The Little Website that Could

There's nothing quite so exciting to see as a newly-designed web site for your business. The graphics are so shiny, all the links are still blue, Google doesn't even know it exists yet so nobody dirtying up the place with muddy virtual feet . . . of course, like cars, we want our web sites to get some miles under their wheels, don't we? We want to show that shiny new machine to the world and get everyone to "oooh" and "aaah" over how pretty it is . . . and yes, we want our new machine to help us sell, don't we?

The more things change, the more they stay the same, right? So why don't we see if we can find some advice for the new website on our collective childhood bookshelf? I'm talking about that heroic train, The Little Engine That Could. Through tenacity and dedication, that little engine pulled a very long train over the top of a gigantic hill, to the amazement of all!

The "Little Engine that Could" of the internet: the blog
Blogs, sometimes still called "weblogs," are just like that little engine that we enjoyed reading about as a child. Using tiny-but-powerful steps, blogs make a website more visible, more popular, and more interesting. Each post in a blog is like a powerful puff of the steam engine, inexorably driving your site towards its goals.

By itself, a single blog post probably can't get your website over that giant hill to its goal - popularity in the biggest search engines. To make that happen, the blog has to work as a single unit, with each post pulling its own weight. Collectively, the posts of a blog can have a powerful effect on search engine optimization. If it's not updated regularly, though, it's like what would have happened to the little engine if it had given up - it would have slid right back down that hill.

In other words, if you have a blog, use it or lose it.
Most web designers recommend including a blog, and it's really easy to find a free blogging service, but actually updating a blog? That can be a pain if your business isn't entirely in front of a computer screen, or you don't like to write, or you just don't have much to say!

One way to leverage the power of blogs without making the commitment to update with is by hiring a ghost blogger - someone who will create those updates for you. This can be controversial - some people think it's unethical to pay people to do things that you don't have the time or skills to do yourself - but that's hogwash. A competent ghost blogger won't put words in your mouth so much as pull words out of your head. It's a way to leverage your time. If the thoughts are yours, nobody's going to fault you for having someone with better spelling skills or a greater passion for writing put together your posts.