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A blog is just another name for a website with content which is updated frequently. Companies and individuals use blogs as a way of sharing information online, usually on one particular topic. On hthe blog’s homepage, readers are shown the most recent articles first. Blogs are used for a range of reasons such as expanding your network, getting your website ranked more highly on Google, or creating passive income by displaying ads on your content. Creating a successful blog isn’t always straightforward though, and there’s lots to think about.

• Ideas For Your Blog - What are you going to write about? For a company this is usually simple, as the blog will be about the company, industry news, new product developments and other related stories.
• Choosing a platform – blogs can be hosted on a range of platforms, but the two best known are probably Blogger, and WordPress.
• Name – each blog has its own domain name, just like a website does. Some of the most popular names will have been nabbed already, but with a bit of creativity you should be able to find something which reflects your company or products.
• Themes and templates – most of the big platforms like WordPress or Blogger will have templates which you can use in your own blog. Choose a theme which reflects the subject of your blog or colours which match your company branding.
• Customise the basics – if you are using a template, make sure you have the option to upload your company logo and change the font to match your company branding.
• Think about your content – it’s good practice to set up a calendar detailing when you’re going to publish posts.
• Keywords – if you already know what customers are typing into search engines to reach your site, then you’ll know what keywords to use. If not, now’s the time to do some research.
• Get to grips with SEO – you don’t need to be an expert, but your blog will perform better and attract more readers if you know the basics of SEO and apply them to your blog.
• Analytics tools – free tools such as Google Analytics can give you loads of information about how your blog is performing.
• Collaborate with other blogs – there are a lot of things you can do to cross-promote your blog with other bloggers. Write guest articles for other sites, or ask other people to write guest articles for yours.

The most important thing to remember about blogging is that whichever niche or platform you choose, you need to commit to it for the long term. Blogs need to be updated regularly. Posts don’t have to be lengthy or complicated, but your blog is the perfect way to let customers and the industry know about what’s happening with your company and products. Many companies outsource writing of their blog posts and that can work well, as long as you retain overall control over what is written and published. Alternatively, if you’re using a company to help you with e-commerce or SEO, they can probably take on the blogging too.