What is your blog temperature?

I have not ever written a Blog. I do see value in SEO from blogs and so we recently changed our website so that we can incorporate blogs. And I hope to get one of those "guest" or "ghost writer" bloggers to help us out. Lori Richardson, an ambassador for biznik, has hosted several events around blogging and is a wonderful resource as well as a wonderful blogger. Jim

I hear that blogs help SEO and so when I start my new site I will incorporate a blog in it. I've also heard that the best platform to post a plog is on word press. Any thoughts?

Keep in mind there is Wordpress.com where they will host your blog. Then there is wordpress.org where you can download (for free) Wordpress so you can host it yourself. If you are going to blog semi-serious then wordpress.com is OK. If you are serious about it then go to wordpress.org.

There is a Biznik event on March 31st (Mercer Island CC) focusing on Wordpress although Iris might find it to be a bit of a drive! For the rest of you come on over.

Amy,

We started a blog in 2006 as part of our major site. Being novices at blogging we made a major mistake in having our posts be Permalinks, instead of "Pretty Permalinks". Our SEO would be better with the latter, so now I am trying to find out how to convert which I understand will involve some type of redirect. The "PP" gives a title to each of your blog posts instead of a random number.

Hi Iris, yes we have a couple of blogs, one on marketing and one on Wordpress. We keep them updated regularly, but it is a commitment. We do a few workshops through Biznik on blogging and emphasize what a great marketing tool it is for your business. WordPress does make it easy to set one up, but that is only a small part of the battle. Great and consistent content is what will make you blog successful.

As far as the permalink question, that might take a bit more time to explain in this thread then I have right now. I know that Richard had mentioned the WordPress event, but I would also like to let everyone know about my Biznik WordPress workshop on April 23rd. An intensive 3 -hour hands-on workshop that will go over so many facets of WordPress, including permalinks and the difference between.com and .org.

And as far as the blog helping your website with SEO, yes, that's true as "fresh content" always can be a huge factor in the "google juice". But again you have to remember it will only work if you are consistent with your posts -- try to at least post once a week is our general rule of thumb.

Thanks for this post. Always love to see conversation around blogging!

~bob

Great Discussion here. Thanks for introducing it, Iris.

Your questions were:

1. Do you write a blog? Yes. Right now, I write one post a week. My posts tend to run 1,000 words or more and are mostly how-to (practical marketing advice). Occasionally I throw in a controversial subject to get readers thinking and talking. The consistent, fresh content is key to getting good SEO but, as Bob said, you need to stick to a schedule, so both the search engines and your readers will keep coming back.

2. Do you read blogs? YES! It's a great way to not only keep up with trends in my field, but I study what the exceptional bloggers are doing and learn a lot. Also, leaving comments on the mid-size to large readership blogs brings traffic back to ours. I am a regular reader of: 123 social media (Biznik's own Barry Hurd); men with pens; copyblogger, ProBlogger, Remarkablogger, chrisbrogran.com; dosh dosh; and the fluent self. I also browse alltop.com, which has an amazing array of top industry blogs. I say, if you are a blogger, it is crucial to read other blogs!

3. Have you read anything in a blog that you have implemented and seen an increase in income? Not sure what you mean here, but definitely I have learned the subtle art of providing rich content and directing readers from our blog to our website for more information on services that address a particular issue I have raised in the blog. We have had great success with this strategy.

I guess you can tell from the length of this response that I am passionate about blogging!

Judy, Thanks for your articulate explanation of how blogs can drive traffic to a site! I never understood the mechanics before.

My pleasure, Amy. I'm learning new things about blogging every day myself.

It can be overwhelming to process all the information!

Hello Iris,

1. Do you write a blog? Yes, I write two blogs on organizing. I post every week to keep the content fresh. I use wordpress currently for one of them, but eventually will move the blog to my website. I also blog on Seattle PI.
   

2. I do read other blogs, but I am all over the place. I have set up a google reader account so that I can accumulate my favorite ones in one place.
   

3. I get a lot of business advice from blogs. For example, I found a blog on writing press releases that was very useful. I have also purchased gifts based on recommendations seen in various blogs.

A good topic. Thanks. Veronica

I blog when I have something useful to say...I've found the more you say, the less people listen.

I blog for my biz.

I write a column for the Seattle Examiner which one might consider a blog.

I write weekly...several times per week for the paper and at least once or twice for my biz. I am working on at least one good tip per week or other feature for my site.

Lots of great feedback on what I write about, though I wish the comment factor was higher. Feedback usually comes via some other communication.

Lots of great advice out there. I have several that I follow religiously.