WordPress - Free Blog Software
Just like it says on their website, WordPress is “both free and priceless”. If you are serious about generating traffic through your Blog, consider using WordPress to create a Blog. That is the single best Blog tip that I can give anyone. A well optimize, high ranking Blog will help you get tons of traffic through inbound links that search engines value highly. You can also add it to your arsenal of website marketing strategies to attract additional traffic.
You can think of your Blog as an extension of your website. Whether you create your website first or your Blog first, sooner or later both will start to generate their own traffic and readership. This makes it more important to be careful in deciding how you want to create your Blog and where you want to host it. That being said, most Blog software solutions out there are restricting when compared to a website. That is why I recommend using WordPress. WordPress is a free Blog creation resource that has similar capabilities as a website. It also has built in features to help you publicize your Blog. The other good thing about WordPress is that you can host it on your server just like your website. This makes a big difference. When you host your Blog with a third party website like Blogspot, your URL will reflect the third party’s website. When you use WordPress, you can host it on your website’s URL or as a stand alone Blog with your own URL if you don’t have a website. WordPress also allows you to host your Blog on its servers, though I recommend hosting it on your own.
Using a website like Blogspot is fine if you want to experiment with Blogging and just try it out. It is absolutely free to use. WordPress requires you to have a domain and web host, but the benefits are well worth the small investment. You will have a more professional appearance and the functionality to enhance and modify your Blog as much as you want. But the bigger benefit of using WordPress is that your traffic is yours. What I mean is that with a third party website, the traffic you attract is really benefiting that website more than benefiting your rankings on search engines. Further, if the third party website stops to exist tomorrow, you will loose your Blog and all your hard work instantly.
No matter how you create and host your Blog, you can start making money with it as soon as you begin to get some traffic. With WordPress, you can use one of many plug-in tools available to implement Google Adsense and other similar ad programs.
Set It Up in Under 2 Minutes Many web hosts are already compatible with WordPress. It will take you under 2 minutes to set it up, if even. All you really need to do is add the WordPress script to your host account and your Blog will be up and running immediately. Most web hosts are large enough in capacity so that you can host multiple Blogs on the same account. Because of the ease of integration, I highly recommend BlueHost and HostGator for use with WordPress
Many often debate what to focus on, a Blog or a website. Many also often debate what to create first. Frankly this is a personal choice many don’t think it matters which way you go. Personally, I feel that although Blogging is a great way to get online quick, it really doesn't build a sustainable and profitable business. Read more about this discussion on this link. The best approach however is to have both. And you if want to win the Blogging game, you should strongly consider WordPress as the Blog software to go with to create a Blog.
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