What is a Blog?

– The Definition of Blog, Blogging, and Blogger

what is a blog image

(Published on: April 8th, 2018 Last updated: January 17th, 2020) Posted in: Blogging 90 Comments

Written by

Anya Skrba

Anja Skrba

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Do you know what blogs are? If you don’t, then you’ve come to the right place. In the beginning, a blog
was more of a personal diary that people shared online, and it goes back to 1994. In this online journal,
you could talk about your daily life or share things you do. But, people saw an opportunity to
communicate any information in a new way. So began the beautiful world of blogging.

What is a Blog?

Definition of blog

A blog (shortening of “weblog”) is an online journal or informational website displaying information in

the reverse chronological order, with the latest posts appearing first. It is a platform where a writer or
even a group of writers share their views on an individual subject.

What is the purpose of a blog?

There are many reasons to start a blog for personal use and only a handful of strong ones for business
blogging. Blogging for business, projects, or anything else that might bring you money has a very
straightforward purpose – to rank your website higher in Google SERPs, a.k.a. increase your visibility.

As a business, you rely on consumers to keep buying your products and services. As a new business, you
rely on blogging to help you get to these consumers and grab their attention. Without blogging, your
website would remain invisible, whereas running a blog makes you searchable and competitive.
So, the main purpose of a blog is to connect you to the relevant audience. Another one is to boost your
traffic and send quality leads to your website.

The more frequent and better your blog posts are, the higher the chances for your website to get
discovered and visited by your target audience. Which means, a blog is an effective lead generation tool.
Add a great call to action (CTA), and it will convert your website traffic into high-quality leads. But a blog
also allows you to showcase your authority and build a brand.

When you use your niche knowledge for creating informative and engaging posts, it builds trust with
your audience. Great blogging makes your business looks more credible, which is especially important if
your brand is still young and fairly unknown. It ensures presence and authority at the same time.

Blog structure

The appearance of blogs changed over time, and nowadays blogs include different items. But, most
blogs include some standard features and structure. Here are common features that a typical blog will
include:

Header with the menu or navigation bar

Main content area with highlighted or latest blog posts

Sidebar with social profiles, favorite content, or call-to-action

Footer with relevant links like a disclaimer, privacy policy, contact page, etc.

Basic blog structure

Feel free to use this template on your site

<a href=”https://firstsiteguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/What-is-a-Blog-2.png” alt=”Basic blog

structure”></a><br />Basic Blog Structure free template was created by <a
href=”https://firstsiteguide.com/”>FirstSiteGuide.com</a> team.

The above example is the basic structure of the blog. Each item has its own importance and helps
visitors to navigate through your blog.

Blogs and websites

A majority of people still wonder whether there is any difference between a blog and a website. What is
a blog and what is a website? It’s even more challenging to differentiate between the two today. Many
companies are integrating blogs into their sites to perform the same function.

What differentiates blogs from websites?

Blogs need frequent updates. Good examples include a food blog sharing meal recipes or a company
writing about their industry news.

Blogs promote perfect reader engagement. Readers get a chance to comment and voice their different
concerns to the viewer. Static websites, on the other hand, consists of the content presented on static
pages. Static website owners rarely update their pages. Blog owners update their site with new blog
posts on a regular basis.

Key elements that identify a blog post from a static page include a publishing date, author reference,
categories, and tags within a byline. While not all blog posts have all those byline elements, static
website pages do not have any of these items. From a visitor perspective, the content on a static site will
not change from one visit to the next. The content on a blog, yet, has the potential to offer something
new each day, week, or month. Depending on the blog owner’s publishing schedule.

What is blogging?

In the early 2000s, blogging emerged in all different phases when several political blogs were born. Also,
blogs with how-to manuals began to appear. Established institutions began to note the difference
between journalism and blogging. The number of bloggers in the United States is set to reach 31.7
million users in 2020.

Definition of blogging

Blogging is the set of many skills that one needs to run and control a blog. Equipping web page with
tools to make the process of writing, posting, linking, and sharing content easier on the internet.

Why is blogging so popular?

