probably notI want to discuss some of your options for choosing a platform to run your blog on. Some will debate which is better to use or it does not really matter which one is better, it is the content that makes the blog a success. I do agree it is all about the content that the blog contains, however in real estate you want to take it a step further and see which one will be best to use for your overall business. Real estate professionals rely on several online tools to help boost their business, so choosing a blogging platform should be taken seriously from the start.
Most Common Blogging Platforms
- Blogger.com
- Typepad
- WordPress.com
- Standalone WordPress
- Point2Agent
The first three on this list are free platforms that require no money upfront and you can begin blogging right away. Many real estate agents and brokers have gone this route for the simple fact it requires no setup or coding on your part. You simply go to the site, sign up for an account, choose your theme options and you are ready for your first post. Here is a MAJOR draw back to the free blogging platforms, your URL.
yourname.typepad.com
yourname.blogger.com
yourname.wordpress.com
People either link straight to the free blog or have it iframed (embedded in their website) so the viewer never leads the current site or knows the blog is hosted else where. The problem with linking straight to the blog from your current domain is anytime someone links to your blog, that link will not count towards your current real estate domain.
Anytime another site were to link to your blog, your free blog account will receive the credit and not your real estate website. But I thought backlinks were a good thing for my website? They are, but you want those back links going to your main domain name and not your blogger (typepad, free wordpress) account. It will be those accounts that will be receiving the credit and not your main site.
WordPress Standalone Platform
This the choice I recommend and prefer over any other platform available online today. The platform is also free, you can download it from wordpress.org. Standalone wordpress does require you to setup your database and upload the files to your web host. Once setup though, you can hire someone to configure a custom look tailored to your current site or do it yourself. There are some really newbie friendly WordPress real estate themes such as Agent Elite template which is very easy to use and to make beautiful real estate sites as you can see from this detailed review of Agent Elite websites.
Benefits Of Using WordPress Standalone
- Search engines seem to love it (really they do)
- Highly configurable
- Plugins make adding new features very easy (just upload and activate the plugin)
- Backend system makes adding/changing content a breeze
- Themes can be downloaded
- Large user support
In The End
You can choose whichever platform you like, I just wanted to go over some of the negative things regarding the several platforms that are out there. I suggest using the stand alone wordpress theme for your real estate blog, the ease of use and true power built into it makes it a winner in the eyes of many.
