One of the most frequent series of questions I get about building web sites is about blogging.

Should I have my own blog?

Why should I have my own blog?

What is the value of blogging?

Web sites are generally created to generate new business through search engines and to show prospective customers that you are a "credible" business. In either case, you need to spend some time thinking about your corporate message and the best way to communicate the message to your prospective customers.

Static Web Site

A static web site is a series of pages that describe your company and product/service offerings. The pages do not change very frequently and are accessed through menus on your main website page.

The primary benefit of a static web site is credibility. Prospects find you through keying in Google search terms or by going to your site by looking at your business card after you have met them in person. A static web site with your own domain name helps to prove to the prospect that you are serious about doing business with them.

When you build your static pages, you focus on describing your unique selling proposition. What product/service do you provide? How can the prospect contact you? Where are you located? What have your other customers said about your work?

Corporate Blog

A blog is an ongoing series of short articles that are displayed in descending sequence by date. The primary benefit of a blog is that it establishes you as a subject matter expert related to the products/services that you provide. Blog posts should be targeted towards specific search terms related to your business.

Your page ranking is enhanced by creating relevant content about your business on an ongoing basis.  This equates to you getting more web site traffic as a result of the regular posting of different articles related to your business.

Unique Domain Name

A unique domain name that has been created for your business helps to establish credibility and improve search engine page rankings.  Sure, you can create a free blog section on many popular blogging platforms.  However, having a blog with your own domain name is an important part of improving your overall sales.

I still have blogs on some of the poplar free sites.  All of these "free blogs" point back to my main home page and associated blog.

Summary

Many people worry that they don't have a lot to write about in regular blog posts.  You will surprise yourself when you start blogging.  You discover that you have a lot to talk about that your prospects will find interesting.

My advice for new bloggers is to write short articles on a periodic basis.  It's important to focus on specific search terms and to create meta tags for your articles related to the article.  You will be amazed by how quickly both your credibility and web site traffic start improving!