I wrote a post a while ago, saying that WordPress.com was a good place to host your business blog, if you were just starting out and wanting to ‘test the water’ as it were.
However, since then I have been emailed by a reader; who pointed out some poorly publicised, but extremely important limitations to a WordPress.com hosted business blog!
I looked into this and found 3 REALLY IMPORTANT reasons why I believe you should NOT use a WordPress.com hosted blog for your business. Here they are:
1. Wordpress.com insert ‘hidden adverts’ into your blog
Automattic (the company that runs WordPress.com), inserts ‘hidden advertising’ into the blogs hosted on their servers.
Hidden?
Yes, the ads they place into your blog are hidden from you - so you can’t see what THEY are advertising to YOUR readers in YOUR company’s name! Because Automattic use Google Adwords for these ads, they could be advertisements for your competitors products or services! This is perhaps why they feel the need to hide these adverts from their users? Anyhow, many of their users have no idea these adverts even exist; because they will not be able to see them when they look at their own blog. The ads are only displayed to their readers!
As of last week, you can pay to have these adverts removed, the fee is currently $30 a year. This is an improvement, as until last week you were stuck with them! However, there are two far bigger problems with hosting a business blog at wordpress.com!
2. Wordpress.com won’t let you advertise anything
I have been in marketing for over 20 years and I own and run a very successful international marketing business. I don’t know a single company, which has a commercial blog and does not use it to promote their business or market their services in some way. The whole point of a commercial blog is commerce after all!
Although Automattic actually encourage people to host a commercial blog at WordPress.com, they forbid any form of commercial advertising! So, if you have any desire to advertise your services in your blog; you simply can not use Wordpress.com – full stop!
3. Wordpress.com won’t let you link from your posts to your website
One of the major marketing benefits of having a business blog, are all the links you get from the blog to your main website. These links can be really useful for a business blog!
For example, the newsletter button at the foot of my blog posts is a link; however, it would be BANNED from use on a wordpress.com hosted blog! Also, links from your business blog to your main website can really help with the sites Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
However, these links to your main website (what Automattic refers to as a ‘third party’ website) are forbidden on a WordPress.com hosted blog. Their terms of service state that by making content available on your blog, you warrant that it:
“does not contain unethical or unwanted commercial content designed to drive traffic to third party sites or boost the search engine rankings of third party sites
Although it is impossible to understand what they mean by ‘unwanted commercial content’ (as this is always going to a matter of opinion), the threat itself is clear. If someone at Automattic sees that your posts link to your business website – you could have your blog suspended until it is removed!
Conclusion
Even if you pay Automattic to have their adverts removed from your blog, you are still left with a blog that:
- You cannot link from as you wish
- You cannot market advertise or promote your services on or even insert adwords
- You cannot customise fully
- You cannot advertise other people’s products or services on
- You cannot add commercially useful plugins to
A ‘free’ business blog on WordPress.com, with the ads removed, your own url added, some slight changes to its look and some extra space will cost you between $70 and $145 dollars a year. For not much more, you can enjoy full control of a blog and (most importantly) use it to market your business; by hosting it with another provider.
I love WordPress software and the people in the wordpress.com user community are fantastic! Wordpress.com servers are really reliable and very secure too. However, if you want a commercial blog that you can advertise your services on and you want the freedom to link when and where you wish – I believe you need an analternative host.
Related posts:
Many points you bring up in this post are very true, but you fail to mention a few things.
-The reason for the ban on using your own adverts is to “prevent mass-spamming of sites hosted on WordPress.com servers” (This was published word for word within a post on the main WordPress.com blog about a year back.)
While I can understand this, I believe that Automattic / WordPress.com should allow those wishing to place adverts on their site, some way to do so. Even if this means a form of revenue sharing, like YouTube has done with companies / individuals participating within the YTPP (short for YouTube Partner Programme.)
-It is possible (yet very difficult) to add links to your site via a Sidebar or via a very doddgy edit to the CSS file.
-Adverts aren’t *always* shown on WordPress.com blogs, They usually are shown when a blog is receiving “excess” traffic than it usually does. No one knows exactly what “excess” means. Its still not in the best intrest of a blog owner / author even so.
WordPress.com is a good site if you’d like to *start* a blog and have plans and the *resources* to move it somewhere else later on. But, Why go through the hassle of starting it there when your planning on moving it later on in the first place?
So I agree with your overall comment, WordPress.com is not a good place to start a ‘commerical’ blog.
Hello Donald,
Thanks for commenting.
This post was not about ‘why’ Automattic do what they do (that’s their business). It was simply explaining some of the restrictions of a wordpress.com hosted blog for business blogging.
Your points were very interesting – thanks for sharing them and taking time to stop by the blog.
Keep in touch!
Hi Jim,
Business blogs are more than welcome on WordPress.com.
Mentioning/advertising your business and linking to it is perfectly fine. Our non-linking rules are designed to keep spammers and affiliate marketers out of the system (people who will setup dozens of blogs, all pointing to each other or to various affiliate marketing schemes).
It’s explained here: http://wordpress.com/types-of-blogs/
Hi Toni,
Thanks for commenting!
I already mentioned that wordpress.com welcomes business bloggers – I just have no idea why!
Here’s a quote from the link you provided, regarding what a business blog can do – as you can see, there’s NO MENTION of advertising;
“Professionals ranging from realtors to lawyers and stock brokers are using WordPress.com blogs to share their expertise. And companies are discovering the power of blogs to communicate with their customers via company news and announcements, product reviews, user stories, testimonials, etc.”
