Which Platform is Best for Earning Money from a Blog: WordPress or Blogger?
So you want to start a blog and hopefully make some money from it? Join the club! With over 500 million blogs on the internet, blogging is more popular than ever. But choosing the right blogging platform is key if you want to monetize your content. Two of the biggest names in blogging are WordPress and Blogger. But which one offers the best money making potential?
I’ve been blogging professionally for over 10 years, using both Blogger and WordPress extensively during that time. So I’m going to give you the lowdown on how these platforms compare specifically in terms of earning an income from your blog. Consider this your beginner’s guide to choosing between the two heavyweights of the blogging world.
Quick Overview of Each Platform
WordPress – Open source software that powers over 40% of all websites. Fully customizable with thousands of themes and plugins. Requires self-hosting and a separate domain purchase. More complex but very powerful. Used by most professional bloggers.
Blogger – Free blogging platform owned by Google. Very limited customization options. Build on a blogspot.com subdomain. Easy to use out of the box. Lower long term income potential. Better for hobbyists.
So at first glance, WordPress seems like the obvious choice, right? Well hold your horses…It’s not quite that simple. While WordPress offers superior functionality and customization, that comes at a price. Literally! The initial set up costs for a self-hosted WordPress site create a barrier to entry that Blogger does not have.
Deeper Comparison: Key Income Related Factors
So could Blogger’s simplicity actually make it a better money making platform? Let’s dig a little deeper and compare them across some key income related factors: monetization options, SEO capabilities, ownership and control. By the end, you should have a clearer picture of which platform aligns closest with your blogging income goals!
Ease of Use: WordPress vs. Blogger
When starting a blog to generate income, one of the most important considerations is how easy the platform will be to use, especially as a beginner. Choosing a platform that enables you to efficiently create content, manage your site, and handle the technical aspects is critical for long-term success.
WordPress Has a Steep Learning Curve but Enables Strong Customization
WordPress is used by over 60% of all websites, which speaks to its capabilities. But with great power comes more complexity. The open-source WordPress platform is extremely flexible, enabling deep levels of customization in both design and functionality. However, this means there can be a steeper learning curve, particularly for those without a technical background.
The WordPress dashboard does provide a user-friendly interface to create and manage content without needing to touch code. But to unlock the full potential of WordPress through custom themes, plugins, and monetization tools, expect to invest more time in learning the system. The flexibility of WordPress means a nearly endless variety of designs and features are possible, but also requires more strategic configuration.
Blogger Prioritizes Simplicity and Ease of Use
In contrast, Blogger opts for simplicity in both setup and ongoing use. The Blogger interface enables intuitive creation and scheduling of blog posts without heavy configuration. The platform also provides basic template designs that allow for minor customizations to style and layout.
For those looking to start blogging quickly and easily without advanced technical skills, Blogger lowers the barrier. It does not provide the deep capabilities of WordPress, but its simplicity enables launching a basic blog rapidly.
The choice between prioritizing ease of use with Blogger or customization power with WordPress depends largely on your goals, skills, and willingness to learn over time. We’ll explore the capabilities of each platform around monetization, SEO optimization, and ownership options in the sections to follow.
Built-in Monetization Tools: WordPress Leads the Way
When it comes to earning money from a blog, having the right built-in tools and capabilities is essential. This is an area where WordPress pulls ahead of Blogger.
WordPress offers over 55,000 free and premium plugins and extensions, enabling extensive functionality customization. This includes a vast range of monetization options for bloggers looking to profit.
Popular monetization plugins include:
– Google AdSense – Display context-based Google ads
– Affiliate plugins – Promote affiliate offers and track sales
– Membership plugins – Offer premium member-only content
– eCommerce plugins – Sell digital or physical products
– Advertising management – Manage multiple ad networks
– Subscriber incentives – Offer lead magnets and bonuses
The customization enabled by WordPress plugins allows bloggers to tap into many income streams beyond basic display advertising that Blogger relies on.
You can run an entire digital business within WordPress. Sell online courses, offer consulting services, produce paid newsletters, host webinars, sell merchandise, and more. The extensive marketplace of plugins and integrations permits monetization at scale.
Blogger does provide basic built-in options for monetizing, primarily through:
– Google AdSense – Display ads based on content
– Affiliate links – Promote select affiliate offers
However, the earning potential is restricted compared to WordPress. You must rely solely on ads and occasional affiliate promotions to profit.
Advanced site functionality requires turning to third-party services, which can get complicated. Whereas WordPress has refined plugins for nearly any need.
So while Blogger technically allows monetization, its capabilities are limited. The open WordPress platform offers far more flexibility through its robust library of plugins and integrations.
SEO Capabilities: Why WordPress Wins for Organic Reach
When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), WordPress simply offers more customization and built-in functionality compared to Blogger. With SEO being a critical component for earning income through a blog, WordPress emerges as the preferential choice for professionals.
WordPress permits extensive on-page and technical SEO optimization right out of the box. For example, it supports adding meta descriptions, alt text, XML sitemaps, and more to boost search visibility. WordPress also easily integrates with powerful SEO plugins like Yoast SEO, allowing granular optimization of title tags, meta data, content analysis and more.
