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It seems everyone these days
is talking about blogging. Everywhere I go, I find articles and forums
devoted to this craze. I also have heard from many moms who are trying
to figure out what a blog is and how they can use one to their benefit.
The term "blog" is short for "weblog", which just means an online
journal or "log". You can jot down personal thoughts and notes, post
articles you've written or keep track of interesting websites you find.
The sky is the limit, it seems, when it comes to blogging. A blog is
something entirely of your own creation and you can use it to share
your thoughts with the world, well..with anyone you can get to read it
anyway.
One of the main debates going on about blogs is whether blogging can be
done to improve Search Engine rankings for businesses or to create a
buzz about business websites. Both of these can be true if the blog is
used correctly. Many resources show that once a blog is created, many
times it is listed in Search Engines within 48 hours. This was true of
the blog I created for Christian Work at Home Moms.
These are many ways to create a blog. The easiest by far is to use one
of the free tools available online, such as Google's Blogger. You can
create your blog for free using their online tools and
templates(nothing to download). After you have created the blog, you
can then publish your blog through them and "Wa-La" - your blog is
posted online for the world to see.
Once you've created your blog, you will need to decide how you will use
it. Will it be a personal blog, full of thoughts and comments for
yourself alone or maybe your family? Or will it be a business blog,
with articles and tips for potential customers? If you want your blog
to be found by others, blogging experts recommend that you begin by
setting the title and descriptions for your blog. These are similar to
the the title and descriptions you set for your website. Try to make
them meaningful because they are what people will see when your blog is
returned in a Search Engine. If your description is simply "my blog",
you may not draw the attention you'd like.
If you are blogging in the hopes of attracting customers, make sure to
use wise use of words and links in your blogs. Try to avoid the "click
here" link. Instead, opt for links within descriptive sentences. Add
the HTML link within the sentence and attach it to the words that are
closely related to the page or site you are linking to. For example, to
link to my website I would not use "click here" as my link. I would
say, "Please visit Christian Work at Home Moms for home-based work
resources" with the link within the text.
There are many ways to get your blog noticed outside of optimizing them
for Search Engines. For instance, there are entire websites devoted to
listing blogs dedicated to any topic that you can think of. One of the
best such websites devoted to women-created blogs, is BlogDaisy.com.
You can also use free tools such a FeedBurner.com to track the traffic
on your blog and to create a dynamic title box that can be used to
display your blog headlines on your website or even in your email
signature. Each time you update your blog, these headlines are
instantly updated.
There are many ways to use a blog for either personal or business use.
If used correctly, a blog can be a terrific tool to inform potential
customers of your business. Be sure to update your blog at least once a
week so that the content remains fresh and you remain in the Search
Engines.
About the Author
Jill Hart is the author/editor of Christian Work
at Home Moms, http://www.CWAHM.com.
Jill Hart
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