Read & write

The best way to enhance your professional business presence on the internet is through a blog. The majority of the public have accessed blogs, many having personal ones, and find it easier to discover information of all sorts through their different platforms. Thus, in order to tap this market one needs to infiltrate the blogging world - go to the public, don't wait for them to come to you.

However, a basic blog does not always have the necessary features to enhance your appearance and ensure a more appealing presentation. This is when the option of plug-ins or add-ons is advantageous.

Plug-ins can be great fun to use, particularly the ones found on the blogging platform Wordpress. However, they can be rather confusing for first-time bloggers or 'newbies' as many of these add-ons have complicated names which don't always coincide with their function or do not fully explain the function. One example, which is explained below, is the Akismet plug-in.

There are two types of plug-ins: the essentials and the optionals. The optionals are those which enhance the website and allow one creative freedom. One of these is the Hit Counter, a plug-in which monitors or tracks the number of visitors that click on your website. This is always useful as it notes how popular your website is, which pages are visited most frequently and how one can improve promotion.

There are also the plug-ins which may be considered as essential or optional, dependent upon one's opinion. A popular one is the Google Analytics plug-in. Google Analytics is similar to the Hit Counter, however it further analyses the statistical activity deconstructing the number of visits into returning and new visitors. It also indicates the time spent on the different pages.

The essential plug-ins include those involved in the promotion and maintenance of a website or blog. Many of them are installed automatically and additional plug-ins or add-ons are merely updated versions of these plug-ins, however there are those which require initial installation. Below are the most important ones to ensure your blog is operating at highest efficiency.

One of the greatest problems any individual will face is that of spam. Spam is unwanted comments from companies trying to promote and sell products. The Akismet plug-in is a standard plug-in which blocks spam or suspected spam and places it in a 'spam' folder which must be emptied on a regular basis.

The All-In-One SEO Pack is vital for promotion and directing traffic towards one's site, particularly when selling a product. The more traffic one receives the more hits you get! Furthermore, this plug-in allows one to specify the keywords and description that will show up in the search engine, which means you have control over the promotion of your blog.

In conclusion, it is useful to have a blog for your business however it is more complicated than merely posting musings. In order to create a strong internet presence one must be aware, and take advantage, of the different plug-ins available.