The problem with hosted blogs

I think its is absolutely fantastic that so many business owners are writing blogs these days.  For me, seeing an up to date blog on a potential suppliers website is a massive bonus. It shows me that the company or individual takes their business seriously and also that they really know what they are talking about and want to engage their customers.

However there are some pitfalls of using hosted blogs like wordpress.com that not all bloggers may be aware of. 

1. The domain name.  The website address on your blog will be something like mycompanyname.wordpress.com Which does not look super professional and lets the whole word know that you are using a free wordpress account.
2. The SEO.  Apart from the ability to talk directly to your clients, one of the major benefits of a blog is SEO (search engine optimisation). If you have a 5 page website with a few mentions of your keywords then you might be found on Google.  Imagine adding your blog to your main website and adding all the 100′s of articles you have published?
3. Diverting traffic from your main website.  Ok, so you tweet your post and get 100′s of visitors to your blog but so what? What is the good of 100 people on your blog if they don’t click on your website? Have you even checked your stats to see how many click on your website?  Have you even got a link on your main blog page/banner/menu directly to the website?
4. Flexibility.  Going forwards your business is going to outgrow the hosted solution, you will want to hire a developer who is going to want to dig in and get their hands dirty customizing it for your ongoing needs.

Essentially,  businesses hosting a blog on shared hosting like wordpress.com are missing a massive opportunity, especially in terms of SEO and driving traffic to the main website.

So why not install wordpress on your own hosting and set it up along side your main website?  You don’t have to pay for expensive works to have the two integrated (although this can give an even more professional edge!) as they can still be separate.  If you don’t have a main website then you’d still benefit from points 1, 2 and 4 by purchasing  a professional domain and hosting the website yourself.  Not sure where to get started?  get in touch!

Blogging | 23.02.2010 15:37 | No Comments