Should a Yoga Studio have a Website and a Blog?

Yes, your yoga studio should have both a website AND a blog.

However, there are exceptions when a yoga studio should not have a blog. All yoga studios should have a website. The issue isn’t whether to have a website OR blog, but rather whether to have a website AND blog.

A website is necessary because a yoga studio is a business and so it needs informs prospective yoga students online about your location, services, contact information, hours, prices, etc. This basic information is best presented in a static way that is easy to find.

This article outlines when a yoga studio should not have a blog. I also present a great alternative to a blog if a blog isn’t for you or your yoga studio.

The other question I answer in this article is: if a yoga studio has both a website and blog, what’s the best way to configure them?

These days it’s not so clear cut the difference between a website and a blog. Websites can function like blogs and vice versa.

Broadly speaking, a website’s content is static while blog content is dynamic. I tend to like my sites to be somewhat dynamic; however, a business website should have static sections (such as a homepage) so prospective clients and yoga students can easily and quickly navigate it (i.e. find yoga class schedule, pricing, etc.).

Why is having a blog good for a yoga studio?

A blog is cheap to set up and you can easily do-it-yourself (not a reason why, but it’s an important point and a topic I’ll be writing extensively about shortly).
If integrated properly with your yoga studio website, it generates excellent dynamic content for your overall website. This both informs and hence presells your website visitors as well improves search engine ranking (if properly optimized).
A yoga blog builds credibility for you. You can write what you know and look like a yoga champ.
A yoga blog is an excellent way to share what you love, namely yoga. You’re an educator; a blog is another form of classroom.
A blog can be more personal and personable than a website. Your website offers facts and information. Your blog is your voice and can include personal experiences which resonate at a more personal level with your readers being present and prospective yoga students. Don’t divulge too much; after all your personal life is your personal life. Share enough so your readers get a sense of who you are.
A blog will motivate and inspire you to develop your yoga knowledge and ability. If you have to write about your yoga life, then you’ll have to come up with material. There’s no better material than experience.
Writing may be therapeutic and a positive activity for you.
Your yoga blog may be an additional revenue stream for you. I don’t advocate that money from your blog should be your principal motivator. However, I do advocate always exploring additional revenue streams to support your yoga business.

When should a yoga studio not have a blog?

If you are not committed to posting to your blog regularly, then do not have a yoga blog.

If there is no one who will add quality blog posts relevant to your yoga studio regularly (at least twice per month), then you do not want a blog. Blogs that aren’t updated look bad and detract from the business that owns it.

The other element to the answer is “quality”. If you cannot write or have nothing to say or not enough time to say and write anything worthwhile, then don’t have a blog.

Good alternative to a blog

So, you hate writing or are too busy teaching yoga to maintain a blog, but you want the search engine optimization and credibility benefits of a blog? No problem. An excellent alternative is a “library” section (or similar) in your website. Here you can post articles about yoga or anything related to your yoga studio.

The beauty of an article section in your website is that it’s not date-centric, and so you can whenever it suits you or is expected to have new material posted. If you upload only 6 quality articles to your website, great. If there are 50, that’s great too (actually, that would be pretty impressive). You can optimize each article for the search engines; adding articles will be adding content to your site without the pressure to add content frequently.

The only downside to adding articles to your website is it’s a little more difficult technically speaking. You’ll probably have to have your webmaster add it unless you’re the webmaster and can add content to your site.

Next, if you want both a website and a blog for your yoga studio, what’s the best way to configure it?

Your options are:

Blog as Separate domain to your website;
Blog as Subdomain of your website; or
Blog as a Subdirectory of your website.

The following examples illustrate the differences:

These examples assuming the website is the main domain name. Example for http://www.youryogastudio.com:

Domain name: youryogastudio.com
Subdirectory setup: http://www.youryogastudio.com/Blog (the hostname: youryogastudio.com)
Subdomain setup: http://Blog.youryogastudio.com (the hostname here: blog.youryogastudio.com)
Separate domains: http://www.yogastudio.com and http://www.youryogablog.com.

I recommend that you opt for a subdirectory set up. Why? Because if your blog is a subdirectory of your website, then its content will be considered by the search engines as part of your website. If you opt for a separate domain or a subdomain, your blog will be considered by the search engines as a separate website.
This means that any search engine optimization and ranking power you have for your yoga website will not be shared or benefit your blog, and vice versa.

Exceptions to the subdirectory blog setup – in other words reasons to set up your blog on a separate domain or subdomain:

Your blog is not related to your yoga studio website. That said, if your blog is personal, it may be fine as part of your yoga studio website. It’s a judgment call. I wouldn’t attach a personal blog to a business I owned, but that’s just my opinion.
Your primary intention for your blog is to make money with ads, affiliate linking, selling posts, etc. This is a judgment call frankly, but I don’t sell ads on any websites or blogs of mine that affiliated with an actual brick and mortar businesses. That said, if you wanted to create a membership blog, I see no reason why this couldn’t be part of your website. In fact, membership sites add prestige to your entire online presence. Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective yoga student and ask whether the business model in your blog would attract or repel you.
You want to control another website so you can link them to each other for SEO purposes. If done correctly, you can link your separate sites in a way so that you create double indented search engine listings (more on this to come).
You’re not sure if blogging is for you so you want to test the waters in a way that isn’t connected with your yoga studio website.
You want to protect your work. Suppose you’re a partner or employee or shareholder of your yoga studio and you leave. If you own the domain name, the blog more easily goes with you. Otherwise, you may lose control of all your work.

A blog can be a terrific addition to your yoga studio online marketing efforts. It can also be an incredibly satisfying experience for you. It’s not for everyone and not for every business. Think about it before you do it because running a good blog takes time and effort, and if the result is poor, that time and effort is better spent elsewhere.

Yes, your yoga studio should have both a website AND a blog.

Why is having a blog good for a yoga studio?

When should a yoga studio not have a blog?

Good alternative to a blog

Next, if you want both a website and a blog for your yoga studio, what’s the best way to configure it?

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