As the Web expands beyond more traditional means of getting traffic via search engine optimization and paid advertising, social networks and related data management services should become an important part of your online search marketing strategy. Learning how to use blogging can help you create authority, connect better with your customers and lift your visibility in the search engines.
Blogs are a great first step. WordPress is a popular option that has an open source development community and several cool and powerful plugins. You get an RSS feed infrastructure and a place for embedding not only text content, but also video streaming and audio podcasts.
To take full advantage of social media optimization, here are six things you should do:
1. Set up your WordPress blog. If you're running a business and want to start building your own authoritative blog, I recommend using a trusted hosting partner like GoDaddy.com. It takes about 10 minutes to set up. Apply for a Linux-hosted account, since WordPress isn't compatible with Windows. Unless you have a unique domain set up for this, I suggest adding the blog as a directory of your domain: your-site.com/name-of-blog-with-keywords. TypePad and the Movable Type blog systems are other free services. Blogger.com -- Google's platform -- is free, and Yahoo! (YHOO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) Small Business has a variety of options to select from as well.
2. Add content. Add a blog post once every week or more to start. Frequency is important to search engines, and users will come to expect regular updates. When you add content, make sure you add the tags and category. Tags and directory structures help show the search engines what your post is about.
3. Manage RSS feeds. RSS is an easily tracked and managed XML-based file structure that allows compatible Web systems to read the data. Get an account with Technorati.com and update it with your site feeds -- also known as pinging. You can also use FeedBurner.com and OnlyWire.com to help distribute content and PingOMatic.com and Pingoat.com to alert systems that you've made a new post.
4. Promote your blog. Always leverage the search engines when you can. Conduct solid keyword research to find out what people are searching for within your niche. Use the Overture search tool and look for longer keyword phrases rather than starting with the most competitive keywords. Include these keywords in the titles of your posts.
5. Leverage podcasts and videos. Podcasts are a simple way to provide more detail and personalization around your company or service. The MP3 format can easily be streamed for listening on the Web and from your blog. You can podcast your files and even manage them via iTunes. You also can stream video into your visitors' homes and let them watch it on their Apple TV, a recently announced product.
6. Optimize your WordPress blog. A blog should be optimized for users, search engines and income, in that order. A professional-looking blog is important. Look for clean sites -- a white background works well -- at the WordPress Theme Viewer site. Some of the themes are less SEO-friendly than others. Add a form to capture names and emails to build your email list. For SEO, change your permalinks to this custom option:
/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/
and enable the customizable permalinks. This is a search-engine friendly URL that's commonly used.
As I mentioned earlier, WordPress has a number of powerful plugins to consider. Here are some to start with:
*Google Analytics -- tracks everything on all pages
*Chicklets -- an array of social media tags for your users, including RSS reader icons
*AdSense Deluxe -- for publishing ads on your site
*Google Sitemap Generator for WordPress -- creates a sitemap for your site
*Akismet spam filtering -- filters link spam from blog comments; requires WordPress API key
*SEO Title Tag -- easy optimization of title tags across your WordPress blog
*Ultimate Tag Warrior -- incorporates the tag name into title pages on tagged pages
*Podpress -- everything you need for podcasting
More plugins are available at the WordPress plugin directory.
After you're set up, follow the basic rules for long-term success:
*Do not use Black Hat SEO -- unethical techniques -- to stuff keywords and duplicate content in your blogs.
*Provide value through quality content. If you're selling something, don't be pushy. Try to provide educational and constructive comments on products, services and competitors.
*Use the chicklets you see on many blogs, including a big button for your RSS feed, so visitors and search engines can easily get to your data.
*Place strategic AdSense components to generate money for yourself, while still providing value. Don't feel bad; big companies do it, including news outlets like CNN. Match the text and color with the layout of your site. Over time, you may get a check from Google.
Six SEO Blogging Tips