The Benefit of a Blog?

[Funding Solutions]

I have just seen that my hosting company allows me a free blog.

I have started a blog, submitted a couple of articles and created some links within the text to my website.

Having read some of the other threads I am unsure as to whether this will benefit me by way of backlinks.

I would welcome any advice.

[fisicx]

The internal links within you site (to and from the blog) won't do much to help your ranking. On the other hand, if somebody stumbles across your blog and likes the article so much they link to it from their own site then you have gained a valuable backlink. But the secret to a successful blog is regular posts, make it interesting and informative, link to other sites if they have interesting articles but above all, don't create a blog just to get backlinks, create it because YOU want to.

[tigertwo2]

Blogging is a good way to increase traffic to your site, but only if it is done properly.

By that, i don't just mean the technical aspects, backlinking etc.
what's vitaly important on any blog is to keep it regularly updated, keep it interesting (within your chosen field) and to differentiate it from all the other blogs on the same subject.

the best way to do that is to inject it with a fair sprinkling of personality and if appropriate humour too.

Look at it from this point of view, why would you read someone elses blog, not just once but regularly, why would you recommend it to others?

if you can answer those type of questions on your own blog then you have a fighting chance.

also , as was mentioned above..do it because you want to, you're much more likely to keep it going that way.

[misch.chief]

I agree blogs have to be shown love and consistently

[Arleigh]

Blogging can be a great way of increasing traffic to your site provided that your content is quality, interesting and useful to your visitors. Blogs can be also a good source of backlinks where you can put a link on your blog pointing to your main website.

[Elisor]

Blogging is also a great way to reach out more informally to your customer base. It's much easier to post up for feedback on a new product or service on a blog, or to do a review of items in the pipeline, than on a more formal corporate website. Readers can give feedback as well, perhaps providing valuable insight for you.

As the other posters have said, keep at it, keep posting, keep the posts interesting and always keep in mind, "would I want to read this and keep coming back to this blog?" If the answer is consistantly yes, then you should do well.

[MrCat]

SEO wise, it does help with only minimal values. However, if the site has its own domain and hosted under a different server, it would have more SEO value.