A guest article by Divya Rawat. You too can be part of this great knowledge sharing community. Take a look at our guest blogging guidelines.

It takes all kinds of people to make the world. The same adage stands true for the content available on the internet. Be it opinions, conversations, blogs, articles and feedbacks, the written word has never had it better. For every third article/blog, there are a multiple discussions and opinions being traded. Most of the time, the audience (and in some cases even the writers!) cannot differentiate between a blog and an article.

What you find here is a blog post (It was a blog when it was a work in progress and since it is published on the net, it is a blog post!). An article would have been more informative. However the fact of the matter is that the attention span of the readers (read internet users/browsers) being low, blogs have found more acceptance than articles.
But, then, how does it matter, you may ask.

such a conundrum1 What To Do: The Blog Cap Or The Article Hat?

What to write?

To Write or Preach?

Blogs are humorous, have space to offer opinions and feedbacks and are not preachy! On a serious note, blogs have become a hit with the audiences as they offer information to the average reader in a precise manner. The personal or first person style of writing allows the reader to be a part of the entire process. It is more empathetic. The language used is conversational. Anyone with even a little flair for writing can express ideas, share news or just rant about anything/anybody in the world via blogs.

Articles, on the other hand, handle more serious stuff. The information given is always backed by the source. It refers to the information in a well structured and factual manner. Articles being with an introduction, provide information within paragraphs and ends with conclusion. The sources are also mentioned at the end. Not all articles encourage feedback, unless the pitch (news/editorial) demands.

Article or Blog for SEO?

A webmaster offering content writing services, will always opine that blog posts work great at the initial stage of an SEO campaign. Even inviting guest posts on the website is a great way to get other sites to point links. While articles serve the purpose of educating the readers, they are useful for building the reputation and quality of the site. The main aim of any visitor is to collect information and there are times when an educated visitor/opinion leader might refer and link your site, which in the long run lends authenticity to the site hosted.

That brings us to the question: What to do: a blog cap or an article hat? And that’s elementary, dear Watson!