Blogging And SEO
A blog is really just another type of
website. It stores things in a predetermined
structure, but it follows many of the same rules as
a website.
The following
points should be noted:
1. Your blog should be centered on
a single topic, or a specific character type. This
keeps it topically relevant for search engine
indexing.
2. Posts do better with a central
theme instead of with several different unrelated
items.
3. Use 1-2 keywords in the post
subject. Make it clear in the first paragraph just
exactly what the post is about (ok, sometimes you
gotta lead into it, so second paragraph at least!).
4. Name your site links and
outbound links using meaningful words.
5. Most blogs have a way for you
to create a site title tag, and metatags. They may
or may not allow you to create alt tags.
6. Original content is more
powerful than reprinted content. Well written
content is absolutely essential.
7. Maintain it well. This applies
to a blog differently than to a regular website,
because a blog is interactive. You get comments from
other people. Keep an eye on those comments, and
make sure that trashy spammy ones are not allowed.
That will seriously damage your search engine
ranking if you allow it to happen.
8. Regular updates have a
different meaning with blogging than they do with
regular sites also. With a standard website, a
monthly update is good. With a blog, you have to
post at least weekly. And once you set a schedule,
you have to stick to it. Because a blog doesn't just
post for search engines, it posts for people, and
bloggers expect action, and some degree of
predictability.
9. Backlinks matter. A blog has to
be promoted the same as a website, so you'll still
have to do your promotional work.
Apply the same kinds of common
sense standards to blogging that you do to any
website. Just remember that regular posting, and
regular maintenance are more important.
The following points should be noted:
1. Your blog should be centered on a single topic, or a specific character type. This keeps it topically relevant for search engine indexing.
2. Posts do better with a central theme instead of with several different unrelated items.
3. Use 1-2 keywords in the post subject. Make it clear in the first paragraph just exactly what the post is about (ok, sometimes you gotta lead into it, so second paragraph at least!).
4. Name your site links and outbound links using meaningful words.
5. Most blogs have a way for you to create a site title tag, and metatags. They may or may not allow you to create alt tags.
6. Original content is more powerful than reprinted content. Well written content is absolutely essential.
7. Maintain it well. This applies to a blog differently than to a regular website, because a blog is interactive. You get comments from other people. Keep an eye on those comments, and make sure that trashy spammy ones are not allowed. That will seriously damage your search engine ranking if you allow it to happen.
8. Regular updates have a different meaning with blogging than they do with regular sites also. With a standard website, a monthly update is good. With a blog, you have to post at least weekly. And once you set a schedule, you have to stick to it. Because a blog doesn't just post for search engines, it posts for people, and bloggers expect action, and some degree of predictability.
9. Backlinks matter. A blog has to be promoted the same as a website, so you'll still have to do your promotional work.
Apply the same kinds of common sense standards to blogging that you do to any website. Just remember that regular posting, and regular maintenance are more important.
