What is a blog?
A blog is a regularly updated website, where new content is posted regularly, they are often written in intimate text or conversations – often intended to attract readers and achieve some goals, for whether building a community or growing a business.
There is a very important point in the definition of a blog that I would like to point out – the blog is updated regularly. We will explain why it is so important soon.
You most likely are reading the blog every day without realizing it. You are surfing my blog right now. Big websites like Forbes, BuzzFeed and CNN are all blogs as well.
While I'm sure you've heard the term blog before, do you really know what the difference is between the blog and the site?
Unless you've started blogging – or have done some other web-related work, you may not realize that there is a real difference between blog and website.
All blogs are websites, but not all websites are blogs.
What is a blog? How are blogs different from websites?
Now I want to explain some confusion and clarify what a blog really is and how it is different from making a website. The right definition of the blog you are looking for 🙂
But first, if your blog is not up and running yet, open it Complete guide to starting a blog of mine out and bookmark it to come back (right) after we finish talking about the basics of blogging today.
A brief history of blogging
Blogging has been around since 1993 – until now over two and a half decades.
While there was still some controversy over the first bloggers – bloggers, an ffanf man he came up with was quite interesting.
In 1993, Rob Palmer started working for a company in London where he wrote a quarterly publication for them and posted it on their website. Considering the World Wide Web was open source, the company decided to continue publishing this quarterly publication as a free online magazine, also known as a blog.
Although Palmer wrote this first online company, less than a year later, a personal blog was created by 19-year-old Justin Hall. His blog actually only includes meaningless posts and links, but people (and companies) quickly noticed the potential of this new sharing platform.
While the terms “online diary” and “online magazine” were rather complex, in 1997 Jorn Barger, an American blogger, came up with the term “weblog”, which was soon followed. shortened to “blog.”
Web developers quickly realized that people were starting to be interested in blogging – and came up with a solution.
In 1998, Open Diary born. The platform gives people a place to share their thoughts and ideas and allows others to comment. Many blogging platforms such as LiveJournal, Blogger, Tumblr and Xanga also appeared soon after.
Then in 2003, blogging changed forever when two college students developed WordPress, an existing content management system (CRM) that underpins more than two-thirds of the websites on the Internet. .
In 2007, micro-blogs appeared with the launch of Twitter and the length of an ideal blog post at the time was around 300-400 words.
In 2016, WordPress launched the .blog domain extension, completely consolidating the blog's popularity.
All lead to the present time, 2019, with approximately 70 million new articles posted every month on WordPress. And although bloggers on average spend about 3 and a half hours writing a 1500 word post, their readers are reported to spend only about 37 seconds to read it.
The statistics seem really sad, there are certainly ways that bloggers can increase reading time to more than 37 seconds.
But that is not the focus of our topic today …
How is blog different from website?
The main difference between a blog and a website is that the blog is always active (it changes constantly every time a new article is posted), while the site is “static” and doesn't have regular updates.
As we mentioned above, all blogs are web by definition – but not all websites are blogs.
One of the main differences is that the website consists of many pages – such as the home page, service page, and contact page. A website may even be just a single page.
On the other hand, blogs include both pages and posts (which usually have more posts than pages).
Each post is a separate post, usually hosted on a blog site belonging to a larger website.
Put simply, blogs are designed on the principle of releasing new content regularly – while sites are quieter and often do not change steadily.
Websites are often created, published, and almost exclusively. Unless businesses need to update their websites to do something like add new services or change their addresses, these static sites are not too important to motivate a large number of non-business. What changes for a long time.
Blogs are very flexible web properties (this means you need to choose one of the best web hosting packages to get your blog online). Blogs are updated and changed frequently with new and relevant content.
When you post a new article, the most recent post usually displays in reverse chronological order, as above my blog:
This way, your readers can reach your latest content first.
However, there are many ways to organize your blog to guide readers about what you want them to read.
Own a better Blog or a better website?
I'm a little biased when it comes to blogs. I feel that blog is better than a static website in almost case.
However, that really depends on your business goals, and the priorities you set with your digital assets.
Do you remember I said that websites are made up mostly of pages?
A website consists of pages usually created to convey very specific (and limited) information. Eg:
- Your business hours, address or menu
- A successful profile of self-employed people
- The physical product (or digital) you are selling
- What services you are providing and sample projects
Even websites that only have one page for marketing purposes, one that needs to be very specific.
These are often called “squeeze pages”, pages that offer something specific (such as a free download) in exchange for visitors' emails – to market to the product family and then. related services.
What is your business purpose?
