Blogosphere - Powering the virtual world Blog is a powerful tool that can be harnessed to accomplish multiple objectives. From keeping a dialogue open with clients to online visibility, blogging has come a long way in helping strengthen ones online presence.	Visited: 869 Not rated Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Saurav verma April 13, 2009

Can blogging influence search engine rankings? It is a question that keeps nagging online marketers and individuals alike. No one can give you a definite 'Yes' or a 'No' for an answer; however there have been numerous instances that go in favor of a 'Yes'.

Let’s take a few steps back in time, to analyze the situation and get a better perspective. Since the advent of search engines, the algorithms used by them have been kept under wraps. Search engine marketing started with guess work – your guess being as good as anyone else's. No one actually knew how search engine ranked websites. Slowly and steadily the industry evolved and those guesses (the ones that worked) became widely accepted norms. Though the industry is still plagued by lack of concrete information on how algorithms work (search engines wouldn't share it for fear of misuse), we can take pride in having consensus on some tried and tested techniques. These methods were constantly updated - while a few were deleted, new entries were made and one of them is weblog.

Weblog or more commonly known as blog, allowed anyone with a computer and an internet connection to become a published author. It derived its true power from interactivity with visitors and other blogs and soon caught the attention of many, online marketers being one of them. By this time, it was a well documented fact that online presence mattered as much as existence in the physical world did.

Blog is the most cost effective way to create an online presence and online marketers wised up to the use of weblogs because of its tremendous potential to boost search engine exposure. Blogs, by their virtue incorporated the hallmarks of good SEO – keywords and links.

Blog is an incredibly powerful tool that can be harnessed to build a strong online presence. It is a well known fact that the number of people looking for information online is witnessing a tremendous growth. Getting your website and online properties like corporate blog to rank high for search terms related to your organizations or brand would not only help to augment your online presence, but also assist you to build online reputation. In order to manage your online reputation effectively, one should be well aware of things being said and written about their organization. The same medium which can be used to applaud an organization can also be used for making derogatory comments. Optimizing your website and online properties for your branded terms thus becomes peremptory.

The benefits attached to blogging are significant and cannot be overlooked. However, it should be done in the right fashion in order to reap the benefits. The assumption: 'Build it and they will come' is the most common mistake people commit. Also, people get caught up in technology (themes, gadgets, etc,) at the expense of content. The adage “content is king” is still true and will always be. The content could range from dyed-in-the-wool journalism to stream-of-consciousness revelations, as long as it is relevant, engaging and compelling. If a blog suffices these three basic characteristics, people would keep coming back for more and link to your blog. This would add credibility and enhance Search Engine exposure.

By-and-large blogging is the easiest way to enhance your Search Engine visibility and provide an impetus to your Online Marketing goals. Some of the best known blogs attract the kind of traffic that would even make the big name websites, jealous.