Everybody who’s anybody has a blog these days. You could type just about any subject into Google and find someone who has written a blog about it! So what is all the fuss about? Is it all just hype or is there some substance behind it? What is a blog and do you need one?

Well, if you are looking at promoting anything online; be that a product, service or an idea; then you would be well advised to have a go at blogging in one form or another, or you risk getting left behind and missing out on some free traffic in the process.

What is a blog?

A blog is a bit like a conversation or a diary online. It is a series of shortish posts with a common thread, which aim to give the reader some kind of information or sequential updates. Many contemporary websites have a blog section, which simply allows the site owner to reach out and connect with his or her visitors. It is a way of communicating with the people who visit your site in a direct and engaging way. Blogs are usually quite informally written and can give a real insight into the nature and character of the writer if they are well constructed.

From a more technical point of view, adding a blog section to your site means that your content will be regularly refreshed, which is important if you want to appear attractive to both search engines and searchers. Readers who find your content to be of interest or value can subscribe to your RSS feed or ask to be automatically updated when you add new content, which will help with your page ranking. If people think your blog content worthy of comment, this can create a link from their site to yours, a backlink, which is valuable from an SEO perspective and they might choose to share your blog, which will help increase your presence on the web still further.

Twitter is like a micro blog, an entry of 140 characters, which allows you to share brief tidbits of information, known as Tweets, with the people who find you interesting enough to follow. In June 2010 65 million tweets were being sent per day by Twitter users, so it is worth investing some time courting this application alone even if you do not use any other social media site.

Whatever your niche, you can guarantee that you will not be the only person in your market, so a blog is an excellent way of differentiating yourself and allowing your readers to feel like they know you a little. It may ultimately be the thing that makes a difference when they are choosing between you and a competitor. As humans, we tend to like people we feel are like us, so a blog allows you to show who you are in a safe and controllable way.

Given that a blog can be both informal and personal, so no hard and fast rules, and can help drive traffic to your site, you’d be mad not to have one if you work online!