| Blogs are a great way to get started authoring | | | | something to? It's ok to spend some time here, writer's |
| content and sharing your knowledge and insights with | | | | block can come up. Think about other sites, can you |
| other people. Plus, mix work and play – and you | | | | re-write their UVP (unique value proposition)? How |
| can get rich doing this. | | | | would you write yours (thinking theme here). What I've |
| You don't have to be an MBA-accredited author by | | | | found to work is simply sit back and start talking as if |
| any means. However, there are some rules to play by, | | | | you were discussing a (hot) topic with a friend, and |
| and I'll break those out below. We will talk about the | | | | then breaking it out into sub-groups from there. |
| top blogs, practicalities around blogs and creative ways | | | | Writing tips: casual, friendly and interesting (meaning |
| to get started, including how you could possibly ruin | | | | you have something to write and you don't copy |
| your good-standing ranking and having to change your | | | | others) works well in blogs. Make sure you stay on |
| Search Engine Optimization strategy. | | | | topic and that you are truthful. Would you lie to your |
| Blogs – Structure and Layout | | | | mother? Of course not – then think about this |
| I work in the field of Search Engine Optimization. It has | | | | when you are writing online (and she will not come |
| a wide range of options, from the technical to the | | | | after you). Yahoo's blogging policy is a good one: "Be |
| more strategic. Tons of discussions are found on | | | | respectful of your colleagues, get your facts straight, |
| off-page and on-page factors, latent semantic analysis, | | | | provide context to your argument, and engage in |
| content scope, quality, HTML/CSS development, site | | | | private feedback." Also, make sure to include images |
| navigational structure, spamdexing, 301 redirects, | | | | (flickr) and video (youtube, google video) where you |
| plagiarism, link strategies, directories, blogs, search | | | | can. Make the images rich and colorful, don't worry |
| engine news, email marketing tips & online | | | | about sizing too much. |
| (internet) marketing. Most all of the top 10 SEO firms | | | | Committment, persistence and disciplin. Sound like an |
| out there agree that blogs are a "must" for driving | | | | extract from Jim Rohn or Anthony Robbins? Well, |
| traffic and get established in the Internet community. | | | | they probably are – but it applies to most of the |
| There is a right way, and a wrong way. We'll discuss | | | | things you do in life. So be it with blogging. Carve out 1 |
| these below. | | | | 2-1 hour every day to nurture to your blog business. |
| Be warned – too many folks out there are | | | | Think of it as your morning ritual – right after you |
| thinking about "how to outbeat the search engines" | | | | have attended to your family and other duties. Plus, |
| and use the latest-and-greatest (blogs) to elevate their | | | | often you are not going to be in writing mode – |
| rankings, essentially via content and blog spam. Blogs | | | | but rather, maintenance mode – reviewing and |
| are a powerful way to get seen by the search bots. | | | | responding to other blogger's input. |
| Blogger (Google's own) is an important key to the | | | | Search engines start picking up your blog, and traffic |
| puzzle, but there are many. | | | | increases. Be prepared and if it gets out of hand, be |
| THE UN-OFFICIAL TOP 7 | | | | able to manage that too. I'm not simply talking about |
| BLOGGING BEST PRACTICES FOR SEO | | | | traffic, but as others join and comment, you may need |
| Start here, begin a quick review of the world's top | | | | to defend your stance, including admitting mistakes if / |
| blogs: – updated daily – he makes #16,000 | | | | when you make them. Folks appreciate other folks |
| month – web 2.0 blogs | | | | who are big enough to admit mistakes if it gets there. |
| Get an account – it's free. log in – and | | | | For example, you may have folks who don't like you |
| – don't start! What? No, you must first continue | | | | – even if you're Bill Gates. This guy created a |
| by scanning the list above and get a sense for what | | | | Corporate Weblog Manifesto that I found interesting. |
| people are writing about. This could be more generic at | | | | Run and host your own blog service. More expensive, |
| first, but start looking to yourself. What do you know? | | | | but this could have a large impact on your ability to |
| What do people come to you for? Anything that you | | | | control not only the content, but custom HTML layouts, |
| specialize in? (Hint: don't think "how can I sell this" | | | | code and information architecture that are important to |
| – but "how can I share this?") You'll also learn | | | | search engines. You can offer this as a service to |
| how to use trackback functions to allow other people | | | | others in your niche market. is a great resource to use |
| to be notified. Permalinks are great for SEO and | | | | for starting this process, and more hands-on |
| should be used where appropriate. So, now you | | | | development companies like can be an option for you. |
| learned something big: be yourself! | | | | Keep in mind that the market has developed |
| Think about an interesting headline. You don't need to | | | | niche-companies, from real-estate to healthcare, and |
| be copywriter, but you should think about your headline | | | | you should research those specifically. |
| and the topic at hand. More importantly, is it something | | | | Content is important for Search Engine Optimization |
| that you are passionate about, or can contribute | | | | – be on top of it, keep a schedule. |