site may be a starting point to help discover what content and features are important to your target market.
So if a Web presence is in your future and you’re not afraid of being a little more hands-on, you might consider using a blog either as an entry point or as a valuable addition to your site.
Absolute Marketing Group can help you set up a customized blog if you need help. We have a Fargo-Moorhead based web design team that can help you do everything you read about on our web site. Contact us today if you need help with your next web project.