Internet Marketing - Matt Bailey [202]
Websites are often developed using templates or custom programming. Many times this results in extraneous code in order to accomplish certain tasks. Many content management systems are not programmed to take the search engines into account. Even custom-developed websites may not take search engines into account if it is not part of the specification. The result is that websites are all different in code structure, code programming, and additional functions. In contrast, blog software creates a unified software approach where hundreds of contributors have developed search-friendly, light, and accessible software. The successful architecture of blogs is the result of thousands of contributors who have helped create a “lightweight” but powerful publishing software that is standards compliant, search engine friendly, and accessible to anyone wanting to start a website.
Link Advantage
Bloggers develop content by finding content. In finding content on other websites or blogs, they tend to link to the content that inspires them to add, create, or support other information. In doing so, they cite the original work and also link to any additional sources that aided them in the creation of the article. As a result, blogs do not lack external site links. In fact, blogging’s intrinsic external linking was key to its growth, success, and popularity. As a result, blogs gain incoming links faster and more frequently than traditional websites, and they also link to other websites in greater number.
Traditionally, when editors link to a website, they will link to the home page. As a result, website home pages tend to be very heavy as the link destination. Blog structure made it very easy for editors and readers to link to the specific page of content for the article. As a result, when editors and other bloggers link to an article, or post, on the blog, they will tend to link to the full URL of the article page, not just the website domain.
This allows blogs to gain very deep links from multiple sources. This practice is very hard to duplicate on traditional websites, but because blogs are a constant source of content and active information, bloggers link deeply to each other’s websites, and the tools are readily available to allow the average visitor to link to the page content. That leads to the importance of content, covered next.
Content Advantage
This is where blogging mentality is different from the traditional website mentality. Blogging encourages a constant conversation, either with the public, the customers, your market, your peers, or simply anyone who will listen. Websites encourage a very static approach with little addition.
Bloggers are constantly in search of new content to add and educate their readers. If the readers are not engaged, then they do not frequent the blog. In addition, the blog is built on a publishing platform that makes it very easy to publish via Really Simple Syndication (RSS), which syndicates the content to many additional sources.
Blog publishing structure enables the home page to show the most recent articles (or posts); in addition, each article (or post) has its own page and unique URL published online. Each post is a stand-alone page. This enables other bloggers and editors to link to the individual article rather than the home page. If they link to the article on the home page, it may not be there next week or next month, because the home page of a blog contains only the newest and most recent articles.
Here are some general observations comparing blog and websites:
Blogs are updated frequently; websites tend to be very static.
Blogs have more timely information; websites are rarely up-to-date.
Blogs encourage conversation through comments;