I am having problems getting my head around the concept of blogs in order to gain traffic to your main website! Even though I read their rules through and through, both my blogs where taken down.. WP & Blogger ??? Not sure what I did wrong, but before I go ahead and make a new one plz can can someone explain the benefits of having a blog! Won't I just be starting from scratch and trying to get visitors to my blog when I could be sending them to my website instead? Regards Luke Ps I am unable to reply to comments as a new member, until they are moderated!
A blog can become a backlink to your site. Backlinks, if they are quality, tell Google that your site has value and can help it rank higher in the search engines. It's a win win really. I use Squidoo as a blogging platform. I get about 1000 hits per week from Squidoo to my site, so yes it helps a lot! Also if they land on your blog and read and get value there, then go to your site and read more and get more value, then you have build some credibility with your visitor. That being said, make sure your blog and your site add value and actually help people or inspire people and they will seek you out more.
1000 hits a week off Squidoo..? Seriously? When you say hits.. is it hit n run lol or stick around 4 a bit?
WP.com & Blogger do not allow any affiliate type stuff. Did you have any money making opportunities on your blogs? If so, it might be worthwhile to invest in your own site and domain.
Yes, what most people don't know (because they don't read the TOS) is that many "free" blogging platforms don't allow affiliate links. It's really frustrating to build up a readership and only have it lost, because of the restrictions of a "free" system... That's just one reason, why I make use of the Empower Network Blogging platform. I can blog about anything I want - as long as it's legal of course - I could even advertise other affiliate offers, if I chose to. If you like to blog, then Empower Network is the way to go, because they also teach you exactly why you should do certain marketing strategies and how to drive traffic to your blog.
Hey Luke. You might be better off setting up a blog on your main website. This way you own the content so it won't get taken down. With this blog you should target "long tail" keywords, which won't have a lot of traffic but will be much easier to rank for. If you blog regularly the traffic will add up and you will be adding fresh, unique content to your site which has SEO benefits. I obviously don't know how your main site is setup but it is usually fairly straight forward to install Wordpress. And you can always go to Fiverr and have someone else do it for you for 5 bux!
I agree with kimboathome. WordPress is easy to set up and you can write your blog "posts" to draw traffic from the search engines. I'd suggest setting up a static homepage and displaying your blog posts in your sidebar area. It's a numbers game and the more quality, on topic content you publish, the more chance you have of getting traffic to your site as your content gets indexed in Google and others. If you are wanting to know how to set up a self hosted WordPress website yourself, then you can get my free tutorials below. (There is extensive email support also) In my opinion while Squidoo is good, you don't have your own domain name and they have also become stricter with affiliate links.
Bottom line: do not create websites or blogs anywhere where someone else has the power to decide that your efforts are not worthy of their 'service', unless you are willing to lose them someday. WP and Blogger are really paranoid about this. A few years ago I had a WP blog where I was simply providing high-quality content, not promoting anything. Then in one post I placed a link to my main money site, just as a reference. It was not even an affiliate link, since it was my product. Bam! I was immediately banned as a spammer. You have to be so careful with them. Self-hosted is the way to go!
I really like WordPress and also always advise to my clients to go for a WordPress blog or website rather than the other even if they’re a new comer to blogging. Unlike Blogger, you can manage the design and look of your new WordPress blog or website to a specific level by picking from one out of their free WordPress themes. Themes manage the design, colours, images and fonts on your blog thus it is practical if you would like your blog to start looking unique to other folks. Despite the fact that WordPress.com does permit some customizations to get you likely, it offers to be declared these kinds of changes are pretty basic.
A self hosted domain using Wordpress is always the way to go. It takes more time, but you have ultimate control of your content, and don't have to worry about having your blog taken down for some obscure TOS policy violation. Also, an Empower Network blog is great too because of its popularity and authority and already set up sales funnel. You won't make much money from blogging unless you have a sales funnel in place.
I have managed to incorporate a WordPress blog into the site in question and now I have no more problems and can post what I want without risk of it being taken down so thanks for everyone's help regarding this, its much appreciated.
Yes but the thing with Blogs is, they're a lot easier to get free traffic through seo, than a typical website. Google loves the way blogs are built, so you get easier traffic. You basically just have to post often and the traffic comes!
Yes the problem with free blogs is that you can't promote affiliate products on it and it prevents you from making money... I see many people on forums asking about how they can make money without investing anything in the beggining and ofter I see answers like 'Just start a free blog'. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to make any money online if you're not willing to invest some... Good luck Art
I have Wordpress blog that I drive all my traffic to. I own it and control it. It is all up to me what is going to happen. I got a theme that it is built around with a marketing system to promote. It takes time to get regonized but it is well worth the effort to do it and stick with it.
Well apparently they stick around long enough to click through my site! Good points above though about blogging on a platform owned by another. Squidoo took a big hit during the Google updates and it did affect my traffic. I still have a few Squidoo blogs out there, but for the most part, my new content goes on my site.
Benefits of a blog ? firstly, you share your informations with other people in your industry, secondly you try to get nominated expert by people in you niche and a blog can make a good trust and relationship then increase your sales.... Kind regards, John.
Your blog should be your main website. That's where people get to know you and what you are all about. Always use a self hosted blog. This in my opinion is the very best way to go. You control every aspect of it from the content to the links and banners you want on it. Using WP & Blogger you don't own anything and they can take your site down for any reason they see fit. Keep in mind blogging is a long term marketing strategy so yea you will be starting over from scratch if you go the self hosted route.
