A month ago I started an information blog on library internet filtering. I set it up using Blogger and had it hosted at BlogSpot.

I bet my partners a beer that www.libraryfilter.blogspot.com we would be on the first page of Google for "library internet filter" within a week or two. We are.

Blogs are search engine candy and using a blog to drive traffic to a static site is good business. But you have to be prepared to update regularily and to look for links.

Not bad for free.

I see you are on the right track. I might suggest that you archive each of your articles and put them on your main site or on a freebie site and link back and forth to them after first properly optimizing them for best SE placement. Put the links to your archives on the right hand column of your blog and that way you get a double shot at the SE's. Remember that those blog articles are going to roll off into obliviion before long and then your precious first place listing will turn into a "file not found" error instead of a link to your blog.

The archives will all give you even more listings and
help secure your position.

I'm always looking for link trades too and your links
would fit in pretty well with the themes of two of my
sites which are pretty high traffic blogs. I get about 6 to 7,000 hits a month and so I'd like to trade you links on my http://magnacartanews.blogspot.com and my http://creditwrench.blogspot.com blogs.

Let me know if you want to do a link swap with either one or both.
ceo@creditwrench.com

Is there a difference between blogs and an online journal such as mine? http://www.analyticalq.com/journal or http://www.bonjournal.com ? I also get found on Google just days after posting a new entry. But it takes a lot of time to write and edit. I wonder if it's just as effective as a blog such as on blogspot.com

I did look at your two websites. How do they compare with a blog? Well, they lack links, believe it or not.

That is one thing What they appear to be lacking is links to other websites or webpages other than your own. And yes, you need those too and you are very well covered in that aspect.

But your webpage carries no content and that is also paramount. Also it has no rss feed so that is another reason it will not qualify as a blog nor will it get the same considerations since there are quite a few engines and directories you cannot qualify to be listed in unless the site has an rss feed and with no content they won't accept you as being a blog.

All of my blogs carry rss feeds and get listed in all of the blog directories and engines.

So there are several things your site lacks to be considered as a blog or anything close to one.