By Brendan Egan

Well, blogging has become the new pink in the internet world. Almost everyone has their own blogs and websites however some are more well known than others. Maybe the popular blogs have more flare, maybe they are more creative or maybe they are just easier to find. And that is exactly what you need to earn more viewers for your page, to create an SEO (that’s Search Engine Optimization) friendly blog. And here are five great tips to get you started.

1. SEO Plug-ins

The first step you need to do is to create a Uniform Resource Locater so others can find your blog easily. This is a very important thing because having plug-ins allows you to manage title, address, and other vital parts of a message. It is important that you make all information as clear as you can so they can fit with the keywords on your blog.

2. Write a quality content

Don’t be lazy! Write a witty and relevant post that can attract more viewers. When you write a post that is as short as: “we’re having a sale come to our store.” then you might as well be sending a text message to your friend. But no, you’re not just randomly sending a message to someone you’re writing about something important so you have to make it seem important for your readers as well. Take the previous sentence and use it as a header after your title. Then with that in mind expand the topic into a post 200 to 500 words long. Remember be creative and funny without leaving out the important details.

3. Never copy/paste

Plagiarism is an unforgivable crime for us writers. It is never a good idea to just go and copy the works of other people and paste it on your blog claiming it as your own. Not only is it rude to the person you stole the work from but it is also bad for your blog’s reputation. So keep in mind that you are hurting yourself just as much as you are hurting the real writer. If by chance you saw something that inspired you and you want to share it on your blog then you have to credit the person who really wrote it by putting a link to their website in your post. That way you’re telling your readers that you are not taking claim of the contents you posted.

4. Categorize or tag your messages

For other people to find your blog faster, you need to arrange all categories properly and you can do this if you add tags on your posts. You would need a blog tagging software to make tags in your message and then link them to a page that have a similar content . This makes it more convenient for your visitors.

5. Find other blogs and write quality feedback

First of all comment spamming and writing a good feedback are two very different things. You won’t be helping the blogger to improve their posts by telling them their post was “good or awesome”. A comment should be serious and formal at the same time with a hint of warmth that can earn you a connection with the blogger. But most importantly: your comment has to be relevant to the blogger’s post.

While following these steps won’t get you to the first page of search results for a competitive keyword like “Stock Market”, it will get you to the first page for long tail keywords, for example “Learn How To Trade Options In The Stock Market”. I’ve seen dozens of posts on our blog and our client’s blogs get ranked on the top page of search results just by following these simple tips, and chances are following these suggestions will only take you an extra 10-15 minutes per blog post, but will help drive much more traffic to your blog.

This is a post from The Web Optimist – SEO in The Desert.

Five Ways to Create an SEO Friendly Blog is a post from: SEO in The Desert | More about Palm Springs SEO

Blogging on a regular basis can be great for your SEO efforts

Here are a few things to consider when writing blogs for your website.

• Start by picking keywords that make sense for your site. These are key words that have enough search traffic, but aren’t so competitive that you will never make a dent. Insert these key words into your blogs and write your content around them.
• Second, write unique content that will be of interest to your visitors. Writing about things that have nothing to do with your product or service won’t help. If you are considering using a third party to write content for you – be careful about the quality of the content by testing them before you post the content on your site.
• Be sure to link content within your site, as search engines like to see that you are linking to appropriate pages and content. For example, if you write a blog about a product or service you offer, be sure to anchor the key words to a link about your product or services.
• When you write blogs remember what structure search engines like to see. It’s good practice to include things like putting key words in your title or headings, inserting enough key words in the article, and having a key word in your first and last sentences. However, don’t be tempted to “stuff” your content – best practices are to have key word density of 2% – 5%. More might actually hurt your SEO value.
• Finally, be sure to use social media to help gain additional exposure and back-links. Tweeting to Digging your blogs will add more fuel to your SEO fire. Asking friends to help you spread the word never hurts.

Just remember that content is the best thing you can do to add SEO value to your website, and blogging is an easy way to accomplish this. For more SEO tips, visit our blog where you can find more free property marketing resources.

This is a post from The Web Optimist – SEO in The Desert.

Tips on Using Blogging for SEO is a post from: SEO in The Desert | More about Palm Springs SEO

Guest blogging can be a great e-marketing strategy and help establish you an an authority, terrific for SEO and social media campaigns.

A good blog can be the centre of an effective social media marketing strategy, and, particularly if it’s hosted on the website you want to promote; can be an excellent way of driving traffic. Websites are fantastic for pushing your message out there, but blogs allow greater flexibility in staying up to date and demonstrating your specialist knowledge in your particular niche.

Not only that, but a well loved blog can become a platform for guest blogging, which will allow you to spread your genius even further into cyberspace. If you contribute a knowledgeable post to a well-respected blog, traffic will follow you back to yours, which will have earned extra kudos as a destination for decent information by virtue of your guest post.

On the flipside, if you can attract guest bloggers to write on your blog, you not only get the benefit of having fresh content to appease the Google gods, but you are further entrenching your blog’s authoritative reputation. This can be spread throughout other social media channels to drive even more traffic to your blog, which will translate to traffic for your website (if it has been designed effectively).

