Comments on: Separate blog or blog on my own website?

By: Your blog within your website or separate?

Your blog within your website or separate? — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:46:38 +0000

[...] White has explained it very well in his blog post here – with some excellent graphics that make it very easy to [...]

By: Shah Karim

Shah Karim — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:56:42 +0000

It is so refreshing to get an answer that I was looking for. Thanks Mark

By: Scott Curry

Scott Curry — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:51:08 +0000

Great post and discussion. I can’t think of another web marketing topic that is so disputed—it’s the chicken or the egg of the web marketing. Show me someone that says one thing, and I’ll show you a respectable person that says the opposite. Ultimately, it comes down to strategy. I lean towards what Heidi said above.

Patagonia.com through thecleanestline.com has separated the two, as has Southwest airlines via blogsouthwest.com

At http://SKLZ.com we chose to develop a separate blog URL at http://practiceplaywin.com We did this because we want practiceplaywin.com to evolve into a community where we can have conversations with customers in a more casual manner as compared to SKLZ.com where our tone is more core. Practiceplaywin.com gives us flexibility.

By: Cindy Burke

Cindy Burke — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:49:05 +0000

Helpful information, thanks.
Would your position change for any reason if your business was in a limited geography and your blog could be of interest to people in a much larger geography? Would holding it on your main site limit the traffic potential outside the main site?

By: Mark White, Blog Consultant

Mark White, Blog Consultant — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:28:10 +0000

Hi Richard – thanks for your comment. Ref: URLs, yes absolutely they help with SEO but it is one of the 100+ factors which go into the melting pot as it were. Your domain name for your blog includes “selling” which is good and has a more independent feel as a result but it is starting from scratch now in terms of links and “reputation” ... from a Search Engine sense, I mean. Also links and attention that the blog attracts will not benefit the pages on your main site other than through the navigation link back to it.
Whether you move it back to your main site or not, make use not only of the main domain name in the URL but also the potential that “friendly permalinks” add ie. using words rather than .com/?p=33/ etc and also reverse your Title Tag descriptions which will help focus more emphasis on the contents of the individual posts.

By: Richard Lane

Richard Lane — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:04:24 +0000

Hi,
Great post. I’ve recently taken my blog away from my main site so that I can use a more relevant URL (www.sellingatahigherlevel.com). Perhaps having read your post I should put it back again!

What’s your view re URL names. I thought by having a more relevant URL it should go to help with SEO.

Thanks,
Richard.

By: Heidi Miller

Heidi Miller — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:40:33 +0000

Mark—
Hey, thanks for posting this. I’ve been going back and forth with several clients on whether they should have a standalone blog (but linked to their main site) or whether they should opt for a more integrated approach. It’s such a personal decision, and also one based on the look, feel and purpose of their main site as well that I never have an easy answer for them.

Your rule of “If it complements the content and focus of your site and appeals to your readers then always have it on your own website in a subdirectory. If it clashes with your site in these respects, then run it as a separate site on a separate domain” is a fantastic way to enable them to make the best decision for them.

That is, if they want to be a bit wacky and have their personality shine, most likely I’d recommend a standalone blog. If their blog is just a way to converse more freely about their current corporate message, goals and questions, they could easily incorporate it into the site.

Thanks for writing this, Mike.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:22:58 +0000

Great ! I will add this to my bookmarks. TY

By: Naming your blog: choose one that helps @ Better Business Blogging

Naming your blog: choose one that helps @ Better Business Blogging — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:07:03 +0000

[...] There are a number of different elements which you should consider when selecting a domain name for your blog. This is of course presuming that you have decided to host it yourself (certainly recommended) and not integrate it into your current website (thoughts on this here). [...]

By: dentalgil

dentalgil — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:58:35 +0000

Very interesting article. The graphic is great. I have had concerns about how the search engines perceive my blog since it is incorporated as a sub folder of my main site. Some directories will not list it, because they consider it a “deep link”, although many will list it separately from my main site. It is set up to put up new things quicker than I can get them done through my web developer. Also, to make them available to people that might not otherwise find the information if it where under a general topic on the main website.

Your graphic makes me feel more comfortable that I did it the correct way both for our patients and for SEO. Thanks.