Content for Reprint Blog

There are many reasons why one might blog: such as voicing one’s own opinion, political reasons and so forth. Another less-obvious reason is that creating a blog may catch Google’s attention because it refreshes your website with new content on a consistent basis. Google gives a better rank to active websites and it doesn’t appreciate static websites.

Locations to post/publish your Blog: There are multiple services available on the Internet for those who don’t already have a blog. Wordpress.com and Blogger.com are two of the most popular ones. Yahoo.com as well, has begun to obtain a chunk of the blog pie. A traditional practice is to install your blog in a folder titled “blog” on your site, assuming you already have a website. It may look like: mydomain.tld/blog/

Blog Software: If you have a website and hosting readily available, you may want to try Wordpress for your blog. In addition, you can create your blog articles using Blogger and have them posted on your individual website. There is a convenient FTP setup feature in Blogger that once set up, al you have to do is click a link to publish.

Content: Original blog entries (your own words, not copied from others — an exception to this rule is when you use a brief excerpt from someone’s article), and current information with engaging content are all essential in making your blog effective.

Interaction with readers: Reader feedback can be allowed on your blog. This gives you the power to moderate your blog and comments. The “moderator” facility is necessary, since it’s difficult to fight off spammers. Also, individuals who disagree with you may leave rude comments.

How to gain blog visibility:

1) Fresh and original content

2) Backlinks to other sites

a.) join webrings,

b.) Use social networking (Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

c.) Look for forums that have similar interests as you do. It is possible to find forum communities at places like Yahoo, Yuku and Aimoo, among others.

3) Make a submission of your URL to the search engines Google and Yahoo. There is an XML Sitemap generator plug-in available for free if you use Wordpress. It’s a free program, but donations are welcome.

4) Make use of “tags” in your articles. Use keywords when making tags in order to let crawlers like Google be aware of the best place to classify your blog posts.

Let’s put this rumor to rest: It’s rumored that Google retains rights (copyright) to your content that you blog with them. This is false. You have the rights to your content, but Google keeps the rights for their intellectual property. Their terms of service explains this in detail. http://www.blogger.com/terms.g

Limitations of content. Google is authorized to limit, or even terminate your account when your content violates their service conditions. (This is not a factor for most writers, the permitted content is very broad – and is limited mainly to hate and illegal activities) Using Wordpress, you host your blog on the hosting account that you possess. While you have power over your content, you may yet be bound to the restrictions of the TOS or terms that your web hosting company lays out.

Simplicity of Installation: It’s usually easier to install Blogger. If Fantastico is not included in your hosting service, it can be difficult to install Wordpress unless you are comfortable using your server control panel and FTP.

Google is the winner for customization. It’s easier to edit template layouts, styles, and color with Blogger than with Wordpress. If your template isn’t quite what you wanted, “right out of the box,” you will need to know PHP and HTML to accomplish very much using Wordpress.

Both platforms are packaged with countless templates to pick from, and third parties have developed a wide variety of templates – and that list continues to grow.

There are other common blog software choices such as Xango, Drupal (difficult to learn), Joomla, and others.

No charge blog hosting can be found at wordpress.com, Blogger, Myspace, TypePad, and many more.

In the final analysis, it truly is based on the amount of control you desire to have over the look and functionality your site, as well as your tech-savviness. For those familiar with HTML, and willing to learn the relatively simple PHP, WordPress is a good bet. For those simply wishing to begin a blog, or those on a budget, opt for Google.