Article Contributed by Tami Stodghill
Many times people starting out in their home business contact me inquiring as to whether I see more value in hosting a blog site or just a business site with blog entries. First of all, from all the experience we have had as well as instruction from several SEO Gurus, we know that blog sites are capable of ranking higher faster. So whichever type of site a new business owner decides to go with, it should be a blog site.
We actually have a number of websites for our business, but maintain one of them as a blog only site. It does nothing to push our business opportunity, really, with the exception of a couple links should people choose to check out our business. Otherwise, it exists solely to offer any small or home based business owner tips for success. We feel that it is important to give something without the marketing hype and this will remain a blog only site. Our other sites are blog sites in that they reflect our business opportunity and offer complete information regarding that business, but also allow for blog entries which keeps the content fresh and updated—a must for SEO and rankings!
I always tell people that to invest in both types of sites will do nothing but bring them more success. We actually garner as many leads from our blog only site as we do from our business-specific ones. People read our blog entries, trust that we bring honesty, integrity and support to the table and then choose to contact us through the blog site. I strongly believe that if you can offer something of value without expecting anything from the reader, then you have demonstrated that you are honest and open and would offer an opportunity filled with the honest and open ongoing training and mentoring.
We have also found other businesses pinging back to our blog site and have countless requests for sharing links. Because other businesses see our blog as informative and educational, they want to share with their followers or customers and that only serves to offer more exposure for us and our business. The types of businesses who do link back to us vary, but that also means that we gain exposure in all types of businesses and an unlimited number of potential prospects.
When you set out to design a site or sites to represent your business, try considering this approach. It means managing more than one site, but WordPress and other blog-type sites are easily updated by anyone—even those without experience. You can have fun with a variation of themes and approaches to what you want representing your business and can share content between the two sites as well. Take some time to plan what approach you want to take, but whatever the approach, keep your content updated regularly, post informative and valuable information, and share yourself with your readers or followers.
About the Author
Tami Stodghill was the Press-Relations manager, for a world-wide extensible-technology distributor based in London and the US for 20 years. She was also a freelance writer for several industry publications and is now a home-based business owner with WMI. She makes her home in Page-Lake Powell, Arizona, in the summers and Palm Harbor, Florida in the winters where she enjoys boating and reading, camping, hiking and meeting new people. She runs a blog site exclusively to offer tips for success for any small or home-based business.