By Edie Melson @EdieMelson
I’m on a lot of writer lists, and I read a lot of really
questionable advice from well-meaning folks. But this past month I read some
advice that just about set my hair on fire. The person giving the questionable advice stated that no one should ever use BlogSpot or WordPress in their blog address. They said that if someone did, it would be almost impossible to break into the highest levels of SEO discoverability. They went on to say the reason for this is that there are millions of Blogger (BlogSpot) and WordPress blogs, so SEO doesn't consider them professional, no matter how often the site is update.
This advice is so wrong—on so many levels—I almost don’t know where to start.
So I’ll begin with
the original question
A writer simply wanted to know which was better, a website or a
blog. There were a lot of folks who chimed in, with a lot of differing
opinions. There’s nothing wrong with that.
The places where
you can build your digital home are varied. And they’re not a one-size-fits-all
proposition. For some, a full website—with someone else to run it—makes the
most sense. For others, a blog is the perfect fit. I don’t have an issue with
which you prefer. It truly is a personal choice.
I
have to disagree with the quote above first because it’s outdated information.
Using BlogSpot in your address will NOT hurt your SEO. On this site, I average
over 50,000 unique visitors each month (and have for quite a while). Yes, I
also own my own domain name www.EdieMelson.com, that also points to this
site. But the largest majority (over 73%) of my hits come by way of the actual
site address: www.TheWriteConversation.blogspot.com.
NOTE:
For those who don’t know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is basically
where, in the list of millions, your content will show up when searched by a
reader (search engine). This is determined by a closely guarded, mathematical
equation called an algorithm.. Here’s a blog post I wrote explaining SEO.
With
all the search engine algorithm updates in recent years (penguin, panda,
hummingbird, etc.), the SEO scale has tipped way over toward valuable content.
That is the one single thing that weighs the heaviest in SEO. (I explain what
the Penguin, Panda and Hummingbird updates are in this post.)
Personally,
I have built a considerable business and reputation using Blogger. Through this
site I have garnered the respect and attention from numerous top tier bloggers,
including Daily Blog Tips, The Write Practice, Novel Rocket and Guideposts.
It's because of my site that I've been offered multiple blogging opportunities
and it was this free platform that played a huge role in my landing the coveted
spot as Military Family Blogger for Guideposts.org.
I'm
not the only one on the web who proves out this truth. There are a lot of us
with valuable, popular sites that contain Blogspot or WordPress.com. I prefer
Blogger because it has the plugins necessary to grow a viable site. And, in my
opinion, out of the free blogging platform options, it has the largest
personalization options. (Here’s a comprehensive post I wrote to help writers decide which they needed, a blog or a website.)
Finally—and
most importantly—it's NOT blogging that increases visibility, it's regularly
updated, valuable content that does the most good. That can mean a site for
podcasting, video blogs, really anything that is updated regularly.
The Bottom Line
There's
nothing wrong with deciding to pay for a website, it's a personal choice. But
that's all it is, a choice. It does not make you less professional to use a
free site.
I’d
love to hear from you. What are your thoughts (and/or questions) about
blogging?
Don’t
forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie
TWEETABLES
Setting up a blog was the first thing I learned (on my own) when I began to write. I love WP. I have learned so much throughout the last year and a half and Eddie I went back to your article on SEO because I was a little sketchy on what that was about. Thanks for the link. Thanks for always posting good, up-to-date posts. Beth
ReplyDeleteBeth, I'm so glad I was able to help! Thanks so much for stopping by, Blessings, E
DeleteYou're right Edie, people need different options.
ReplyDeleteYou and I both started on Blogspot and I would say it has worked well. I probably will need to eventually have a .com for my photography. But I'm happy to keep blogging.
There's so much more interaction with your audience on a blog than on a straight .com unless you add a blogging link. I love the interaction.
Plus, if anyone wants to see for themselves how effective the SEO is for a Bloodspot blog, just google Edie Melson and see what comes up.
:)
Great tips!
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ReplyDeletei agree with you , very useful
ReplyDelete