• May 1st, 2007

Blogging has been around for some time now and many website owners seem to be catching on to the value of blogging. However, just in case you haven’t heard of the benefits yet I’ll cover some of them here.

Abundant Content
One of the main reasons many people choose to blog is that it is an easy way to produce content for site visitors. Some blogs are maintained by logging into a specific site like blogger.com and signing up for an account, while others are installed on a unique domain. I prefer the latter because I want my blog to match my website design and if I have the two on my domain together, I can style them to be alike. At any rate, that is the first reason. Easy to add content in abundance.

Content that is Current
How many times have you gone to a site only to find the information that you found was outdated? I’ve had it happen a lot. Many times static web sites can be way out dated. Blog systems, however, usually have dating systems built right in so they keep track of what was posted and when it was written. The blogging system I am using even archives the information by month so visitors can browse by date. Keeping your content current is reason number two for choosing a blog.

Search Engine Recognition
Because blogs are always being updated, the search engines like them. In fact, they pay special attention to them. If something significant happens and bloggers begin talking about the event, the search engines pick up on this and follow the information. Reason three, blogging is important to viral marketing.

Share Your Expertise
One obstacle I find in constructing websites for businesses is that many times I do not have as good of a grasp on the industry as the client does. After all, I’m a web designer, not a theater owner. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done websites for theaters and live entertainment as well as other websites. However, keeping up with the industry on a daily basis and updating content to speak to the current events within each industry is beyond my capabilities. I have a hard enough time keeping up with the web development industry.

A blog (or Web Log) affords individuals to easily speak to their particular audience. A report on the real estate market will read much better coming from a REALTOR® than it will if it is written by a car mechanic and vice versa. Simply stated, the content should be created by the professional in that field. That is reason number four.

Interactive
Finally, the fifth reason a blog can benefit your website is that it provides a method of interaction with your clients. Many blogs have the option of allowing comments to be tacked on the end of the post. This provides a simple way of getting feedback from loyal visitors. Perhaps your organization has several departments. The blog can be set up to allow each department head to have a login and password to make posts, each in his or her respective field. They can interact publicly with one another as well as the customer.

So, in conclusion, there are many valuable reasons to have a blog installed on your website. All of which can contribute to the success of your business and web presence.

In fact the reasons are numerous. Feel free to share any that you may have realized.