Get started with your first blog.

 

There is no doubt that blogging is one of the best ways to get keyword rich content on your site, get your message across to search engines and get traffic to your website. But how do you get started blogging?

 

There are many options when you consider starting a blog. One of the best ways to start blogging quickly (and for free) is to use an online 'stand alone' service like WordPress or Google's Blogger. These are free, highly customizable tools that support both new and advanced bloggers. The downside is that you can't use your website's domain name. For example, if using Blogger, your blog address will be something like 'yourblog.blogspot.com'. While you may link it to your existing website, search engines will not know that they will give you 'credit' for additional content because it has a different domain. However, with creative cross-linking, you can still benefit from the growing exposure you get from blogs.

These free services provide powerful software tools that balance value, quality and ease of use. While some people prefer to use the more basic services of a blog, they can also take full advantage of the 'built-in' benefits with the existing large community of WordPress or Blogger users.

One of the most notable advantages of these services is the ease of use, and the advanced functionality of the service compared to some blog software applications. Neither Blogger nor WordPress requires you to know any 'coding' and allows you to create and post your blog with easy to use icons as seen in the word processing program. The ability to use such programs allows people to create blogs that are as complete as high-tech, and complete websites.

If you're occasionally 'offline', you can take advantage of the ability to import WordPress posts. This means that when you're not connected to the Internet, you can put your blog together and then import it later. If you already use another blogging service, you can import your posts directly into Blogger or WordPress.

Another benefit of these services is their large widget or element and theme libraries that allow you to instantly add useful features, and professional style to your blog. A very simple drag and drop interface allows you to add features like RSS feeds with just a few clicks.

Another option to consider would be blogging software that you can integrate directly into your website. Some hosting providers like GoDaddy allow you to use your existing domain name for your blog. The benefit is that the content of your blog becomes part of what search engines look for in your domain. In these cases, you are more likely to pay an additional monthly fee to your hosting provider. Alternatively, Google's Blogger allows you to publish to an FTP site, which means you can blog from your own domain. You lose some flexibility with the 'out of the box' service, but with a little effort you can get the custom template and the very easy posting capability that resides within your domain.

As your needs increase, or if you are a more technical blogger, you may want to consider blogging software that can be integrated directly into your website. There is a bBlog to consider. bBlog is an open source, PHP / MySQL application. If you do not know what the last sentence means, then this is not for you. If you know, you can take advantage of the extended flexibility that an integrated application can provide.

Lastly, you have a wide range of very cheap (or free) options to get you started.