To Blog, or not to Blog? It really isn't a question...

Last week, the blog publishing & hosting platform Wordpress was attacked, resulting in difficulties for the over 18 million blogs that run on Wordpress.  Yes, you read that right - over 18 million blogs.  So, what's the big deal about blogging?

Instead of having to get your web designer to update content (which can often take months to implement), a blog allows you to login and post articles without the need of an IT department.  By having a blog that you can post articles & information to on a regular basis, you can provide the fresh unique content that search engines like Google love.  And, love from Google often equates in a higher rank in their search results, which is a very important aspect to your marketing when patients are searching for your services online.

Unfortunately, blogging on a platform like Wordpress can still both daunting & time-consuming.  Wordpress's self-professed "5 Minute Installation" still requires you to have FTP access to the server where you're hosting your blog.  (And, if you don't know FTP from SSL, it's likely going to take you longer than 5 minutes!)  Then, you still need to learn how to navigate their online interface...

Still, even though it's a bit of extra work, blogging is well worth it for your practice.  We've seen our doctors' blogs outrank their own websites on Google, and we know that a blog with updated content that engages patients creates 5x times as many patient inquiries as the average medical or dental website.