Apr 21, 2016

Why do I blog on Blogger?

I've been blogging since 2005 on the Blogger platform. Over time, as my blog grew to multi-million pageviews and earned tens of thousands of dollars, I heard over and over "Why haven't you moved to Wordpress?" and "You will never be a 'big' blogger or be taken seriously if you stay on Blogger."  But based on my own success, I wasn't convinced.  So I did my own research and stopped listening to rumors.  And this is what I realized:  Blogger blogs can be customized and optimized for increased search traffic, revenue generation and viewability. They are a completely viable blogging option.

DEBUNKING THE COMMON BLOGGER MYTHS:

If you host with Blogger, you don't own your own content:  FALSE

Here is a great post about that myth.. but don't take his word for it.  Read the Google Terms of Service yourself.  Your blog is YOURS. 

You can't drive as much traffic as you can with Wordpress:  FALSE

SEO optimization works exactly the same way with Blogspot-hosted blogs as it does with self-hosted blogs on the Wordpress platform. Google has actually installed easily customizable ways to optimize SEO without expensive plug-ins or extensive knowledge of html.  It is also common knowledge that G+ engagement is weighted heavily in google search rankings and helps build SEO.  But did you know that when a Blogger blog is linked with a G+ profile, blog views also count as G+ profile views?  Additionally, if host your photos though Google, your image SEO is amplified via your Google+ galleries by amplifying a G+ profile's weight in the search rankings. Only Blogspot-hosted blogs have this benefit.  All those Blogger linked G+ pages with millions of page views have a CLEAR advantage in Google search results.  There has always been a (supposed) 'myth' that Google ranks their own blogger blogs higher in search results, and this bias in pageviews on your G+ profile page views may explain exactly why that myth is actually true.  Google may actually PREFER Blogspot blogs because of Google+. 

Blogger blogs aren't customizable:  FALSE

I'm actually not even sure why this is a myth.  Sure, there are many blogs that keep the standard blogger template, but that is also true with other blogging platforms.  There are a lot of Blogger blogs you wouldn't recognize as a standard Blogspot blog.  Customization is all about how much work you are willing to put into your template.  Blogger offers numerous 'outside of the box' templates, and all for FREE!  It isnt' about how much money you spend. 


You can't make money if you are on Blogger:  FALSE

Once again, this myth is pretty random but easily dispelled.  Many large blogs still use the Blogger platform and they make plenty of money!  For example, PostSecret (a blogger hosted blog) has had more than 700 million visitors since it first hit the web, all without leaving Blogger.  

The biggest problem with blogger has always been lack of support for anyone who isn't very tech savvy.  Most bloggers on Blogger either begin with programming skills or they have to be self taught. I am the latter, and I remember how frustrating it was to learn things on Blogger that should have been straight forward.  That is why I am offering blog support specifically for the Blogger platform.  It can be a great platform (maybe even superior to Wordpress) once you know how to use it.    And for that.. I am here to help!

1 comment:

  1. This is so fascinating! I just signed up for your emails. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete