Blog vs Website....?!!!

21 replies
Hi... I am totally confused as to what to do in my particular situation. In fact, its one of the main reasons I have never been able to go further. On almost every post here and on the net, everyone suggest creating a blog for your targeted keywords. Right now our website has our main targeted keyword(s) all through it. And, the targeted keyword is the main focus of our job - which is music. So.... what should I be using the blog for? Thanks for any and all help.

MsBfrNJ
(Brenda)
#blog #website
  • Profile picture of the author StanHyeck
    A "blog" really is another name for a website. Wordpress is simply a content management system for websites that ALSO allows you to layout a basic blog style website or allows you to layout a corporate style website if you want.

    This shouldn't be the spot where you're getting stuck. The best thing to do is to simply pick something and go with it. Imperfect action beats the daylights out of perfect analysis that never leads to action every day of the week and twice on sundays.

    Hope this helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author msbfrnj
      Thanks so much for your reply. I do understand that part of it. Because it's said that a blog has everything that the search engines love and it's already there to simply implement. i.e. All In One SEO Pack (how do I do that for my website), Stat Press, SEO Smart Links and all the other great plug ins. I was feeling that I was stumped before I began. Can a "just knows enough to be dangerous" web site person turn an ordinary web site into an optimized site like the Word Press Sites? Thanks so much and hope I've explained myself correctly....
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonvthomas
    Use Wordpress. It all depends on the theme you use to differentiate it from a Website. Its both the same basically.
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  • Profile picture of the author DJL
    I think there are three options open to you:
    • 1. Create a blog on another domain name, with hyperlinks connecting the two.
    • 2. Add a blog to your website as a separate entity, e.g.,
      blog.MySite.com or MySite.com/blog,
      with hyperlinks connecting the existing site and the blog.
    • 3. Convert the existing site to a blog.

    The first option is technically the simplest, as it involves the least amount
    of change to the existing site.

    Options 1 and 2 raise the issue that it may be difficult to achieve a unified
    look and feel between what already exists and what the blog will be adding.
    Think about the user experience.

    Option 3 is likely to incur more cost in time and money, but the end result
    will probably be more satisfying and easier to maintain going forward.

    Here is a very informative article that you should read before you decide what to do:
    Migrating A Website To WordPress Is Easier Than You Think.

    If you need help choosing or implementing the best solution, the Warriors
    For Hire section of this forum is a great place to go.

    Whatever you do, PLEASE maintain secure, redundant backups every step
    of the way.

    The person working on your website could damage or delete a database or
    other file.

    Your web host might go out of business tomorrow, and your entire internet
    presence could be irretrievably lost.

    Your computer might be stolen or destroyed by fire while you are attending
    the Libertarian Party of Texas 2014 Convention this weekend, and all your
    personal data could be gone.

    You could suffer a pulmonary embolism because you spend too many hours
    every day sitting at your computer, leading to coronary thrombosis and a
    debilitating stroke that renders you unable to act or communicate with the
    people around you. You may spend days, weeks, or months in a hospital
    bed with a breathing tube stuck down your throat and your wrists shackled
    to the bed rails. You may feel as if you are dying of thirst, or that you may
    suffocate at any moment, but there is no way to tell anybody what you are
    feeling, and the nurses will just smile and assure you that you are making
    very good progress. The nurse call button may be just beyond your reach,
    and your nose might be itching, or the urinary catheter could be causing
    you pain, but even if you could call the nurse, how would you tell her what
    you wanted? Didn't it occur to anybody to provide you with a pencil and
    paper so you could write a note? Why didn't you anticipate that this might
    happen, and discuss it with your primary care physician beforehand, so
    everybody would know your wishes, and at least make the best of a bad
    situation? Are your holographic will, your advance care directive, and all
    your secret passwords carefully recorded and accessible to your heirs
    and assigns so that they may take action as needed to pay the bills and
    keep your business running while you are out of commission?
    Signature

