Blogging is a hugely useful cost free way of getting traffic to your website. Google will reward a website containing a good blog with higher rankings, more visitors, and more frequent indexing. Visitors will appreciate the up to date news and views that a good blog offers.
A blog is by far the easiest type of website to install and get looking great. In about 20 minutes you can register a domain name, buy some hosting, use the “install a blog” feature, log-in to your new blog, upload a nice template or “skin”, and finally write your first blog post. I know - easy for me to say with 12 years experience in IT. However I’m willing to prove it.
Join me on the 9th August at 7pm in the Talbot Hotel in Carlow. I have been invited by Amanda of Spiderworking.com and KLCK to give a 20 minute tutorial on setting up a blog. If you don’t get it in the 20 minutes I’ll happily stay back and walk you through the steps required. Either way you will be blogging that night and for ever more!
It would be helpful if you had a domain name registered (or make sure to bring your credit card and we will do it on the night through local Carlow company Blacknight.com), some hosting (again we can do that on the night), and an idea of what you want to blog about so as we can pick a suitable template. There will be no additional charges and no charges at all if you already have a website we can use (make sure to bring your password etc). Of course you can just take notes and do it yourself later if you prefer.
You can find more details at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131524783551231&ref=mf
I can concur here on the benefits of blogging towards search ranking. Since my half attempts at having a blog started less than 2 years ago I have seen details of me go from unsearchable to topping the google ranking. Its not enough to just blog though – participation on relevant blogs, indexable forums/mailing lists and other social media matters. I have found that from an effort point of view, that participation is less effort than the blogging.
An issue you might want to address though, is how to rationalise a blog presence with a standard company website. It might be tricky to fuse platforms together – many typical SMEs may have outsourced their web site design to another firm, and a company blog works best when it sits on the same domain as the company web site – there may be annoying technical issues with merging the site & blog. That way the blog content draws attention to the companies product offerings and marketing, and the companies products and vision provide context for the blog content.
Best of luck with the course.
Hi Richard,
I will be demonstrating how to install a blog on your own domain name alongside your company website (if one exists). It is fairly easy to do with most hosting packages. Thanks for the comment.
Ruairi
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