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What’s the Difference Between a Blog and a Page? (PDF)

You know you need a blog on your website. Your search marketing rep insists that a blog will expose your site to many more people, and besides, you’re eager to tell the world about all the fun events and amazing attractions in your area.

If you don’t already have a blog, it might be tempting to simply rename an existing page on your site as “My Blog” and start filling the page with news.

A new name, however, won’t transform a page into a real blog. A renamed page is simply a single page with a long list of (often mostly outdated) information. A real blog features a front page that lists several of your most recent posts, plus individual pages for each post and for tags, categories, and archives.

So why does it matter? Why put in a little extra effort to create a real blog when you can so easily create a new page?

For SEO: Search engines are attracted to sites that are updated regularly and that are constantly growing. Your blog increases the size of your site every time you publish a post: not only does the post get its own individual page, but tags, categories, and archives all get their own pages, too. Such vigorous growth tells search engines that your site is up-to-date and dependable.

Having individual pages also helps search engines identify the most prominent keywords on each page. This allows search engines to give searchers the most relevant posts.

For example, Google can see that Sample Inn writes often about lavender. Google would be especially attracted to the page that shows all of Sample Inn’s posts that are tagged with the keyword “lavender,” so this page is more likely to appear in search results for people searching for “lavender.”

On the other hand, for a single page named “My Blog,” it’s difficult for search engines to find a single overarching theme, so they’re less likely to show that page in search results.

For your readers: A real blog makes it easy for readers to see only the posts they’re interested in. Readers can click on specific tags and categories to read about their interests without scrolling through a long list of posts that don’t interest them.

For you: Business owners are busy people. A single-page list of updates is clunky, but real blogs are purpose-built to be easy to manage and to save time and frustration.

How to Add a Blog to Your Site

Talk with your web designer about the best way to integrate a blog into your site. Your blog should use the same address as the rest of your site: for example, a link to your blog should look like sampleinn.com/blog instead of sampleinnblog.blogspot.com. It should also have the same look as your main site: readers should not notice a difference in design between your main site and your blog, otherwise they might think they’ve been tricked into visiting to a different site entirely.

Blogging can attract a tremendous number of new visitors–and potential clients, customers, and guests–to your website. If you take the time to write quality blog posts, make sure to set up your blog properly to benefit your SEO, your readers, and yourself.