Take Your Blog and Stick It!

Where to Stick Your Blog to Do the Most Good

Like it or not, blogs are now key tools in remodeler marketing. Like any other tool, you have to know how to use it properly. One of the ways you use it properly is by sticking your blog in the right place – or places.

Stick Your Blog “Off-Page”

If one of your blogging objectives is to create back links from your blog posts to your company website and related landing pages, then you should set up your blog anywhere other than within your company's website domain. This is called an “off-page” blog. The “back-links-from-another-site” function of a blog requires that the blog not be on your website. In some ways, this makes it pretty easy to set up a blog. You can use any of the many blogging platforms such as blogspot.com, wordpress.com, etc. Each blogging platform has its own pros and cons. For example, BlogSpot is pretty easy to use compared to WordPress. However, WordPress has more features available so you can do more with it and get more from it.

No, Stick Your Blog “On-Page”

Now while quality back links to your website are very important (for SEO), an “on-page” blog, a blog placed in your own website’s domain in a sub directory* (www. abcremodel.com/blog), is important (for SEO) because if you strategically write your “on-page” blog, use keywords, and post often, it will attract search engines directly to your website. Search engines like to see websites update content regularly and so a blog here allows you to make frequent updates and add fresh content relatively easily.

*In case you are wondering, a sub domain (blog.abcremodel.com), from the standpoint of a search engine, is a different domain than your main website domain, so a blog on a sub domain would count as “off-page”, but one in a sub directory on your website counts as “on-page.”

Better Yet, Do Both

If you have the bandwidth in-house, you can publish one blog “on-page” – on your website – and one “off-page” – not on your website. This gives you the marketing value of both types of blogs. Yes it is extra work, but it is the only way to get the benefits of both types of blogs.

Helpful Tip

Search engines don't generally like to see duplicative copy on websites or on related sites. Our experience and sources inform us that because many blogs pick up and reuse posts from other blogs, you can likely get away with using some of the same posts on both of your blogs. But if you can, alter them 30%-40% or more to be considered different enough to avoid being seen as duplicate. However, you may be fine just posting them in both places with essentially the same posts.

Remodeler Marketing E-newsletter Sale

Sale ends September 30, 2011 so act today!

Get ONE FREE remodeler marketing
e-newsletter added to your program when you sign up for our EasyPro Silver, EasyPro Gold, or EasyPro Platinum e-newsletter programs. These Continuum e-newsletter programs deliver many important and unique features and benefits such as custom and strategically developed editorial schedules for each and every client, the use of your photos in articles, custom-written articles, customized articles, reports, above-average open rates, and more.

Our e-newsletter programs can support many marketing purposes including encouraging repeat and referral business, engaging with readers who have not used you before, supporting an SEO program, and helping to establish, maintain and enhance the emotional attachment your readers have with your company. Visit our website to learn more about our remodeler marketing e-newsletters and e-newsletter program sale.

A Remodeler Asked:

Q: Are SEO, Pay Per Click, Social Media, Blogging, and all “that stuff” really needed?

A: Consider this, a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project cited that 58% of Americans have done online research for products and services they buy. Interesting but not yet compelling. However, when you look deeper into the report and look at the segments of Americans they surveyed, you find that the demographics usually associated with those who are good remodeling prospects are those that use the internet for product and service research more.

Things like higher incomes, college education, home ownership, broadband access, etc. all raised the percentage of those who are looking for you on the internet. A rough estimate (we made from the summary report) is that about 75% to 83% (perhaps a bit higher) of those homeowners to whom you would like to sell use the internet to research for products and services.

You can come to your own conclusion if all of “that stuff” that helps people find you and evaluate you online is important. We think that you need to do at least some of that stuff, and we have strategies on what “stuff” and in what order.

Send us your questions

Got a remodeler marketing question you would like addressed in Marketing Matters? Send us your remodeler marketing questions and we will try to answer the most often asked questions in future issues of Marketing Matters or on our blog at www.continuum-mg.com/blog.

Sincerely,


David Alpert
President, Continuum Marketing Group, LLC

©2011 Continuum Marketing Group LLC, All rights reserved
ASPIRE-CM is a registered trademark of Continuum Marketing Group LLC