SEO: starting a blog

Hi there, for SEO purposes I want to start a blog.

Should I use a new domain or use a sub-domain (http://www.duurzaamondergoed.nl/blog).

Any thoughts about this?

I am also not sure if I will use a - paid - Opencart extension or use something like Wordpress (free).

I will use the blog to promot my own products and linkbuilding.

I welcome any opion/advice about this subject. Thanks in advance!

I highly recommend the Opencart Blog Manager. From what I can tell this module has a look and feel similar to WordPress. Key thing is that the Opencart Blog Manager Module works within the Opencart Architecture. Example: You can assign Related Products and Article Categories to Blog Articles. Fantastic Support is provided too.

Customers may find separate domains confusing, but they should understand separate subdomains. The cart and blog should be in separate subdomains and separate directories. There are several free blogs available that are still blogs; most of them do not offer everything including kitchen sinks. The better the functional match between cart and blog, the better, so take a look at Brook's suggestion.

I agree with Brook. I use the opencart blog manager and am replacing the stand alone wordpress blogs I had for some of my stores with it - works a lot smoother.