It’s important to mention that blogging grows with each passing day! Hence, to answer the question
‘what is blogging’ we need to look at the factors behind its rise.
In the early stages, blogs became mainstream, as news services began using them as tools for outreach
and opinion forming. It became a new source of information.

Why is blogging so popular

Businesses saw a good way to improve the customer’s level of satisfaction. Through blogging, companies
keep clients and customers up to date. The more people visit your blog, the more exposure and trust
your brand gets.

Personal and niche bloggers, saw the potential to reach more people interested in specific topics.
Through a blog, visitors can comment and interact with you or your brand which helps you create a
network of loyal followers.

Did you know you could earn money through blogging? Once your blog gets enough attention and fans,
you can look into ways of monetizing your blog. Through the blog, you can offer your services and sell
products.

Who is a blogger?

In recent times, bloggers have become famous for various reasons. An alternative career or job to many,
more people are choosing to join the ranks. So who are bloggers? These are individuals who love sharing
parts of their lives with you. They post various topics from arts, home designs, carpentry, and finance
articles. Bloggers are mobile and don’t need to be in one place. They live on the internet!

Definition of blogger

A blogger is someone who runs and controls a blog. He or she shares his or her opinion on different
topics for a target audience.

Why are many people blogging today?

Would you want to have a blog of your own? Yes! Most people today are creating a blog for various
reasons. Every human being has its story to tell. Hence, through the internet, bloggers can communicate
to a larger group of people.

Why is blogging so popular? Blogs allow you to talk about any topics and express your opinion. You’ll
find some bloggers writing on every activity that took place during the day. These may range from small
issues such as waking up, to major issues like human rights and climate changes! Remember that as a
blogger running your own blog, you need to rely on the topics that you love and strive to become one of
the best blogs on the web.

Are bloggers getting paid?

Bloggers do earn money, but this is not a get-rich-quick kind of profession.

Before you can start monetizing your blog, you need to build both your Google SERPs ranking and your
niche influence. And that takes plenty of time and quality content. Money-making opportunities won’t
present themselves until you’ve gained some credibility in the field. So, get down to business.

Here’s how you can make good money as a top-ranked niche blogger:

Selling ad space on your blog privately or via Google AdSense.

Becoming an affiliate partner privately or through ad networks.

Selling your own digital products such as eBooks and tutorials.

Selling memberships for access to exclusive content or advice.

Using your blog as a content marketing tool for your business.

If you’re starting a blog as a way to market and boost your existing business, you probably won’t be
selling ad space or memberships. But you can create and start offering exclusive digital products such as
eBooks, guides, or online courses as a lead capturing tool in exchange for visitors’ email addresses. That
way, you’ll nudge them one step further down your sales funnel.

Want to start a blog on your own?

Creating your own personal blog takes a few steps. First, you need to decide on a name for your blog
also called a domain name, and choose the best blogging platform. We recommend going with the self-
hosted platform. There are few choices when it comes to self-hosted platforms but the most popular is
WordPress.org.

Then you need to choose a web hosting service and for new bloggers, we strongly recommend Bluehost,
a company that powers over 2 million websites worldwide. You will get a Free domain name when you
sign up with them and if you don’t like their services, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Step One

Click on this link and you will go to the “Exclusive Offer” page reserved for our fans. Once you get there
click on “Get Started Now”.

Step One

Step Two

If this is your first hosting account ever, you should start with the basic plan, because you will need time
to determine your needs and options. The basic plan has everything any beginner needs to set up a new
blog. Consider other plans later when your blog takes off and your needs become greater.

step two

Step Three

Your domain name will play a vital role in the future development of your blog and this is why it is
important to take your time and figure out a good domain name. Once you’ve done that, enter the
name in the “new domain” column and choose your Top-Level Domain.

step three

Recommended tool:

Just type in the desired domain in this “new domain” box and BlueHost will show you whether it’s
available or not. If not, it will provide you with a list of similar names for you to choose from.

Conclusion

We hope that you’ve learned something important when it comes to the world of blogging. If you’ve
managed to start a blog then your next step is to work on your blog content in order to keep your future
readers satisfied and engaged. Feel free to check out our extensive list of blogging resources which will
help you run and grow your new blog.

What-is-a-Blog infographic