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While there are techniques to make your website rise in rankings, typically called SEO or Search Engine Optimization, you can help your company ascend the ranks by posting quality content to your blog with regularity. Regular blog postings (three to five times per week) are consumed by search engines voraciously. As more people find and link to your quality posts, they become more "relevant" to the search engines and the site rises in the rankings. By linking your blog site to your corporate website, you can complete the circle and drive more people through the front door. Of course, simply posting random thoughts about the weather will not attract the masses.

Business blogging is really two-way communication between a business and its clients or potential clients. Blogs provide the platform for your company to become more findable and for the public at large to comment and link to what they're reading.

Before you jump in with both feet, it's important to establish the reasons why your business should blog in the first place. After all, you're probably not looking for more workload to fill the day. Let's not forget that your goal in creating this business blog is most likely increasing revenues and differentiating yourself from the competition.

Blogging tools
The most common blogging software platforms today are Blogger(www.blogger.com), WordPress ( www.wordpress.com), and Typepad (www.typepad.com). Each has strengths and weaknesses but all allow the author to create a blog site and start posting with zero upfront expense. If your company outgrows the software or desires more technical tools, they're readily available. These products allow even the most technically challenged among us to put a blog up and post entries in minutes.

Eventually, you might want to employ someone to match the look and feel of your blog to your website. Or, you might even go so far as transitioning your entire corporate site into a blog site. Remember, "findability" is what you're after and a blog's freshness of content provides the fresh new treats that search engines love to eat.