What is a blog?
What is a blog, you ask? A blog is simply a content delivery system, in the form of an online journal (weblog).
Because blogs require minimal technical savvy and little or no money, you can be at the forefront of a growing trend and promote your web site at the same time.
Once you've got it set up and running (see resources below), updates take about the same time as writing and sending an e-mail.
- Blogs are rich in content and as a result rank high in search engines. Blogs can help your page rank and SERP.
- When you talk to your audience in a blog, you are filling the search engines' databases with relevant keywords - relevant because most of us search for the words or phrases we use daily.
- In a blog you speak like a real, living person, directly and using words you would use in a conversation. You talk to your visitors, reaching them on a personal level, humanizing your web site.
- Blogs have become a strategic business communication tool; in one study the blog increased average time on a site by 60%.
What to Blog About
Write about what you know. Write about the subject of your web site - what you see happening in the real estate market, new features about your product, interesting facets of the service you offer, or about news events that involve your product/service.
Tips on Writing and Maintaining Your Blog:
- Consistency: Post to your blog on a regular basis.
- Write good headlines: Titles are everything! Make your headline informative and use keywords.
- Use keywords: Pepper the post with keywords and phrases that will be attractive to search engines.
- Link like crazy: Make keywords into links. Link to products or services on your site. Always link to information that clarifies or gives background on information and opinions in your post.
- Be direct: Keep your copy short, lively and interesting. Omit all unnecessary words.
- Keep your sense of humor: Your writing should be light and casual – don’t take yourself too seriously.
- Use bullet points: Many people skim and only read headlines. Does your content make sense to them?
- Use subheads: Even in a short post, use subheads every few sentences. Remember, white space is your friend.
- Images and media: You can include images and short movies in your blog to make it more interesting.
- One subject per post: Most blog posts are rather short, and they're often about one subject, which means high keyword density.
- Edit, edit, edit: Blogs are archived online, and anything you write will be there forever and ever. So think before you write, and edit before you hit "submit."
- Ask others to link to your blog: Place a link on your blog so others can add you to social networks. Use Socializer and you will need only one link to reach all social bookmark sites, such as del.icio.us and digg.
Blog Resources
If you’re wondering where to start, here are a few helpful sites.
- Google’s Blogger - Free, easy to set up and use. You can maintain your blog on the site or ftp it to your web site.
- Type Pad - Paid service, but possibly the best. 30-day free trial.
- Wordpress - Free and very popular - lots of good features.
- Bloglines - Web-based aggregator.
- Blog Search Engine
- Blog City - Free with paid upgrade available.
- Blogger Talk Forum
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