To determine if a blog or website is better for you, start by determining what your purpose is.
- Are you trying to collect email addresses to build your online community? A website combined with a blog would be great.
- Do you have a small restaurant with the goal of letting people know your menu and opening hours? So just a website with several pages is enough.
If you have a lot of information to communicate, then blogging is the best option for you.
Blogging is a great way not only to interact with your existing community, but also to attract new potential customers to your website (and real-life store).
What is the difference between posts and pages?
This is another common question I usually get after someone asks me … What is a blog?
And the question is easy to understand, because the posts and the pages are quite similar in form.
However, there are a few differences between blog posts and the pages of a website.
Posts:
- Can be added to RSS Feed
- Active and updated regularly
- There are several headlines and sub headlines
- Stored by month and year
- Sorted by tags and categories
- Most likely to be shared on social networks
- Encourage conversation through comments
- There is information about the author and the date posted on each post
- Usually the same format based on your website template
Page:
- Contains infrequently changed information
- They are not tied to a specific date
- No (usually) written for the purpose of being shared on social networks
- Comment is not included
- Hierarchical nature (you can add extra pages)
- Each page is usually formatted slightly differently
- Excluding RSS Feed
- No author or posting date
- The number of pages is relatively limited
When writing a blog post for your site, you'll have a more in-depth process that starts with the drafting of the article, building a strategy on a title that will engage readers and define the plot of your content. yourself before you actually write any content down. Sometimes the page is a little different.
Now let's talk about the main pages that every blog and website should have, regardless of your purpose.
The main pages every blog and website should have
Even if you're just blogging for fun, there are some core pages you should include in your site.
1. Introduction page
The introductory page tells visitors who your website is about or what.
Every company that owns a website – or blog – should have an introduction page. This not only helps visitors understand more about you and your brand but also helps them to make decisions as to whether you are right for them or not.
As a business, you can use the introduction page to introduce your mission and vision.
If you're a blogger, you can use the introductory page to link to your social networking account, encourage people to follow you, tell your personal story and offer suggestions for some content. popular.
2. Contact page
As a business, this is a great place to provide your address, email address and phone number.
Whether you are a business or a blogger, you should make it easy for people to contact you.
3. Privacy policy page
You also need to let your website visitors know that you are collecting their data (even if the data collection is anonymous via tools like Google Analytics).
4. Terms of Service
This page is very important if you sell products, services or promotional links on your website.
The Terms of Service should be considered a legal document. The Terms of Service page helps limit your liability in the event that the service or information from your website is misused.
These are the four main pages every website should have, regardless of the case.
And of course, complement these main pages – I strongly support everyone who blog.
Why every website should have a blog
If your site is built on WordPress (or include one of the best website building platforms), then you have the ability to add blogs to your site and you should!
Here's why: Blogs give your site the opportunity to attract more visitors.
Let's do the following simple math to illustrate why more people visit your site than a victory …
More visitors (niche) = more leads = more sales.
You can attract more visitors to your site as you increase traffic through tactics such as search engine optimization and blogging.
It all depends on traffic and search engine optimization (SEO)
When you are new Start creating a blog or launch your website, people are not naturally aware of reading all your great content.
One of the biggest things new bloggers and website owners encounter is how to get traffic to their site.
When you're just starting out, getting traffic to your blog may seem like a really overwhelming task. But trust me, it's not as hard as you imagine.
I also did the article 14 Recipes to increase traffic to Blog Help you understand how to earn readers.
So it can be said that I know a few things about blog development. And these are not just the superficial “tips” you have read in major publications …
- “Share the latest and greatest posts on your personal Facebook page!”
- “Post comments on other people's blogs and link to your own content.”
Full of nonsense.
While these quick tips may help you grow a little at first (or be unfriended by your relatives on Facebook), they're not a long-term, sustainable strategy.
What is your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy that will continue to bring you more traffic each month. One of the best ways to build an excellent SEO strategy is to have a blog that posts high quality content regularly for search engines to list and display to their users.
If you are just starting to blog, SEO may sound like a mystery that only masters can do.
Although there is a difference in comprehension, I can promise you that anyone can learn SEO.
See more: Self-taught SEO this article by 7 years of my experience
One of the best tips I can give you here, without going into details about blog SEO strategies, is to focus on keyword research and user intent.
Think about this for a bit … How did you find this article, what you are reading right now?
I'm willing to bet you have entered Google for something like “What is a blog? " or “What is the difference between a blog and a website?”
You did not accidentally reach this page. You are here because I have done my keyword research, focused on user intent to create a comprehensive answer to these two main questions and then worked hard to outline the SEO strategy for my blog.