In comparison, Blogger blogs offer limited SEO functionality. While you can tweak some page titles and meta descriptions, advanced XML sitemaps, rich snippets and other optimizations require custom coding or plugins. This restricts the ability to optimize pages for maximum search traffic.
Importantly, WordPress has content management system (CMS) capabilities allowing optimized use of headings, media, and effective content structure. This helps search engines crawl and comprehend pages more effectively. Blogger pages use basic templates lacking CMS-level control.
The proof lies in the pudding. As per BuiltWith statistics, WordPress powers over 38% of the top 100 websites globally. And a survey found 58% of bloggers feel it provides the best SEO capabilities among platforms. With SEO playing a pivotal role in content promotion and audience building, WordPress simply outclasses Blogger.
The customizability also enables adding schema markup to WordPress sites. Schema, or structured data, tells search engines about page content in a machine-readable format. This can boost visibility and click-through-rate for search results. Blogger lacks native schema integration.
In conclusion, while Blogger permits some basic SEO, WordPress offers far greater organic reach potential. From optimized content to technical enhancements and search visibility, marketers unanimously recommend WordPress for income-focused blogging goals with an SEO focus. The platform flexibility drives real results.
Ownership and Control
When it comes to monetizing a blog, having full ownership and control over your site is crucial for long-term success. This enables you to make strategic decisions to boost traffic, engagement, and earnings over time.
Over 90% of WordPress installs run on self-hosted environments, meaning the site owner has complete control over the domain, hosting, design, functionality, and content. This is preferred for income-focused blogs for several key reasons:
Custom Domain
A custom domain looks far more professional than a free platform subdomain like .blogspot.com. Readers perceive branded domains as more authoritative. For example, a domain like www.lifestyleadvice.com commands more trust and recognition than www.lifestyletips.blogspot.com.
Investing in a custom domain also means you can retain the URL long-term, even if you switch blogging platforms. This provides stability and continuity for return visitors while enabling flexibility to change systems as needed.
Design Control
The WordPress CMS offers thousands of professional themes to choose from, enabling extensive customization of site design and layout. Blogger only provides a handful of basic templates.
A well-designed, on-brand site helps establish credibility and earn reader loyalty over the long run. Without design freedom, it’s difficult to achieve a polished, distinctive look that reflects your voice and values.
Functionality Flexibility
WordPress permits installing plugins and extensions, opening up limitless possibilities to add advanced site features. Options like membership portals, digital downloads, forums, courses, and secure payment gateways can all be incorporated to open diverse income streams.
Blogger sites have minimal functionality beyond basic blogging, advertising, and affiliate links. The rigid platform constraints limit what you can achieve.
Data Portability
WordPress content is easily portable if you ever want to switch web hosts or platforms. Blogger does not make data exports simple. So once you build significant blog content, it becomes difficult to migrate away from Google’s infrastructure without data loss.
Owning your data is imperative if you want flexibility to control your destiny. As a free platform, Blogger cannot guarantee continued service forever. So locking yourself into their ecosystem poses risks.
Authority and Trust
Visitors place greater trust in custom sites because the owner clearly invested time, money, and effort to stand out with a unique brand presence. Template-based sites seem more generic, temporary, and less authoritative by comparison.
So in summary, self-hosted WordPress’ flexibility and control makes it the best choice for serious blogging income. The independence, authority, and customization afforded long-term sets you up for higher earnings potential. Just be prepared to invest more time learning the platform in exchange for the expanded capabilities. Blogger offers simplicity for beginners but won’t scale.
Conclusion: Weighing WordPress vs Blogger for Blog Monetization
After reviewing the key factors – from built-in monetization tools to SEO capabilities and ownership control – it’s clear that both WordPress and Blogger have their strengths when it comes to earning an income from a blog.
WordPress offers more advanced features, customization, and support for various money-making plugins to serve ads, sell products, run affiliate programs, build membership sites, and more. The open-source WordPress platform also enables better SEO optimization for greater organic reach. However, the learning curve is steeper, and self-hosted WordPress requires more technical skills as well as an ongoing investment in hosting, maintenance, and branding.
According to sources, WordPress bloggers with 10,000 to 100,000 monthly page views can earn between $200 and $10,000 per month in advertising revenue alone. Top-tier hosting like Bluehost starts around $3.49/month. So for long-term professional blogs generating significant traffic, WordPress is the preferred choice.
Blogger is simpler to start with and enables instant monetization through basic ads or affiliates. But limited design and SEO controls may restrict earnings growth over time. As per estimates, blogs on Blogger earning 10,000 daily views can generate $20 to $50 in daily income through ads. So it can be a great free platform for beginners wanting to test blogging income waters before making major investments.
Ultimately, weigh your own skills, goals, and budget when deciding between WordPress or Blogger. WordPress requires more effort but enables higher incomes for professionals. Blogger works well for hobbyists wanting a free, easy monetized blog. Let your needs and capabilities determine the ideal platform.
Yours truly, head code sorcerer brewing web magic through finger tips for over a decade and counting! I pioneer blazing fast and secure digital foundations so brands can turn imagination into online reality without technical limits. My superpower? Guiding teams on expeditions across WordPress frontiers to conjure up exceptional possibilities from tucked-away blockchain innovations to reimagining site speed. Brewing bespoke digital experiences isn’t just a career – it’s a passion and endless quest so every website sings.