    None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
    --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Elective Affinities (1809)

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    • Profile picture of the author Katie Rich
      [QUOTE
      You could suffer a pulmonary embolism because you spend too many hours
      every day sitting at your computer, leading to coronary thrombosis and a
      debilitating stroke that renders you unable to act or communicate with the
      people around you. You may spend days, weeks, or months in a hospital
      bed with a breathing tube stuck down your throat and your wrists shackled
      to the bed rails. You may feel as if you are dying of thirst, or that you may
      suffocate at any moment, but there is no way to tell anybody what you are
      feeling, and the nurses will just smile and assure you that you are making
      very good progress. The nurse call button may be just beyond your reach,
      and your nose might be itching, or the urinary catheter could be causing
      you pain, but even if you could call the nurse, how would you tell her what
      you wanted? Didn't it occur to anybody to provide you with a pencil and
      paper so you could write a note? Why didn't you anticipate that this might
      happen, and discuss it with your primary care physician beforehand, so
      everybody would know your wishes, and at least make the best of a bad
      situation? Are your holographic will, your advance care directive, and all
      your secret passwords carefully recorded and accessible to your heirs
      and assigns so that they may take action as needed to pay the bills and
      keep your business running while you are out of commission?[/QUOTE]

      Well that cheered me up, thanks. Very descriptive! I suffered the pulmonary embolism a few months ago. I guess I now know my prognosis...
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Tandan
    Nothing wrong at all with having a proper website and adding a blog component to it. Check out any number of authority sites and the vast majority have a blog one can access directly from the home page.

    Great for providing an outlet for comments, getting readers further engaged. Plus you then have the option of syndicating specific blog comments to get further traffic back to your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author AaronHarris
    Hi, blog and website are different.

    Depends on your goal.

    Blog is like a digital magazine. It is usually designed to engage an audience with fresh content – just like a magazine. You educate, share info and build product image through your blog.

    Website is like your digital storefront. You sell your product or provide services to your website.

    It's better to optimize both and target your Blog to direct audiences to whom you can interact with. Your website should be the main driving page to sell your product.
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  • Profile picture of the author himanuzo
    What is a blog? Read: Blog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Blog is part of website.
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  • Profile picture of the author BellaGeen
    Originally Posted by msbfrnj View Post

    So.... what should I be using the blog for? Thanks for any and all help.

    MsBfrNJ
    (Brenda)
    I read your question and I am not sure what exactly you are asking....

    If you ask "Why do I need a blog if I have a good site with great SEO on it" so the answer is:
    - you need a blog to engage your audience
    - you need a blog, because search engines love refreshing sites, and not static sites
    - you need a blog because you want to target more and more keywords

    But if you promote your site using other techniques, other than SEO and your strategy does not include social media and interacting with your customers - you maybe don't need a blog.
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  • Profile picture of the author amuro
    Originally Posted by msbfrnj View Post

    Hi... I am totally confused as to what to do in my particular situation. In fact, its one of the main reasons I have never been able to go further.

    On almost every post here and on the net, everyone suggest creating a blog for your targeted keywords.

    Right now our website has our main targeted keyword(s) all through it.

    And, the targeted keyword is the main focus of our job - which is music. So.... what should I be using the blog for? Thanks for any and all help.

    MsBfrN
    (Brenda)


    When I first started out in IM 4 years ago, I have exactly the same thought as you.

    But then I realize that blog is more important as it enables you to build relationship with your subscribers through your daily posts of experiences and internet marketing tips that could be related to those and you feel helpful to them.

    The last thing that I don't want and you probably don't want is just to create a squeeze page, get them to optin and then spam them with offer after offer without providing any valuable info.

    Although you can write articles on normal html site, doing so on Wordpress is much better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bowdown
    Evolution of the Blog
    The lines that divide a "blog" from a "website" have become smaller as the web has evolved.