There is also no way for a business blog to advertise other companies; should they wish to in order to generate revenue. The limitations are huge.
Whilst you can, as you say ‘mention’ your business – you cannot apply a link from each post to your main website. It is clearly mentioned in the terms of service; as quoted in my post. Business blogs accused of having too many links HAVE been suspended and it is not allowed – according to the Terms of service. You were referring perhaps to a single or limited number of links – when the best SEO results come from having a link in each post (like a signature at the footer.)
Wordpress.com hosted business blogs also cannot use any commercial plugins! This means they not unable to offer even basic functionality to businesses; like the ability to collect email addresses from people who want to register for an event.
All javascript is stripped from wordpress.com hosted blogs too – so no advertising banners or things like the amazon.com carousel can be used on a wordpress.com hosted blog either.
I can’t see why a business should have to operate with so many important limitations, when they can self host and be 100% free to maximise the potential of their blog.
Thanks for your feedback Toni and for such a great blog at http://toni.org/
Jim
jim is correct. If there was even one limitation to business blogging on wordpress.com it would be stupid to use it.
By the way jim, if you ask anyone in the wordpress forums about advertising they ALWAYS tell you that you cant!
Great post!
Hey Jim,
Will Toni tell us why you can not use google adwords on your wordpress.com hosted business blog – but they can? Or why only they get paid for these adverts on your business blog?
Wordpress is like you say, great software but a lousy business blogging option compared to a self-hosted solution.
Hello Avril,
I could not agree with you more.
I have personally experienced people asking general business blogging questions in the WordPress.com forums and being advised by staff and forum members to go self-hosted.
Jim Connolly
Hello Ray,
Like all forms of advertising, adwords are forbidden from your wordpress.com hosted blog.
I moved this very blog from wordpress.com because of the total lack of business functionality and freedom offered there. Great software, a great community of people but not in my opinion, the best place for a business blog.
Thanks Ray!
Sometimes it’s better to host your own site for just these reasons.
I believe at the top of your post Jim, that you should make clear it does not apply to Wordpress blogs with your own paid for independent webhosting. Many independent hosts these days will also install Wordpress for you, or make it very easy to do so.
I am planning a number of websites, probably all of them using Wordpress and all of them are with my webhost.
The fact is you get what you pay for. If you want anything free, then you are at the mercy of the provider because you have not earned or paid for it.
Hi Jim,
I agree with Ian – this post gives me the impression that “Wordpress will not let me run advertisments,” which is incorrect. Many people, especially people new to blogging, do not understand the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com. The fact that points 2 + 3 don’t distinguish between the .org and .com side of the business clouds the point even further.
I think it would be worth clarifying to your readers that “you can run a commercial blog and sell or display advertising however you want if you host your own Wordpress blog. However, if you have wordpress.com host the blog for you, you should be aware of these three points…”
Like Ian said, several companies provide very easy to manage 1-click installs (Dreamhost is my favorite), which lowers the technical barriers for most bloggers.
All the best,
Matt @ Route 29
Hello Ian & Matt,
You both make a good point!
The second & third point in my post now says ‘wordpress.com’ not wordpress.
Thanks for your help – It’s much appreciated!
One aspect not touched on in this post is the issue of professional branding. A case in point, what looks more professional, jimconnolly.com or jimconnolly.wordpress.com?
In my opinion, jimconnolly.com is perceived as more credible and professional. If your business appears cheap (by not investing in a professionally hosted blog and domain) why should I purchase services or products from it.
It’s a competitive market, if you want to compete, you’ll have to look professional and be professional.
That’s because you can have a blog hosted at wordpress.com and still have a ‘real’ url.
It’s a paid upgrade, but well worth it if you decide to use wordpress.com.
???
Nope, I’m not hosted at wordpress.com
No one said you were – did they?
This is great information on wordpress.com, so to avoid investment into a site which does not lend control to the blog editor.
Could you recommend some good “commercial” blogs which would be useful if wordpress.com is not conducive to for-profit businesses?
@Shanalee Sharboneau – Host Wordpress (wordpress.org) on your own server, or I can do and set it up for you (on your own hosting account).
I am a bit confused… how can large compaies e.g. People.com have a wordpress.com blog called Celebrity Baby Blog AND adversitse on it?
Thankyou!
Hi Ashley,
There is something called a wordpress.com VIP blog. These are only given to companies like CNN (who I believe own people.com) and people like Robert Scoble; who get millions of monthly hits.
People with these VIP accounts are allowed to advertise. However, there are still restrictions on what plugins VIP users can have – which is one of the reasons Scoble gave for dumping wordpress.com recently.
I sadly just recently found out about incorrectly using wordpress.com for my blog. They didn’t like me discussing my biz in an educational manner, which is direct sales like others. There are currently, still existing: 6,028 blogs about avon on wordpress.com, 5,678 blogs on tupperware, monavie has 933 blogs, shaklee with 605, arbonne 372 and my nutrimetics company with 75 blogs on wordpress.com – only mine was suspended. And, they have a feature of the day as a mary kay blog! I don’t think they understand the business world and part of their reasoning for their actions. Warren Buffet is quite intelligent and highly recommends direct selling as one of the fastest growing industries today. Looking for a new place to go and lost all my content to boot:(