I have a great analogy that I use to explain to people why they should set up their new blog on their own domain. Most of the people I’m talking about already have a website for their business, or are in the process of creating one, but also want a blog to go along with it. They see free blog sites like WordPress.com, Blogger, and others and since they’re easy to set up, think they should sign up. But while free hosting sites can be great for certain uses, I usually encourage people to set their blog up on their own domain (also called self-hosting), along with the rest of their website.
So why should you set up your blog on your own domain?
Think of it like this…
At Christmas time, there’s this one neighborhood where everybody decorates their house with one strand of Christmas lights. The festive lights make for a really pretty sight – it’s one long block of light after twinkling light. And when people walk down the street they take a look at the lights on each house and say “awww…how pretty” time after time after time.
Now, there’s a guy named Joe who lives in the neighborhood and even though he owns two houses on one block, you’d never know it. They’re at opposite ends of the street and just like everybody else, every year he puts one strand of lights on each house.
One year Joe gets a great idea. He decides to skip putting lights on one of his houses so he can put both of his strands of lights on the other house. Now all of a sudden, he has twice as many lights on his house than any of his neighbors! And when it starts getting dark and everybody in the neighborhood turns their lights on, things are a bit different. People walking down the street still say “awww…how pretty” but when they get to Joe’s house, they actually stop! He smiles as he hears comments like “WOW! That’s awesome,” “Look at all those lights,” and “This is the best house on the block!” People spend time in front of his house enjoying the best light show in the neighborhood. And later, they tell their friends about the great light show at Joe Cool’s house.
Now, back to you…
If you’re thinking of doing a website at www.yourowndomain.com and a blog at yourblog.blogspot.com, think about Joe. Then think of your blog as a strand of Christmas lights…you want those lights (your blog!) on your own domain right along with your website!
When you add your blog to the same domain as your website it’s going to add more content (more lights!) to your place online. That additional content will give your visitors and the search engines more to look at. And, since you’ll be updating your blog regularly (uh huh…that’s part of blogging!) that will keep your visitors coming back for more. It’ll also help the search engines notice you more…and who doesn’t want to be noticed by search engines?!
So get your blog on your own domain and turn those lights on!
Still uncertain about the whole thing? Check out this post- A free WordPress blog can really cost you – at Social Media Therapy.
Just as an aside. . .
I want to mention that doing some additional blogging on other websites, such as tumblr, can be a great way to add to your who social media strategy – but that’s a whole ‘nother post!
If you’re thinking of setting up a blog, but don’t know where to start, let me know. I have a blog setup package that can get you blogging in no time! Contact me for more info.
[Tags]blogging, blogs, free blogging sites[/Tags]
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Thanks for posting this Therese. I’m always looking for posts to share with friends and clients to explain this very thing. Great analogy!