Should My Blog Be Part of My Main Website?

How can you decide if your blog should live on your website or stand alone on its own site?

As with any marketing tactic, it depends on your goals. For most businesses, though, it’s best to house your blog as part of your main website.

Why should I host my blog on my website?

In most situations, you’ll want to feature your blog on your website to serve these goals:

Website Conversions: When your blog is on your site, clients and prospects can easily read your posts to learn about industry issues–and easily find solutions in your products and services. Putting your blog and your wares side by side eliminates a step for readers who are interested in buying from you and can increase conversions.

Website Branding Consistency: There’s no need to create a separate URL or to match your look and feel to a blog design; it’s all in one.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Because your blog is updated frequently, its fresh content stream will consistently place your site higher in search engine results. Housing your blog on a separate URL would dilute its value in driving search traffic to your site.

Costs: An all-in-one site minimizes your costs, as you pay for only one set of design, site maintenance, hosting, and other fees. You also can consolidate support requests–and gain greater website ROI.

A good example is Helios HR. We guided them in pulling their blog into their main website. Since then, the blog has become a leading source of inbound traffic that has generated a high rate of return.

Why should I give my blog its own site?

There are several reasons you might want your blog to stand alone.

Branding for Special Issues: If you need a separate identity online–for example, your CEO wants to share his or her own opinions–then a standalone blog can put space between those opinions and the company line. Likewise, if your blog serves a different audience than your main website, say for a special campaign, a separate blog may make sense. To maintain overall branding consistency, however, follow your regular website branding guidelines and put your blog on a subdomain of your main URL.

Technology Constraints: If your website’s content management system doesn’t shine at handling blogs, a separate blog may be warranted.

Do you need help figuring out your digital marketing goals or setting up your blog? Please contact us to learn more.

Or read our related posts below to find the best strategy, technology, and content to make the most of your blog.