I will declare at the very outset of this post that I am not an expert on blogging or social media or whatever fancy terms that are flying about out there.

When God created me, he gave me a big head and stuffed a brain in it. That is what I use. There is nothing like good old common sense.

Most of my blogging here on eBusinessDomains.com domain blog is nothing more than common sense chatter, rather than any “expert” or trained professional analysis.

Blogs are great resources, and with software like WordPress that is so readily available, starting and maintaining a blog is relatively easy and cheap.

A blog can help to drive traffic to your website. Blogs are designed to ping the search engines immediately after you make a post, and as such your new article will be indexed in the search engines within minutes.

Unlike regular content pages, blog pages also have XML/RSS feeds, which notify your subscribers whenever a new post has been made on your blog. This helps your website to maintain a constant flow of repeat visitors.

Blogs are also interactive, as they also allow readers to leave comments and participate in the discussion. This results in user-generated content for your website. This can also help with your website traffic, and even with SEO.

From a website visitor’s point of view, I personally use blogs to evaluate a website and its products and services. If a website has a blog, it gives me a clear indication that the site is being maintained, it is current, and that the owners are committed to their products and services. I get this sense of security just by seeing that the website has an active blog.

I then proceed to use the blog’s content to analyse the quality of the website’s product and services. I look at the authority with which the blog is written. Does the author know much about their service/product niche or industry? Do they provide current and relevant information?

This is extremely important for SEO experts and Internet marketers who are trying to sell ebooks and related services. The authority that they display on their blogs will give me an indication as to if their ebooks, products and/or services are worth buying.

Another really important way in which I use blog to analyse a website’s product and services is to look at how long the blog has been around. This helps to judge if the website is an established player in their niche, and whether or not they are some Johnny-come-lately wannabes.

In accountancy and business studies, the very first thing that you will learn is that the business has a separate identity from its owners. This is so important, as this really is the very basis and foundation of double entry accounting, especially with the treatment of capital from the owners. Never mind this paragraph .

However, what I’m trying to say here is that it is best to leave you personal life out of your blogging, especially if you maintain a corporate blog. Customers do indeed want a personal feel to the service that they get, but that does not mean you should bring all sorts of personal drama into your business.

Suppose you wish to sell the website/ebusiness in the future, would the new owner be comfortable with all of your unrelated personal stories scattered across the blog? Maintain blogs that are professional and transferable.

One thing that I see a lot of bloggers doing is having all sorts of warfare (sometimes really nasty exchange of words) with some of the visitors that leave comments on their blogs.

Now, you have to understand that in everything you do, whether in your personal life or in business, some people will love you for one thing, and some will hate your guts for the very said thing.

You can’t afford to get caught playing the popularity game. Business is business. Focus on the customers who will actually spend money with you. The people who leave nasty comments will NEVER buy anything from you. NEVER. Don’t waste precious time on these payer-haters, nay-sayers and hypocrites.

Focus on serving the needs of the people who already got money to spend and would be willing to spend some with you. There is no point in seeking and maintaining popularity that cannot be converted to cash.

We have just redesigned the eBusinessDomains.com website, and we are now having new banners and marketing materials prepared. I have been short-listing a few blogs that I think are worth advertising with.

Over the past few weeks, I have had to remove at least 2 blogs from this list as they expressed unnecessary bias or views that were just not acceptable in my opinion. The funny thing is, these blogs are heavily dependent on banner ad sales for their income.

Whether or not you depend on banner ad sales, you should not risk eliminating or isolating customers. Just one stupid blog post could spell disaster for your business.

I will end by saying, blog in a professional, unbiased and sensible way. Blog responsibly. Use blogs to build your brands. Don’t let your blogging efforts destroy your ebusiness.