What is Blogger?

Blogger is a free blog creating tool offered by Google.

But... I've been living under a rock for the last few years. What the heck are "blogs"?

Blogs are webpages which are used for online journals or web-logs. They are extremely popular these days and have become an effective way for writers, of all types and interests, to gain exposure for themselves or their business (or both).

Sometimes, a popular blog or blog post can attract enough attention that it goes viral. Meaning, it gets linked to from popular sites like Digg or StumbleUpon or reddit.

When a Blog gets linked to from other websites, it can gain credibility with search engines. This will help to improve keyword search rankings for a webpage.

So, blogs are often one of the most effective methods for website SEO (search engine optimization).

To learn more about what Blogger can do, try this About.com post  

Is Google's Blogger worth using for my small business?

So far, I really like using Blogger. It doesn't have as many options as WordPress but it's a little easier to use. Posts, edits and layout changes can be made lightning fast. Aspiring blog writers (or bloggers) should try out the tool first to see if can do what they need (though Blogger should be perfectly adequate for most people).

Though, for most websites I wouldn't recommend Blogger as the primary builder. It's best used as an addition to a website.

Here are some points to consider.

Advantages

• It's FREE
• Very popular & extremely easy to work with
  
• Considered to be the easiest blog management software available
• Integrated with other Google applications, such as Picasa, Google Maps and Google Video
  
• Ideal for frequent blog article writing but can also be used as a regular site
• Does not require any knowledge of HTML
• VERY Google friendly
• Flexible for customizing
• Easy to learn
• Designed for high visitor traffic (so it will not break down)
• Several plugins available
• Functions with PayPal
• Allows for advanced editing with HTML
• Posts/updates can be made via emails. This can be done with cell phone or other mobile device
• Lets users upload pictures or videos with ease

Learn more about Blogger's features here.


Disadvantages

• Options for developing site navigation are rather limited. This makes blogger a bad option for a primary site
• Not as robust as WordPress because it's intended primarily for blog creation and management. However, depending on the needs of the user, Blogger might offer adequate functionality with web page construction. 
• Does not allow JavaScript editing
• Not too many options customization (though this can be a good thing for some users)

Additional Comments

Before beginning, it is strongly recommended that new users review all free tutorials available.