The potential benefits to be reaped from keeping a good blog, guest blogging and attracting guest bloggers are obvious, and that is why a blog should be a key part of your web design. An orphaned blog will serve no purpose; you may attract readers but the end-goal is for them to click-through to your actual website. As such it is a good idea to host it on your website so that people are already there, and need merely follow header links to discover your services. Making blog integration a key feature of your web design will allow you to drive traffic to your products or services much more effectively than tacking one on at the end.

The marketing strategy of blogging and guest blogging is simple: become an expert and establish yourself as an authority. As every blog thrives on fresh content, most well reputed blogs will be open to the suggestion, and it is an easy way of showing off your knowledge.

This article is an original post from The Web Optimist – SEO in The Desert.

Guest Blogging as an Effective Marketing Strategy is a post from: SEO in The Desert | More about Palm Springs SEO

Got something to say? Guest blog at The Web Optimist.

Just so you know, The Web Optimist blog is open to guest blogger articles related to SEO, VOIP and search marketing. These guest posts are free, of course (take that, Google!) and posts must be a minimum of 250 words in length.

Guest blog post in the following categories for free – SEO, PPC, Social Media, News, Reviews. All are moderated and edited. Inappropriate posts will be deleted. Be civil, folks! A total of three links are allowed within the body text (two of which can point to your own sites). Obvious spam, inappropriate or off-topic content will not be considered. In other words, if I do not like it, I will not publish it!

Simply go to the Contact page to submit your article idea. I’ll set up frequent contributors with an author’s account.

Call for Guest SEO Blog Articles is a post from: SEO in The Desert | More about Palm Springs SEO

Guy Kawasaki of AllTop.com said he was late to blogging. First year was easy because he just regurgitated his existing content. Second year was tough. Third year he hit the wall. Then, he discovered Twitter.

“I was born to tweet!”

It took him a month or two to figure it out. At first, it was “what is this crap?” Only 140 characters?

Now he says, do you know how much better the world would be if all communications was limited to 140 characters?

“Twitter for me is a weapon to promote AllTop.com. I believe I have to tweet high value, very informative links so that people will tolerate my promotion of Alltop.”

Alltop.com is Kawasaki’s topic related “magazine” site.

The moment you go to search.twitter.com and search for yourself or company, you open yourself up to finding conversations, he says.

One of his favorite tools is Twitter Hawk which always looks for a string, drafts auto tweet and sends to persons looking for that string. Twitter Hawk records that it sent a tweet to a Twit and will not send to that person again. It also costs .05 each to send the tweets to help reduce spamming. Check it out at http://www.twitterhawk.com/ .

Isn’t this spamming?

“If I do it, it’s good marketing. If someone does it to me, it’s spam,” Guy says with a smile.

Another great utility he recommends is Tynt. With Tynt, you copy a line of javascript into you blog code. When someone copies text from your blog, an attribution link (your blog) shows up. Great for content theft because it drives traffic back to you and it provides a management console where you can see what is being copied. Check out http://www.Tynt.com .

And, Guy thinks that the more dumb an idea, the more likely it is to work, citing examples of ideas that sound so far out that they sound ridiculous, but are successful.

His current book is Reality Check and his web site is http://www.guykawasaki.com .

Guy Kawasaki at PubCon Austin is a post from: SEO in The Desert | More about Palm Springs SEO

Unlike a certain recent political candidate we’re all familiar with, I know when it’s time to concede. John Carcutt is the winner of the Search Engine Journal Blog Off. John’s finalist post Are S E O Forums Still Needed? beat out my own 25 Blog Optimization Tips Even Dear Old Dad Could Ace to take the top prize.

What can I say? John has this ability to come up with topics near and dear to an SEO’s heart, write great content about them and attract Sphinns like a magnet.

Great work, John!

I really don’t see coming in second for the competition as a loss, though. Far from it. I blog because I love to share what I know. That’s really what blogging is all about. Every time I get the opportunity to publish some of the things I have learned in a subject I am passionate about (in this case, SEO), I’m a winner. It’s such a feel-good thing for me. As far as I am concerned, sharing amounts to taking the prize!

That’s what my blog, The Web Optimist, is all about. I certainly don’t make money with it. It’s just a place for me to share the tips and tricks I pick up along the way as an in-house SEO. I also manage, optimize, edit and write most of the content for The Eye Zone, the eyewear blog of FramesDirect.com, my employer, so I do a LOT of writing every week for it. Squeezing time in to write for my own blog (or something for Search Engine Journal if I think I’ve got something good), can sometimes be difficult. But, when I can, I love doing it.

So, we’re all winners here. Lots of great content and tips came out of this competition. The folks over at Search Engine Journal are the best!

Now, I think I’ll retire to the chaise lounge by the pool and console myself with the bright California sunshine, clear blue skies, gorgeous Palm Springs mountain views and a glass of White Merlot (or two).

Loser? Naw…

Losing to Win: Taking the Prize by Blogging is a post from: SEO in The Desert | More about Palm Springs SEO