Hello everyone!
I have been hearing a lot lately about how blogs help promote your business and that search engines love them. I was wondering, has any of you have ever used or are using a blog to promote your business? I hear the search engines love them, and it's a great way to get extra traffic to your site. If anyone has any experience or suggestions about using blogs, please let me know.
Thank you in advance.

I will be the first to say that the content of your blog and what you blog about will be key to whether or not blogging is of any value to your business.

Recently, Google has set up a logorithm that searches blogs to see if they are real blogs, such as my personal blog or such as the blog I write for professionally. What that logorithm does is search for duplicate content. If the logorithm determines that the blog is simply a duplicate content site and not a real blog, it will eliminate it from listing. If on the other hand, it determines that the blog really is a blog, it will be listed and will cross-link giving extra traffic to your site.

How much traffic? Depends on your content.

It has been my personal experience that press releases are more search engine friendly. See what I see... punch Pepperfire or Peppermaster into a search engine... I both blog and regularly release press releases.

T

Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!

Thanks for the input Tina! I think I will try blogging about my business. Who knows, I may be good at it.

About press releases?! Can you tell me more about them? How they are written, work, etc.? You can pm me if you like, or just post it here.
Thanks again for your reply!

I didn't know I could PM on this site... That must be one of the new features!

I think for anyone reading this though, the info is very valuable here...

Press Releases are exactly what they sound like. News of your business. It's the fact that you've started doing business; You've launched your blog; you've added new products; you've brought on a partner; you've won that pesky lawsuit and appeal (watch my press release on Thursday).

The press release has to answer the following questions: Who, What, Where, When and Why?

The press release has to be timely and has to be issued. I have a list of about a dozen web-based press release sites that I use regularly which (to avoid duplication) I have posted to my gourmet food forum: http://www.gourmetbusinesssolutions.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37 Feel free to use them.

Several of them give instructions on writing good press releases, and for the purposes we are discussing they don't have to be great, just adequate.

If it's news that you want out but whose only purpose is to add to your web popularity, issue it for free. If it's news that you really want someone to pick up and run with, pay for the issuance to the media.

In addition to posting your news releases to those links, make an email, fax and hard-copy snail mail list of media sources that are either in your physical neighbourhood or in your specific industry field and send all of your press releases to that list.

Caveat: Do not combine more press in one release than one bit of news. Do not have your press release = more than one page. AND don't forget to publish the press release to your blog.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have. If you decide to IM me, do so with either Messenger or Yahoo using my shoestring_louise at yahoo.com address as the ID.


Tina Brooks, VP Marketing
Brooks Pepperfire Foods, Inc.
Makers of Peppermaster Hot Sauces
http://www.peppermaster.com

Eat more peppers!