The word 'blog' is a shortened form of 'web log', and refers to a web site that contains the owner's opinions, commentary, photos, video, audio/or and other contributions.
A blog with an online marketing purpose has to focus on the particular market it's attempting to attract. That usually means content of interest to that market. For example, a person selling Pensions might focus their blog on investment strategy. Such a site would include economic commentary, investment trends, and legal methods to reduce tax.
Alternatively, a blog doesn't need to attract and/or educate its target market to serve a marketing purpose. It may have an SEO (search engine optimisation) objective. In this case, the owner will...
* Add content relevant to the keyword phrases s/he is targeting
* Create contextual links to the site s/he wants at the top of Google for those keyword phrases
* Attempt to build page rank and 'trust' for the Blog (which is then conveyed to his/her site)
A blog with an SEO objective still needs to contain useful information. And as its page rank and 'trust' grow, so will the number of people who find it. The owner will then have to give more consideration to the interests of his/her followers, rather than content that merely convey 'link juice' to his/her main site.
It's possible to set up a blog on your own site, and many people like to do it this way. I prefer to use third party blogging software because it saves time, it's free, and it allows me to create contextual inbound links from a third party site (I use my blog to achieve an SEO objective).
A blog can pay off in other ways too. For example, Blogger has a built in ability to host ads from Google's AdWords system. It's very easy to get AdWords up and running in Blogger, and leave the advertising revenue and supply to Google. You can then focus on content and readers. The better your content, and the more readers you attract, the more advertising revenue you'll generate.
Of course, generating revenue from advertising requires patience. It isn't going to pay off immediately. In time, you could find yourself earning hundreds of dollars a week from AdWords if you have the patience and determination to do what it takes.
A blog with a lot of content is a useful way of adding value to your Twitter 'tweets'. I like to add 'tweets' throughout the day, and a history of blog entries is fertile ground for a quick 'tweet' idea. I often link the 'tweet' to the blog article that inspired it, and this usually sends me an extra visitor or two.
Twitter and your blog make for an interesting relationship, especially if your objective is SEO. A 'Tweet' can pick up leads, who then visit your blog. From time-to-time, the visitor will like what they see and link to it from their site. This conveys some of their Google 'trust' to your blog.
Over time, this trust grows and is passed on to the sites you link to from your blog. It's a virtuous circle, and well worth pursuing. Once again, it requires a long term view. This doesn't happen over night.
A blog is a useful way to establish your expertise in a particular area. For example, I've named my blog: Lead Generation Expert. One of my objectives is to become a world-renowned expert in lead generation. My blog has a part to play in establishing a base of evidence for my expertise, and has already helped to open doors to new business opportunities that weren't previously open.
Whether you're interested in picking up new clients, pushing your site onto page one of Google, generating extra money from advertising, or establishing your expertise in a particular area - a well written blog can help get you there.
Wayne Davies is an online lead generation expert based in London (UK).
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wayne_Andrew_Davies
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