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Blogging is an immensely powerful tool, and if done correctly can benefit an organization in more ways than is measurable. Communication channels can be opened, communities can be built, search engine rankings can rise, and new non-dues revenue can be gained through ads. That is if you approach blogging in the correct way. This article will describe how using external blog sources like Blogger will keep your efforts from reaching the level of success you may be hoping for.
Lack of SEO Benefits
Using a free service like blogger to host your blog can be a great way to get started and see if your organization is capable of maintaining a blog. The Blogger system however hosts the blog for you which does not benefit the search engine rankings of your website. It would be much more beneficial for the blog to be installed on your organization’s webserver along with your website. Blogs can be installed in a subdirectory (ex. http://www.yourdomain.com/blog/) which will tell the search engines that all that great information in your blog is directly related to the other content on your website.
Horrible Commenting System
Blogger has what can only be considered the worst designed comment system on the Internet. In order to leave a comment, you must navigate to another page with a confusing form and a completely different design. This process pulls the user out of the context of the conversation and presents them with so many options to login in, that it is much easier to just not comment at all.
Reduced Credibility
Blogger is associated with spam blogs that exist to do nothing more than direct traffic to sketchy websites and services. This coupled with the high mortality rate of blogs on the service, personal nature, and the fact that anyone can set one up in 10 minutes really undermines your initiative.
Designed for One Author
Blogger and most similar services were designed with a single user in mind, and typically for personal blogging. Large organizations such as associations really benefit when multiple authors are posting content on a regular basis. Other more advanced systems allow for author bios, custom RSS feeds, and collaborative administration, which make managing a multiple author blog much easier.
While Blogger can be a great tool for individuals wanting ot get started blogging, it should never be used for a professional organization. With a minor investment of time and possibly money far more can be achieved, which will ultimately determine the life of your blog.