The purpose of the user, to put it simply, means that the posts you write can answer questions or solve problems for that user.
You can't write posts that contain a bunch of content just to fill the gap and attach a bunch of keywords and endings.
People can't learn anything from that and major search engines like Google know that you're trying to trick the system, so they won't show it to users anymore.
2.Benefits of Blogging
I love blogging, I also build the whole business around it.
There are many benefits to building a blog, more than just putting your ideas out to the world.
You do not need a product or service to get started.
Unlike a business-focused website, you can start blogging without having products or services available today.
While you can definitely add products and services over time (when you want to grow your audience), you don't need anything other than your blog to start building that audience.
People often choose a domain name and just start writing content about their passion at first.
See more: How to choose a beautiful domain name to brand on the internet
Then, after they actually find their audience, they can work to develop products or services that resonate with it. What products or services their readers really want to buy.
You can also start making money from a blog without your own product or service, but the content will have to be much richer.
Why do people start blogs (instead of opening a website)
The website is a great option for an already established business.
But it is not suitable for beginners and does not have products or services to offer (let alone a target audience for marketing).
If you are a wedding photographer, you can definitely start with a static website, instead of a blog. But in fact you are also considered an independent business. You can create pages that outline your hours and services and eventually use your website to attract new customers.
However, if you do not have a product or service, it is better to start with blogging.
Perhaps you want to share your love of French cooking with the world. You don't have a cookbook, you haven't created a cooking course yourself. So you start sharing all your recipes, photos and tips on the blog.
You can engage your audience through social networks like Pinterest, Instagram and start collecting email subscribers and creating repeat readers to learn.
The basics for making blogging money (compared to building a website)
Now it's time to put it on the scales – how websites make money versus how blogs make money.
If you only have one website, there are only a few ways to get extra income from the website itself.
Most often, from selling physical or digital products and services you have (to your existing customer base) and hoping more people discover your site by searching or through paid advertising campaigns with search engines and social networks.
On the other hand, a blog can make money in many ways, including the above methods and build you potential customers throughout the construction process.
Although there are many ways to make money blogging, here are the five most typical ones:
- advertisement
- Sponsorship opportunity
- Sell services
- Linked program
- Physical and digital products
advertisement
Advertising is one of the most popular ways that bloggers think of the earliest way to make money online.
Most of the barrier to entry in this market is very low and you don't need a huge amount of traffic to generate revenue, though it is very small until you have to coordinate hundreds, even thousands of readers. updated monthly.
Accordingly, if you get a lot of traffic and are part of a strong ad network, you can earn money without having to do anything else except publish new content.
Sponsorship opportunity
Sponsorship is when a blogger cooperates with another company (for a fee) to promote their product or service.
This could be a one-time sponsored blog post like this, or a continuous relationship with regular promotions over a certain period of time. While it may take some time to get sponsored opportunities, since donors want a return on their investment, so they want to see reasonable traffic and Statistics on readers' interaction before investing.
Sell services
Services can be classified as anything, from selling your job as a freelancer to coaching someone through the same career path you've built for yourself.
Put simply, this is where you have to trade a lot of time in exchange for money – so this is not the most sustainable way to build a big business from your blog in the long run.
However, it can also be very lucrative, especially if you build a fan base and people are crazy about working with you. This is also evidence …
Linked program
Another very easy way to get started with making money on your blog, is through affiliate programs. There are affiliate programs for every niche blog you can think of.
The basic principle of affiliate marketing, is that you only need to place a link in your blog posts recommending a product and when people buy through your link, you earn a commission. (and at no additional cost to them).
Most affiliate programs are easy to join and you usually don't need a lot of traffic to get started.
But in general, the more traffic you have to your blog post, the more affiliate revenue you earn.
Physical and digital products
Products, both physical and digital, are also smart options to make money through your new blog.
Digital products are a lot easier to get started because you can do them yourself (such as an online blogging course) and market it to readers on your blog.
Physical products need a little more time and money to create a new brand.
However, you can Start with dropshipping (store not stock), that's where you open an online store (from a new page on your blog) and you don't have to keep any actual inventory.
You can also work with a wholesaler to develop your own brand by pasting your brand information on white label products provided by wholesalers.
So what are your options?
Want to start a blog or create a website?
Do you have a more approachable business … or do you want to build a new job by sharing your thoughts with the world?
Either way, blogs are a way to significantly help the goal.
CEO – Founder of Compa Marketing. Specialist with over 5 years of experience in the field of Digital Marketing, SEO / SEM in Vietnam and the world.