Uncensored blogging can be dangerous for your career, but there's no reason why a well-written web journal can't boost your chances of grabbing a job, or help you to promote your business.

We're always hearing about people who've been caught out by current and prospective employers and suffered the consequences. Some have been fired for revealing company secrets or simply being rude about their employers, whilst others have fallen foul of someone discovering details about their personal life, such as drug use or unpopular opinions. You might never know that your business is losing clients because of things they've found out about your company's employees online.

But the flipside is that whoever is checking up on you – whether potential employer or prospective client – might find something on Google that actually improves their opinion of you. People tend to think of the internet as somewhere that embarrassing secrets are revealed, but you can easily set up sites especially for people to see and be impressed by.

The great thing about blogs is that search engines love them. Many search engine optimisation experts suspect that blogs are crawled faster than other sorts of websites because they're updated so regularly. This means that if you have a blog which features your own name, there's a good chance that a search for your name will result in the discovery of your journal. Make your headline descriptive – something like "John Smith: Web Design Consultant" sounds nice and professional – and with any luck, it'll be the first click your nosy prospective employer or interested client makes.

Ideally, have your own domain name which is actually your name (e.g. johnsmith.com). This will boost your site or blog in the search engine rankings. If you must use a blogging provider like LiveJournal or Blogger (which can be useful in its own way, for networking), again, use your own name as your username.

If your own name is already taken, also put a keyword in which is appropriate to the sort of work you're looking for (e.g. johnsmithwebdesign). Remember that you're trying to attract people who are searching for *your name*, so the normal rules of choosing a domain name for registration (regarding descriptiveness and brevity) don't apply. The most important thing is that you get your name in there somewhere.

Your blog should be strictly career-focused. Discuss current events which are relevant to your career, and include links to your sources and to articles and tools of interest. You could also feature specific projects from your own portfolio (make sure you don't breach any confidentiality rules). You might want to blog about your search for a job, but be careful to remain positive and don't show any signs of being disheartened.

See your blog as a sort of extended portfolio/CV. Show potential employers and clients that you can maintain a high standard of written communication – spell and punctuate properly, make sure your grammar is immaculate, and produce only well-structured and interesting posts. You also need to show that you follow current events related to your career.

Try not to be too controversial – even if you're an impassioned Firefox aficionado, for example, don't alienate anyone by hurling abuse at Internet Explorer. It would be quite acceptable to write articles about the useful add-ons you use with Firefox, though, or to compare the security features of the two browsers.

Keep to a reasonably regular posting rota. If you can't always post every day, don't try and fail: post weekly or twice-weekly instead. Visitors can easily have a look at your archives and see if you have managed to keep to a strict posting regime. You can always backdate posts to fill in gaps if you need to.

Don't include any links to personal sites, and don't link from personal sites to your career blog (anyone with Google toolbar or various other SEO tools will be able to trace incoming links).

Promote your blog. Blogs look more impressive if they have at least a few people who make comments on your posts. If you have any contacts with an interest in your field, let them know your blog address. You could put a link to it in your business email signature or put the address on your business cards.

Get on forums relevant to your career (remember to use your own name as a username, preferably the same as your blog domain name) and actively participate in discussions; you could repost some of your blog entries as new topics. Show yourself to be knowledgeable, and people are much more likely to be interested in what you have to say. Then include a link to your blog in your signature.

If you're using your blog to promote your business, put links from your business site to your blog and vice versa. You could even feature articles from your blog on your business site. A blog can really give visitors the impression that you are conscious of up-to-the-minute information and that you are actively updating and reviewing your website.

Once you've made a strong start with your blog – seven or eight posts, perhaps, and a fair bit of promotion – you can begin putting its address on your CV, along with a brief explanation, as well as waiting for potential employers and clients to find it via search engines.

A good professional blog can really boost your image, and that of your business, online – work hard, enjoy writing and sharing your knowledge, and your efforts can pay dividends.

By Helena Henderson