Someone asked me yesterday if they should create a blog and a website?

That’s a very good question because you may have noticed some people have blogs while others have websites. And some people, like me, have both.

Why I Wanted a Blog

My site, 2CreateAWebSite.com has been doing fine on its own for quite some time. But I’m always looking for high-quality links to point back to that site.

As you may know, one of the keys to search engine success is to get as many related, high-quality links (backlinks) pointing to your main site as possible.

I figured if I create a blog that lives on its own subdomain that offered related, but slightly different content than my main site, I had the potential to create another high-quality backlink to 2CreateAWebSite.com.

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When you create content on a subdomain (blog.yourdomain.com), most search engines treat it as a separate site. Whereas if you add content to another folder on your site (yoursite.com/blog), the engines treat it as part of your main site.

So I chose to host my blog on a subdomain for a very specific reason.

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Capitalize on Blog-Only Promotion Sites

Another benefit of owning a blog is the plethora of sites emerging for blog promotion only. Technorati.com would be an example. I couldn’t use this site to promote my regular site, 2CreateAWebSite.com.

So now I can use those “blog-only” promotion sites to promote my blog, and of course this indirectly advertises my main site since the two are cross-linked. Instantly, my blog has become a nice marketing tool for my main site.

Search Engine Spiders Love Blogs

The day after I launched my blog, I began receiving search engine traffic. A big part of that is WordPress has a handy Sitemap plugin that automatically submits your blog’s sitemap to the major engines after every post.

As soon as I make a new post, the engines are notified. And the more often you add content, the more the spiders will visit to see if you have anything new to share.

A Blog Can Be an Extension of Your Main Site

Sometimes I just want to vent about something or make a quick point. Or perhaps someone emailed me a question or comment that I could use to illustrate something.

I may not want to write a full-fledged article for my site, so I use my blog to get my thoughts down and published quickly.

I’ve also chosen a more casual writing style with my blog. This allows me to inject a little humor and fun into my posts when appropriate, so the atmosphere is more relaxed.

My blog is slowly evolving into an online journal of “quickie” posts related to the world of website creation, promotion and monetization. While my main site continues to be the place for more in-depth tutorials.

With a blog, I now have an easy way to get things off my chest without having to write a formal article, and then decide where to fit it in on my main site.

Yet it still compliments the content on 2CreateAWebSite.com so my audience has a reason to visit both sites.

Appeal to Blog Addicts Looking for a Quick Fix

I know people who subscribe to hundreds of blogs. Some have even told me they prefer them over websites because the articles are generally short and arranged in categories for quick browsing.

Thanks to RSS, it’s even more convenient to subscribe to multiple blogs and get quick updates from your favorite Webmasters.

With an RSS feed, it’s super easy to discover the new content on a blog. Of course someone could bookmark your website or blog, but it’s much easier to discover new content by browsing feeds.

Blogs are great because most platforms conveniently setup your RSS feed for you. Then it’s ready for you to announce and burn it all over the Web so people can subscribe.

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You can setup an RSS feed for a regular website too, but you’d either have to code the XML yourself or buy software to do it for you.

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So What Should You Do?

There are advantages to owning blogs and websites. Obviously you can do so much from a technical standpoint with a website. However blogging definitely has its advantages. I’ve listed many of them above.

Whether or not you need a blog, website or both is really up to you and your needs.

If you do decide to have both, don’t use the same content on your blog and website. Not only do you run the risk of getting penalized by the search engines for duplicate content, but it can confuse and annoy your readers.

The bottom line is, do what works best for you. Everyone’s online needs are different. You may find that a stand-alone blog is sufficient. Or perhaps a website is enough.

And if you do decide to create both, make sure they each have a purpose, and more importantly, that purpose is clear to your audience.

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