A blog is a type of website just as forums, membership sites and online communities are types of websites. A blog, forum, membership site or online community can be a component of a larger website or they can stand alone as a website. Many businesses operate one or more standalone blogs to promote their business, increase online visibility, provide customer service, generate leads and more.
What Do a Blog & Website Have In Common?
- Both are published on the internet
- Both are published on a domain or URL that can be accessed by visitors/readers
- Both are typically indexed/crawled/seen by search engines
- Both can contain information on your company, products & services
- Both can contain e-commerce functionality enabling site visitors to make purchases
- Both should utilize search engine optimization techniques
How Are a Blog & Website Different?
Characteristics of a Traditional Website:
- Typically used to provide company information and info on products & services much like a brochure, capabilities overview or spec sheet
- Relatively static meaning that the information on a website is not changed or updated very often
- Content is typically viewed by the reader as promotional and/or informative
- Communication is one-sided as the company is the only one publishing the content
Characteristics of a Business Blog:
- Primary purpose is to provide non-promotional information that your target market or ideal customer is interested in and searching for on the internet
- Most successful when it is updated several times a week with fresh, quality content
- Content is educational, entertaining, inspiring and interactive therefore it is typically more appealing to a site visitor and makes them more likely to return to your site (via bookmarking or subscribing to new blog posts)
- Communication is two-sided because readers can write comments or questions at the end of a blog post
- Blog post authors can respond to questions and comments
- Typically indexed more frequently by search engines because it is updated regularly and therefore not seen (by the search engines) as stale content
- It’s easier to brand your company as an industry expert with a blog than it is a static website because you provide regular blog posts that showcase your knowledge & areas of expertise
- An established blog contains more pages than a website therefore a blog can have more pages indexed and shown in search engine results
- Bloggers and webmasters frequently link to useful blog posts which is VERY good for the search engine ranking of your blog
So which is right for you? A blog, a traditional website or a hybrid of the two? Before you decide, read 10 Questions to Answer Before You Start a Blog and blog posts from our Blogging Category. You can learn about our Blog Design & Blogging Services on our main website.
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