Quite the phenomenon has developed on the Internet in the last few years. Just when you thought everything that could be invented had been, along comes a surprise. In this case, I am speaking of weblogs, or blogs, as they've come to be known. Perhaps the biggest benefit to them is that they draw attention to your web community. Search engines love to have ever-updating content. Merely three entries a week will satisfy the appetite of the hungriest Googlebot. Visitors are drawn almost magnetically to blogs. As they have become more mainstream, we should discuss the pros and cons of using them in your online community.
Benefits of using blogs:
Fresh site content - Assuming that the author of the blog writes in it at least three times a week, fresh content is much like a neon flashing sign in the real, offline world. It gets the attention of everything and everyone. This is wonderful for search engines, and for bringing in new and returning traffic for your site.
Personal feel - A successful blog provides a look into what makes its author tick. Many great blogs have a very informal writing style. Until blogs became mainstream, corporations have generally preferred to keep published content very formal and business-like. Many of the most successful blogs are anything but. In extreme cases, blog entries are not even checked for proper spelling or grammar! It's the spontaneity and raw nature of the entries that draws the crowd.
Nice place for odds and ends - Blogs are also a great place for content that doesn't fit anywhere else. Most blogs also provide categorization and searching capabilities, making it easy to retrieve content very quickly when it is needed later.
Keep company in touch - If a blog is used on an intranet, it can keep everyone in contact with each other. If anonymous posts are allowed, you may even be able to get feedback that employees might not otherwise wish to provide.
Search engine placement - As mentioned previously, frequently-updated blogs can be a shot in the arm for your online community. Search engines love new content. You will get improved search engine placement if you have a blog on your site.
No technical expertise necessary - Apart from the initial setup, blogs are very simple to maintain. The author need only possess typing skills and minimal computer knowledge to be able to write in the blog.
Lots of traffic in a short time - If you are willing to be controversial, you can build up an unbelievable amount of traffic in a very short amount of time.
Can be used for news releases - Since many news outlets scour blogs for stories, you may be able to get quick coverage of a press release by sending your news out as a blog entry.
Possible drawbacks of using blogs:
Content quality - The people who would have the best, most informative things to say generally are too busy to write. They are busy engaged in executing the tasks corresponding to their expertise. These types of people are not generally the ones that have time to do the blogs. The ones that do have the time may not have quite as much experience or information to provide. Care should be taken that content published should be helpful and informative to readers.
Consistent, high-quality content - It is difficult to consistently provide high-quality content on a blog. There are times when the author is in a poor mood, or industry news relating to the topic at hand is a little scarce. It is a little harder than it seems to write entries that are consistently spectacular on a daily basis.
There are simple ways to get around these problems. Have someone interview those who are knowledgeable about your topic at hand. Write Top 10 lists about the topic. Write something controversial. Encourage feedback from users. Ask questions that may evoke a response from the readers. Alternate between writers to provide variation in writing style and content.
Having a blog on your company or community website can be one way to generate a lot of traffic and get noticed by search engines. It is also very conducive to community growth. Your mileage may vary, but blogs are worthy of consideration for these reasons.
Comments
Great information
Great information dude.
Myself, I have been wanting to add a blog in my website. http://www.pinoybizpark.com But like you said, You need a lot time. There are a lot of blog programs out there. I'm thinking of using wordpress.
Actually, I added my own forum with phpBB. Try checking it out.
http://www.pinoybizpark.com/community
Maybe in a while I'll be able to add that blog page. I'm still working on the members and traffic in my site.
Thanks for the wonderful informations. God Bless to you and your site.
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