• Business use: As I mentioned with WordPress.com, you aren’t supposed to advertise, and Javascript code like Adsense is forbidden. Blogger.com allows it (not surprising, since they are owned by Google), so if you’re thinking affiliate income, Blogger.com scores over WordPress.com However, the control you have on your own site is far greater than either, allowing you to sell any- and every- thing.
• Rankings: Some may argue that a Blogger.com site, owned as it is by Google, can give you a boost in the rankings. The problem with that is if Google really DID give preferential treatment, they would be biasing their search engines – and while they might get a bit of extra traffic to their sites, they would be losing brand respect for their search engine. So although I think a Blogger.com blog may get you indexed a bit faster, I don’t believe it gives you a serious edge over another blog owned by yourself, or on WordPress.com
• SEO: A more serious issue with SEO (search engine optimization) on these sites is that you do not own your URL. That belongs to WordPress.com or Blogger.com, and so all the traffic you build goes there ultimately. Leave for any reason, and you could start from scratch.
• Skill Level: I recommend newbies try out a WordPress.com blog as soon as they can. In doing so, they get used to blogging, and can decide if it’s for them. However, consider it a practice run: if you’re planning a business, you will want it to grow, and it will always grow better on your own digital ‘plot’, with your own domain.
• Power: I saved the best for last. The things you can add to WordPress.org’s product on your own website is nothing short of amazing. Using plugins and custom themes, you can exert a huge amount of control over your blog and website, and at all times it’s yours.

In the end, I see Blogger.com and WordPress.com as great ways to get started, but for the real results, you should get your own blogs, and host them yourself. My opinion may not match with everyone (I can immediately think of two sites that would disagree!) but I don’t write here to tell people how to get online – I’m telling them how to get online and make money.

And the surest way to make money is to get out there with a domain and a blog you control – not someone else.

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