As someone looking to start an online presence, the age old question might have crossed your mind, what part you should focus on? Is it the website itself or the generation of blog posts?
Well, the answer can seem a little complicated. Both are important. The best thing you can do as you start your online journey is to take it one step at a time. Pick one and go for it. As you learn you will see one can compiment the other or stand alone. Both can be fun and profitable but in the end you might find you like one over the other. Once you learn what you like you can add on and scale your site. The most important thing is that you get started and now is the best time.
The question of what’s more effective for your business comes down to the type of business you start and your content production needs.
What You’ll Learn
This page will compare the website and blog at a general level. Then offer insights about what each option may provide.
We’ll cover marketing your product, service and company.
We’ll talk about outreach potential and benefits of both a blog and website and benefits the content creation.
Blog Or Website: Whats The Difference
Before delving into the specifics of each option, let’s first clarify some differences between a blog and a website.
Blogs have a time-ordered, meaning as you publish content there is a time stamp of sorts on posts that follow one another through the stream of content, while websites do not. Blogs usually have user comments, which websites almost always do not.
There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, blogs have words, and websites don’t.
Conversation By Blog
Because blog posts can have comments attached, they provide a greater opportunity for interaction between the author of a blog post and the visitors of that blog post.
The difference between having a one-way conversation (with your website) and having a two-way conversation (with your blog) is substantial.
A website gives you the opportunity to deliver information about your business to the reader. A blog on that same website offers you the chance to have a two-way conversation with your readers.
Benefits Of Having A Blog And A Website
When thinking about whether or not to start a blog, here are the benefits of creating one and why you should pursue this route.
Let’s first walk you through the world of having a website.
What Websites Offer
A website ususally allows for direct sales through advertisements posted on the website. It is a good choice for businesses that anticipate revenue via click-through ads. It also provides access to your website to the general public, consumers, and other companies.
Better SERP’s
A website will help you gain more of a presence in search engine results pages (SERPs). Documented content makes it easier for potential search engines to rank content and provide a better experiance for potential visitors.
With that, it maximizes the ability to get more visitors to your website, which can result in more sales through your monitization efforts.
Ready to enter the world of blogging? Here you go!
What Blogs Offer
A blog gives you the ability to present your company as an expert in your field of business.
The content on a blog is usually more in-depth than that of a website. It can help you rank for specific keywords and terms online.
It is also easier to rank a particular keyword/term if it is part of a larger body of text, such as a blog post than just one page on your website.
Build Rapport With Your Blog
Blogs are an effective way to produce content quickly and effectively while creating discussions via comments and related posts on social media. Your blogs can easily be shared via social media and other platforms to reach targeted audiences for free marketing.
Collaboration
So, online marketing campaigns with content marketing strategies as part of the campaign, like news articles about your product or industry, customer stories, analysis pieces, etc., will be seen in your blogs once you cross-promote.
Blogs have an air of athority when you make it the heart of your business, with a website acting as the face of your business. Hence, blogs are often used to establish trust and credibility in a niche or industry.
What Makes It So Hard To Choose
This single question is probably the one that will cause the most anguish for you as a startup business owner. Deciding on which way to go may be difficult. Especially when you are still struggling to gain your footing in your industry.
Being new you haven’t had much experience with what works best when it comes to online marketing. Because there is no “one size fits all” option, you must consider your options carefully.
What Are Your Goals
Select the option that best supports the type of business you have and how you plan to run it.
So, as a small business owner who wants to explore the internet and business online, many people will give you advice on to figure out your goals for your online business. In the end its your dicision because it’s your business.
Website Characteristics
What do you want from your website? What do you want from your blog? A company that is planning on making the most of its website should make sure it’s as user-friendly as possible, focusing on the user experience.
Blog Characteristics
Are you a small business that wants to have free leads or traffic coming to your website? Do you want to build up reputation and credibility in the long run?
If so, then blogging is also a good idea. It’ll give you more opportunities where people will read about what you offer and how well you can offer it.
Decisions Decisions
In short, blog vs. website is not a decision that you can make upfront on theoretical terms. There are pros and cons to both. It’s important to weigh those out to make the best-informed decision for your business.
Once you’ve decided on the type of online presence that you want for yourself, your website or blog will be one of your most important assets as a business owner, so having an online company that has been properly crafted is crucial.
However, once you’ve gotten a hold of one option or another, you can slowly switch gears and work on growing your business it whatevery way you need.
FINAL VERDICT – WHICH ONE IS BETTER?
The answer depends on your goal. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to have a consistent message across all channels. You can do this with a blog or a website, but if you try both too quickly, there’s a good chance that your messaging will come across as inconsistent and could hinder your ability to build trust with customers. So make sure you choose which direction you want to go before you start spending money on ads or developing content with the wrong focus.