    The word Website and blog nowadays can often be used interchangeably as meaning the same thing.

    Look at wordpress...

    Pages
    you have pages that you create. These pages are usually information showcasing your product or information about your business, etc. Pages are what makes up your "website" area - typically information that isn't time sensitive/ doesn't change much.

    Posts
    You also have posts, where you "blog" about different news related to your niche, how to's, opinion, rants, etc.

    SEO - "website" - pages
    Now in terms of SEO (this is what I do on my e-commerce sites), you want to "silo" your pages and get a good website architecture for your visors and google bots, with good content and optimized pages for your best keywords.

    SEO - "blog" - posts
    Then with the blog, you can target more long tail terms (even naturally without doing research - just through good content and interesting posts) - or you can research and optimize for those long tail keyword phrases.

    You may be hearing people talk about "blogs" or blogging because it offers fresh content, which is what people want (therefore it helps you with SEO - google's algo sees your site is fresh)

    Blog is just a part of the website
    So your nav menu may look like: Home, Shop, About us, FAQ, Blog (or whatever) - this makes up your whole website - the blog is just a part of it.

    side note...I personally (generally) like the blog to be on the same domain (no subdomain) - but this depends on your particular situation/ seo tactics.

    Good luck
    -Jeff
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  • Profile picture of the author Katie Rich
    Brenda, it is a bit confusing I know. You could start a blog where you discuss your music items or whatever it is you are selling on your website. Then add a link in the comments you make to an item on your website.

    You can give away something from your blog to create a list of interested people who you can email

    You can comment on other blogs if you have knowledge about the items you sell.
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  • Profile picture of the author traderfx
    Originally Posted by msbfrnj View Post

    Hi... I am totally confused as to what to do in my particular situation. In fact, its one of the main reasons I have never been able to go further. On almost every post here and on the net, everyone suggest creating a blog for your targeted keywords. Right now our website has our main targeted keyword(s) all through it. And, the targeted keyword is the main focus of our job - which is music. So.... what should I be using the blog for? Thanks for any and all help.

    MsBfrNJ
    (Brenda)
    Make it simple... what is the goal of your website? Sell products? drive traffic? higher google rankings?

    Everyone is going to give you advice on what they have done but really it's about what your main goal is.

    -Trader
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  • Profile picture of the author GemmaGeri
    From my point of view, I must suggest you go with the blogs. But according to the website, you must focus on content and branding which should be convincing and approaching which raises visit on the website page. You must accurately follow keyword stuffing and mapping over a single page.
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  • Profile picture of the author Javisito
    I would say it depends totally on what your goal is
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  • Profile picture of the author davidaclark
    You should have a website for selling and a blog for driving traffic to the website and keeping in touch with buyers etc.
    Signature
    Buy the perfect domain name for your website.
    http://www.domainnamesthatsell.com/


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  • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
    Originally Posted by msbfrnj View Post

    Hi... I am totally confused as to what to do in my particular situation. In fact, its one of the main reasons I have never been able to go further. On almost every post here and on the net, everyone suggest creating a blog for your targeted keywords. Right now our website has our main targeted keyword(s) all through it. And, the targeted keyword is the main focus of our job - which is music. So.... what should I be using the blog for? Thanks for any and all help.

    MsBfrNJ
    (Brenda)
    Blogs are great to display authority/knowledge on a particular area, interacting with your audience, getting feedback, and making your audience feel generally valued. In addition to, of course, SEO, which to me is a secondary advantage of having a blog.
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  • Profile picture of the author ErinWalsh
    Ok, your website is music geared yes?
    You would have your main page an intro to the company and a link to your blog where you talk about new music coming out, or shows coming to town, and include news about the music scene you cater to, etc. If you update at least once a week it will keep bringing traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mateenyall
    Try both, see what you like. They both require different personalities though. A blog requires you to be able to come up with new information about your topic constantly.

    Not worth starting unless you LOVE writing about it.
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